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through which $5 trillion dollars in trade sails annually, is one of the biggest security threats in Asia.
China is seen by many neighbors as increasingly assertive on the high seas, with several incidents in the past year in the South China Sea, waters claimed wholly or in part by China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.
But Chinese President Hu Jintao has made clear he wants to avoid repeating the rifts that soured ties with Washington in the first half of 2011. Hu retires from power late in 2012 and his almost-certain successor, Vice President Xi Jinping, is likely to visit the United States in coming months.Image caption Ashley Waterhouse said the decision to lie was his alone
A candidate for Derby City Council has apologised for using a false name in a BBC phone-in about honesty in politics.
Ashley Waterhouse, 22, a Conservative standing in the Normanton ward, rang Radio Derby's breakfast show calling himself "Paul in Normanton".
His voice and number were recognised and, after initial denials, Mr Waterhouse admitted he had lied.
Derby South Conservative Association said it had rejected his resignation, calling the deception a "mistake".
Mr Waterhouse had called Monday's breakfast show but had been told that as a candidate in May's election he could not take part.
He then rang back as Paul to support calls for politicians to face more rigorous screening of their backgrounds.
'Elaborate excuses'
Mr Waterhouse, posing as Paul, was again asked if he was taking part in the elections.
Phil Trow, the host of the breakfast show, said: "He said no at that point.
"When we discovered it was his phone number, we phoned him back and asked him whether he was Ashley Waterhouse. He denied it then.
"We phoned him back three times and had three different conversations and he came up with a whole list of elaborate excuses.
"Eventually he phoned back and did confess."
'Not perfect'
Asked why he had used a false name, Mr Waterhouse, said: "At the end of the day we all make mistakes, don't we?"
He added: "As the joke goes, 'how can you tell a politician is lying? Because he moves his lips', as I am now.
"But as I said, it was my decision and not the party's - I am not perfect."
Phil Bailey, chairman of Derby South Conservative Association, said: "I think it was a genuine mistake, I don't think it was deceit and lies.
"I just think he wanted to get his point over and I think it was the only way he could see to do it."“Be gone, I tire of you,” you tell your goldfish.
You can’t bear to kill it, so you dump it in a river or pond, or flush it.
Enter a growing scourge — dinner plate-sized goldfish that do just fine in the wild, growing to enormous size with all that room and elbowing out native fish.
It’s no urban legend — the big fish are increasingly showing up in the Thames River, says John Schwindt, an aquatic biologist with the area conservation authority.
“The Department of Fisheries and Oceans sampling crew found them in the main Thames, from Delaware right up to London,” he said.
Aquarium fish are often tossed into waterways or flushed down the toilet live, passing through the sewage system during high waters or flooding.
Goldfish stay small in contained areas, but can grow and reproduce fast with the glass walls gone, said Schwindt.
So far, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority has found 36 goldfish in 22 locations along the Thames or areas it drains.
“Goldfish have remarkable reproductive potential. They spawn throughout the spring and summer and lay lots of eggs, so you just get a whole lot of goldfish competing with everything else for food.”
Goldfish can eat just about anything they can get in their mouths and can survive very poor and harsh environmental conditions.
“They manage to survive for many winters. They seem to be quite hearty in this area,” Schwindt said.
But the outsider fish can also squeeze out native fish.
“One of the ponds we worked on, we had bass and white suckers in the pond but they weren’t able to reproduce,” said Schwindt. “The goldfish fed on their eggs.”
Goldfish blend easily into new environments, eventually turning grey and dull brown colours.
Losing their bright orange hue makes goldfish less likely to
be eaten themselves, said Schwindt.
Schwindt said he’s seen goldfish about 40 centimetres long, but they can reach up to half a metre.
The problem is only growing, he said.
“Don’t release them and don’t flush them. If you have to get rid of them, euthanize them. Or try and find a new home for them,” he said.
– – –
GOLDFISHThe meetings between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in Vienna (May 16) and St. Petersburg (June 20), following a dangerous flare-up of tensions on the frontline in early April 2016, produced hope for tangible progress in the long-deadlocked Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. However, the lack of progress since then and the increased ceasefire violations reveal that discussions of a real breakthrough are still premature. Although the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan are likely to meet on the margins of the OSCE Ministerial gathering in Hamburg on December 8, no one holds high expectations about the outcome of the meeting ( Commonspaces, November 16). Actually, since the end of the summer, hopes for peace seem to be replaced by increased efforts to build new military deterrence and counter-deterrence capabilities via rearming and large-scale military drills.
Immediately after the April escalation, Armenia pushed forward with the delivery of new weapons and sophisticated equipment from Russia, based on the $200 million military loan agreement from July 2015 ( Azatutyun.am, April 15). Part of it was demonstrated at the Independence Day military parade in Yerevan on September 21. Armenia particularly showcased its Iskander missiles, Smerch multiple rocket launchers (MLRS), Buk surface-to-air missile launchers and radars (albeit without any missiles), and new T-90 main battle tanks that the country previously did not possess ( ArmeniaWeekly, September 22, Janes, September 23). Yerevan also announced a deal with Russia on the delivery of six ТОС-1А “Solntsepyok” thermobaric flamethrowers (1news.az, November 14).
Among the newly acquired weapons, the Russian-made short-range ballistic Iskander missiles were the most serious addition to Armenia’s military arsenal, although it has yet to become clear who controls the “launch button” of this formidable weapon. Ownership of the missiles was not clarified immediately after the parade, which led to speculation that they are from the inventory of Russia’s 102nd military base in Armenia, which reportedly acquired an Iskander back in 2013 ( Vestnik Kafkaza, September 29). Armenia’s Ministry of Defense only confirmed a month after the parade that the demonstrated missiles were Armenian property and they are indeed 500km (310 miles) range Iskander-Ms. However, it is not clear how Russia could export Iskander-Ms to Armenia, since according to the Missile Technology Control Regime (Russia is a member since 1995), the maximum allowed range of exported ballistic missiles is 300km. Moreover, the 2015 military loan agreement with Russia never included delivery of Iskanders ( Janes, September 23), and although Russia sells weapons to Armenia at discount prices, Armenia hardly possess the financial means to purchase Iskanders that cost a few hundred million USD (EDM, September 23).
In general, Russia has always been very reluctant to hand in such advanced missile technology to anyone, including its closest ally Belarus. Thus, if the major aim of demonstrating Iskanders was to deter Azerbaijan, it was also calculated to counter accusations among the Armenian public that Russia betrayed its ally during the April 2016 escalation leaving it alone against Azerbaijan, which is also armed with Russian-made weapons ( Vestnik Kafkaza, September 29).
If parading Iskanders was in part designed to frighten Baku, it achieved the opposite, generating a harsh reaction in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov instructed the Armed Forces to increase monitoring of Armenia’s strategic and military facilities, to identify and prioritize new targets and be ready to destroy them if necessary (see EDM, September28), presumably Iskanders and Smerch MLRSs being among such key targets. Azerbaijan also introduced the domestically built Zerbe kamikaze drone at ADEX-2016 Defense Exhibition at the end of September, which is capable of attacking some of Armenia’s long range weapons, stationed behind the line of contact (APA.az, September 21). It was also announced that Turkey has finalized delivery of 21 T-300 Kasirga multi-barrel rocket launchers (100–120km engagement range) to Azerbaijan ( Azernews, September 21). Yavar Jamalov, Azerbaijan’s Defense Industry Minister, also revealed that the negotiations are underway with foreign partners to bring 280-km (173 miles) range ballistic missile technology to Azerbaijan (Report.az, September 27).
Baku has made an amendment to its draft budget law, which entailed a major increase in projected military spending for 2017. According to the amended draft law, defense spending is increased to AZN 2.642 billion ($1.55 billion), a 63 percent increase from the initially proposed AZN 1,026 billion (News.az, November 17). In general, Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s military spending for the past decade were the largest in the whole post-Soviet region in terms of military budget to GDP ratio. According to Bloomberg, Azerbaijan and Armenia together spent almost $27 billion on defense in 2005–2015 (Bloomberg, November 13).
Along with increased armament efforts, the region also witnessed new large-scale military drills over the last few months. Armenia held a number of drills in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan between the end of September and mid-November, during which artillery strikes were clearly heard from nearby Azerbaijani villages located along the line of contact (APA, September 27, APA, October 27, 1news.az, November 8). Not surprisingly, many of these drills coincided with the fiercest ceasefire violations, a number of which have significantly increased since the end of summer. Three Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in the skirmishes since September, while the Armenian side lost at least six servicemen during cease-fire violations. The period between October 31 and November 2 witnessed one of the most serious and continuous ceasefire violation along the line of contact and other bordering areas between Armenia and Azerbaijan, involving the use of large-caliber mortars, grenade launchers, and heavy machine guns, a rare event since the April escalation ( Azertag, October 31, Trend, November 3).
As a response to the exercises in the occupied territories, Azerbaijan launched large-scale drills of its own from November 12 to 18, involving 60,000 troops, fifty aircraft, 150 tanks and armored combat vehicles, and hundreds of artillery and rocket launchers and drones (Trend, November 12). This came in addition to five-day long drills of artillery and rocket troops held at the end of September (Ministry of Defense, September 26).
Thus, while the peace negotiations are effectively stalled, the focus is shifting away from peace negotiations, and toward armament efforts. Whilst receiving scarce media attention internationally, events on the front line also continue to be very tense, threatening to trigger new and more dangerous rounds of escalations in the Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.Coverage of the recent AIPAC conference naturally gave the lion’s share of attention to President Obama’s speech, in which he did his best to placate the most powerful lobby in Washington. The speech, in itself, was a yawner, in that nothing really new was said: the news value was that the President felt compelled to make it. Far more interesting, in terms of content, however – and far less reported on – was AIPAC director Howard Kohr’s peroration, in which he gave the conference attendees what they came there for: red meat. Reddest of all – an argument against US evenhandedness in managing the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
Outlining the principles that ought to govern US-Israeli relations, Kohr said the first is "trust and confidence between the leaders of Israel and the United States." What’s interesting is how he defines this "trust." According to Kohr
"If Israel’s foes come to believe that there is diplomatic daylight between the United States and Israel, they will have every incentive to try to exploit those differences and shun peace with the Jewish state. That is why it is so important that America and Israel work out whatever differences arise between them privately, and when tensions do arise, that the leaders work together to close those gaps."
Translation: The President of United States must never ever criticize Israel in public, no matter what.
This "no criticism" injunction leads naturally to the second of Kohr’s principles governing US-Israeli relations:
"The second principle is for America to play its role as honest broker. And let us be clear: That should not be confused with even-handedness. Part of being an honest broker is being honest. One party in this process is our ally — with whom we share values and strategic interests.
"In a world which is demonstrably on the side of the Palestinians and Arabs — where Israel stands virtually alone — the United States has a special role to play. When the United States is even-handed, Israel is automatically at a disadvantage, tilting the diplomatic playing field overwhelmingly toward the Palestinians and Arabs."
Aside from the illogic of such an argument – isn’t a "broker" supposed to be objective, by definition? – one has to stand back and admire the sheer extremism of this stance. Justice is irrelevant, as is America’s national interest: we must take Israel’s side no matter what. That’s being "honest," which must never be confused with taking an "even-handed" approach.
The rationale for this lopsided worldview is that we live in "a world which is demonstrably on the side of the Palestinians and Arabs, where Israel stands virtually alone."
It’s true that Israel stands virtually alone, and yet one has to ask: why is that? Is the whole world awash in a wave of virulent anti-Semitism, or do the policies of the current Israeli government have something to do with it? Like all extremists, Kohr believes alone-ness imbues his cause (in this case, Israel) with some special virtue: besieged by an uncomprehending, inherently hostile, and downright evil world, the extremist perceives his isolation as a badge of honor.
Kohr can’t permit himself to ask the obvious question of why Israel faces a future of growing isolation, for fear the answer would make his head explode: the widespread recognition that the actions of the Israeli government are immoral and impermissible. In making his appeal for unconditional support of Israel, Kohr wisely avoids making any moral argument and instead invokes our formal relationship with Israel as an "ally," along with some vague talk about shared "values and strategic interests."
Yet there is nothing vague about the growing divergence of American and Israeli strategic interests, a process which started when the Berlin Wall fell and is still playing itself out. The US-Israeli "special relationship" took shape as a consequence of the worldwide face-off between the West and the Soviet bloc. During the cold war era, Israel was taken into the "Free World" camp after the Soviet Union’s initially friendly relationship with the Israelis turned sour and the Kremlin began to tilt toward the Arab states, such as Syria.
When the cold war ended, however, the entire framework of the "special relationship" crumbled, and there was nothing to replace it. Although the Israeli leadership has maintained the 9/11 terrorist attacks meant that Israel and the US must draw closer together – supposedly because we’re facing "the same enemy" – the strategic interests of the US dictate a quite different course. To give unconditional support to the Israelis means, in effect, ceding the entire Arab world to the likes of al-Qaeda, and making mortal enemies of a billion-plus Muslims.
If our strategic interests have diverged, so, also, have our values: Israeli society has undergone a radical change since the cold war era, both culturally and politically. The influx of immigrants, especially from Russia, has transformed what was formerly a European colony, with a strong democratic heritage, into a fundamentalist enclave that looks to an older and decidedly illiberal tradition. With the rise of openly racist demagogues of Avigdor Lieberman‘s ilk, even Israel’s most fervent defenders have to recognize that the change in Israel is not for the better. If present trends continue – if the Arab minority continues to grow, and the repression accelerates alongside this demographic time-bomb – then Israel cannot last much longer as a state that is both Jewish and a liberal democracy in the Western sense.
The irony – and tragedy – is that Kohr invokes our supposedly shared values just as they are vanishing in Israel. Kohr is blind to the growing extremism that dominates Israeli politics because he has become its chief spokesman in the US. The fanatic cannot see himself as others see him, and so what outsiders perceive as arrogance he sees as evidence of strength: what seems to the rest of us like a distorted and one-sided view is, to the extremist, a perfectly reasonable and even generous stance. This is how it is possible to believe that the US must subsidize Israel to the tune of $3 billion a year – and keep silent when our money is spent on illegal "settlements." This is how one comes to equate being an "honest broker" with favoring one side over the other.
Amid some conditional and begrudging praise for the "Arab Spring," Kohr complains that the demonstrations in the streets of Arab cities have taken the focus away from the real problem, the central problem of our times:
"In January and February, we had momentum when it came to Iran. Then the Arab demonstrations began — and the focus shifted. Nations everywhere began dealing with the very legitimate challenges and problems that the turmoil presented, and suddenly the world was not talking about Iran with the same sense of clarity and purpose."
The monomania of the true fanatic brooks no rivals.
For decades, the Israelis have had an easy time of it: their propaganda in the US successfully created the image of an island of prosperity and democracy in a region where both are in short supply. Yet the page is turning on this happy illusion, and the Israelis, as well as their amen corner in the US, are all too aware of this shift in public perception. And make no mistake: for them, public perception is everything. As a settler colony, Israel is totally dependent on the outside world for its survival: a cut-off or even a substantial reduction in that aid would mean the end of the Jewish state in very short order.
The Israeli lobby, reflecting the cultural and political changes in Israel, has become so unbalanced and extreme that its public pronouncements and actions have about them the air of parody. It’s true their political clout remains just as formidable as it ever was, but one can’t help wondering how long they’ll get to enjoy it. As America’s ability to determine the course of events in the Middle East begins to wane, and as our willingness to put up with constant Israeli demands begins to wear thin, the "special relationship" will either take on an entirely new cast, or else give way to open hostility and recriminations on both sides.
NOTES IN THE MARGIN
I just want to remind you that Antiwar.com has stood – yes, "virtually alone," as Howard Kohr would put it – against the Israel lobby. When the Lobby started agitating for war against Iraq, we called them out: when they ramped up their campaign to get the US to attack Iran, we identified them as the spearhead of the War Party and didn’t hesitate to name AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups as the main danger to peace. For this we’ve been vilified and relentlessly smeared – but that’s the price of speaking truth to power, and we will not be silenced by any fifth column. What could silence us, however, is a lack of support from our readers – those same readers who, over the course of 15 years, have stood by us through thick and thin.
That’s why it’s vitally important that you make your contribution to Antiwar.com today – before we have to begin to make major cutbacks, and perhaps even consider closing down this web site. Because that’s what will happen if our fundraising doesn’t pick up rather quickly.
We’ve managed to raise matching funds from three generous donors to the tune of $25,000 – if we can match that with an influx of donations of $100 and over. This is literally our last hope of survival – and our fate is now in your hands. Please – give as much as you can, as soon as you can. Save Antiwar.com – donate today.
Read more by Justin RaimondoPlease turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Sensitive information for shooting down intercontinental missiles as well as bank details and NHS records was found on old computers, researchers say. Of 300 hard disks bought randomly at computer fairs and an online auction site, 34% still held personal data. Researchers from BT and the University of Glamorgan bought disks from the UK, America, Germany, France and Australia. The information was enough to expose individuals and firms to fraud and identity theft, said the researchers. Professor Andrew Blyth said: "It's not rocket science - we used standard tools to analyse the data". The research involving the Welsh campus was led by BT's Security Research Centre and included researchers at Edith Cowan University in Australia and Longwood University in the US. In addition to finding bank account details and medical records, the work unearthed job descriptions and personal identity numbers as well as data about a proposed $50bn currency exchange through Spain. A majority of organisations and private individuals still have no idea about the potential volume and type of information that is stored on computer hard disks
Dr Andy Jones, BT Details of test launch procedures for the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defence) ground-to-air missile defence system were found on a disk bought on eBay. The missile system, tested as recently as March 2009 following a controversial missile test by North Korea, is designed to destroy long-range intercontinental missiles launched by terrorists or countries the US considers to be "rogue states". The missile system was designed and built by US defence group Lockheed Martin and the same computer hard disk also revealed security policies and blueprints of facilities at the group, and personal information on employees. The researchers said a disk from France included security logs from an embassy in Paris, while two disks from the UK appear to have originated from a Scottish health board. Drives were bought in America, the UK, Germany, France and Australia The disks had information from the Monklands and Hairmyres hospitals, part of Lanarkshire health board, and revealed patient medical records, images of x-rays, medical staff shifts and sensitive and confidential staff letters. Another disk, from a US-based consultant, formerly with a US-based weapons manufacturer, revealed account numbers and details of proposals for the $50bn currency exchange as well as details of business dealings between organisations in the US, Venezuela, Tunisia and Nigeria. Personal correspondence was also found from a member of a major European bank. 'Illegal' Prof Blyth, an expert in computer forensics and principal lecturer at the University of Glamorgan's faculty of advanced technology, said the results were in line with previous studies which showed 40%-50% of second-hand disks that can be powered up contained sensitive data. He said: "While it's not getting worse, its not getting any better either. "It's not rocket science. I could probably take somebody who is 14 or 15 years old and in a day have them doing this." Dr Andy Jones, head of information security research at BT, said: "It is clear that a majority of organisations and private individuals still have no idea about the potential volume and type of information that is stored on computer hard disks. "Businesses also need to be aware that they could also be acting illegally by not disposing of this kind of data properly." In a statement, Lanarkshire health board said: "This study refers to hard disks which were disposed of in 2006. At that time NHS Lanarkshire had a contractual agreement with an external company for the disposal of computer equipment. "In this instance the hard drives had been subjected to a basic level of data removal by the company and had then been disposed of inappropriately. This was clearly in breach of contract and was wholly unacceptable." The board has carried out a review of its policies and now no longer uses external companies to dispose of IT equipment, the statement added. A spokesman for Lockheed Martin said the company was not aware of any "compromise of data" related to the THAAD programme, and no government or law enforcement agency had notified it of any such loss. The results of the study, the fourth in a five-year project, will be made available in a paper appearing in the next issue of the Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology (JICLT) 2009.
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StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable versionWhen the oversized postcard arrived last August from Provena St. Joseph Medical Center promoting a lung cancer screening for current or former smokers over 55, Steven Boyd wondered how the hospital had found him.
Boyd, 59, of Joliet, Ill., had smoked for decades, as had his wife, Karol.
Provena didn’t send the mailing to everyone who lived near the hospital, just those who had a stronger likelihood of having smoked based on their age, income, insurance status and other demographic criteria.
The nonprofit center is one of a growing number of hospitals using their patients’ health and financial records to help pitch their most lucrative services, such as cancer, heart and orthopedic care. As part of these direct mail campaigns, they are also buying detailed information about local residents compiled by consumer marketing firms — everything from age, income and marital status to shopping habits and whether they have children or pets at home.
Hospitals say they are promoting needed services, such as cancer screenings and cholesterol tests, but they often use the data to target patients with private health insurance, which typically pay higher rates than government coverage. At an industry conference last year, Provena Health marketing executive Lisa Lagger said such efforts had helped attract higher-paying patients, including those covered by “profitable Blue Cross and less Medicare.”
Strategy Draws Fire
While the strategies are increasing revenues, they are drawing fire from patient advocates and privacy groups, who criticize the hospitals for using private medical records to pursue profits.
Boyd stands outside his home holding a marketing flyer from Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center (Photo for USA Today by Brett T. Roseman).
Doug Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, a California-based consumer advocacy group, says he is bothered by efforts to “cherry pick” the best-paying patients.
“When marketing is picking and choosing based on people’s financial status, it is inherently discriminating against patients who have every right and need for medical information,” Heller says. “This is another example of how our health system has gone off the rails.”
Deven McGraw, director of the health privacy project at the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington, says federal law allows hospitals to use confidential medical records to inform patients about things that may help them.
“You want health providers to communicate to patients about health options that may be beneficial to their health,” McGraw says. “But sometimes this is about generating business for a new piece of equipment that the hospital just bought.”
Using such information for marketing “creeps closer to the line,” between what is legal and what is not, she says.
Hospital officials such as Denise Beaudoin of Detroit’s Henry Ford Health System, say what they do is legal and that the sophisticated targeting approach– called “customer relationship marketing” – simply helps them deliver information to the people most likely to use it.
They say hospitals are adopting strategies used for decades by the retail, travel and communications industries, which have flourished with the growth of online companies such as Amazon and Google. Buy a book on Amazon and it will suggest a title with similar subject. Search for information on Alaskan vacations on Google, and an ad pops up for a cruise line.
HCA, Trinity Use Approach
At a time when government and private insurers are tightening reimbursements, more hospitals are turning to the same approach to drive admissions. An estimated 20 percent of them, including large academic medical centers and large chains, such as Nashville-based HCA and Novi, Mich.-based Trinity Health, now use the strategy. And the trend is expected to accelerate as more hospitals adopt electronic health records, says Guy Miller, a Chicago health care consultant.
Tess Niehaus, vice president of marketing at St. Anthony’s Medical Center in St. Louis, says the approach has been quite successful and makes no apologies for going after the most lucrative business.
“We are here to serve everybody but we market for good paying patients because it preserves our ability to serve everyone,” she says.
St. Anthony’s marketers use patient data to personalize mailings with an individual’s name and a picture of someone of similar age or gender. It is more expensive, but the strategy results in better response rates, she says. From October 2010 through July 2011, St. Anthony’s spent $25,000 on a targeted mailing to 40,000 women for mammogram screenings. The letters led 1,000 women to get the test, which generated $530,000 in revenue from screenings, biopsies and other related services, she says.
To help devise the campaigns, hospitals like St. Anthony’s share patient data with marketing staff and outside consultants. Anyone with access to patient records is required by federal law to sign nondisclosure agreements.
‘I Am Really Bothered’
While the practice is legal, most people would be shocked to know their records may be shared with nonmedical personnel and outside firms to help hospitals attract business, says Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum, an advocacy group based in California. “I am really bothered by the overabundance of information that is flowing that is unnecessary and risky,” she says.
While hospitals may profit from offering cholesterol tests and mammograms, the big payoff is in what those screenings may lead to – additional tests and procedures, including surgery.
“It’s all about downstream revenue,” says Patrick Kane, senior vice president of marketing at Cape Cod Healthcare in Massachusetts who used such approaches at Wellmont Health System in Kingsport, Tenn. “The old adage in business is that it’s easier to sell an existing customer new services, rather than find a new customer.”
Provena’s six hospitals in Illinois embraced targeted marketing in 2010, mailing information about screenings and educational events to 293,000 people. The mailings led to more than 50,000 patient visits – a 17 percent response rate, several times that typically seen in direct mail efforts, according to the industry presentation hospital officials made last year in Orlando. After accounting for marketing costs, those visits netted the system $595,000.
Some of its individual hospitals, made much higher returns. Provena St. Mary’s Hospital in Kankakee, Ill., made a $22,000 profit from a school physicals campaign, for instance, after spending $2,000 in marketing, according to the presentation.
Provena’s Lagger says the approach boosted the system’s bottom line so it could serve people regardless of insurance status. “This is a means to an end,” she says.
Tracking The Results
One of the biggest pluses for hospital executives is that they can track a campaign’s financial success by comparing the amount of services used by targeted consumers against those in a control group with the same demographic and economic characteristics, but who are not sent mailings.
When the Henry Ford Health System promoted mammograms last year in mailings to 30,000 women aged 40 or older, more than 5,700 responded — 304 more than in the control group. The mailings generated $268,000 more in profit than the control group — a return of more than four to one on the cost of the campaign, says Denise Beaudoin, vice president of customer engagement.
“Some doctors used to be leery about the effectiveness of these marketing campaigns, but not when we can show them data like this,” she says.
Beaudoin acknowledges that “it’s kind of scary how much data we have on people, but from our perspective, it’s good because we are reaching the right people at the right time for the service they need.”
Mercy Health Partners in western Michigan, part of the 47-hospital nonprofit Trinity Health system, sent a targeted cardiac screening mailing last year to 7,450 people. That resulted in 1,729 patient visits, or 7 percent more than in a control group. The campaign, which cost about $10,000, generated about $1 million in revenue and about $50,000 in profit.
“It’s a much more efficient use of marketing dollars,” says Preston Gee, Trinity’s senior vice president of strategic planning. “People like having information tailored to their own needs.”
‘Glad I Had The Test’
Much of the expertise for such campaigns is provided by three consulting firms — CPM Marketing of Madison, Wis., Medseek of Birmingham Ala. and New York-based Thomson Reuters. They typically charge hospitals $100,000 a year or more.
CPM, which merged in November with Denver, Colo.-based HealthGrades, a health ratings firm, added 100 new hospitals last year to give it a total of 400. Medseek works with more than 250 hospitals and Thomson Reuters, with 150.
“There are a lot of very rich data in health care beyond just age and gender that help steer or guide people to health services,” says John Hallick, president of CPM. “All of these things impact health, and some are better than others and you pick and choose.”
Boyd, the Joliet man who works as a home inspector, was not upset that Provena Health used information about him and his wife — both former patients — to pitch screening tests. “We lost our privacy long ago and I don’t like to think about all the information that’s out there about us.”
Provena Marketing Manager Richard Matula would not say why the Boyds were included in the mailing, citing patient privacy laws. Patients’ smoking status was not used to develop the mailing list, he says.
The targeting worked in the case of Boyd, who called the number on the back and scheduled the CT scan a few days later. The $169 test showed his lungs were clear, but found potential blockages in coronary arteries that his Provena-affiliated doctor is monitoring.
“In hindsight, I’m glad I had the test,” he says.Advertisement 2 women found drunk in Salem parking lot with infants, police say Baylie Lecolst, Amber Giordano face charges Share Shares Copy Link Copy
Two women are facing charges after they were accused of being drunk at a Salem shopping mall with their infant children.Click to watch News 9's coverage.Police said a shopper called them when he noticed one of the women lying in a puddle holding her baby above her head. Officials described the two women as so drunk they could hardly stand.Police were called to the Mall at Rockingham Park at 6:15 p.m. Monday."Actually, one of them was lying on the ground in a puddle, and a puddle in a parking lot has grease and oil in it and some water, and she was holding the infant above her head," Capt. Joel Dolan said.Investigators said Baylie Lecolst, 22, and Amber Giordano, 24, admitted that they had been consuming alcohol during the day. But beyond that, police said, the two friends were uncooperative, and the booking process took four hours."During the booking process, the shift commander was holding one of the babies for a while, as well as the dispatchers were helping out holding the babies," Dolan said.One baby was 1 month old, and the other was 4 months old, police said. Dolan said the shift commander gave an order Monday night that he has likely never given before in his career."He had to order her to stop breastfeeding," Dolan said.Police were concerned that the woman was so drunk that the child could have been affected. A local lactation specialist told News 9 that women who have more than a glass or two of wine are advised not to breastfeed their babies because although it's diluted, alcohol does pass into breast milk.The babies were released into the custody of their grandparents. Lecolst and Giordano were charged with misdemeanor counts of child endangerment. They were released on personal-recognizance bail and are scheduled to be back in court Oct. 31.Get the WMUR app12967056540 SHARES Share Tweet
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Search is currently being conducted by detectives to find out about his whereabouts.
UPDATE, July 15, 12:45 PM — Richard may be in Calgary at this point, as Heather informs she has received information stating that Richard more than likely took a ride down to Calgary via bus on Monday. “He had no ID, no phone, no bank card, not even an extra change of clothes,” Heather states.
Richard Goh has been reported missing to the Edmonton Police Service by his wife Heather Downey sometime on July 12th.
Richard was last seen or heard from on Monday, July 11 as he left his home at 8:30 AM, marking today as the 3rd day without any news on his current status or situation.
The Edmonton Police Service have yet to write about Richard’s disappearance on their website or social media, but let’s please get together and share this story with every Edmontonian you know.
Heather informs that detectives with the EPS have searched nearby rivers via boat and helicopter for hours, but have found nothing yet.
His wife Heather writes on Facebook:
When asked if there was anything Heather would like to say to our readers, she said:
Just let everyone know that he is a dedicated family man whom this is very out of character for, and we are all alarmed and horrifically worried about his disappearance Heather Downey
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
A second photo of Richard Goh:
Heather gives her thanks to everyone for their thoughts, support and love during these hard times.Image caption Laurence MacKenzie said he believed firmly in the principles of responsibility and accountability
The chief executive of Northern Ireland Water has stepped down following Christmas shortages that left tens of thousands of homes without supplies.
Laurence MacKenzie's departure was announced after an eight-hour meeting of the NI Water board of directors.
The company was criticised for failing to prepare properly for disruption following |
therapists appeared at my front door on a humid July morning to conduct an evaluation. At 14 months, my girl had just learned to walk, and she careened around the living room like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in Ghostbusters: reckless and destructive, smiling maniacally, drunk on her new upright power.
The therapists cajoled and waited patiently, but my daughter could not be bothered to complete many of the evaluative tasks. If she could have spoken, I’m sure she would have said, “Whatever, you guys.” I felt myself grow impatient, then angry with her. What was wrong with my daughter? Why couldn’t she do this? When I asked if she might be a little young to take such a long test, a therapist said gently, “Most children her age can complete the evaluation.”
The paperwork arrived soon after: multiple developmental delays, mild to moderate, in every category: cognitive, spatial, social-emotional.
The therapists came every Thursday. They taught my daughter to ask for help so she could avoid the frustration of not being able to communicate, but their presence only amplified my anxiety. Was she making progress, and quickly enough? Against their wishes, I began urging my daughter to repeat words I said. “Car.” “Ball.” “Moo.” One morning, sitting on the playroom floor, she refused. I shouted at her, and she began to wail.
How I wish I could erase that horrible moment. I’ve spent years in therapy excavating my endless, often fruitless drive to overachieve. I have learned that being successful hasn’t made me happy. It’s just made me successful. I even call myself a recovering overachiever. But, as a parent, I had relapsed.
From that day forward, I resolved to make a change. I unsubscribed from paranoia-inducing BabyCenter emails (Ball, dog, and bye may be your child’s favorite words at 14 months, but not mine), and tried to refocus my obsession with my daughter’s progress. I began observing her other qualities, which I am embarrassed to admit I either hadn’t noticed or valued before: her curiosity, her kindness, her fearless sense of adventure, and her playfulness. My daughter loved animals, jumping off a pile of pillows, and FaceTime with her grandmother.
I also noticed, and valued, a change in me. The rewards that come with celebrating my girl’s rich character have given me permission to see the fullness of my own. Even though she couldn’t speak, draw, or write, my toddler daughter communicated to me what years of therapy still hadn’t drummed into my thick skull. I notice now that I’m an adventurous cook, a risk-taker, and a forgiving friend.
About six months ago, my daughter, then 22 months, began scaling play structures meant for preschoolers. She sprinted down the sidewalk at a bewildering speed. A few weeks ago came the first somersault. “She’s so advanced,” murmured one of the other parents. Warmth spread through my chest. “Really?” I asked, as if I didn’t care or notice. The seduction of parenting the exceptional child creeps back so easily. Or it never fully goes away.
When people ask about my kid, I almost always mention the speech delay. I’d like to stop doing that. The decision not to define my daughter by her achievements does not mean it’s fair to label her by what she has yet to accomplish. I hope she’ll forgive me. Her mom has a lot to learn.At first you'll love this tip, then you might hate this tip. Let me explain.
Most of us want more grip strength. It becomes frustrating when a dumbbell starts to slip during rows, or we fail to hit a deadlift PR (personal record) because our grip gave out. And we're not supposed to use straps, right?
That seems to be the general consensus on most lifting forums. But guess what? This is wrong. Yes, you heard me correctly.
Using straps is one of the best ways to improve your grip strength. Here's why.
Most people don't know this but back strength plays a major role in how long you can hold on to something. Simply stated, when your back can't handle a given weight any longer, your brain signals your grip to let go.
What does this mean? The stronger your back is, the better your grip strength will be.
The stronger your back is, the better your grip strength will be.
Using straps allows you to perform better during rows, pull ups and deadlifts. You can hold the bar for nearly as long as you'd like. For some back exercises, such as rows, straps may allow you to use quite a bit more weight. The more weight you use, the faster you gain back strength.
The more reps you can do, the faster you gain back strength. Straps are not a crutch. They are a tool to help you build back strength as rapidly as possible. This will result in greater grip strength. Why did I say you might hate this tip?
It's not solution that can improve your grip strength overnight. You'll run into many people who don't understand the synergy between back strength and grip strength, and they will try to convince you that straps will only weaken your grip.
My Back Strength, My Grip Strength
Until 2007 I avoided straps. Just like you, I thought they would make my grip weak.
So for 21 years I struggled with dumbbell and barbell rows. The most I was ever able to one-arm dumbbell row without straps was 120 pounds by 10 reps. Barbell rows...well, I was just pathetic. I have small German hands, and struggle with lifts that require me to use a double overhand grip.
To give you an example of this, I started deadlifting in 2007 and couldn't pull 315 with a double overhand grip because it would slip. Avoiding lifting straps only made my grip issues worse. My back stayed weak, so my grip stayed weak. Then something interesting happened.
In 2008 I picked up a pair of Versa Gripps. Versa Gripps are a fancy set of lifting straps. They lock down faster and tighter than cloth straps. Instantly I was able to use more than 120 pounds for dumbbell rows. By 2010 I was able to perform a one arm dumbbell row of 265 pounds for 10 reps. Also during this time I was moving up to 405 on barbell rows with reasonably strict form.
When I began using Versa Gripps I also started deadlifting exclusively using a double overhand grip. Two months ago I was able to achieve a 700 pounds deadlift for 2 reps off of a 3 inch block. The point in all this is simple. In 2007 I thought my back was strong, but it wasn't. These days I know my back is strong.
People give me a hard time for using straps, but you know what? When it comes time for me to deadlift without them, my grip is firm and never gives out. Not as of yet, anyway. I was able to attempt a 700 pound deadlift on the powerlifting platform without any grip issues whatsoever.
So to summarize...in 2007 I had grip issues. I allowed my grip strength to limit my back strength. When I started using straps, my back strength went up, and as a result, my grip strength improved.
Even if straps did nothing to help my grip strength, which some may argue, they still helped me to deadlift 700 pounds. Without them my back strength would have remained sub-par, and I may never have pulled over 500 pounds.
Final Words On Grip Strength
I think it's safe to say that most of you are not powerlifters. You will never need to showcase your grip strength on the platform. There's a good chance you simply want to get as big and strong as possible. Therefore, you have no reason to avoid wearing lifting straps.
You have nothing to lose and only good things to gain. Not only will they give you a bigger and stronger back, but they will also help to increase your grip strength.
Let me know what you think in the comment section below. Do you use lifting straps or Versa Gripps? Has anyone told you they are useless?Weekly round up from the religion of horrors
Israelis live under constant threat of attacks that can occur anywhere, anytime, any way – from suicide bombings to stabbings to being run over with cars. (And this doesn’t even address the threat of large-scale attacks that loom on the horizon.) The West has had the relative luxury of looking at Israel from afar and feeling a sense of how different life is here, compared to there. But times are changing as evil gains ground. Westerners can no longer cast their eyes to Israel and sense a great divide between us and them anymore. The Israeli reality has become the West’s reality as we face increasing terror attacks that crop up anywhere, anytime, any way.
These events are no longer occasional (though that would be bad enough). They’re not even every month or two (though that would be bad enough). Jihad has become a daily reality. Here is a sampling from just last week of some of the horror that the religion of horrors served up. Bavaria: A group of Nigerian “refugee” women attacked a refugee center worker, attempting to strangle him while they held their babies in front as human shields so the man would not fight back. (here) Brussels: Muslim adolescent boys sexually assaulted a teenage girl on a train. (here) Denmark: A 15-year-old convert to Islam was arrested for possessing explosives. (here) Canada: Two Muslims attempted to shoot up a nightclub full of people. A Muslim serial rapist was arrested after having raped at least ten teenage girls. (here, here, and here) Germany: Three Muslim teenagers stoned two “transgender” people. (There really is no such thing as a “transgender” person, but for the sake of this report, the term is being used.) The attackers were apprehended and told the police: “such persons must be stoned.” Teenage girls were sexually assaulted and raped by “Syrian migrants” at a swimming pool. A Muslim man kicked a woman in her face and broke her cheekbone while attempting to rape her. Christians continued to be targeted by Muslims at asylum centers. (here, here, here, and here) France: A Muslim teenager attacked a Jewish teacher with a machete and a knife, stating that he was acting in allegiance with the Islamic State. (Life for Jews in France has become so perilous that Jewish men are being urged not to wear yarmulkes in public.) Women continued to come forward to report sexual assaults from New Year’s eve. (here, here, and here) (Cologne, before and after) Norway: A three-year-old boy was raped at an asylum center, likely by several assailants. (here) Switzerland: A Swiss convert to Islam attempted to travel to Syria with her four-year-old son to join the Islamic State. (here) Sweden: A former member of the Taliban ranted and raved on a bus, stating he feels vengeance in his heart, he would like to kill Swedes, and he could eat Swedes, among other threats. (here) United Kingdom: A Muslim woman stabbed a teenage boy on a bus. The boy’s grandmother intervened and the attacker fled the scene. As of this writing, she remains at large. (here) United States: Two people were arrested trying to join the Islamic State. An Iraqi refugee planned to join ISIS, but not before he planned to blow up malls in Houston, stating: “I am against America.” A Muslim man was indicted for joining al-Shabaab. It was discovered that the Muslim who attempted to execute a Philadelphia police officer was part of a terror cell. A Muslim man who is likely a terrorist attempted to extort a large sum of money from couple who tried to help him. (here, here, here, here, and here) Note: This list is not exhaustive, does not include jihad attacks elsewhere around the world, creeping Sharia, daily acts of dhimmitude, the evil truth that is yet to be unearthed regarding Iran and our sailors, Guantanamo detainees who’ve been released, the Muslim Brotherhood advance, refugee resettlement (hijra), or attacks and threats we do not know about for any number of reasons, As you read these words, jihadists are plotting and planning. What will next week hold? Hat tips: Jihad Watch, Atlas Shrugs, Religion of Peace, Creeping Sharia, Bare Naked Islam, Breitbart, Truth Revolt, Daily Mail, The Telegraphs, Express, Global News, Reuters, Fox News, NBC, and the Jerusalem PostAppearing on CNN Monday shortly before the one and only hearing on Republican senator’s last-ditch effort to repeal and replace Obamacare, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) admitted his legislation is dead if Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) doesn’t get on board.
“If you lose Susan Collins, it’s over, right?” CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked Cassidy.
“Yes, it is,” he said. “But people in Maine, there will be a billion dollars for Mainers who are lower-income to have coverage, which they do not now have, by the way. Four billion for folks in Virginia. So it’s not just Maine.”
He also said Collins knows that a “smart governor” who knows insurance as well as she does “could do a heck of a lot to provide coverage for people in Maine,” referencing the bill’s main focus of converting Obamacare subsidies to block grants that are controlled by states.
Despite indications in the revised text of the bill that money was moved around to try to calm Collins’ and Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) fears about the legislation, Cassidy said he is not trying to buy her vote.
“No, absolutely not,” he said in response to Blitzer’s question. “We’re also giving four billion to Virginia. Two senators who, even though its going to be good for their state, they’re not going to vote for us, we’re giving, I don’t know, five billion to Missouri. … All this is an attempt to make sure somebody in Maine, Florida or Missouri have the same resources as someone in Pennsylvania, Ohio or New York. And why shouldn’t they?”
Cassidy’s comments come after revisions were made to the text late Sunday night in an attempt to get Republican dissenters like Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), as well as Collins and Murkowski on board.Despite Scrutiny, Rikers Island's 'Culture Of Violence' Persists, Report Says
Enlarge this image toggle caption Mark Lennihan/AP Mark Lennihan/AP
The New York jail complex Rikers Island maintains a "culture of violence" among both inmates and staff, despite efforts to improve conditions at the storied correctional facility, according to a recent government report.
The court-mandated report said staff on the island "relish confrontation" with inmates, rather than avoid it. It described incidents such as a senior corrections officer using pepper spray on an inmate who was in restraints, and other incidents of unnecessarily kicking and stomping inmates.
Filed by an independent monitoring group, the report has fueled calls to shut down the jail complex because of its level of violence.
Rikers, a 400-acre island in the East River, serves as New York City's main jail complex, a warren of 10 distinct facilities managed by the New York City Department of Correction. The island also houses a bakery, firehouse, over 1,000 parking spaces and a power plant. The jail complex is one of the best-known in the U.S., both for its frequent role in television crime dramas and for coming under national criticism for its conditions.
The majority of those held at Rikers' jail facilities are awaiting trial; the rest are serving short sentences for low-level offenses. According to the recently released report, the island detains an average of 9,300 people per day.
The panel that authored the report was tasked with analyzing changes by the NYC DOC, to see if correction staff's use of unnecessary force was reduced as a result, and if they have prevented inmate-on-inmate violence.
Although overall inmate-on-inmate violence has reduced, the overall rate of use of force by correction officers has slightly increased.
Elias Husamudeen, president of the New York City correction officers' union, the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, Inc. rejects the monitor report, saying the heightened scrutiny and report findings are disingenuous to the reality of what happens at the facilities. With the high level of violence on Rikers Island and dangerous work conditions for correction officers, Husamudeen says they should be "getting a medal from the monitor, as opposed to saying there's excessive use of force."
"Most of [the uses of force are] because correction officers have to break up fights between inmates," Husamudeen added. "I think the monitor is disingenuous to say the least. To say the least – disingenuous at what [the monitor group] is saying, that there's an excessive use of force."
But for activists like Glenn E. Martin, working to close the jail complex, the report just validates the arguments he has been making in the fight against Rikers.
"When I think about the report, for people who have served time on Rikers, none of that is surprising," Martin, founder and president of JustLeadershipUSA said.
Martin is a well-known advocate for criminal justice reform, having worked with criminal justice reform organizations since the early 2000's. Last year, he began spearheading the #CloseRikers campaign, pressuring public officials to shut down the jail.
When it comes to Rikers, Martin is familiar with the situation: He was incarcerated there twice, the first time as a 16-year-old for shoplifting.
"I stayed there for two days and was stabbed four times on the second day," Martin said. "The fourth time in my neck, with a pen that was melted and fashioned into a knife."
Six years later, Martin spent a year as an inmate on Rikers Island, and then six years in a New York State prison for robbery.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Spencer Platt/Getty Images Spencer Platt/Getty Images
"What's most interesting about that is, after the first experience on Rikers years earlier, this time on my way back I remembered the culture and I knew I needed to be part of the violent culture — because the only way to avoid violence on Rikers was to be violent on Rikers," Martin said. "So I remember going to Rikers and immediately creating turmoil and getting into fights, and showing other people there that I wasn't going to be a victim this time."
The findings
Martin is now 46 years old. Even though more than 20 years have passed since his time on Rikers, he said this new report shows little has changed regarding the island's "culture of violence."
In 2011, a group of detainees filed a lawsuit against the NYC DOC — called Nunez and United States v. City of New York — for cruel and unusual punishment. In 2013, the suit was filed as a class action. Inmates alleged correctional officers would take detainees to areas without surveillance cameras or witnesses and beat them.
In 2015 the Justice Department intervened, and a consent settlement was reached, which included more than 300 provisions the NYC DOC was tasked to implement. The changes included an improvement to internal policies, more conflict resolution training for staff, more security cameras, and enforced disciplinary actions for staff violating use-of-force guidelines.
To make sure the various changes from the Nunez decision were being implemented, the Southern District Court of New York organized a monitoring group to audit the Rikers facilities. This newest monitor report — the fourth of its kind — studied uses of force on Rikers from the first half of 2017.
The group began analyzing the situation at Rikers in October 2015, and with such short intervals between reports, they recognize major milestones may not be achieved during each monitoring period.
This is not the only instance when changes have been implemented on Rikers. Also in 2015, the NYC DOC began the nearly two-year-long process of ending punitive segregation — also known as solitary confinement — for inmates 21 years of age and younger. This step, along with the other provisions outlined in the Nunez case, are frowned upon by the correction officers' union and Husamudeen, who says heightened regulation is limiting for staff.
"You take away our tools. You take away the things that have been successful that we've used, that have been successful in keeping violence down in NYC jails," Husamudeen says. "You take away punitive segregation — that some people call solitary confinement — you take that away from us for the 16- to 21-year-olds, the most violent population of inmates. You give us nothing in place for it."
The end to the use of punitive segregation on Rikers came after Kalief Browder's case. Browder spent almost three years locked up on Rikers waiting for a trial — mostly in punitive segregation. His robbery charges were eventually dropped, but the psychological effects of his time on Rikers lingered. In 2015, Browder committed suicide at 22-years-old at his mother's house.
According to the report, the NYC DOC has made substantial progress with two provisions: policy and training. Even though there have been improvements with these two provisions, staff continue to employ an unnecessary use of force. The report says some staff "relish confrontation rather than avoid it" and that avoiding confrontation is "anathema" to many supervisors and staff.
"We take seriously our agency's role in ensuring public safety in the city every single day and providing a safe, humane environment for our staff and those in our custody. We all share the same goal: safe jails," DOC Commissioner Cynthia Brann said in a statement. Brann is in charge of Rikers and the other New York City jails.
The 259-page report states year-by-year comparisons suggest use of force "may be increasing a bit."
The report makes it clear that force is justified when dealing with some inmates, particularly to reduce violence on other inmates or officers themselves.
But the report also lists examples of correction staff using excessive force. One account tells of a captain using a crowd-control canister of pepper spray on an inmate who was already restrained and lying face-down on the ground.
From January to June of this year, there were a total of 2,243 instances of use of force, according to the report. From January to June of 2016, there were 2,223 instances of force. Since there has been a decline in the inmate population in the last year, these numbers show there has been a 9 percent per capita increase in the rate of use of force, since the same period last year.
Prospects for closure
In June of this year, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a 10-year plan to close Rikers Island and replace it with a network of smaller jails in the NYC boroughs. This came after consistent grassroots organizing and pressure by activists like Martin and the #CloseRikers campaign.
But Martin is skeptical about the mayor's decade-long plan.
"Obviously, [de Blasio] won't be mayor in 2027," Martin said. "By the mayor coming out and articulating 10 years, to me, 10 years is the equivalent of never."
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, said he would support a bill to close the facilities on Rikers in three years, not 10.
The next monitor report will look at Rikers from July through December of this year and will be released in 2018. In the meantime, Martin and his campaign will continue to pressure the city government.
"Our campaign continues to be strong, we're not going to take our foot off the gas," Martin said.
Read the entirety of the Fourth Nunez Monitoring Report here:
Jose Olivares is a Digital News intern.Algorithm
PageRanks for a simple network, expressed as percentages. (Google uses a Mathematicalfor a simple network, expressed as percentages. (Google uses a logarithmic scale.) Page C has a higher PageRank than Page E, even though there are fewer links to C; the one link to C comes from an important page and hence is of high value. If web surfers who start on a random page have an 85% likelihood of choosing a random link from the page they are currently visiting, and a 15% likelihood of jumping to a page chosen at random from the entire web, they will reach Page E 8.1% of the time. (The 15% likelihood of jumping to an arbitrary page corresponds to a damping factor of 85%.) Without damping, all web surfers would eventually end up on Pages A, B, or C, and all other pages would have PageRank zero. In the presence of damping, Page A effectively links to all pages in the web, even though it has no outgoing links of its own.
PageRank (PR) is an algorithm used by Google Search to rank web pages in their search engine results. PageRank was named after Larry Page,[1] one of the founders of Google. PageRank is a way of measuring the importance of website pages. According to Google:
PageRank works by counting the number and quality of links to a page to determine a rough estimate of how important the website is. The underlying assumption is that more important websites are likely to receive more links from other websites.[2]
Currently, PageRank is not the only algorithm used by Google to order search results, but it is the first algorithm that was used by the company, and it is the best known.[3][4]
Description [ edit ]
Cartoon illustrating the basic principle of PageRank. The size of each face is proportional to the total size of the other faces which are pointing to it.
PageRank is a link analysis algorithm and it assigns a numerical weighting to each element of a hyperlinked set of documents, such as the World Wide Web, with the purpose of "measuring" its relative importance within the set. The algorithm may be applied to any collection of entities with reciprocal quotations and references. The numerical weight that it assigns to any given element E is referred to as the PageRank of E and denoted by P R ( E ). {\displaystyle PR(E).} Other factors like Author Rank can contribute to the importance of an entity.
A PageRank results from a mathematical algorithm based on the webgraph, created by all World Wide Web pages as nodes and hyperlinks as edges, taking into consideration authority hubs such as cnn.com or usa.gov. The rank value indicates an importance of a particular page. A hyperlink to a page counts as a vote of support. The PageRank of a page is defined recursively and depends on the number and PageRank metric of all pages that link to it ("incoming links"). A page that is linked to by many pages with high PageRank receives a high rank itself.
Numerous academic papers concerning PageRank have been published since Page and Brin's original paper.[5] In practice, the PageRank concept may be vulnerable to manipulation. Research has been conducted into identifying falsely influenced PageRank rankings. The goal is to find an effective means of ignoring links from documents with falsely influenced PageRank.[6]
Other link-based ranking algorithms for Web pages include the HITS algorithm invented by Jon Kleinberg (used by Teoma and now Ask.com),the IBM CLEVER project, the TrustRank algorithm and the Hummingbird algorithm.[7]
History [ edit ]
The eigenvalue problem was suggested in 1976 by Gabriel Pinski and Francis Narin, who worked on scientometrics ranking scientific journals,[8] in 1977 by Thomas Saaty in his concept of Analytic Hierarchy Process which weighted alternative choices,[9] and in 1995 by Bradley Love and Steven Sloman as a cognitive model for concepts, the centrality algorithm.[10][11]
Larry Page and Sergey Brin developed PageRank at Stanford University in 1996 as part of a research project about a new kind of search engine.[12] Sergey Brin had the idea that information on the web could be ordered in a hierarchy by "link popularity": a page ranks higher as there are more links to it.[13] Rajeev Motwani and Terry Winograd co-authored with Page and Brin the first paper about the project, describing PageRank and the initial prototype of the Google search engine, published in 1998:[5] shortly after, Page and Brin founded Google Inc., the company behind the Google search engine. While just one of many factors that determine the ranking of Google search results, PageRank continues to provide the basis for all of Google's web-search tools.[14]
The name "PageRank" plays off of the name of developer Larry Page, as well as of the concept of a web page.[15] The word is a trademark of Google, and the PageRank process has been patented (U.S. Patent 6,285,999). However, the patent is assigned to Stanford University and not to Google. Google has exclusive license rights on the patent from Stanford University. The university received 1.8 million shares of Google in exchange for use of the patent; it sold the shares in 2005 for $336 million.[16][17]
PageRank was influenced by citation analysis, early developed by Eugene Garfield in the 1950s at the University of Pennsylvania, and by Hyper Search, developed by Massimo Marchiori at the University of Padua. In the same year PageRank was introduced (1998), Jon Kleinberg published his work on HITS. Google's founders cite Garfield, Marchiori, and Kleinberg in their original papers.[5][18]
A small search-engine called "RankDex" from IDD Information Services, designed by Robin Li, was, from 1996, already exploring a similar strategy for site-scoring and page-ranking.[19] Li patented the technology in RankDex in 1999[20] and used it later when he founded Baidu in China in 2000.[21][22] Larry Page referenced Li's work in some of his U.S. patents for PageRank.[23]
Algorithm [ edit ]
The PageRank algorithm outputs a probability distribution used to represent the likelihood that a person randomly clicking on links will arrive at any particular page. PageRank can be calculated for collections of documents of any size. It is assumed in several research papers that the distribution is evenly divided among all documents in the collection at the beginning of the computational process. The PageRank computations require several passes, called "iterations", through the collection to adjust approximate PageRank values to more closely reflect the theoretical true value.
A probability is expressed as a numeric value between 0 and 1. A 0.5 probability is commonly expressed as a "50% chance" of something happening. Hence, a PageRank of 0.5 means there is a 50% chance that a person clicking on a random link will be directed to the document with the 0.5 PageRank.
Simplified algorithm [ edit ]
Assume a small universe of four web pages: A, B, C and D. Links from a page to itself are ignored. Multiple outbound links from one page to another page are treated as a single link. PageRank is initialized to the same value for all pages. In the original form of PageRank, the sum of PageRank over all pages was the total number of pages on the web at that time, so each page in this example would have an initial value of 1. However, later versions of PageRank, and the remainder of this section, assume a probability distribution between 0 and 1. Hence the initial value for each page in this example is 0.25.
The PageRank transferred from a given page to the targets of its outbound links upon the next iteration is divided equally among all outbound links.
If the only links in the system were from pages B, C, and D to A, each link would transfer 0.25 PageRank to A upon the next iteration, for a total of 0.75.
P R ( A ) = P R ( B ) + P R ( C ) + P R ( D ). {\displaystyle PR(A)=PR(B)+PR(C)+PR(D).\,}
Suppose instead that page B had a link to pages C and A, page C had a link to page A, and page D had links to all three pages. Thus, upon the first iteration, page B would transfer half of its existing value, or 0.125, to page A and the other half, or 0.125, to page C. Page C would transfer all of its existing value, 0.25, to the only page it links to, A. Since D had three outbound links, it would transfer one third of its existing value, or approximately 0.083, to A. At the completion of this iteration, page A will have a PageRank of approximately 0.458.
P R ( A ) = P R ( B ) 2 + P R ( C ) 1 + P R ( D ) 3. {\displaystyle PR(A)={\frac {PR(B)}{2}}+{\frac {PR(C)}{1}}+{\frac {PR(D)}{3}}.\,}
In other words, the PageRank conferred by an outbound link is equal to the document's own PageRank score divided by the number of outbound links L( ).
P R ( A ) = P R ( B ) L ( B ) + P R ( C ) L ( C ) + P R ( D ) L ( D ). {\displaystyle PR(A)={\frac {PR(B)}{L(B)}}+{\frac {PR(C)}{L(C)}}+{\frac {PR(D)}{L(D)}}.\,}
In the general case, the PageRank value for any page u can be expressed as:
P R ( u ) = ∑ v ∈ B u P R ( v ) L ( v ) {\displaystyle PR(u)=\sum _{v\in B_{u}}{\frac {PR(v)}{L(v)}}}
i.e. the PageRank value for a page u is dependent on the PageRank values for each page v contained in the set B u (the set containing all pages linking to page u), divided by the number L(v) of links from page v.
Damping factor [ edit ]
The PageRank theory holds that an imaginary surfer who is randomly clicking on links will eventually stop clicking. The probability, at any step, that the person will continue is a damping factor d. Various studies have tested different damping factors, but it is generally assumed that the damping factor will be set around 0.85.[5] In applications of PageRank to biological data, a Bayesian analysis finds the optimal value of d to be 0.31.[24]
The damping factor is subtracted from 1 (and in some variations of the algorithm, the result is divided by the number of documents (N) in the collection) and this term is then added to the product of the damping factor and the sum of the incoming PageRank scores. That is,
P R ( A ) = 1 − d N + d ( P R ( B ) L ( B ) + P R ( C ) L ( C ) + P R ( D ) L ( D ) + ⋯ ). {\displaystyle PR(A)={1-d \over N}+d\left({\frac {PR(B)}{L(B)}}+{\frac {PR(C)}{L(C)}}+{\frac {PR(D)}{L(D)}}+\,\cdots \right).}
So any page's PageRank is derived in large part from the PageRanks of other pages. The damping factor adjusts the derived value downward. The original paper, however, gave the following formula, which has led to some confusion:
P R ( A ) = 1 − d + d ( P R ( B ) L ( B ) + P R ( C ) L ( C ) + P R ( D ) L ( D ) + ⋯ ). {\displaystyle PR(A)=1-d+d\left({\frac {PR(B)}{L(B)}}+{\frac {PR(C)}{L(C)}}+{\frac {PR(D)}{L(D)}}+\,\cdots \right).}
The difference between them is that the PageRank values in the first formula sum to one, while in the second formula each PageRank is multiplied by N and the sum becomes N. A statement in Page and Brin's paper that "the sum of all PageRanks is one"[5] and claims by other Google employees[25] support the first variant of the formula above.
Page and Brin confused the two formulas in their most popular paper "The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine", where they mistakenly claimed that the latter formula formed a probability distribution over web pages.[5]
Google recalculates PageRank scores each time it crawls the Web and rebuilds its index. As Google increases the number of documents in its collection, the initial approximation of PageRank decreases for all documents.
The formula uses a model of a random surfer who gets bored after several clicks and switches to a random page. The PageRank value of a page reflects the chance that the random surfer will land on that page by clicking on a link. It can be understood as a Markov chain in which the states are pages, and the transitions, which are all equally probable, are the links between pages.
If a page has no links to other pages, it becomes a sink and therefore terminates the random surfing process. If the random surfer arrives at a sink page, it picks another URL at random and continues surfing again.
When calculating PageRank, pages with no outbound links are assumed to link out to all other pages in the collection. Their PageRank scores are therefore divided evenly among all other pages. In other words, to be fair with pages that are not sinks, these random transitions are added to all nodes in the Web. This residual probability, d, is usually set to 0.85, estimated from the frequency that an average surfer uses his or her browser's bookmark feature. So, the equation is as follows:
P R ( p i ) = 1 − d N + d ∑ p j ∈ M ( p i ) P R ( p j ) L ( p j ) {\displaystyle PR(p_{i})={\frac {1-d}{N}}+d\sum _{p_{j}\in M(p_{i})}{\frac {PR(p_{j})}{L(p_{j})}}}
where p 1, p 2,..., p N {\displaystyle p_{1},p_{2},...,p_{N}} are the pages under consideration, M ( p i ) {\displaystyle M(p_{i})} is the set of pages that link to p i {\displaystyle p_{i}}, L ( p j ) {\displaystyle L(p_{j})} is the number of outbound links on page p j {\displaystyle p_{j}}, and N {\displaystyle N} is the total number of pages.
The PageRank values are the entries of the dominant right eigenvector of |
paramedics and bystanders who attempted to save his life.”
His family “is shocked and deeply saddened,” the statement said. Describing the incident as a “personal family matter and not an issue of public concern,” they asked that the media respect their request for privacy.
The incident provoked widespread public attention because of the setting and because of the events that unfolded in Washington last week. Those included the shutdown of the government and the fatal shooting on Capitol Hill of a woman who had crashed her car into a police barricade at the White House and led officers on a chase to the Capitol..
Peter Hermann and Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report.Unless something of biblical proportions happens, the Edmonton Oilers have been officially eliminated from the NHL playoffs.
They are now ten points behind, not from the Western Conference leader, but from the eighth and final playoff position – and it is not even the end of November. They are not coming back over that mountain.
They are now on the level of the rebuilding Buffalo Sabres, who deliberately tore their team apart, the injury-riddled Columbus Blue Jackets, and the talentless Carolina Hurricanes, all which are no longer playing for the Stanley Cup but rather for Canada’s next hockey phenomenon, Connor McDavid.
But what is horrifying about the Oilers is that they have none of the excuses the above teams have. They were supposed to be contenders – many years ago.
The Edmonton Oilers 2014-15 Season Is Over
Teams usually go through cycles in their history like a bell curve. They start rebuilding, climb up and hit a peak, and then slide back down and have to rebuild again. But when you STAY down year after year and draft number one pick after number one pick and never get any better then something is seriously wrong that has deep roots.
Today, even the long-time downtrodden Calgary Flames, rebuilding Nashville Predators, and lacking of talent Winnipeg Jets have kissed the Oilers goodbye in the review mirror. The Oilers are supposed to have more talent than all these teams. When that happens, fans in Edmonton have good reason to be alarmed.
During this period, the Oilers have changed general managers and coaches – frequently – in an effort to get going in the right direction. Since their last good year, the Oilers have gone from Craig MacTavish to Pat Quinn, to Tom Renney, to Ralph Krueger, to Dallas Eakins. So maybe it is time to admit what everybody has refused to admit: change the players.
The one statistic that is frequently mentioned every year is that the Oilers cannot or will not play defense. This year their goal differential is -25; only the Buffalo Sabres are worse.
Number one draft picks are no good in and of themselves unless they produce. Does anybody remember Greg Joly? He was the first number one pick of the Washington Capitals ever. Billed as the next Bobby Orr, he lasted only a few undistinguished seasons in the NHL. There are many more like him.
The current Edmonton Oilers are not a hockey team, just a glob of talent that has rotted. It has not helped that the best of the bunch, Taylor Hall, has been injured frequently. But even with Hall in the lineup, the results are still embarrassing.
The leading Oiler in this year’s race for the Art Ross Trophy is Jordan Eberle – ranked 76th. That’s not how top draft picks are supposed to perform. Players like Hall, Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov, etc. are supposed to be stars in the NHL – NOW!
These players are either like Joly, not good enough, or have been mishandled in their development. Nobody knows why.
Still worse, with all this “talent”, none of it has gelled together to be a team. Just as there is no team defense, there is no team chemistry.
There may be a secret “spiritual” problem that is hard to detect; Players who blot out the coach’s instructions about playing defense; Players who have grown comfortable with defeat; Players who believe that since they were the first overall pick, everything would be just as easy for them to dominate in the NHL just as it was in junior hockey; Players who want the glory of scoring goals and refuse to do the inglorious work of digging for the puck, checking their opponent, and staying in their proper position; Players who will not do the subtle extra “little things” that can make the difference between victory and defeat. The Oilers need spiritual master Vince Lombardi, not more first overall draft picks.
Then there is the shadow of the Gretzky years. When Wayne Gretzky and the Oilers joined the NHL, it took only a few years for everything to gel and for them to become Stanley Cup contenders.
With this amount of accumulated talent, it was expected that the same thing would happen again in Edmonton, but what is truly horrifying is that the current Oilers can’t even contend for the last playoff position but remain at the bottom of the NHL standings.
As noted above, next year the worst NHL team gets a chance to draft McDavid. One shudders at the thought of him being drafted by the Oilers and rotting like the rest.
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Main Photo:The UK's foremost privacy and data watchdog has said it will be investigating Facebook following the revelation earlier this week that the social network had conducted a study in which it fiddled with users' News Feeds in order to see if it could manipulate their emotions.
Facebook has come under fire for the secret experiment because of its psychological nature, which did in fact prove to be unnervingly effective at controlling people's emotional reactions. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has said that it will review the situation thoroughly in order to try to establish whether Facebook has broken UK data protection law.
"We're aware of this issue, and will be speaking to Facebook, as well as liaising with the Irish data protection authority, to learn more about the circumstances," a spokesman from the ICO told Wired.co.uk.
Facebook's European headquarters are based in Dublin, which is why it will be taking up the issues with the authorities in Ireland. It's likely that the regulator will look into whether users gave their consent for their data to be used in such a way. Informed consent is something that has been at the very center of the argument. Making sure study subjects have given their permission and know what they have signed up to, or informing them at the very earliest stage possible, is considered to be an ethical responsibility of psychologists performing experiments, according to guidelines issued by the British Psychological Society.
The ICO will also no doubt look at exactly which data and how much of it was used in the experiment. It's not clear how many British Facebook users were involved in the experiment—all we know is that 689,000 members of the social network (including those under the age of 18) with their language set to English were unwitting participants in the study. It emerged yesterday that Facebook added the information about user data being exploited for research to its user agreement several months after it performed the experiment.
Facebook has apologized for upsetting users, and, according to the Financial Times, its European director of policy has said the social network will be happy to answer any queries from regulators.
This story originally appeared on Wired UK.The Remote Control Penis / They say the male birth-control pill is ready to go. But is something missing?
Vividly indeed do I remember the lovely and sordid tale my friend once told me, many years ago, of the terrific guy she once dated, a strapping young thing who - through a series of unfortunate childhood events - had to have a remote-controlled, robotic penis installed in his body.
Let me be more specific. Apparently, this fine lad's delicate man tissues had been damaged in a very unpleasant bicycle accident in his youth, and he could therefore no longer enjoy normal erections. Everything else functioned just fine, but when it came to sex, despite having full sensation, all systems were mangled, all blood vessels shot. Sad indeed.
But then, a savior. Through the miracle of modern medicine and not-so-modern pneumatics, ingenious doctors were able to install some sort of marvelous contraption, a valve and a rod and bladder and a little pump - a complete mechanical system by which our boy could, well, inflate and deflate his manhood at will, last as long as he liked, repeat as frequently as energy and soreness and lubricant allowed, and thereby enjoy a (relatively) normal sex life.
It worked like a charm. It also worked like an aphrodisiac, a mesmerizing technological miracle, and a pair of old Reebok Pump basketball shoes. What you did was: Squeeze a little bulb at the base of the perineum a few dozen times to inflate, to raise the flag and see who salutes. Enjoy indefinitely (!) When finished, simply reach up underneath into God's country and press a different little bulb to deflate the air bladder and, well, lower the mainsail (my friend said this particular procedure sounded like a sad squeaky toy, sighing slowly. She found it adorable).
(Here is where I'd like to tell you my friend's nickname for this lad, but they tell me this is still a family website and baffled children/grandmothers could be reading this and are already panicky that they saw the word "penis" on screen. So I'll just say it rhymed very closely with "The Wonder Sock.")
This heartwarming tale comes to mind as I read of how scientists have now developed a tiny valve they can surgically implant into the manhood of mankind to, well, control the flow of sperm at will. Your own built-in, reversible, radio-controlled vasectomy! they exclaim, with a winking Australian grin.
Apparently, said contraption involves a little remote-controlled switch that can, at the press of a button, activate or deactivate the flow from wherever it is that sperm flows (a musty little furniture shop somewhere on the outskirts of London, I think) by opening and closing a valve installed into the all-important duct known as the vas deferens. Nifty!
I know what you're thinking. A remote-controlled sperm valve? Are you crazy? Who the hell would want something like that?
I'll tell you who: Every modern male under 30, that's who. Hell, add in a digital camera and an MP3 player and maybe built-in GPS, and you've got the next iPod.
See, like my friend's wonder sock, I think such technology would play directly upon the dual modern male fantasies of unlimited penile dexterity and übergeek tech coolness. In the age of gizmo wonders and technologically advanced everything, why not a mechanically enhanced penis? Why not a little Iron Man in your iron man? Make it easy, make it relatively affordable, market it like you would the Bang & Olufsen stereo option on an Audi R8 (i.e., an invaluable enhancement, not a threat), and I say: Viva la revolucion!
It is, of course, all part of the eternal quest for an easy, idiot-proof male birth-control device for consensual adults that doesn't involve sheathing everything in miserable amounts of latex and therefore dulling the finest sensation known to all malehood next to perhaps a superlative foot massage and maybe sipping dark rum in a hot tub with nubile pagan fire priestesses from the moon.
But maybe such a valve won't be necessary. After all, they say there's already been a big breakthrough in male birth control, that scientists have finally developed a surefire "male pill" that knocks any man's sperm count down to zero, and all that's left is a bit of clinical testing.
So effective is the new pill that it's apparently safer than condoms, safer than the female pill, safer than staring at a photo of Ann Coulter for three full, agonizing minutes while your sperm commit mass suicide from sheer horror. Amazing.
But apparently there's a problem. Big Pharma doesn't seem to care about this new breakthrough. And why? Money, of course. They say there's just not enough interest. Men don't seem to be clamoring for it, the market doesn't seem to be there, millions don't stand to be made, and hence no one wants to fund more research on the thing, which could result in a wait of three to five more years before such a pill hits the market, if it ever does.
What's more, some argue that dumb-as-nails men are too unreliable for such a thing anyway, that no woman worth her weight in diaphragms and Nonoxyl-9 would dare trust a man to remember to take a pill every day, because of course men are generally irresponsible schlubs who can't even remember their own phone numbers and etc. and so on and cliché cliché cliché.
To which I say, utter and total B.S. There's not a smart modern male I know who wouldn't love to know he wouldn't - couldn't - get a date pregnant, that there could be no "accidents," that he will never get that life-altering phone call. Hell, there's already a trend whereby some baby-terrified men are getting old-school surgical vasectomies in their early 20s, rife with the fear that some nefarious huntress might try to snare them in the baby trap. Shift the power dynamics of fertility and birth control to men? Talk about your massive cultural psycho-sexual upheavals. Watch for it.
But maybe that's neither here nor there. Maybe the pill's researchers need to hook up with the valve engineers and the genius docs who installed my friend's lover's old penis pump way back when, and all work together to solve this most pressing issue and move humanity, uh, forward.
Which is to say, you want to guarantee men engage fully in matters fertile and impregnable? You want to make sure they care deeply about familial responsibility and planning? Don't just give them a pill. Give them a slick badass high-tech gizmo to deliver it, maybe a hot little button on their iPhones that not only shuts a microvalve and releases the pill's chemicals, but also boosts stamina, responds to voice commands, calculates the tip on the dinner bill, organizes their playlist according to a given date's particular mood, and of course, reminds them exactly where the clitoris is. Really, what more do you need?
Mark Morford's latest book is 'The Daring Spectacle: Adventures in Deviant Journalism'. Join Mark on Facebook and Twitter, or email him. His website is markmorford.com. For his yoga classes, workshops and retreats, click markmorfordyoga.com.
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Measure A Appointment of County Assessor — County of Los Angeles (Advisory Vote Only – Advisory Vote Only)
Do you support seeking to change the California Constitution and the Los Angeles County Charter to make the position of Los Angeles County Assessor an appointed position instead of an elected position?
No arguments were submitted for or against this measure. Thanks lawmakers!
VOTE: No. I want to vote on as much stuff as I possibly can. Fuck you guys.
VOTE: Yes. Please see Jame’s awesome comment below for the full version, but the gist is, I don’t even know what an Assessor does, so maybe it shouldn’t be a popular vote position.
Measure B Safer Sex In the Adult Film Industry Act — County of Los Angeles (Ordinance – Majority Approval Required)
Shall an ordinance be adopted requiring producers of adult films to obtain a County public health permit, to require adult film performers to use condoms while engaged in sex acts, to provide proof of blood borne pathogen training course, to post permit and notices to performers, and making violations of the ordinance subject to civil fines and criminal charges?
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a major proponent of safe sex. However, I worry this is bordering on nanny-statery. But when I think it in terms of a workplace, I feel like it’s more like requiring hard-hats in a construction zone than Bloomberg’s New York soda ban.
The LA Times argues that the county doesn’t have the wherewithal to enforce a condom requirement, which would result in no benefit to the performers overall, and lots of determent to LA as industry moved to deregulated counties, taking jobs with it. To be fair, a building made by hard-hatted workers doesn’t have giant yellow hard-hats sticking out of the walls, making consumers purchase the monstrosity or move to China where hard hats are but a distant union dream.
It’s a hard decision, I think condoms should be used in porno, but that the county of Los Angeles is not the superhero that’s going to kick that off for us, and trying will just fuck things up. If you really want condom use, vote with your dollars and buy porn with condoms in it.
VOTE: No
Measure E El Camino Community College Improvement/Transfer/Job Training Measure — El Camino Community College District (School Bonds – 55% Approval Required)
To prepare students for universities/transfer/jobs, including nursing, healthcare, fire-fighting and high-tech jobs, by expanding science labs, upgrading outdated electrical systems, wiring green energy for savings, building earthquake/fire-safe classrooms equipped with up-to-date technology, improving facilities for Veterans, acquiring, constructing, repairing facilities, sites/equipment, shall El Camino Community College District issue $350,000,000 in bonds at legal rates, requiring all funds remain local, financial audits, citizen’s oversight, and NO money for pensions/administrators’ salaries?
At first glance, this seems to be a good deal: more money for junior college to ensure that the students in our community have the resources they need to transition to the UC system, or to fulfilling careers. However, opponents of the measure state that the money will only go to construction, even as the college still has construction from money from the last bond measure they took out in 2002. Yes on E hasn’t addressed this concern at all, instead talking about intangible concepts like ‘community’ and ‘jobs’ without relating it directly to how the measure would specifically help the community get jobs.
VOTE: No
Measure J Accelerating Traffic Relief, Job Creation — County of Los Angeles (Continuation of Voter-Approved Sales Tax Increase – 2/3 Approval Required)
To advance Los Angeles County’s traffic relief, economic growth/ job creation, by accelerating construction of light rail/ subway/ airport connections within five years not twenty; funding countywide freeway traffic flow/ safety /bridge improvements, pothole repair; keeping senior/ student/ disabled fares low; Shall Los Angeles County’s voter-approved one-half cent traffic relief sales tax continue, without tax rate increase, for another 30 years or until voters decide to end it, with audits/ keeping funds local?
Measure J would turn a 30 year sales tax increase of 0.5% that we enacted in 2004 into a 60 year increase. The reason we’re talking about taxes that won’t go into affect until 2039 is because having guaranteed tax revenue for 60 years instead of 30 years allows transit managers to borrow more money in order to accelerate current projects. Now, most of our current projects rely on federal money in addition to county money, so the tax doesn’t directly mean more jobs or more construction right away. However, if Washington does go along with acceleration, it means that the county can keep up. I’ve already seen the extension of the Orange line, and am looking forward to LA moving into having at least some semblance of mass transportation.
VOTE: Yes.
Measure CL School Improvement Funding — Local Classrooms Funding Authority (Special Tax – 2/3 Approval Required)
To protect academic quality in local K-12 schools; maintain math, science, English programs; provide education for students with disabilities/special needs; support computer technology and school security; prepare students for college/careers; retain excellent teachers; shall Local Classrooms Funding Authority levy a special tax of 2¢/square foot of lot for residential property, and 7.5¢/square foot for other property types; requiring citizens oversight, audits, senior exemptions, no money for administrator salaries and all funds staying local?
I couldn’t find any outside sources on this measure. The problem I have with the law is that it raises everyone’s taxes by the same amount across the board, but it distributes the income unequally across school districts. 40% goes to Centinela Valley Union High School District (“Centinela”), 16.6% to Hawthorne School District, 14.7% to Lawndale School District, 8.7% to Lennox School District, and 20% to Wiseburn School District. The proponents of the measure make no arguments as to why the distribution is like this, and with no other materials to give me any insight, I’m loathe to vote for the bill.
VOTE: NoWading through the people Prime Minister Stephen Harper follows on his Twitter account is like going through a laundry list of Conservative members of Parliament.
All the familiar faces are there: Employment Minister Jason Kenney, Treasury Board President Tony Clement, Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq.
And then there's Springfield resident Homer J. Simpson.
Yes, nestled among the very select group of people whose Twitter activities have been deemed to be important to the prime minister is the famous patriarch from FOX TV's The Simpsons. (And, sorry prime minister, Homer doesn't follow you back.)
Whether Harper regularly checks in on Homer’s musings is anyone’s guess. Homer recently tweeted that he was "taking the family to the drive-in movies tonight. But first: an hour of trunk-cramming practice."
Who doesn't like a good Homerism?
Of course, Homer's inclusion among the 223 people Harper follows may just be an indication of the prime minister — or his staff — trying to appeal to a pop-culture savvy public or to his 489,000 Twitter followers.
"You might say 'OK, Homer Simpson, that just seems odd,'" says Mark Blevis, an Ottawa-based digital public affairs analyst.
But public figures often want to show "a little bit of fun,” in their Twitter accounts, he says. "And who doesn’t like a good Homerism?"
As for print media on the prime minister's list, only Maclean's magazine and the National Post make the cut.
But the list of those he follows among world leaders is also interesting, perhaps particularly for those who aren't on it, including U.S. President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Prime Minister Angela Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Indeed, some leaders who follow Harper, such as Cameron and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, aren’t followed back by the Canadian prime minister.
In fact, the only foreign politician who does seem to make Harper’s Twitter list is Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, (who also follows Harper), suggesting that Harper's recent harsh rhetoric against Moscow is not enough to sever the bonds of Twitter buddies.
For some reason, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is one of Stephen Harper's Twitter buddies, and Barack Obama isn't. Who sanctioned that? (Reuters)
"It’s really interesting that the G7 nations are not in his Twitter account," says Blevis. "It’s particularly interesting given that, especially these days, there’s a lot of talk about e-diplomacy.
"There’s a lot of stuff that's going on on a diplomatic track that takes place online. It would be an opportunity for him, when they make an announcement, to tweet with the other party. You could tweet with them and because you’re following them, it looks like you’re standing arm and arm."
While Harper's account is mostly a sea of blue, politically, former Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe shows up.
And while the prime minister seems to want to keep tabs on the Toronto Blue Jays, the CFL and the Canadian Curling Association, the unabashed hockey fan does not follow the NHL or any NHL team.
But it's unlikely Harper has much to do with the choices of whom he follows. Blevis says he doesn't believe Harper is an active user of Twitter, but probably asks his staff to issue tweets on certain subjects.
"He may look at it every now and then for a lark, but I don't think that's his primary interest."
Harper also has the most followers among the federal party leaders (491,000), and follows the fewest number of people (223).
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has 402,000 followers, and follows 753. NDP Leader Tom Mulcair has more than 72,000 followers and follows 1,196. None of the leaders follow each other.
Elizabeth May may be at the helm of the party with the fewest seats in the House of Commons, but the Green Party leader follows more people on Twitter than the other leaders do (5,500). And at 90,000-plus followers, May actually has more than the leader of the Official Opposition.
Bill Maher, Kiefer Sutherland among those followed by Trudeau
Mostly, Canada's political leaders follow members of their own party, journalists or associations.
Trudeau’s list includes more celebrities, such as author Stephen King, Politically Incorrect host Bill Maher, actress Ellen Page, actor Kiefer Sutherland, late-night host Stephen Colbert, magician Teller (but not Penn) and Star Trek icon George Takei.
Blevis notes that Trudeau used to be completely in control of his Twitter account, and he still believes he's responsible for the majority of what goes on there, although now, as leader of the party, he may have handed some Twitter duties to his staff.
Meanwhile, Mulcair's account is peppered mostly with reporters, politicians, labour organizations, activists, students and other organizations, although the NDP leader does follow Obama, as does Trudeau.
"I think they’re being cautious," Blevis says. "There’s probably a certain degree of PR only because there’s people out there looking to see who they’re following, and they don’t want to send the wrong message."The Expert: Mark Wallace Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute
As the philosopher and psychologist William James described it, to a baby the world is “one great blooming, buzzing confusion.” Even for adults, this statement captures the essence of our sensory experiences, and highlights the complex and multisensory character of the world around us.
At any moment, a mélange of information bombards our senses of sight, sound, touch, taste, smell and balance. One of the most important tasks for us — or, more accurately, for our brains — is to make sense of the incoming signals. Some of this information belongs to the same object or event — think of the sight and sound of a bouncing ball — and must be integrated or ‘bound,’ to be understood. Other pieces belong to different objects or events and need to be segregated.
Without appropriate integration and segregation of sensory cues, the world becomes the blooming and buzzing confusion to which James referred.
We gain a faster and more accurate perception of the world when we use information from multiple senses1. Picture yourself at a boisterous party. You are far more likely to ‘hear’ what a friend is saying several tables away if you watch her mouth movements and combine this visual cue with the weak auditory one2. Adept social communication requires the ability to grasp such multifaceted sensory input.
It has long been known that up to 90 percent of individuals with autism have unique challenges in the way they process sensory information3. They may be either insensitive or oversensitive to sensory stimuli. They may also be ‘sensory seeking,’ stimulating their senses through repetitive behaviors such as twirling or hand flapping. These traits, which may encompass a number of the senses, are among those of autism spectrum disorder in the DSM-5, the latest revision of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.”
Window of sensitivity:
Several laboratories — including our own — have embarked on a series of studies to better understand how people with autism process sensory information. We have found a telling oddity in how these individuals integrate sight and sound information to make sense of an event.
This characteristic involves timing and is a key component of the larger social and cognitive difficulties that people with autism face. The sensory difference also might provide a path to treatment.
Think again of the bouncing ball. When the ball hits the floor, the visual and auditory signals associated with that collision happen in the same place and at the same time. The brain is clever: It uses spatial and temporal information to make judgments about whether those visual and auditory signals came from the same event or from different events. If the two sets of signals come from the same place at around the same time, the brain decides that they belong to the same event, and binds them together.
Of course, light travels faster than sound. So the time that these signals arrive at the eyes and ears is always slightly different. The brain solves this problem by creating a so-called window of time over which it will still bind sights and sounds and consider them connected. This window spans several hundred milliseconds, allowing us to integrate visual input with sound not only from events happening in front of our noses, but also from those occurring farther away — for example, when a friend yells to us across a parking lot.
Seeing sound:
People with autism tend to integrate auditory and visual information over longer windows of time than most of us do. In a 2014 study, we asked children with and without autism to report on whether a sight and sound presented in close succession were simultaneous4. The children with autism called out sights and sounds as simultaneous even when they were separated by long intervals of time.
A longer window may seem advantageous, as it should allow the brain to bind more information than a shorter one does. But it can in fact create substantial confusion.
In an ordinary conversation with a friend, for example, the brain must rapidly and accurately bind together the sound of your friend’s voice with the images of her mouth moving, as well as any other visual and auditory cues from her body.
The auditory information arrives as ‘phonemes,’ units of sound that make up a word. The visual cues come in the form of ‘visemes,’ the visual cues (as when lip reading) that match up to phonemes. This matching is one-to-one in someone with good speech comprehension, but if the window is too long, it becomes one-to-several — and the quality of the communication deteriorates.
We have found that the longer the binding window is in people with autism, the poorer they perform on tasks that require them to connect auditory and visual information4,5.
One example involves the ‘McGurk effect,’ a speech illusion in which the pairing of an auditory ‘ba’ and the sight of lips forming ‘ga’ results in the perception of ‘da,’ because the brain combines the auditory and visual cues. The wider a person’s binding window, the less susceptible he or she is to the illusion, suggesting problems integrating this information.
Piecemeal perception:
These results show that sensory processing differences in autism extend beyond the individual senses to the integration of multisensory information. These altered multisensory abilities may create difficulties not only with social communication, but also with cognition.
A child learning to read needs to be able to properly bind what they see in writing with a mental replay of the sound of the words. If a child cannot do this, reading is likely to be difficult.
What’s more, multisensory function plays a critical role in our general understanding of our surroundings. Problems in this area may fragment perception, which can cascade into problems in cognitive abilities such as executive function (planning and decision-making), language and memory.
We plan to extend our investigation of multisensory processing into realms such as touch. Many children with autism have unusual tactile sensitivities and perceptions. Yet how these tactile qualities merge with other senses remains largely unexplored. Indeed, differences in the perception of touch may play an important role in social differences in autism, and we believe that these social challenges are also likely to be, at least in part, a result of multisensory problems.
Sharp scenes:
Perception of peripersonal space, the area immediately surrounding our bodies, is built upon the integration of auditory, proprioceptive, tactile and visual inputs. People with autism may differ from typical individuals in their perception of this space. We are investigating whether the unusual integration of multisensory information in autism contributes to this perceptual difference, which could, in turn, underpin some of the social weaknesses in autism.
Studies on the integration of sensory input also provide important clues to the brain networks altered in autism. They suggest that the major nodes for the convergence of sensory information — for instance, the superior temporal cortex and intraparietal cortex — may be critical to making sense of your surroundings on a moment-to-moment basis.
Finally, we believe that these studies provide a foundation for autism treatments. Brain regions underlying multisensory processing are highly malleable. In a 2009 study, we showed that we can narrow the window of time over which neurotypical adults bind auditory and visual cues by providing feedback6. Each time a participant told us that two stimuli were simultaneous (or sequential), we told him whether that judgement was correct. Such training proved highly effective in changing multisensory temporal perception.
If we could use the same approach in people with autism, we might sharpen their perception of the world. Following conversations, reading facial expressions and other aspects of social interactions are likely to be less burdensome when the sensory pieces fit into a coherent whole. In this scenario, the world would be a bit more rational and reassuring, and less blooming and buzzing.Less than a month before the 11th anniversary of the illegal US-led invasion of Iraq, the near destruction of much of the country, heritage, culture, secularism, education, health services and all State institutions, the country is poised to revert “two thousand years” say campaigners.
On February 25th, Iraq’s Cabinet approved a draft law lowering the age of legal marriage for females to nine years old.
Iraq was, prior to the invasion, a fiercely secular country, with a broadly equal male, female workforce and with women benefiting from a National Personal Status Law, introduced in 1959, which remained “one of the most liberal in the Arab world, with respect to women’s rights.”
The legal age for marriage was set at eighteen, forced marriages were banned and polygamy restricted. Cohesion between communities was enhanced and fostered by “eliminating the differential treatment of Sunnis and Shiites under the law (and erasing differentiation) between the various religious communities …” Women’s rights in divorce, child custody and inheritance were an integral part of the Law, with Article 14 stating that all Iraqis are equal under the law.
Equality was swept away from the first day of the invasion when George W. Bush and his Administration started to talk of Sunni, Shiite, Kurds, Christians and other religions and ethnicities and also effectively selecting the overseers of the “New Iraq” not by ability but by religion and ethnicity, effectively pitching Iraqi against Iraqi in what, for all the complexities, had been a very cohesive society. “Divide and rule” pervaded all.
So far, however, the Personal Status Law still stands, if largely ignored by the US backed Parliament and a largely – with honourable and courageous exceptions – woefully wanting judiciary. The draft law, if ratified, as it is aimed to be after the April elections, would sweep its admirable provisions aside and turn Iraq in to a paedophiles’ paradise.
This outrageous plan was first mooted as early as December 2003, just eight months after the invasion, by Abdel Aziz al Hakim, who heads the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq. He cancelled the Personal Status Law when President of the Interim Governing Council. Due to opposition by women and others within the Council and from many civil and women’s organizations, the decision was revoked by Paul Bremer, arguably the only thing he got right during his woeful, ill informed tenure. Then, as now, the change “would have transferred civil actions concerning family and personal law, including marriage, divorce, and inheritance, to the jurisdiction of clerics”, not civil Courts.
Incredibly, “The proposal has been based on the Shiite Ja’fari school, called after an eighth century Shiite Imam. A Supreme Shiite Judicial Council in the holy city of Najaf will supervise nationwide religious tribunals that will settle family matters …”
Woman’s groups and activists are vociferous in their outrage and condemnation and in spite of 21 of the 29 present at the Cabinet decision voting in favour of the change, some clerics in Najav are distancing themselves from the proposal, which would also include women not being allowed to leave their home without the permission of their husband – and ironically a father’s permission being mandatory for a woman over eighteen to marry. Muslims will not be allowed to marry non-Muslims.
Hanaa Edwar, who heads the Al-Amal Association which fights for the socio-economic improvement of Iraqis, points out that among the poor – which, since the invasion, has spiraled, children as young as ten are already marrying and further, that most of the religious “illiterate people hear it’s based on Ja’fari (law) and think it must be good.”
Yanar Mohammed, President of the Organization for Women’s Freedom in Iraq, is convinced that “Iraqi people will not agree to the legalization of pedophilia … the objections come from all sides, and the number of women who raise their voices is high … It is an abuse of children’s rights and their bodily integrity.”
Edwar and Mohammed are lobbying in and out of the parliament, but “pressure from outside Iraq is essential.”
As Iraq has ratified Convention on Elimination Against Women (CEDAW) the UN has already asked for the withdrawal of the draft law. CEDAW “provides that the betrothal and marriage of a child shall have no legal effect.”
At the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna from June 14th – 25th, 1993, States were “urged to repeal existing laws and regulations and to remove customs and practices which discriminate against and cause harm to the girl child. Article 16(2) and the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child preclude States parties from permitting or giving validity to a marriage between persons who have not attained their majority. In the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ‘a child’ means every human being below the age of 18 years …”
Human Rights Watch in a less than robust statement on the marriage of nine year olds, who, in the West would still in Primary school, a year too young to enter Secondary education, nevertheless state: |
he had been working on a mail engine for several years and wanted me to work on UI/UX design for it. Both of us were not satisfied with existing mail applications on the Mac so we figured we could give it a try.
We launched the first beta in October 2010. The feedback was amazing with more than 70 000 downloads in the first week. We both left our day jobs and Sparrow was funded and incorporated 2 weeks later. Jean-Marc Denis joined the team a few weeks later as our designer.
What's the give and take between adhering to popular OS X UI conventions and going in your own direction?
I think there is a huge variety of design on OS X but the 2 main choices that a developer / designer really has are the orthodox way, sticking with the Apple HIG in a strict manner, or the Loren Brichter's way.
I am not saying that there is no in-between. A lot of our inspiration in Sparrow comes from other developers who are not strictly following the HIG or Loren's UI style. But like on the iPhone with the pull to refresh or the cell swipe, Loren created a new standard with its Tweetie core animation sidebar.
I am not a technical person, but it seems that both ways have their advantages. One allow you to be sure your app will be simple to understand, the other lets you try new things that might get the user lost.
What should Google have done to improve the Gmail for iOS app?
Make it native. It makes no sense (yet) in the iOS ecosystem to provide a web app, especially for mail where you want it to be fast and responsive. I am convinced that there will come a time when the web will take over and no one will be able to tell the difference between a web app and a native one but we're not there yet. Today and for a few years, native apps will still provide a better experience.
What's your favorite Mac app? Windows app?
The very first release of Twitter a.k.a Tweetie 2 for Mac was epic.
Right now, iA Writer is my favorite and most used Mac App. Pure and inspiring are the two words that comes to mind each time I open it. Oliver Reichenstein is setting the bar pretty high for developers on the Mac. Sometimes I just open the app and type anything, just to play around. Spotify for Mac is also pretty impressive in terms of efficiency and reliability.
Concerning Windows, I haven't touched a PC since almost 10 years. I am sure there are some interesting stuff there but I just don't have any PC around to play with.
The Mac App Store has been huge for you, what are some of the tradeoffs? Where can Apple improve?
80% of our traffic comes from the MAS. It works.
The only weak points are updates and bug fix. Waiting 4-5 days + development time to get a annoying bug fixed for your users is still too long. Apple provides some shortcuts like the 'Expedited Review' but it does not work every time and there is still a delay between the time you're ready to ship and the time your users can get it.
Concerning update notification, we put a lot of effort in improving Sparrow and we feel the Update section of the MAS is not an appropriate way to channel the notification to the user. Users have to open the MAS app, go to the update section and click the 'Update' button. This works well on the iPhone because it was a new ecosystem creating new habits but on the Mac, it feels cumbersome.
Last detail: Apple should create an Apple application category and remove its apps from the main ranking. 7 of the top 10 paid apps are made by Apple which leaves 3 slots to indie developers.
What are your top designed mobile apps?
Path 2.0 is the most beautiful app I have seen in a long time. It has become my most used app by far. Twittelator Neue is beautiful too. I think people underestimate the effort and care that has been put into this application. There's a lot of really cool ideas and animations there. I like Flipboard too because it's surprisingly fast and elegant in a minimalistic way.
What books are you reading now?
The Icon Handbook by Jon Hicks and The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.
Print or ebook?
Ebook. Sparrow is based in Paris so it's hard, or at least complicated, to get new US printed versions on the day of their release. I always buy both the eBook and the print version and usually read my favorite parts a second time when the print gets delivered.
What are your favorite design books?
Designing Visual Interfaces: Communication Oriented Techniques by Kevin Mullet and Darrell Sano is the book I keep going back to.
I think the best way to learn UI / UX design is to spend a few days looking at the UI of a specific application and try to understand the choices that were made. I don't mean standing behind your desk and playing with it, I mean actually trying to understand the design decisions step by step. In an app like Tweetie / Twitter for iPhone, this is pretty intense. Reverse-engineering the UI is not easy but helps generate ideas and identify what could not have worked. To give another recent example, it's very hard to do this on Path 2.0. The end result of the design process is so simple and straightforward that you can't really find a starting point. Usually, starting points are the weird design or weird interactions of an app. From the weak point, you can navigate to a first design decision, then a second one and so on.
Blogs are my main resources for design: Daringfireball.net - Ignorethecode.net/blog/ - Beautifulpixels.net - Dribbble.com - Creativeapplications.net - Butdoesitfloat.com
Most of the inspiring stuff I see comes from websites unrelated to UI / UX.
How much of an inspiration was Tweetie in your designing of Sparrow? What about Twitter works for email?
We got in touch with Loren at the very beginning of Sparrow's development. The Tweetie / Twitter sidebar was the best design I had seen for quite a while on the Mac. It was the nicest way to switch between accounts. We asked him if we could borrow his design for Sparrow and he was kind enough to let us take it.
Read more 5 Minutes on The Verge.UNITED NATIONS — Nearly half of Americans in a global survey said they believed an enemy fighter could be tortured to extract information, according to results released Monday. That finding puts respondents in the United States in contrast with citizens of many countries and at odds with international law, which prohibits torture under any circumstances.
The results were part of a poll carried out by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which surveyed 17,000 people in 16 countries, including many nations in conflict or recovering from conflict, to gauge public opinion about the laws of war.
The findings on torture were among the starkest. Among Americans, 46 percent said torture could be used to obtain information from an enemy combatant, while 30 percent disagreed and the rest said they did not know. On a more general question, one in three said torture was “part of war,” just over half called it “wrong,” and the rest said they did not know or preferred not to answer.
Torture is a war crime, according to international law. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said recently that she had reasonable grounds to open an investigation into allegations of torture by American forces in Afghanistan.ISLAMABAD: Despite the initial optimism over Nawaz Sharif's overtures towards India, the fact is that the Prime Minister "doesn't make all the policies in Pakistan himself", a leading American author and South Asia expert has said."The business communities, the military intellectuals, the Islamist parties, they all have a role in this, and in a sense he can't wish something to happen and it'll happen," Stephen P Cohen said.Explaining his reservations regarding a possible detente between India and Pakistan - the subject of his new book, 'Shooting for a Century: The India-Pakistan Conundrum' - Cohen believes that Sharif might simply have too much on his plate."He is trying to establish a new relationship with the army, a new relationship with India, a new relationship with the US. If he did any one of those things in 3-4 years, it will be a major accomplishment. But to try and do all of them, while trying to rebuild the economy, is a big task," he said in an interview to Express Tribune daily.On Pakistan-India ties, Cohen has a dark outlook. "It is important to get them to understand that they're both digging a hole for each other."However, the people of both countries do want change and friendly relations.Can a miracle happen? "Don't wait for miracles. Hope is not a policy," he responds."It's like looking into a pool of water; on the surface it may be calm, or moving in one direction but underneath it may be flowing in another. So it's more complex than you can imagine."Short-term trends are not indicative of what the long- term trends are going to be, according to Cohen."I think in the long term, the positive trends are a youth generation and freer press in both countries and political parties generally being in support of normalisation. Certainly in Pakistan all of them are except for the extreme right wing."He added that the Indians have to reciprocate to Pakistan's overtures."It takes two to tango". Meanwhile, Dawn daily in an editorial said Prime Minister Sharif has been in office for five months now and it is time for him to step up and truly take charge."One smooth electoral transition and one round of change at the top of the military hierarchy cannot erase decades of civilian subjugation to military diktat, but the historic changeovers of 2013 can certainly be a springboard to greater civilian confidence.""There are at least four areas in which Mr Sharif needs to examine and reset the state's policies: the domestic militant threat; Balochistan; Afghanistan; and India."Each of those issues is enormously complicated in its own right, before the civil-military angle is even factored in," it said.Screenshot by Nick Statt/CNET
The Hyperloop may not be such a long shot after all. Thanks to a community of enthusiasts who have gathered around the concept on the entrepreneurial collaboration platform JumpStartFund, Elon Musk's theorized high-speed tube transport system will soon have its own corporation behind it.
"We want to be the ones that actually make things happen," Dirk Ahlborn, CEO and co-founder of JumpStartFund, said in an interview Wednesday. "So of course we need to create a corporation. Whoever decides to dedicate more time to this than just logging onto the platform deserves to be part of this company."
JumpStartFund launched into public beta on August 22, and aims to give entrepreneurs a network through which to both seek funding and support as well as crowdsource the idea and collaborate with others to refine it. The Hyperloop concept, put up on the site by the JumpStart team, became the platform's flagship project within its first week of launch.
Because Ahlborn and his co-founders have connections with SpaceX, they were able to talk over the idea with the company's president, Gwynne Shotwell, and get the green light to feature it on the platform. Now, after receiving more than 300 votes and the expressed interest of a number of potential collaborators, JumpStartFund has decided to move the project into the in-progress stage.
Joining the JumpStart team to make the Hyperloop company a reality and lead the project are engineers Marco Villa and Patricia Galloway. Villa was previously with SpaceX as the director of mission operations and in charge of the Dragon spacecraft project. Galloway was a member of the US National Science Board for six years before serving as its vice chair from 2008 to 2010, and has experience in national infrastructure planning as part of the National Construction Dispute Resolution Committee.
JumpStartFund is also accepting applications from members of the site to work full-time on the Hyperloop project in exchange for equity in the company. "We want to find a way to give everyone the ability to be a part of this project," Ahlborn said.
"The whole concept is always going to be on the platform," Ahlborn added. "Everything is going to be very transparent, and we intend to reserve a percent of future revenues for people that work with us on the platform." For instance, Ahlborn said even naming the company will be a crowdsourced effort.
The next step is to refine the concept laid out in Musk's 58-page "alpha" proposal released in August. That process will take place over the next four to six months, but depends entirely on the participation of the crowd at JumpStartFund, Ahlborn explained. By 2014, the team hopes to have the Hyperloop concept in a much more concrete state, which will put the team in a position to begin planning a small-scale prototype to test its feasibility.
The team does not feel as if the project will be constrained by Musk's specific outline -- which proposed a 30-minute trip between San Francisco and Los Angeles -- and wants to stress that alternatives proposed by collaborators will all be accepted.
"We don't want to discourage...any ideas at all," Galloway said.
"We want to make this project become a reality," Ahlborn said, chiming in. "If that means LA to Vegas, then so be it."The BRA board today approved new plans for a $500-million, 52-story tower atop Copley Place after the mall's owner agreed to add an extra five affordable apartments - an increase housing activists, such as former state Rep. Mel King, said was far from enough.
The BRA had deferred an earlier vote after some housing-activist groups said the 71 proposed affordable apartments in the 542-unit building were not enough.
Activists say Simon Property Group should comply with its original air-rights lease with the state for the land over the turnpike exit, which called for 25% of any units to be affordable - which would have meant 135 units. Simon said it complied with that in a project on Harcourt Street on the other side of the mall, but that its current lease does not call for that.
Board member Ted Landsmark said that while he's grateful Simon will replace the "not very attractive horse" that now sits in front of the mall on Darmouth Street, he was disappointed the developer was no longer willing to meet "the ethical commitment" it made initially for 25% affordable housing because of the "economic segregation" occuring in Boston, where poor people fight market-rate housing in areas such as JP so that they're not priced out of their homes and rich people downtown don't want poor people because they're poor people.
Simon Property Group says it will also spend roughly $20 million on community improvement projects, including intersection work on Stuart Street, $1 million for fixing up Back Bay station, $1 million for public art and $500,000 for the Southwest Corridor park and Copley Square.
In addition to the residential units, the Copley tower will also house an expanded Neiman-Marcus.is facing a grim scenario as its glaciers, the source of key rivers like Brahmaputra, are retreating and natural disasters are on the rise due to climate change, according to a new report.
The glacier on the Tibetan plateau has been backing off since the 20th century due to rising temperature and at a faster speed since 1990s,a scientific evaluation report on environmental change of the Tibetan plateau published by the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research under Chinese Academy of Sciences said.
The glacier's response to the climate change can be best seen in the progress or retreat of the glacier.
Glacier loss in the Tibetan plateau is most prominent in the Himalayan Mountains and the southeastern Tibet, whereas glacier stays relevantly stable, even progressing, in the Karakoram and Western Kunlun region due to increasing precipitation, the report said.
The report also said natural disasters are on the rise on the Tibetan plateau due to global warming and increased human activity.
Tibet, with an average altitude of over 4,500 metres is also called the roof of the world.
It said disasters including landslides, torrential floods and snow disasters are expected to increase and fires in the region will be more difficult to prevent and extinguish.
The report warned that iced lakes and barrier lakes on the plateau are also posing a threat as more than 20 overflowed during the 20th century, leading to severe disasters in the region.
According to the report, about 1,500 mountain torrents were reported on the plateau from 1950 to 2010, with the worst in 1998 when more than 50 counties in were affected, state-run Xinhua agency said.
The floods on the plateau are attributed to frequent extreme precipitation during rainy seasons.
On the positive side the report said the number and area of lakes on the Tibetan plateau increased notably.
The number of lakes exceeding 1 square km climbed from 1,081 in the 1970s to 1,236 in 2010, and 80 percent of lakes in the region have been expanding.
The report also forecast that in the future from 2015 to as far as 2100, the dominant changes in water bodies of the region would be retreating glacier, reduced snow cover and rising river run-off.
(Reopens FGN 41)
The overall situation of ecological system on the Tibetan plateau is improving as the boundaries of frigid and sub-frigid zones are moving westward and northward.
The temperate zone is expanding, according to the report.
The area of arctic-alpine steppe is increasing and the growth period is extending, while meadows are shrinking.
The report also noted that the area and growing stock of forest on the plateau have increased significantly since 1998, from 7.29 million hectares in 1997 to 14.72 million hectares in 2013 and 2.09 billion cubic meters in 1997 to 2.26 billion cubic meters in 2013, respectively.
The increase is mainly attributed to efforts of forestry conservation and restoration, the report said.
The scope of arable land has been expanding since the mid 1970s, which helps increase the income of farmers and herdsmen, the report said.
But the report warned of the degeneration of the wet land and frozen earth as well accelerating decertification.
It predicted that the frozen earth will continue to shrink from 2015 to 2100.
With an average altitude of over 4,500 meters, Tibetan plateau, which is known as the core of "The Third Pole," refers to the areas mainly within southwest China's Autonomous Region.
As one of the major forests in China risk of fire is also high due to strong wind and lack of rain and snow, it said.
From 1988 to 2014, a total of 373 forest fires were reported, according to the report.
In addition, the scale of snow storms and avalanches has expanded markedly over the past 40 years under the influence of climate change, affecting human activities and the climate in the north hemisphere, the report said.Def Con, the world's largest hacking conference, has a long history of being a kind of "neutral zone" where computer miscreants casually mingle with federal agents — oftentimes unwittingly. But founder Jeff Moss (aka "The Dark Tangent") took to Def Con's website yesterday to ask that feds avoid the conference this year, saying that recent events involving government surveillance programs have created high tensions in the hacker community.
"recent revelations have made many in the community uncomfortable about this relationship."
"When it comes to sharing and socializing with feds, recent revelations have made many in the community uncomfortable about this relationship," wrote Moss, who also works as an advisor to the Department of Homeland Security. "Therefore, I think it would be best for everyone involved if the feds call a "time-out" and not attend Def Con this year."
Since there's no registration and entry is paid with cash at the door, feds have always had a significant presence throughout the event's 20-year history, both officially and unofficially — one of its oldest traditions is a "Spot the Fed" contest devised as a playful jab at the various spooks milling around unannounced. But Moss' request is an interesting first, given that last year the conference hosted a keynote from NSA director General Keith Alexander, whose silver-tongued recruitment efforts were met with a lukewarm reception.
Members of Congress say that intelligence officials have given misleading answers to questions about NSA surveillance programs, including one that was posed to Alexander on the Def Con stage. This year Alexander is keynoting Black Hat, Def Con's more suit-and-tie sister conference which takes place a week earlier inside another Vegas casino-hotel. Moss' request probably won't have much effect on whether federal agents choose to attend Def Con, but he seems to frame it as a way to avoid any unpleasantness, saying he wants to give everyone "time to think about how we got here, and what comes next."Pirate Party offers modern, transparent taxation plan
Pirate Party Australia is pleased to announce the release of its tax policy.
Principles of transparency and accountability apply not just to government spending, but also government revenue, and the Pirate Party has long been frustrated that the present tax system is such a hindrance to this transparency. The current mass of complex and hidden taxes costs our nation vast amounts of time every day and effectively prevents all of us from knowing how much tax we really pay. Absurdly, over two thirds of taxpayers in Australia now have to file tax returns through a tax agent due to the complexity of our laws[1].
The Henry Review provides a powerful blueprint for improving transparency and sweeping hidden, inefficient taxes out of our system, and the Pirate Party has incorporated many of the key recommendations into its plan.
“Under our system the burden of tax will shift from savings, work, and innovation, and towards consumption. Over 90% of Australians will pay less than 30% in income tax under the Pirate Party’s plan. By raising the tax-free threshold to float at a level equivalent to the poverty line, we will remove much of the current tax-welfare churn and free low-income earners permanently from the burdens of income tax, and from the stress and costs of filing a tax return,” said Qld Senate candidate Melanie Thomas. “Under these reforms, income support and supplementary payments such as family assistance would be tax-exempt, allowing struggling families an opportunity to really get ahead”.
Company tax will be reduced by a full five percentage points to 25% under the Pirate Party’s plan — a far more significant cut than has been mooted by any other party in this election cycle. This cut will bring Australia in line with the OECD average and underpin greater competitiveness and investment. A new tax-free threshold will also apply to microbusinesses in recognition of their role in generating skills, participation, and innovation in our economy. The Pirate Party will also remove significant administrative tax burdens from businesses, and will remove all clauses which are currently used by the ATO to gag taxpayers as a means to hide mistakes.
The Pirate Party seeks to abolish more than 100 taxes, including payroll tax, GST, and all of the current concealed charges that riddle our system with distortions and poor incentives. To ensure revenue neutrality, a single cash flow tax will be introduced, informed by key recommendations within the Henry Review. A cash flow tax is a consumption tax notable for its simplicity, transparency and suitability for the digital age.
The Pirate Party does not believe religious belief is a legitimate basis for differential treatment under tax laws, and will seek to remove “advancement of religion” as a deductible activity. However, charitable exemptions will be broadened, with the key ‘deductible gift recipient status’ extended to cover all registered charities.
The Productivity Commission has long argued the vital importance of tax reform as a driver of productivity and innovation[2].
“Given the importance of tax reform to our future prosperity, it is unconscionable that the major parties have snubbed their noses at this challenge. It is clear that change in this vital area must be driven from outside the two-party system, and the Pirate Party commits itself to that goal,” Thomas concluded.
The full policy may be viewed at: https://pirateparty.org.au/wiki/Policies/Tax
[1] http://www.smh.com.au/money/tax/insight-tax-agents-20120529-1zgjg.html
[2] http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/120312/productivity-policies.pdfPhobos flyby images
Related images
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Images from the recent flyby of Phobos, on 7 March 2010, are released today. The images show Mars' rocky moon in exquisite detail, with a resolution of just 4.4 metres per pixel. They show the proposed landing sites for the forthcoming Phobos-Grunt mission. ESA's Mars Express spacecraft orbits the Red Planet in a highly elliptical, polar orbit that brings it close to Phobos every five months. It is the only spacecraft currently in orbit around Mars whose orbit reaches far enough from the planet to provide a close-up view of Phobos.
Like our Moon, Phobos always shows the same side to the planet, so it is only by flying outside the orbit that it becomes possible to observe the far side. Mars Express did just this on 7, 10 and 13 March 2010. Mars Express also collected data with other instruments.
Phobos is an irregular body measuring some 27 × 22 × 19 km. Its origin is debated. It appears to share many surface characteristics with the class of 'carbonaceous C-type' asteroids, which suggests it might have been captured from this population. However, it is difficult to explain either the capture mechanism or the subsequent evolution of the orbit into the equatorial plane of Mars. An alternative hypothesis is that it formed around Mars, and is therefore a remnant from the planetary formation period.
In 2011 Russia will send a mission called Phobos–Grunt (meaning Phobos Soil) to land on the martian moon, collect a soil sample and return it to Earth for analysis.
For operational and landing safety reasons, the proposed landing sites were selected on the far side of Phobos within the area 5°S-5°N, 230-235°E. This region was imaged by the HRSC high-resolution camera of Mars Express during the July-August 2008 flybys of Phobos. But new HRSC images showing the vicinity of the landing area under different conditions, such as better illumination from the Sun, remain highly valuable for mission planners.
It is expected that Earth-based ESA stations will take part in controlling Phobos-Grunt, receiving telemetry and making trajectory measurements, including implementation of very long-baseline interferometry (VLBI). This cooperation is realized on the basis of the agreement on collaboration of the Russian Federal Space Agency and ESA in the framework of the 'Phobos-Grunt' and 'ExoMars' projects.
Mars Express will continue to encounter Phobos until the end of March, when the moon will pass out of range. During the remaining flybys, HRSC and other instruments will continue to collect data.Earlier this year, a spokesperson for George H.W. Bush said the 91-year-old was “retired from politics” and did not plan on endorsing a candidate in the upcoming election. Thanks to the unparalleled outing capabilities of everyone’s favorite social network, however, the former president’s preference was revealed anyway this week.
On Monday, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend—the former lieutenant governor of Maryland and daughter of Robert Kennedy—posted a picture of herself and Bush on Facebook, captioning the photo, “The President told me he’s voting for Hillary!!”
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According to Townsend, the post was spurred by a conversation the two had earlier that day where Bush said he was voting for “a Democrat.”
“That’s what he said,” Townsend told Politico.
Despite Townsend’s interpretation of the private comment as a public statement, however, the former president’s camp remained tight-lipped about his decision.
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“The vote President Bush will cast as a private citizen in some 50 days will be just that: a private vote cast in some 50 days,” a Bush spokesperson told CNN. “He is not commenting on the presidential race in the interim.”
Or, at least, not commenting any more.
[Politico]× Justice Department appoints special counsel in Russia investigation
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department on Wednesday appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to oversee the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, including potential collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller to the position in a letter obtained by CNN. Attorney General Jeff Sessions previously recused himself from any involvement in the Russia investigation due to is role as a prominent campaign adviser and surrogate.
Mueller’s appointment aims to quell the wave of criticism that President Donald Trump and his administration have faced since Trump fired FBI Director James Comey last week in the middle of the FBI’s intensifying investigation into contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials. That criticism swelled on Tuesday evening as excerpts of a memo Comey wrote in February surfaced, in which Comey writes Trump asked him to drop the FBI investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
That news intensified demands from Democrats on Capitol Hill for the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel or prosecutor to oversee the case. Republicans on Tuesday evening began to join those calls.
By Jeremy Diamond and Laura Jarrett, CNNMore than 100 prisoners at an Edinburgh prison are claiming to be Jewish so they can eat better-quality kosher meals, an official inspection report has revealed.
The trend, which is costing HMP Edinburgh vast sums of money, is believed to have been sparked by an episode of the popular US prison drama Orange Is The New Black.
Around 13 per cent of the 870-capacity jail’s population is currently on a kosher diet, which is four times more expensive than the regular menu, the report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) says.
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In an episode of Orange Is The New Black which aired in 2015, character Cindy Hayes converts to Judaism as she believes she will get “better quality food” as a result. Kosher food outlaws pork and shellfish and means than meat cannot be prepared next to dairy products.
While regular prison meals cost around £2, the kosher option costs the prison almost £8.
Inspectors said the significant additional cost meant that the trend should be investigated “with some urgency” by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS).
“It was noted that a significant number of prisoners had decided to move onto a kosher diet, which did not appear to be for wholly faith based reasons,” the HMICS report states.
“Given the significant additional expenses of providing this diet, over four times as expensive as the daily food allowance for each prisoner, the SPS should seek to understand the underlying reasons for this development in order to address this situation with some degree of urgency.”
It adds: “The most popular non-standard diet by far was kosher. “At the time of inspection 111 prisoners received a kosher diet, which equated to approximately 13 per cent of the overall prison population. “This, we were informed, was due to increase by a further 10 the following week. “SPS and prison management need to review this situation with some urgency to understand the reason why so many individuals are opting out of eating from the main menu options in such numbers.” A prison source who has worked at the jail since 2010 said the situation was “verging on the ridiculous”. “The number of Jewish prisoners is negligible – I think we had two in 2014,” he told the Daily Mirror newspaper. “Ever since one guy converted to Judaism we’ve seen a huge rise in the number claiming to be Jewish as they saw the meals were better. “It’s about time someone saw through this farce and did something about it, but I can see what will come next, we’ll get accused of religious discrimination if we stop their meals.”Indian Railways schedules will now be available on Google Transit, a feature on Google Maps. In addition, the updated public transport information for eight Indian cities would be available on the App, a company release said.
[related-post]
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Google Transit, a feature in Google Maps, helps in planning public transport trips efficiently, and is available through Google Maps app on any Android or iOS device, as well as on the desktop.
The current update will allow access to information for 12,000 trains, as well as updated details for bus and metro routes from Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune, the statement said.
“Google Transit is part of our effort to make Google Maps more comprehensive, accurate and useful for millions of people around the world who take buses, trains, metros or trams to their next destination,” Google Maps director, program management, Suren Ruhela said.
“We hope that the addition of the Indian Railways schedules pan-India and updated information for eight cities to Google Transit in India will make it a little easier to plan your next trip,” he said.
Google Maps has public transportation schedules for more than one million transit stops worldwide in 2,800 cities, including New York, London, Tokyo and Sydney.
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Since 2005, Google has collaborated with hundreds of public transit agencies worldwide to make their schedule information accessible to all Google Maps users.Editors note: Chinese politician Bo Xilai was sacked as the Communist Party leader of the Chongqing municipality a day after this story was published.
HONG KONG — China's annual National People's Congress wrapped up earlier today. As usual, it was a highly choreographed show of legislative rubber stamping.
But there's a real political drama unfolding behind the scenes.
This fall, a once-a-decade transfer of power will take place. As that approaches, two visions of the future of the party's economic policy vie for dominance.
In one corner are the proponents of state capitalism, newly empowered after the global financial crisis. Their agenda has benefited from three years of massive stimulus spending, funneled to government-run companies.
Here, the flamboyant, ambitious, "red song"-loving Chongqing party leader Bo Xilai stands tall.
In the other are pro-reform, pro-market advocates who believe the Chinese people are best served by a lighter hand from Beijing, on society as well as the economy. Typically, this view is personified by Wang Yang, the party boss in prosperous Guandong province.
More from GlobalPost: Chinese cars, made in Bulgaria
Heading into the People's Congress, experts were expecting a showdown between the ideas represented by these two figures, who are competing for spots among China's true rulers, the nine-person Politboro standing committee.
So, whose vision gained the upper hand? Tea-leaf watchers say it's still a toss-up.
Bo Xilai’s stature took a blow when his deputy fled to the US Embassy last month, apparently seeking asylum. It’s unclear whether that will hurt his chances of reaching the party’s top rung.
It’s also uncertain whether the Chinese Communist Party is leaning toward Bo’s draconian approach to keeping social order, or a more liberal stance.
"It's hard to say," said David Zweig, chair professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. "Everybody knows that the system has problems. When you go into China these days, when something happens, they say, 'That’s a systemic problem.' … Nobody’s been willing to do much about it."
Critics also take fault with Beijing's heavy investment in state-run companies over the last four years. The Communist Party began to question market reforms in the wake of 2008's global economic collapse.
“Since the financial crisis, there has been a greater skepticism toward markets,” said Patrick Chovanec, professor of economics at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
“Even more than around the rest of the world, the Chinese will point to TARP" — the US government's massive financial intervention in the private sector — "and the bailout of GM and will say, 'We were right all along.' What’s happened globally has reaffirmed that stance.”
More from GlobalPost: Is China giving up on Syria?
At the same time, those within the government with ties to those companies have seen their fortunes balloon while average Chinese salaries have stagnated. The net worth of 70 members of the National People's Congress adds up to over $90 billion, according to the Hurun Report, a group that tracks wealth in China. The average income of an urban worker last year was $3,500.
It's no surprise, then, that a poll of 1.5 million online users by People's Daily prior to the NPC showed that inequality ranks as one of the top three issues for the Chinese public.
The NPC is well aware of the issue — especially after Chinese internet users mocked one NPC delegate for wearing a $2,000 pink Italian suit — but that does not mean it will be easy to address.
"As any political scientist can tell you, it’s easy to print money, but it’s much harder to redistribute," said Zweig. The inextricable ties of China's political elite with its fabulously rich state sector make it all the more complicated. One report from 2009 estimated that over 90 percent of the country’s wealthiest citizens were children of senior party officials.
Beyond financial factors, the caginess of China's presumptive president prevents any certainty about which way the party will turn at this crossroads. Xi Jinping, who visited the United States last month and is expected to be tapped as the next president at the transfer of power in October, has kept his ideological loyalties close to the vest.
"Nobody knows where the next leadership stands,"Chovanec said. "The only thing that could derail Xi Jinping coming to power is him making enemies, so he's very guarded."
Whatever Xi's views, China's current leadership already has plenty of advocates of state capitalism.
One NPC delegate, Xiang Wenbo, asserted during the proceedings that “a market-oriented economy is not suitable for China,” saying that state-owned companies “continue to play a dominant role in industries related to natural resources, national security and people's livelihoods.”
Even from the top of the party, there came flashing signs that change is needed.
In an emotional final address to the congress after his 10 year tenure, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Wednesday that political reform was “urgent,” warning in a dire key that another Cultural Revolution could happen if the “new problems that have cropped up in China’s society” are not “fundamentally resolved.”
Economically, the signs are clear that too many of the benefits of China’s scorching growth have flowed to the politically connected. One measure of inequality called the Gini coefficient puts China’s gap between the rich and poor on par with Swaziland — surpassing levels associated with social strife.
A World Bank report that came out prior to the NPC underscored how dire the need is, saying China requires a “ |
public office.
Four years after the incident – and two years after the IPCC found the police had breached Pace – the Met has agreed to settle with the woman and paid her £37,000 in damages. They have not issued an apology.
Claire Hilder, from Hodge Jones and Allen, which represented the woman, said: “My client was subjected to a humiliating ordeal at a time when she was clearly vulnerable and in need of medical attention. The officers involved acted in clear breach of professional regulations, taking an unjustified, callous and cavalier approach to the strip-search. This incident has caused her signficiant and lasting distress.
“These violations were totally unjustified and whilst we welcome this settlement my client has as yet received no apology.”
The woman, who now works abroad, criticised the length of time it had taken to settle the issue. She said: “It has taken four years for the Metropolitan police to give me any acknowledgement that the way I was treated was unacceptable. I hope I can now put this behind me and get on with my life.”
A spokesman for the Met said: “The claim arose from an arrest in March 2011. Officers arrested a woman for a public order offence. She was charged and bailed to court for four counts of assault on a constable. The matter was discontinued due to insufficient evidence. We do not disclose settlement amounts.”Last night, hundreds of people crowded into the Muldrow Public Schools cafeteria as the school board met to discuss what would become of the Ten Commandments plaques that have been posted in all the classrooms for the past two decades.
Mary L. Crider of The Times Record was there and reported two things worth mentioned here.
The first is that a local pastor spoke up in defense of the plaques:
Muldrow First Assembly of God Senior Pastor Shawn Money, a representative of the Christian Muldrow Ministry Alliance, told school officials, “We understand the last two weeks have been very difficult for you. We support you. We’re praying for you… We know that in 1980 the Supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional to have the Ten Commandments in public schools for religious purposes… We disagree.” Many audience members called out “amens.” Money said the many Christians in attendance do believe the Ten Commandments have a place in public classrooms and that they are a foundation of our nation. He said the attendees are grateful the Commandments had been in the school for 20 years and hoped they would be again. In an essay Money wrote and read, “I am the Ten Commandments,” he stated that they were written first by God, passed down through generations and would endure until the end of time. The Ten Commandments, Money said, are the voice of morality and “the thread of the fabric that has held many nations together.” When he finished, the crowd shouted loud “amens” and gave Money a lengthy standing ovation.
If it wasn’t obvious already, the crowd was overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the Commandments up. Pastor Money (no pun intended?) said that he supported the board’s decision, but wanted to go on record as saying he supports the Ten Commandments, too. As if that was ever in doubt.
The other noteworthy item is the school board’s decision. They weren’t swayed by all the Christians and they ended up doing the right thing, albeit very reluctantly:
School attorney Jerry Richardson of Tulsa said he was not going to try to change the attendees’ minds, nor would the school board want him to try. “They wish the Ten Commandments could remain in the classrooms. Unfortunately, it is my unpleasant job to tell you the situation is otherwise,” Richardson said. … Chambers’ voice choked as he told the audience the board wished it had another alternative, but removed the plaques rather than spend taxpayer money for costly legal fees that would be incurred fighting to keep them.
In short: We would totally break the law to promote Christianity if we could, but the law won’t let us.
It’s poor reasoning and hardly the sort of strong statement you want to hear from a school board representative, but either way, the plaques are no longer in the classrooms.
And we can thank one student for that.
As I reported over the weekend, Gage Pulliam is the junior who (at the time) anonymously blew the whistle on his school’s obvious violation of church/state separation by taking a picture of one of the plaques and letting the Freedom From Religion Foundation know about what his school was doing.
What the news reports did not tell you is that Gage was at the meeting last night. And it was the scariest night of his life.
I spoke with Gage late last night to get his version of the story, and his tone was very different from the one you saw in the brief interview above or the articles that mention him.
He told me how he felt after hearing the decision:
I’m happy. I’m not happy that I “beat the Christians” but that the school board understood what needed to be done.
Even so, that happiness came at a price.
I was shaking. I was pale. I was the most scared I’ve been in my life because people were threatening me through their looks.
Of the hundreds of people there, Gage and his family members may have been among the only people there in support of taking the Commandments down.
Gage didn’t join in the standing ovation for Pastor Money. Gage and his brother clapped loudly when Mr. Richardson announced that the school board was going to comply with the law. As a result, a lot of people stared in his direction. Lots of unhappy looks went his way. Even when he was filming an interview with a local news channel, he had to face the camera — and the crowd behind it. They looked at him like he was in the center of a firing squad.
Inside the cafeteria, his dad overheard one man saying he wanted to punch Gage in the face.
When he spoke to me over the weekend, Gage said he wasn’t scared. But he’s pretty scared now:
They hated me. They were disgusted with me.
Do you think they’ll do something to you?
I hope not. They might say something to me at school. After the principal found out it was me [who alerted FFRF], he told me he would help me. So did some football players.
Are you going to take any precautions just in case?
I’m gonna try to walk to class with a few people and stay in small groups, mostly. The principal said he would check up on me during the day.
I asked Gage if students were still planning on wearing their Ten Commandments t-shirts on Wednesday even though the decision has already been made to remove the plaques.
They were, he said with a laugh. But that didn’t bother him. He’s fine with that. In fact, those students are supporting what he already believes: that broadcasting your religious beliefs is fine on a personal level; it’s just not okay when the government (in this case, the school) promotes it.
As before, I’ll keep following this story throughout the week and posting updates on how Gage is doing. He really does thank all of you for your support and kind words.The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday pledged to make all diplomatic efforts to prevent 29 North Korean defectors being deported from China back to their repressive home country.
On July 15-17, the defectors and six of their South Korean helpers were arrested in Qingdao and Kunming in China.
A ministry official declined to disclose the identity of the defectors, citing safety concerns.
The defectors were arrested while hiding in Qingdao or traveling on an established escape route to Southeast Asia with a view to reaching South Korea. They have already been taken to a detention center in the town of Tumen on the border with North Korea.
A staffer of an agency helping defectors said, "Chinese authorities may have wanted to move them quietly to the border and deport them before anyone notices, so this is making things awkward for Beijing."
But South Korean government officials have not been able to interview the South Korean helpers, who include Na Su-hyun (39), himself a defector who now has a South Korean passport. Seoul and Beijing have signed a consular agreement, but it has yet to take effect.
A relative of one of the defectors said, "The Tumen detention center is stopping the families from speaking to them. If they're deported to the North, they'll definitely be sent to a concentration camp."
The defectors, most of whom are of families, left Cheongjin and Musan, North Hamgyong Province or Hyesan, Ryanggang Province in June and July. They include a couple in their 60s and a one-year-old baby girl.Forty years ago I worked on the Indian economy for the World Bank. Ever since, I have been fascinated by the place. The ability of this huge and poor nation to sustain a lively democracy has been among the world’s political wonders. Yet its economic performance has fallen short of what it might have been. Despite improvements in policy and performance since the crisis of 1991, this remains the case. Nevertheless, India is now the world’s fastest-growing large economy. What might it be in future?
It is with this question in my mind that I have visited Delhi in recent days. It is hard to judge what is happening in terms of immediate performance and policy. But four conclusions emerge. First, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party government, in power since 2014, represents continuity rather than the pro-market transformation many supporters naively expected. Second, short-term performance and prospects appear favourable relative both to the immediate past and to what is happening almost everywhere else. Third, medium-term performance should also be decent, provided the government implements the reforms it has already outlined. This is partly because India retains so much potential. Yet, fourth, it also faces risks, external and internal. Success must not be taken for granted.
Consider, then, the character of the government. It is centralised in the office of the prime minister. Its orientation is more towards management than to markets, and more towards projects than to policies. It has shown no inclination towards radical privatisation or restructuring of inefficient public monopolies. It continues to spend large sums on inefficient subsidies. To be fair, the upper house, which the government does not control, has so far blocked legislation where the government wishes to do the right thing. A salient example is the services tax — a national value added tax that would accelerate integration of India’s internal market.
An MP, from neither the BJP nor the Congress party, told me the government was “above average”. When it is compared with those of the past quarter of a century, this seems right.
When the government came to power, the economy was suffering from rapid consumer price inflation and sizeable fiscal deficits. Helped by falling oil prices, the former is down from above 10 per cent in 2013 to below 6 per cent. The central government’s fiscal deficit is forecast to fall from 4.5 per cent of gross domestic product in 2013–14 (April to March) to 3.5 per cent next year. The economy grew only 5.3 per cent in 2012–13. This is forecast to reach 7.5 per cent in 2015–16. The Ministry of Finance’s latest Economic Survey forecasts growth at between 7 per cent and 7.75 per cent next year, albeit with downside risks. This would not be stellar by India’s standards. But it would be stellar by those of the world.
Performance, then, seems satisfactory. Will it remain so? Probably, particularly since the central bank should be able to cut interest rates below today’s 6.75 per cent in the next few months. Furthermore, after two poor years, the coming monsoon rains may well be bigger. Yet the near-term optimism must be qualified: first, exports, stagnant for years, are now falling; second, credit growth has slowed sharply; and, third, gross investment fell from 39 per cent of GDP in 2011–12 to 34.2 per cent in 2014–15. It is vital this is at least stabilised.
India could sustain growth at something close to current rates into the medium term. According to the International Monetary Fund, its GDP per head (at purchasing power parity) is just 11 per cent of US levels, against China’s 25 per cent. This indicates substantial room for fast catch-up growth. The economy is also reasonably well balanced. Dramatic transformation might not be in the offing: in the absence of a crisis, that was never likely. But improvements are on the way. They include accelerated infrastructure investment; greater openness to foreign direct investment; more effective administration; consolidation and recapitalisation of public sector banks; a proper bankruptcy code; freedom for states to compete on pro-growth policies; delivery of public assistance by means of the system of unique identification numbers; and, not least, the GST.
Nevertheless, India must not be complacent. The country has shifted from socialism with restricted entry to capitalism without exit: closing down businesses and laying off workers is extremely difficult. The latter is one reason why jobs in the organised private sector amount to 2 per cent of the labour force. Markets for land, labour and capital are all highly distorted. High protection at the border restricts the ability to participate in global value chains. Important product markets are uncompetitive. Even the vaunted information technology sector seems to be losing its dynamism. The overall quality of education is poor. In all, a huge amount of change is still needed. Yet pressure from a rising middle class is likely, in the end, to force much needed reforms.
This leaves three other risks. One is outright conflict, most plausibly with Pakistan. This at present looks unlikely. Another is a global slump. But a slump big enough to derail growth in a nation of India’s size and diversity, as long as it is well run, seems a modest probability.
A final risk derives from the BJP’s “Tea Party” — its chauvinistic, intolerant elements. Muslims make up 14 per cent of the population. One of the miracles of post-independence India is the way people divided by religion, caste and opinion have managed to live democratically and mostly peacefully, side by side. This is a great achievement. If it is to last, responsible politicians must remember that they govern for all Indians, including those they dislike or disagree with. Tolerance of differences matters in all democracies. In one as huge and complex as India, it is truly vital.
martin.wolf@ft.comRepublicans on the House Judiciary Committee are asking the Justice Department to appoint a second special counsel, this one to investigate Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
In a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the Judiciary Republicans say they want a second investigator to match Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is conducting a sprawling investigation of the Trump campaign and various Trump associates.
“The unbalanced, uncertain, and seemingly unlimited focus of the special counsel’s investigation has led many of our constituents to see a dual standard of justice that benefits only the powerful and politically well-connected,” the Republicans say.
In their letter, the Republicans list 14 separate categories they say should be investigated by the additional special counsel.
They are calling for a deeper investigation of Hillary Clinton and her potential mishandling of classified information.
The Republicans are also questioning why the Justice Department did not impanel a grand jury to look into the mishandling of classified information. They also want to look into Comey’s recent claim that he was ordered by Lynch to publicly refer to the Clinton email probe as a “matter” instead of an investigation.
Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee last month that he was “confused and concerned” by Lynch’s request.
Regarding Comey, the Republicans want the special counsel to look into “any and all potential leaks originated by Mr. Comey and provide to author Michael Schmidt dating back to 1993.”
Schmidt is a New York Times reporter who has broken a number of stories about the ongoing Trump-Russia probe, as well as about memos that Comey wrote after his meetings earlier this year with Trump.
After he was fired by Trump on May 9, Comey leaked those memos to a friend, Columbia University Law School professor Daniel Richman. At Comey’s direction, Richman read portions of the memos to Schmidt. Comey testified last month that he leaked the memos in order to force the appointment of a special counsel.
Rosenstein did just that days later.
One memo relayed to Schmidt discussed Comey’s Feb. 14 discussion with Trump about Michael Flynn, who had been fired as Trump’s national security director the day before.
Comey said that Trump asked him to back off of an investigation of Flynn.
The special counsel should also look into leaks of classified information, including the unmasking of Trump administration officials, by the Obama administration, the Republicans say. The letter suggest that the leak probe should focus on Comey, Lynch, former national security adviser Susan Rice, and former United Nations Amb. Samantha Power.
The Republicans, led by Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the committee’s chairman, also want the special counsel to investigate the FBI’s reliance on an anti-Trump dossier created by Fusion GPS, an opposition research firm that was working for an ally of Clinton’s.
The FBI used the dossier to form the basis of part of its investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Kremlin.
“You have the ability now to right the ship for the American people so these investigations may proceed independently and impartially. The American public has a right to know the facts — all of them — surrounding the election and its aftermath,” the Republicans state in their letter.
Follow Chuck on TwitterJust a few months after the platform’s production launch, the first Ethereum startups are already receiving interest, and in some cases, undisclosed investments, from digital currency-focused VC firms.
Interviews with four of the leading blockchain and digital currency industry investors revealed that many are already performing due diligence on startups utilizing the decentralized application platform. Announced in 2014, Ethereum has gained significant traction of late following a successful hard fork and testing from major financial institutions.
Travis Scher, investment associate at Digital Currency Group (DCG), for instance, said the New York-based firm has so far evaluated 20 to 30 startups working on Ethereum, while Blockchain Capital managing partner Bart Stephens told CoinDesk that the firm has already made two as-yet-undisclosed investments in such startups.
Stephens said that Blockchain Capital, one of the technology’s most active early-stage investors, is “bullish” on Ethereum due to the positive feedback its technology has received from institutions.
The firm has even appointed a junior associate, Jeremy Gardner, to focus on the area for its portfolio, which already includes bitcoin-based startups such as Coinbase and Xapo.
Stephens told CoinDesk:
“We love bitcoin, we love the bitcoin blockchain, but we also see a multi-chain future. Some of the enterprise customers are interested in federated and private chains and Ethereum is pretty high on the list.”
When announced, such an investment would mark an early sign of confidence for Ethereum, which only recently launched with a limited set of features. In the months and years ahead, the platform plans a number of complex updates, including a switch from proof-of-work transaction verification to a proof-of-stake approach.
Other bitcoin and blockchain-focused venture firms including DCG, Boost VC and Pantera Capital indicated they are interested in investing in Ethereum startups, but have not yet provided funding to any entrepreneurs.
DCG said it expects to make its first investment in a digital currency company in Q2 or Q3 of 2016, and that “a few” Ethereum startups would likely join its portfolio by the year’s end.
By contrast, the first investment in a company working on the bitcoin protocol wasn’t made until April 2012, more than three years after its first block was mined in January 2009. At the time, Draper Associates made a seed investment in the now-defunct bitcoin-focused incubator CoinLab.
Investment challenges
As for why investors aren’t yet placing any public bets, most respondents suggested they felt it was too early to tell how strong Ethereum’s developer ecosystem will remain.
Such statements coincide with long-standing statements from industry investors that the health of bitcoin’s developer ecosystem is one of its most attractive attributes.
“One of the challenges in evaluating Ethereum startups is the community is still fairly small and some of the entrepreneurs are newer to the cryptocurrency ecosystem, making it difficult to navigate,” Meltem Demirors, director of community at DCG, told CoinDesk.
Demirors went on to describe the early bitcoin ecosystem as perhaps more connected and more technical than the Ethereum ecosystem of today.
Others, like Brayton Williams, co-founder of Silicon Valley-based incubator Boost VC, indicated that there is perhaps a lack of mature entrepreneurs building on the technology.
“For us we need to first find great people who are out to solve a problem and that are confident Ethereum could be the solution or provide tools for the solution,” he told CoinDesk. “We do our best to avoid those who are just very excited about Ethereum technology and then go try to find a problem.”
Paul Veradittakit, venture investor at Pantera Capital, noted that his firm is often pegged as a bitcoin-only investor, but that it has been eager to take a multi-blockchain approach, something he suggested Ethereum now allows. Yet, he said the firm has questions about how the technology will overcome upcoming challenges.
“You want to make sure that the security is well thought out, that the scalability is thought out and that you identify the use cases,” Veradittakit said, adding: “We’ve been monitoring it.”
Veradittakit said Pantera has no plans as of now to offer an ether fund to complement its bitcoin fund, introduced in 2014.
Bitcoin startup interest
A driver factor behind the interest, respondents said, is that digital currency industry firms are paying attention to, and implementing, Ethereum as part of their market approach.
Stephens noted that a number of Blockchain Capital’s portfolio firms, including Bitfinex, Kraken and BitGo, are now offering Ethereum services, and that GoCoin, a payment processing firm, would soon add support.
“We’re seeing a lot of companies add Ethereum. Instead of selling chocolate, now they have chocolate and vanilla,” he said.
Demirors said that some DCG portfolio companies are taking a similar path, building infrastructure for the ecosystem’s service providers.
“I think many of the early movers we’ll see in this ecosystem are existing bitcoin companies that can leverage their operational capabilities and strategic relationships with banks, regulators and other stakeholders to begin building a robust, global network for exchanging, holding, storing and managing ether,” she said.
Notably, such a logic has been historically used by the financial industry to suggest why it might be more able to help blockchain-based technologies reach the mass market.
Growth potential
As for the growth potential for Ethereum startups, respondents were mixed on projections.
DCG’s Scher said that a cornerstone of its investment thesis is that bitcoin is both a secure store of value and a financial rail, and that Ethereum is unlikely to compete against the bitcoin in these areas.
However, Scher sees Ethereum potentially competing against bitcoin in serving as a platform for smart contracts, identity management and provenance, other potentially large and impactful areas for the technology.
“Startups building these types of products and services may opt to use Ethereum in the future because of its ease of use and other features that it possesses, and that’s a terrific development for us and the blockchain ecosystem,” he said.
Demirors said she believes the Ethereum community could one day surpass bitcoin in terms of the number of developers it attracts due to an easier scripting language, but said that it’s not out of the question innovators won’t find solutions to these issues.
Overall, Stephens noted that he sees interest in Ethereum as positive, but that VC firms are just now beginning to analyze the industry for potential investments.
“It’s still early. We’ve met with over a dozen companies, and only a few of them in our opinion are investable,” Stephens said, concluding:
“I think that will change.”
Disclaimer: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group.
Homestead image via Ethereum17 February 2010
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ZJ: 410 years ago, Giordano Bruno died in a city square in Rome. He was a philosopher. He was an astronomer. And he was murdered by religion.
Bruno was one of the first to postulate that the stars in the sky are much like our own sun, and move in their own way, possibly even with their own planets inhabited by other lifeforms. Naturally, he denied that the earth could occupy a unique and fixed place in the universe. He developed various mnemonic methods as memory aids, which some suspected to be a kind of black magic. He spoke out against the doctrines of the Catholic church, such as transubstantiation and the virgin birth, and instead proposed a form of pantheism, where the universe was synonymous with God. And he believed that Jesus was not divine, but rather a magician of great skill.
For all of this, Bruno was brought before the tribunals of the Inquisition on charges of blasphemy and heresy. He was extradited to Rome, where he was imprisoned for seven years. Throughout his trial, he was given several opportunities to recant—an offer which Galileo would later accept. Bruno did not, and was subsequently found guilty of heresy. At his sentencing, he was said to have told the judges: "Perhaps you pronounce this sentence against me with greater fear than I receive it."
In the year 1600, Giordano Bruno was burned to death as a heretic. His life was ended by the church, all in the name of preserving the purity of their lies.
This terrible episode serves as an instructive example of what can happen when religion is in power. If religion is allowed to take on the authority of government, and dogma acquires the force of law, everyone's freedom is in jeopardy: the freedom to think, the freedom to believe, the freedom to express oneself, and yes, the freedom to exist.
Even to this day, the Catholic Encyclopedia maintains that Bruno was only condemned for his "theological errors", which is about as meaningful as accusing someone of heresy for disagreeing about the ending of Evangelion. Fortunately, the church now recognizes that a death sentence, or indeed any legal sentence, is not an appropriate consequence for holding different beliefs. If only they had realized this in the year 1600.
Such an obvious and tragic error calls into question the very notion that religion has any enduring claim to truth, or authority, or morality. Who is to say that in the next decade, the church won't reverse its stance on birth control, abortion or gay marriage, in the same way that its views have evolved since the 17th century? It could happen. It has happened.
So how can we know that the church is not just as mistaken today, and that in the years to come, its views won't be renounced yet again? And in light of this, how can its moral proclamations be considered in any way authoritative? They may believe that their present views are, at last, correct. But keep in mind, in the year 1600, they also believed that their views were correct.
If there's anything we can be certain of, it's this: Always be skeptical of the claims of religion. Always question its authority. And never let religion take power again.
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First of all our hoodies are for loving people: for couples and families.
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At the beginning of a long journey of Together Wear, I lived in Moscow. My sport carriers was over, and I has begun to learn the business and online promotion craft.
During one of cold autumn days, I was walking through the park with my girlfriend. We walked arm in arm and their hands began to freeze. At this very moment there was insight and concept of Together Wear was born. I told my childhood friend Iskander about the idea. We started planning and designing first hoodies model.
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All these factors were taken into account, we pored over a sketch with the technologists by developing the perfect hoodie for lovers. We did sketches, various forms of cut and picked the perfect cozy material, so that it was comfortable hoodie to walk, do sports, travel, relax in the nature. And we still wanted them to look aesthetically pleasing, even when you do not wear it in a pair. Form of Chukcha Together hoodies was designed from the ground up as we did not take any goodies for the prototype, working out the form for 4 years, constantly changing and improving it. Up to this day, we sometimes make changes to the basic patterns.
During the creating process we were picking up the best angle of pocket, because a guy and a girl could be of different heights. Then there was a question of pocket magnitude so that hand may pass deep enough. Finally how to implement technically a pocket of such size, while maintaining the aesthetic appearance of the hoodie! It was also important that it was not too hot.
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Now is the time to go big. Our goal is to bring coziness of Together Wear to 10 000 people. And we will be very thankful if you support this project, or share it with your friends!The flat basin of the Viñales Valley is a refuge from western Cuba’s forested rolling hills. Its red farm fields are punctuated by distinctive gumdrop-shaped limestone karsts called mogotes, topped with trees and stained by seeping minerals. Tourists come to Viñales to roll cigars on tobacco farms and hike between hills under big blue skies. I went for the snails.
On a rainy summer afternoon earlier this year, a ranger for Viñales National Park named Roilan Rojas led a friend and me up the steep side of a mogote, navigating us through a maze-like world of hanging vines and dark chasms in jagged limestone. Rojas studies snails with biologists from the University of Havana. He pointed out smooth and copper-shelled Zachrysia guanensis, slender and zigzagged liguus, hulking veronicella slugs. Many Viñales land snails are endemic to Cuba. Some only live in trees; others invade the shells of fellow snails and eat them from within. Rojas told me that differing colors of some snails are rarely seen together, even if they belong to the same species. I asked why. “We don’t know,” he said, and with a wag of his finger: “but we will know.”
According to Rojas, it’s only one of many mysteries about Cuba’s snails. The Liguus carbonaria, a snail with a white-tipped black shell, has been seen on only one mogote and only on two documented occasions, decades apart. Questions also remain, he said, about how long snails live, how densely they populate mogotes, and why their shells vary so widely in color. What is known, however, is that the snails of Viñales are biological treasures. The mogotes are too far apart for snails to migrate from one to another, so the creatures have been evolving in isolation despite being as little as a few hundred yards away. The result is a Galapagos effect, an unusually vast genetic diversity within one small geographic area. Some snail species live only on a single Viñales mogote.
There is ecological richness throughout Cuba. Swimming in the waters of María la Gorda, a remote bay on the western tip of the island, I floated along an idling speedboat with a few dozen pale and pink snorkelers. Despite the blaring reggaeton being projected into the water by the boat pilots, there were clusters of bright Caribbean fish feeding among the coral covering the sea floor. This reef encounters little human disturbance. A lone hotel dots María la Gorda’s pristine shore; dense and tangled tropical vegetation takes over on the compound’s edge. Tube sponges, sea fans, and brain coral thrive within swimming distance from the shore. Black coral, grouper, and whale sharks lurk deeper down. Relatively unthreatened by overfishing, nitrate runoff, and stomping tourists, Cuban reefs are among the healthiest in the world.
Generations ago, many of the planet’s coral reefs would have looked as unspoiled as María la Gorda. It’s fodder for the popular cliché that Cuba is frozen in time, its antique cars, aging colonial architecture, and low-tech lifestyle reminiscent of a long-gone era. If so, the country picked a good time to freeze. Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution sidelined Cuba for the most economically prosperous and environmentally destructive era in all of human history. The island boasts mature mahogany, an abundance of endemic species, and healthy wetlands. Much of Cuban agriculture is organic. Protected areas cover an impressive 20 percent of Cuban land. As the rest of the world has felled its tropical forests, the forest cover on the island has actually increased.
In Cuba today, population growth is stable, malnutrition is low, higher education is free, and most tropical diseases have been eradicated. Cubans can expect to live seventy-nine years, slightly outliving Americans. No other country in the world has achieved such longevity while at the same time polluting so little. The average Cuban has a 4.7-acre ecological footprint, the total amount of land area needed to grow the food they eat, produce the goods they use, and absorb the carbon they emit. For humans to avoid depleting the earth’s ecological resources, we would all have to live on about 4 acres each, according to the environmental nonprofit Global Footprint Network. As of 2011, Costa Ricans each used 5.4 acres, Norwegians almost 12, Americans nearly 17.
Cuba owes this ecologically lean development to strong social programs, a dedicated cadre of conservationists, and, despite revolutionary leaders’ grand visions, a chronically erratic economy. “Cuba hasn’t been able to develop like it has wanted to. Cuba has wanted to increase its level of consumption—and now wants to even more, in fact—but it hasn’t been able to,” said Isbel Díaz Torres, head of the Havana-based environmental activist group Guardabosques. “It hasn’t known how. It has chosen bad international allies to do it on many occasions. And so that has brought us to the place we are now with low consumption, but it’s not because of a policy of ‘we’re going to consume less to have less environmental impact.’ In fact, the policy has always been the opposite.”
After taking power in 1959, Cuban revolutionary leaders expected that they would be overseeing the island’s rapid industrialization. They believed that bringing the economy under state control would free it from its capitalist shackles and unleash scientific socialist efficiency. In August of 1961, the head of Cuba’s newly created Central Planning Board declared that annual economic growth would soon hit a sky-high 10 percent, and that the island would have a European standard of living by the early 1970s. He and his counterparts instead oversaw a chaotic transition to socialism and a decade of near-total economic stagnation. “We didn’t have the development that we aspired to,” Díaz Torres said, “but we did aspire!”
The optimism of the Cuban leadership was derailed by not only the typical dysfunctions of centrally planned economies, but also the American trade embargo, which was in full force by 1962. “We made promises that have not been fulfilled,” Fidel Castro said on television in March of that year, announcing new food rationing policies. Shortages and long lines became a constant of Cuban life. Most citizens could count on access to electricity, a school, and a doctor, but meat, telephone service, and new clothes were often scarce. All the while, Cubans were exhorted to work harder and sacrifice for the revolution.
The island’s economy grew modestly until the collapse of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the “Special Period.” In the span of a few years, the nation lost 70 percent of its oil supply and 80 percent of its total imports. Imported fertilizer and animal feed virtually disappeared. Blackouts lasted as long as ten hours a day. Soap and detergent were hard to find. Cubans began biking everywhere in the tropical heat, despite losing approximately a third of their caloric intake. Cubans lost an average of twenty pounds each, and fifty thousand went temporarily blind due to vitamin deficiencies.
Twenty years after the depths of the post-Soviet crisis, Venezuelan oil flows and diets have recovered, but life in Cuba still demands ingenuity and sacrifice. In Havana, a city of two million, behemoth city buses imported from China transport hundreds of people shoulder to shoulder, sweating. Masking tape holds soccer cleats together. Decorative floral arrangements are assembled from used |
presidents from both parties have regularly ignored it, and Congress has often been reluctant to assert itself. Some critics have suggested that the resolution has functioned so poorly that it should be scrapped.
"It is ineffective at best and unconstitutional at worst. No president has recognized its constitutionality, and Congress has never pressed the issue. Nor has the Supreme Court ever ruled on its constitutionality. In fact, courts have largely shied away from refereeing war-powers disputes between the two political branches," wrote James Baker and Warren Christopher in 2008. The two former secretaries of state, one a Republican and one a Democrat, studied the issue for a year and then recommended that it be replaced.
But for now, the law remains in force. So, earlier this month, butting up against the 90-day mark since action in Libya began, the Obama administration released a report summarizing its actions in Libya. The administration did not claim that the War Powers Resolution was unconstitutional but argued instead that its actions in Libya didn't meet the definition of "hostilities," so the War Powers Resolution did not apply.
"U.S. military operations are distinct from the kind of 'hostilities' contemplated by the Resolution's 60-day termination provision," the report said. "U.S. operations do not involve sustained fighting or active exchanges of fire with hostile forces, nor do they involve the presence of U.S. ground troops, U.S. casualties or a serious threat thereof, or any significant chance of escalation into a conflict characterized by those factors."
The report also argued that NATO was leading the efforts in Libya and that U.S. strikes rely on remotely piloted drone planes for its attacks.
Members of Congress from both parties expressed skepticism.
"You know, the White House says there are no hostilities taking place," said U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican. "Yet we've got drone attacks underway. They're spending $10 million a day, part of an effort to drop bombs on Gadhafi's compounds. It just doesn't pass the straight-face test in my view, that we're not in the midst of hostilities."
Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., also rejected the administration's argument. "The War Powers Act is the law of the land," Sherman told Glenn Greenwald, a liberal blogger with Salon. "It says if the president deploys forces, he's got to seek Congressional authorization or begin pulling out after 60 days. Too many presidents have simply ignored the law."
Sherman argued that "when you're flying Air Force bombers over enemy territory, you are engaged in combat."
What the law says
To research the administration's claim, we first turned to the law itself. The War Powers Resolution, passed in 1973, is not long; you can read it here. The resolution doesn't define "hostilities," but it does say that the president must go to Congress under three possible conditions if there is no formal declaration of war:
"In any case in which United States Armed Forces are introduced—
(1) into hostilities or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances;
(2) into the territory, airspace or waters of a foreign nation, while equipped for combat, except for deployments which relate solely to supply, replacement, repair, or training of such forces; or
(3) in numbers which substantially enlarge United States Armed Forces equipped for combat already located in a foreign nation."
By our reading, dropping bombs on a country would fall under the second point. We then turned to a range of experts on military affairs, international relations and the law to see what the consensus was.
What the experts say
Most of the experts we talked to said that what is happening in Libya does, in fact, constitute hostilities and that to claim otherwise -- as the White House is doing -- is false.
"The U.S. has deployed manned and unmanned aircraft to fire missiles and drop bombs — the type of weapons only permissible for use in armed conflict hostilities," said Mary Ellen O'Connell, a University of Notre Dame law professor.
Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, said that "this is akin to the argument that what we're doing isn't war but 'kinetic military action.' Now, the War Powers Act itself is problematic constitutionally, but you absolutely cannot say that what we’re doing in Libya isn’t 'hostilities,' in the lay or technical sense."
And legal commentator Stuart Taylor Jr. said it's "not a close call, in my opinion. Our military has been dropping bombs and killing people in Libya over a period of several months."
As we noted earlier, the administration gave two specific rationales for why U.S. actions didn't fall under the War Powers Resolution. First, U.S. efforts aren't putting forces at risk because those efforts are relying on unmanned aircraft. Second, they argue, NATO is leading the effort.
Jack Goldsmith -- a Harvard University law professor who was a top government lawyer in the George W. Bush administration and wrote a book, The Terror Presidency, detailing his internal opposition to what he considered the administration's overly broad views of executive authority -- has written the most detailed critique we found on both those arguments. He found it unconvincing that drone attacks wouldn't constitute hostilities. He also noted that the administration has been ambiguous in its public statements about whether it's using only drones or both drones and piloted aircraft.
As for the NATO argument, Goldsmith pointed out that members of the U.S. Armed Forces hold leadership positions in NATO, and the United States provides significant funding for NATO. "The fact that this command and participation happens via NATO seems irrelevant; the fact is that U.S. Armed Forces are helping those nations engage in military hostilities," he wrote.
A few experts, though, told us they see the question as more nuanced. Whether the actions constitute hostilities, they said, is a question either for the courts or for the political process to work out.
"This is not an easy case, and news reports suggest that this was fought over internally in the administration," said Kal Raustiala, a University of California at Los Angeles law professor. Personally, he said, he thinks it's "a bit of a stretch to say that Libya doesn't count for the War Powers Resolution. But it is not crazy. The bottom line is the resolution is a struggle between Congress and the president, and there is no 'right' answer to what hostilities mean — until Congress defines it better."
Even those experts who believe the U.S. is indeed engaged in hostilities think it's unlikely that courts will be willing to intervene in a high-stakes disagreement over the meaning of the separation of powers. It's more likely the courts would throw out the case on technical grounds, they said.
The War Powers Resolution is "an old statute filled with uncertainties," Goldsmith wrote. "There is no definitive judicial construction of it and little likelihood of judicial review. The President is making an aggressive and narrowing interpretation of the statute. Whether the interpretation succeeds will depend entirely on Congress's reaction. If Congress disagrees with the president's construction, only it can vindicate its view."
Congress is considering a number of measures that would both authorize and limit U.S. military actions in Libya. The final outcome of their actions remains to be seen.
The administration's position
We asked the White House directly about the administration's position. Spokesman Eric Schultz sent us this statement:
"Our conclusion that these constrained and limited operations do not amount to 'hostilities' under the WPR is consistent with WPR interpretations put forward by administrations of both political parties dating back to the statute's 1973 enactment. But what is beyond dispute is the fact that we have averted a massacre, saved thousands of lives and reversed the advance of Gadhafi's forces, giving the Libyan people a chance to determine their future. We have also kept the president's commitment to transfer responsibility to our coalition partners for the enforcement of the civilian protection mission and are now in a support role."
Schultz also reiterated the arguments from the administration's brief, which we've already described, and he referred us to additional analysis from Robert Chesney on the Lawfare blog, which cataloged the reasons previous presidents have given for why certain military activities were not subject to the War Powers Resolution and found that the Obama administration's arguments were similar to some of those of previous administrations.
"From that perspective," Chesney wrote, "it’s not hard to see how the administration comes to the view that the current state of U.S. involvement in Libya -- i.e., no boots on the ground, no manned aircraft flying combat missions and thus putting pilots in harm’s way as a theoretical matter, [unmanned aerial vehicles] conducting combat missions only sporadically and with seemingly low intensity (isolated strikes on specific vehicles, that sort of thing), and manned aircraft otherwise conducting only support missions like refueling and jamming -- taken as a whole fails to come within the scope of the WPR’s requirements."
But even Chesney acknowledges in his post, "That’s not to say it’s an unassailable argument. For one thing, some, no doubt, would not give as much weight to executive branch interpretations as would, well, the executive branch. And there is the complication of (Adm. James G. Stavridis, the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe), an American officer in command of NATO forces from other countries that are engaged on a much more sustained basis in 'exchanges of fire.'"
Finally, Schultz pointed us to statements from Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., leaders of the Democrats in Congress. Reid said the War Powers Resolution didn't apply because "we have no troops on the ground there, and this thing's going to be over before you know it anyway, so I think it's not necessary." Pelosi said the actions were limited, and she believed the president had the authority he needed to go forward. "I don't think they should stop the support that they're giving to NATO to stop the humanitarian disaster," she said.
Our view
We agree that prior administrations have taken similar approaches as the Obama Administration in analogous situations. But just because the administration's approach to defining "hostilities" has been allowed to proceed historically -- whether for political reasons or for convenience -- doesn't mean that the definition is legally justified.
The War Powers Resolution says it applies in any case in which United States Armed Forces are introduced "into the territory, airspace or waters of a foreign nation, while equipped for combat." We don't see the use of drone aircraft as an escape clause, since dropping bombs from a foreign nation's airspace is a textbook definition of hostilities. And as we said earlier, the administration's argument violates our standards of common sense, and we didn't find one independent expert who whole-heartedly supported the claim that actions in Libya are not "hostilities."
We'll be watching to see how the president and Congress handle the issue in the days ahead and whether their actions produce an answer about whether U.S. actions are hostilities that fall under the War Powers Resolution.Two Arizona boys, ages six and seven, stoned a kitten before hanging it with a controller cord, reports AZfamily.com.
As the boys were playing Grand Theft Auto prior to harming the animal, infamous Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio blames the game for their actions.
"This game allows players to kill cops and rape women," Arpaio said. "It’s little wonder why they perpetrated such violence against that little animal."
Due to the boys' ages they can not be charged with a crime under Arizona state law. Similarly, Arizona Child Protective Services declined to get involved, claiming the crime was outside the criteria necessary to invoke the agency's interference.
"This level of animal abuse at such a young age could be a predictor of worse violence in the future," Arpaio said.
In an effort to prevent further criminal activities, Arpaio has requested that any qualified child counseler willing to volunteer their services to aid the duo contact his office as soon as possible.
"Though it is a little unusual for us to get involved in this way, we’re doing whatever we can to find the guidance these two boys need to avoid that," he added.
Image courtesy Rockstar Games
2 boys use video game controller wire to hang kitten [AZfamily, via GamePolitics]Heaven's Soldiers (Hangul: 천군; Hanja: 天軍; RR: Cheongun) is a 2005 South Korean period action-comedy film directed by Min Joon-ki. It combines elements of several genres such as war films, time travel and historical drama.[1][2][3]
Plot [ edit ]
The film begins with high-level military leaders from both North and South Korea discussing the surrender of a North Korean 50 Mt nuclear warhead (Hangul: 비격진천뢰; RR: Bi-geok-jin-cheon-ryoe) in a secret underground development bunker near the DMZ. The warhead was secretly jointly-designed, but international pressure has forced North and South Korea to hand over the device and close the facility. North Korean officer Major Kang Min-gil (Kim Seung-woo), displeased with the conciliation of the Koreas, steals the warhead with the help of several of his loyal soldiers. The leaders of both sides dispatch a South Korean special forces platoon under the leadership of Major Park Jung-woo (Hwang Jung-min).
The platoon intercepts the rebellious Kang and his squad by boat and begin a firefight. However, in the middle of the conflict, a comet travels dangerously close to Earth - and this causes a "time rift" linking the present with other points in the comet's 433-year cycle of close approaches to the Earth. Three modern Korean men from each side (and one female scientist, Dr. Kim Su-yeon (Gong Hyo-jin), kidnapped along with the warhead) unintentionally find themselves time traveling back from 2005 to 1572, and wind up in the middle of a skirmish between Joseon-era Koreans and Jurchen invaders. After some confusion, a grenade blast routs the Jurchens, and the soldiers immediately wind up with the nickname "Heavenly Soldiers" due to their'magical' abilities.
The modern Koreans also meet with a regional foreigner who turns out to be none other than the young version of Yi Sun-sin (Park Joong-hoon), the legendary admiral who later becomes instrumental in the defeat of the later Japanese invasion. However, this "General" Yi acts like nothing like either of the modern Korean histories illustrate him: he is a petty thief and ginseng smuggler who just failed his military Gwageo exam, and seeing no future for himself, has turned to crime in order to survive. Yi also stole and hid the group's small arms shortly after their arrival. Unfortunately, a little peasant girl caught him burying the weapons and later retrieves one of the handguns, whereupon she is caught by two Jurchen spies sent to look for the "Heavenly Soldiers".
With nothing better to do other than try to fix history, Major Park attempts to train Yi in the military skills he was so known for, while Major Kang and his men search the area for the nuclear device, which has gone missing during their transit. Not understanding their motivations, Yi is highly resistant to the modern Koreans' attempt to change his lowly lifestyle until he ends up captured by the Jurchens, who are aware of his association with the "Heavenly Soldiers" and attempt to make him lead them to the Koreans by killing the peasant girl. The North Koreans stumble upon Yi and free him, and also find the warhead in the tent of one of the war leaders. However, Kang is forced to kill the son of a war leader sleeping in the same tent, and in retaliation the Jurchens initiate movement to violently root out the modern Koreans.
With the warhead back in their possession, and the timing and location of the comet's overhead passing accurately calculated by Dr. Kim, the "Heavenly Soldiers" prepare to leave the past as it currently stands. Yi, incensed by the barbarians' cruelty, returns to the modern Koreans with their weapons and the elders of the girl's village, who plead with the "Heavenly Soldiers" to help them, and the modern Koreans relent. When Majors Park and Kang debate over the strategy that would work best for the villagers, Yi, beginning to find his legendary tactical competence, successfully argues for a combination of ambushes and a last stand.
That night, before the arrival of the Jurchens, the modern Koreans prepare to leave the past, as the comet would unexpectedly perigee later the next day. When Park advises Yi to save his life as well, Yi protests but is knocked out and carried off. Kang, who knows he will be hunted down as soon as he returns to the present, elects to go back to the village to help defend it from the Jurchens; the other modern Koreans stay behind for their own reasons as well. Meanwhile, the stubborn Yi manages to escape his confinement and joins the "Heavenly Soldiers" and the villagers in their battle against the Jurchens. The invaders are defeated after a long and bloody engagement, but out of the modern soldiers only Park and North Korean sergeant Choi survive alongside Yi. Dr. Kim and the warhead make it back to the present, where she reports their experiences to the Korean generals. But despite her appeals to honor the sacrifice the men have made to preserve Korea's present and future, her superiors decide to turn over the warhead.
In the final scene, Dr. Kim visits a local memorial to the still-venerated Admiral Yi. The scene switches to the opening sequence of the Battle of Myeongnyang Strait, the legendary sea battle where Yi and only 13 Korean ships successfully destroyed an over 300-strong Japanese armada. Aboard his flagship, Yi delivers a rousing speech of encouragement to his men and then gives the order to charge into battle, with Park and Choi by his side as his staff officers.
Cast [ edit ]
Reception [ edit ]
Financed with a comfortable budget by South Korean standards (US$7–8 million), the film was a relative commercial success in 2005. Its theme - where North and South Koreans are forced into alliance under the leadership of a hero venerated in both parts of contemporary Korea - is clearly intended as a plea for Korean reunification.STUNNED cops found a drunk woman sleeping under a van while out on patrol in the early hours of the morning in Glasgow.
The West End officers spotted the woman’s legs popping out from under from underneath the van, and had to launch an investigation to find out who she was.
One of the cops PC Jonathan Church recounted the tale as the emergency services prepare for the busiest night of the festive season tomorrow.
PC Church said: “Myself and my colleague were on patrol.
“We came across a pair of legs popping out from under a van. We found a young woman wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
“She was a student and had been on a night out.”
The officers then tried to establish who the woman was but faced difficulty due to her “groggy” state.
They even phoned her mother who was in Ireland and couldn’t pick her up.
Eventually the officers found an address which resulted in a coincidental run in with the girl’s boyfriend.
PC Church said: “When we were on route to her home, we got stopped by a young lad who asked if we had seen a female with a white top and blue jeans
“I said: “Yes have a look in the back of my van,” and that was his girlfriend
“It turned out he had actually reported her as a missing person so officers had been allocated to that as well.”
The story is a familiar one to the emergency services who are keen to remind Christmas revellers to think about their alcohol consumption tomorrow night.
Their warning comes as emergency services brace themselves for over 12,000 calls over one night - many from Christmas revellers who have abused alcohol.
Mark Williams, Assistant Chief Constable for Police Scotland, said: “Undoubtedly this is one of the busiest times of the year for all three emergency services. In fact throughout December last year, Police Scotland handled nearly 277,000 calls to the 999 and 101 numbers from members of the public.
“Of that number, many will be alcohol-related, typing up vital time for police and the other emergency services who could be dealing with those people who really need our help.
“Every unnecessary incident impacts on our ability to help those who are vulnerable at this time of year. By all means go out and have a great time but drink responsibly, look after yourself and know your limits.”
Daren Mochrie, who is the Scottish Ambulance Service Director of Service Delivery, added: “This time of year is incredibly busy for us, and we do see an increase in the number of calls we get as a result of increased alcohol consumption. Some calls can be difficult to deal with when the caller is heavily intoxicated and we can’t make out what they are saying.”President-elect Donald Trump isn’t the first person to propose punishment for burning the American flag. Consider the Flag Protection Act of 2005, co-sponsored by then-Sen. Hillary Clinton (D.-N.Y.).
“Any person who shall intentionally threaten or intimidate any person or group of persons by burning, or causing to be burned, a flag of the United States shall be fined not more than $100,000, imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both,” read the bill, which Clinton co-sponsored the day it was filed by Sen. Robert Bennett (R.-Utah), along with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D.-Calif.), Sen. Thomas Carper (D.-Del.) and Sen. Mark Pryor (D.-Ark.).
The bill further included a provision with an additional charge for burning a flag as part of a demonstration:
Any person who destroys or damages a flag of the United States with the primary purpose and intent to incite or produce imminent violence or a breach of the peace, and under circumstances in which the person knows that it is reasonably likely to produce imminent violence or a breach of the peace, shall be fined not more than $100,000, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.
Trump posted his thoughts Tuesday:
Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag – if they do, there must be consequences – perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2016
George Takei, who starred in the TV show “Star Trek” captured the mood of the Left:
I pledged allegiance to the flag every morning inside an internment camp. I would never burn one, but I'd die to protect the right to do so. https://t.co/O5ecSQkyC2 — George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) November 29, 2016
But, back in 2005 the New York Times accused Clinton of going into “pandering mode.”
“It’s hard to see this as anything but pandering — there certainly isn’t any urgent need to resolve the issue,” the Times opined. “Flag-burning hasn’t been in fashion since college students used slide rules in math class and went to pay phones at the student union to call their friends. Even then, it was a rarity that certainly never put the nation’s security in peril.”Regulatory News:
TOTAL (Paris:FP) (LSE:TTA) (NYSE:TOT) has signed an agreement with EREN RE to accelerate its growth in the production of power from renewable sources. Total will acquire an indirect interest of 23% in EREN RE by subscribing to a capital increase for an amount of €237.5 million. The agreement also gives Total the possibility to take over control of EREN RE after a period of 5 years.
Founded in 2012, EREN RE has developed a diversified asset base (notably wind, solar and hydro) representing a global installed gross capacity of 650 MW in operation or under construction. Its ambition is to achieve a global installed capacity of more than 3 GW within 5 years. The capital increase subscribed by Total will enable EREN RE to cover its financing needs to accelerate its development in the coming years.
"Total integrates climate challenge into its strategy and is pursuing steady growth in low-carbon businesses, in particular in renewable energy. By partnering with EREN RE, we are leveraging a team that has a proven track record in renewable power production, and we are investing in an additional asset to accelerate our profitable growth in this segment, in line with our ambition to become the responsible energy major. So we welcome to Total Eren into the Total Group!” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total.
"EREN RE’s momentum will allow us to accelerate our growth in solar energy and move us into the wind power market. The agreement with EREN RE is a major step towards our objective of achieving 5GW of installed capacity in 5 years,” commented Philippe Sauquet, President Gas, Renewables and Power. "In line with the Group's integrated strategy along the oil and gas value chains, we are rebalancing our portfolio in renewables between the upstream manufacturing with SunPower and the downstream power production with EREN RE. Today we want to provide this high-potential company with the means to reach a new level and support its ambitions for international development.”
Pâris Mouratoglou, Chairman of EREN RE, said: "This strategic agreement allows us to join forces with a major energy player, with whom we share a strong desire for development in the renewable energy sector and an ambitious long-term vision. Our positioning is global and the Total Group's strength in international markets represents a tremendous accelerator ".
David Corchia, CEO of EREN RE, added: "We would like to thank Bpifrance, Next World, Tikehau and FFP who have accompanied us since 2015 and will continue to follow us alongside a global energy major. As part of this agreement, EREN RE will retain its managerial autonomy that has made its success since the foundation, in particular its agility, flexibility and speed of strategic decisions and their implementation. Thanks to our shareholders, the company, which was already one of the best capitalized players on the renewables market, will benefit from increased financial capacities to match its ambitions. This alliance is fully in line with our long-term vision: to transform an entrepreneurial project into a leading industrial group at international level. "
The completion of this transaction remains subject to the approval of the relevant competition authorities.
Total's stake in EREN RE complements the Group’s portfolio of renewable energy businesses. In particular, EREN RE, which will be renamed Total Eren upon completion of the transaction, will allow the Total to enter the wind power generation segment. Development of EREN RE's solar farm business will be mainly focused on emerging countries where the demand for electricity is growing.
Total has been active in solar energy since 2011 as the majority shareholder in SunPower. In 2017, the Group also set up its own affiliate, Total Solar, in order to develop solar power plants in developed countries and distributed solar systems for industrial and commercial customers (B2B). SunPower, which manufactures and markets the world’s most efficient photovoltaic solar panels, worldwide, will focus its development activities on distributed generation in the B2C and B2B markets in the United States.
About EREN RE
Founded in 2012, EREN RE has built up a substantial and diversified portfolio of wind, solar and hydraulic assets representing an installed gross capacity of 650 MW in operation or under construction worldwide. The company is currently developing numerous projects in Asia-Pacific, Africa and Latin America. Its objective is to achieve a net installed capacity of at least 3 GW by 2023.
About Total
Total is a global integrated energy producer and provider, a leading international oil and gas company, and a major player in low-carbon energies. Our 98,000 employees are committed to better energy that is safer, cleaner, more efficient, more innovative and accessible to as many people as possible. As a responsible corporate citizen, we focus on ensuring that our operations in more than 130 countries worldwide consistently deliver economic, social and environmental benefits.
* * * * *
Cautionary note
This press release, from which no legal consequences may be drawn, is for information purposes only. The entities in which TOTAL S.A. directly or indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. TOTAL S.A. has no liability for their acts or omissions. In this document, the terms "Total” and "Total Group” are sometimes used for convenience where general references are made to TOTAL S.A. and/or its subsidiaries. Likewise, the words "we”, "us” and "our” may also be used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them.
This document may contain forward-looking information and statements that are based on a number of economic data and assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TOTAL S.A. nor any of its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends contained in this document whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170919005655/en/Harry Benson is a photojournalist that I recently became familiar with. Born in Scotland, Harry Benson was introduced to the United States when he landed with the Beatles when they toured America in 1964. His work has not only spanned decades but he has also photographed a wide variety of places and people. Some of his more notable work includes photographing every U.S. president from Eisenhower to Obama.
He has been in the right place (or the wrong place) on many occasions allowing him to capture some of the most poignant moments in America history. He was just a few feet away when Bobby Kennedy was assassinated; he was in the same room when Nixon resigned and was there during the Meredith march with Martin Luther King, Jr. He was there when the Berlin Wall separated a country and was there to photograph it when it fell.
Among is many accolades, his photography is on permanent collection at the Scottish national Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.
He gained most of his fame as a photographer for LIFE magazine from 1970 to 2000 and currently works for Vanity Fair Magazine, and photographs for Architectural Digest, Newsweek and other major magazines.
If you have not heard of Harry Benson then you are in for a visual treat. He has taken many wonderful photographs that run the gamut from the light-hearted and fun to the tragic and haunting. I have chosen what I feel are 10 photographs that capture the depth and beauty of his work across a wide scale. You can see more of his work at his website: http://www.harrybenson.com and get a more intimate look at this legendary photographer when you read On the Road with Harry Benson.
When I could find his own words about a photograph, I included them under the photo. If not, I gave some commentary on the subject matter. In no particular order, the photography of Harry Benson…
Michael Jackson at Neverland
One could see how Neverland could take Michael’s mind off all his worries and transport him from the reality of his stressful life. He had everything he wanted there. I got the impression that in no way was Michael a recluse. He read the papers and kept up with the news. Once he asked me what I thought of the Reagans, who were in the White House at the time. He was also curious to know what the Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was like, as Michael had seen my photograph of him. Michael made a point of knowing who was who, while all the time those sad eyes were searching, looking closely at me. Occasionally he would break into a laugh, but mostly he was just looking. Harry Benson, Photographer
I also like this photo of Michael Jackson taken by Harry Benson. It is more introspective and I believe captures the other side of his personality.
KKK Mother with Child, Beaufort, S.C., 1965
I couldn’t find any commentary by Harry Benson and this photograph more than any other piqued my interest into what he might have to say about it. The visual is startling in many ways. The KKK brings to mind violence, burning crosses and bigotry so to see a woman caring for her child is contrary to my perceptions. When I think a moment longer, it saddens me as I realize this innocent child will have little choice but to follow their parent’s short-sighted and prejudice way of life.
Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow, Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball, New York, 1966
“To this day it was the biggest party I ever shot. Capote’s ball was unique. Everyone wanted to be there. People who weren’t invited went out of town. I was at the top of the stairs at nine o’clock and caught Sinatra as he was walking in. He couldn’t get past me. He felt really stupid in that mask. Someone had just yelled to him, ‘Hey, there’s Frankie Batman.’ You can see the anger in his eyes behind the mask. He was this tough guy thinking, ‘What the hell am I doinig here?’ Mia Farrow had that precious, elfin look, but she was tough as nails too.” Harry Benson, Photographer
Robert Kennedy Assassination, Los Angeles, 1968 At the victory party following the California Democratic presidential primary, Senator Robert F. Kennedy made his way down from the podium, through the crowd, and out into the kitchen of Los Angeles’ Ambassador Hotel. Benson trailed at his heels. But within seconds, the victory chants were replaced by screams. Kennedy had been shot in the head with a.22 caliber gun, and lay dying at Benson’s feet. “A Kennedy is literally shot in front of me,” Benson said. “I’m saying to myself, ‘Don’t **** up today. **** up tomorrow.’ This is it. This is what I came into the business for.” Benson, the only photographer on the scene, didn’t hesitate, and snapped now-iconic images of Kennedy on the floor, and a fear-stricken Ethel Kennedy turning around to scream: “Give him air!” Benson shot five rolls of film of the assassination, and put each roll in his sock, “in case a policeman with a gun asked me for my film.” He says: “I’d rather photograph for life than die for it.” Harry Benson, Photographer
President Richard M. Nixon Resigns, Washington, D.C., August 1974
Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9, saying farewell to his Cabinet and White House staff with his family by his side. You can really see the pain in the faces of his family. I truly believe they are suffering with him.
Beatles Pillow Fight, George V Hotel, Paris, 1964
The Beatles, Paris, France, 1964: “It was 3am after a concert at the Olympia in Paris in January 1964. They had so much pent-up energy after a performance, and they really couldn’t go out because they would be mobbed. So we were sitting around talking and drinking. Their manager, Brian Epstein, burst into their suite at the Hotel George V to tell them “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was No. 1 on the American charts, which meant they were going to America to be on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ … I heard the Beatles talking about a pillow fight they had had a few nights before, so I suggested it. I thought it would make a good photo to celebrate. At first they said OK, but then John said, no, it would make them look silly. Then John slipped up behind Paul and hit him over the head with a pillow, spilling his drink, and that started it.” Harry Benson, Photographer
I included a second Beatles photo by Harry Benson that I actually like more than this one, but the commentary on the pillow fight was too good not to share. This photo shows the Beatles in a more candid moment that you don’t often see.
John Lennon Memorial, Central Park, New York, 1980 Over 250,000 people joined together to share their sorrow for John Lennon’s senseless death. This photo is taken in Central Park December 14, 1980.
James Brown, Augusta, Georgia, 1979 “In Augusta, to photograph James Brown, these pictures were taken when he suggested we go for a ride. He told me he would show me ‘his town.’ So we jumped into an old car and drove around. He would stop the car when he saw someone sitting in their yard, run up, do the split, yell out, ‘I feel good,’ and jump back in the car and drive off. It was all so spontaneous and hilarious, and it took the onlookers by such surprise. Brown was a fun-loving character and a good sport.” Harry Benson, Photographer I smile just thinking about the fun reactions from the townspeople as James Brown gives a mini-performance for each.
The Clinton Kiss, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1992 “Governor Clinton had announced his candidacy for presidency and this was a quiet moment before the hectic campaign began.” Harry Benson, Photographer Just thinking about everything that would happen to the Clintons after this photo is amazing. Someone should make a movie.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Funeral in Atlanta, 1968
This photograph really touched me. While it is tragic that any man should be murdered or assassinated for his beliefs it is even more tragic that a child should grow up without their father. No child should be have to see a parent in a coffin whether that parent was Martin Luther King, Jr., or anyone else. Bonus Photograph Dolly Parton, Nashville, Tennessee, 1976 “Dolly Parton makes everyone feel right at home with a down-home welcome when she meets you. She was getting ready for me to photograph her. I walked over to ask when she would be ready and saw her standing near a window, putting on the finishing touches of her makeup. I said, ‘Dolly, don’t move, just keep doing what you are doing,’ and she obliged. It was a completely natural picture, no lights were set up, yet it was the one I liked best from that day.” Harry Benson, Photographer Of course you think of Dolly for two things, her bust and her hair and both are captured perfectly in the photograph. Or is that three things?
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Other Articles you Might LikeAt its August 3 meeting, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution that will allow voters to consider an expanded Freeport exemption for e-commerce businesses operating in Fulton County.
The resolution was sponsored by Vice Chairman Liz Hausmann with co-sponsorship by Chairman John Eaves and Commissioner Bob Ellis.
During the 2016 session of the Georgia General Assembly, legislators adopted HB 935, which gives counties the opportunity to allow voters to decide whether to extend existing Freeport exemption to e-commerce centers. Across the state, growth in e-commerce is expected to create skilled jobs. The expanded Freeport exemption is intended to encourage more centers to locate in Fulton.
If approved by voters, the expanded Freeport Exemption would allow inventory of e-commerce distribution centers to be exempted from Fulton County ad valorem (property) taxes.
“I am pleased that |
Windows Insiders as well, which is up about 600k from the last figure that Microsoft reported.
As soon as Microsoft opens up the OS to the flagships, we expect this number to jump significantly, but we still do not know when that will happen. For the time being, we should hopefully be hearing about a new Windows 10 build shortly.In an interview with the “failing” New York Times, Donald Trump expressed some serious frustrations with attorney general Jeff Sessions to the point of regret.
During the interview conducted Wednesday by Peter Baker, Michael Schmidt and Maggie Haberman, Trump goes on to state that he wouldn’t have appointed Sessions as the AG if he knew he was going to recuse himself from the Russia investigation. Trump also goes on to say that Sessions’ decision to recuse himself was “very unfair to the president” and that his (Sessions) recusal ultimately led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Via the New York Times:
In a remarkable public break with one of his earliest political supporters, Mr. Trump complained that Mr. Sessions’s decision ultimately led to the appointment of a special counsel that should not have happened. “Sessions should have never recused himself, and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else,” Mr. Trump said.
Sessions aside, Trump also made further mention on Mueller including grievances on his part that the special counselor was “running an office rife of conflicts of interest” which is ironic considering Trump’s presidency could in part be defined has a huge conflict of interest.
As far as having any notion of firing Mueller, Trump according to the interview didn’t say he would order the Department of Justice to undertake such an act but did seem to set a “red line” in the investigation. That potential “red line” is Mueller divulging into Trump’s personal family finances which he believes would be a “violation”.
Asked if Mr. Mueller’s investigation would cross a red line if it expanded to look at his family’s finances beyond any relationship to Russia, Mr. Trump said, “I would say yes.” He would not say what he would do about it. “I think that’s a violation. Look, this is about Russia.”
You can take a look at the entire transcript of the interview here.A day after the violence that followed the alleged desecration of a holy book in Ghaziabad,it emerged that at least six people were killed in the rioting that also gutted several shops and perhaps two dozen vehicles.
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Two people died of gunshot wounds,and four after injuries caused by blunt objects during stonepelting,the police said on Saturday. Witnesses said all six Hayat (35),Asif (19),Wasim (18),Wahid (18),Amir(16) and Lukman (14) might have been hit by bullets.
Some 40 people were believed to have been injured,12 of whom are policemen,officials said. Masuri and Dasna were deserted on Saturday,barring swarms of police and paramilitary personnel. Section 144 has been imposed… RAF and PAC are patrolling the streets and railway station. We will review the situation tomorrow, Ghaziabad district magistrate Aparna Upadhyaya said.
From accounts provided by policemen and civilian eyewitnesses,the trouble that escalated into what constables described as absolute madness began around 12.30 pm on Friday,when pages torn from a religious text were allegedly thrown out of a train at Adhiatmak Nagar station.
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Local people believed the torn pages had abusive words scrawled on them. At around 6.30 pm,a group of 50 people led by the muezzin of the local mosque,Abdul Qadir,came to the police station to register a complaint, a police officer said.
Police officials and some senior members of the community tried to pacify the crowd. A phone number written on the pages was called,and an abusive response was received, the officer said. Policemen tried to tell them that the number would be put under surveillance,but the crowd kept growing,and becoming more restive.
While an FIR under Sections 295,295A and 153A was eventually registered,there appears to have been some delay,and the situation spun out of control at some point in this duration.
Some in the mob began to overturn vehicles parked on the police station premises,and set fire to the building. Several people were carrying locally-made firearms,and they started shooting,officers said.
After the firing started,we instructed the policemen present to return fire. Shots were fired by the police. It was only after this that the situation was brought under control, DM Upadhyaya said.
Some officials said the attack may not have been entirely spontaneous. At the most dangerous time,the 20-30 policemen at the police station were facing perhaps a 3,000-strong mob. The violence happened at the time of the weekly Friday bazaar,when the area outside the police station is the most crowded.
The youngest of those killed,14-year-old schoolboy Lukman,was hit by a bullet as he got off a bus.
He had come from Meerut to visit his maternal grandfather. His nana went to look for him,but couldnt find him in the melee. This morning,we received a call from the kotwali,asking us to identify his body, Jahan,Lukmans distraught aunt,said.
Asif,who lives opposite the police station,was hit by a bullet as he stood watching on the terrace.
Officials said an inquiry had been ordered,and ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh had been announced for the dead,besides Rs 50,000 to a lakh for the injured.
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At this point,no FIR has been registered against any rioter. We are in the process of finishing investigations. We can establish whether there was a failure of local intelligence only after investigations are complete, Ghaziabad SSP Prashant Kumar said.Senior Democratic House Judiciary member confident rule of law will be followed by Dept. of Justice under President Obama
NEWSWEEK: Before leaving office, Bush counsel ordered Rove, others, not to testify to Congress, arguing 'absolute immunity' from compelled testimony...
Brad Friedman Byon 1/30/2009, 12:33pm PT
A senior Democratic Congressman on the U.S. House Judiciary has said that either Karl Rove will testify before the committee, or he will go to jail. In the meantime, it has also now been learned, legal counsel for George W. Bush issued a letter just days before leaving the White House, claiming Rove, Bush, and other senior staffers have "absolute immunity" from testifying to Congress in the future.
Speaking on MSNBC, Judiciary member Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) said last night that if Rove fails to show, in answer to a subpoena issued earlier this week, he'll be cited for Contempt of Congress. Then, he said, "the grand jury indicts him, you arrest him for contempt, and you put him in jail until he is prepared to testify to obey the subpoena." (More details, as well as video of the Nadler interview, follow below.)
On Monday, Rep. John Conyers, chair of the committee, issued a subpoena to the former senior Bush operative and current Fox "News" analyst, requiring him to appear to give testimony next Monday, February 2nd, "regarding his role in the Bush Administration’s politicization of the Department of Justice, including the US Attorney firings and the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman."
On Wednesday, Rove told his colleague Bill O'Reilly, on The O'Reilly Factor that he doesn't intend to answer the subpoena, on the belief that Bush's previous claims of Executive Privilege exempted him from having to even show up before the committee.
[UPDATE: AP reports late Friday that Conyers has rescheduled Rove's hearing for Feb. 23rd, in order to "give Rove's lawyer time to consult with the Obama administration and learn whether the new president would uphold Bush's order against testifying."]
Nadler claimed Thursday night that, while a similar dance with Rove (subpoena, snub, contempt citation, referral to the U.S. Attorney in D.C.) had happened previously, the Justice Dept., which did not do its duty in enforcing the citation previously, would be more likely to do so, now that Bush is no longer in charge of the DoJ.
"If he refuses to show up, we vote a contempt citation...the law then says a contempt citation...is given to the U.S. Attorney, quote, this is the law, 'whose duty it shall be', unquote, to deliver it to the grand jury," Nadler explained. "In otherwords, he must prosecute and enforce the subpoena."
"President Bush, as in so many other things, simply ignored the law, and instructed the U.S. Attorney not to obey the law, and not to enforce the subpoena," last time this occurred, the Congressman said. "I imagine President Obama will not do the same," he added, with emphasis on the word "not."
Here's the video of Nadler's interview on MSNBC last night, via RAW STORY, in which he describes the legal process at this point, and beyond, as expected by his committee...
In the meantime, Newsweek is reporting that, just four days before leaving office, Bush's legal counsel sent a letter on White House stationery instructing Rove "that the President continues to direct him not to provide information (whether in the form of testimony or documents) to the Congress in this matter."
However, while the letter contends that Bush "and his immediate advisers are absolutely immune from testimonial compulsion by a congressional committee," that argument, as RAW STORY's John Byrne notes, "is losing the battle in court" and could become "trouble for Rove and [and WH Counsel Harriet] Miers [who has also snubbed a Congressional subpoena] --- and ultimately, President Bush."
"After Rove refused to show up for a subpoena the Judiciary Committee issued last year, the House of Representatives' lawyers sued to compel testimony, asserting that immunity should not apply in Rove and Miers' case," reports Byrne. "A federal judge agreed," with the committee, though "the case is now in appeal with a District of Columbia court."
Nadler contended, in his MSNBC interview, that Rove has no basis for asserting Executive Privilege in this matter, since the White House has previously claimed they know nothing about the unprecedented firings of U.S. Attorneys, and the other related matters.Google’s now-cancelled Project Ara modular smartphone was, in part, an effort to offset the incessant waste created by the short life cycles of today’s technology. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has it turning in its fresh grave.
In a turn of events that's equally funny and sad, Project Ara’s promise has never seemed as appealing as it is now.
Scoop: Samsung will not refurbish or repair Galaxy Note 7 phones ever again. "They will be disposed of."https://t.co/ISj0ZGSYzaOctober 12, 2016
Let’s back up. When the project was canceled in September after its impressive appearance at Google IO 2016, it was rather easy to see why, even if it did break our hearts. The world simply didn’t need a modular smartphone.
During every demo that followed its announcement in 2013, the working prototypes struggled to perform at a level that was even remotely close to what today’s all-in-one devices can do. At Google IO 2015, Ara achieved the milestones of powering on and taking a picture. A year later, Google was still finalizing Ara for developer access - missing its projected public release by almost two years.
Things have changed
But let’s look at where things are at currently. Samsung has pulled the plug on the Note 7 flagship smartphone due to a dangerous, widespread battery issue that put many people (millions globally) at risk - even after it was recalled once. To say this is an unprecedented move is to put it lightly. Even if we don’t know exactly how much money Samsung is losing, the Note 7 fiasco will surely haunt its track record for years to come.
The Note 7 resurrects the notion that the world is now in need of Ara, if only to exist as an ecosystem in which these types of problems won’t happen. At best, it could be a playing ground for manufacturers to hone the technology that will appear in the next flagship. Unfortunately, garnering high-profile support from the likes of Samsung was never in the books for Ara.
As David Pierce’s WIRED piece of the state of Ara in 2016 put it, “Mobile is the largest technology platform in history, but to get in, you either need the resources and experience of an Apple or a Samsung, or you need to be convincing enough to get Apple or Samsung to bet on your technology.”
Project Ara is dead, and is likely to remain that way. But given how recent events in Samsung’s world have shaken out, there’s no question that the idea put forward by Google’s modular smartphone, if it’d have ever come out, would have convinced the industry to give modules a chance.How the PlayStation Vita Made Me Eat My Own Words
Joel Taveras August 27, 2013 1:00:56 PM EST
Where do I begin? A little over a year ago, I went to great lengths to explain why — at the time — the Nexus 7 tablet from Asus and Google was a safer bet than the PlayStation Vita (no seriously, let me finish, this gets good). So much so, that I went out of my way to write an editorial on how I was trading in Sony’s handheld for the new piece of Android tech.
What have I done?
Let me preface by saying that the Nexus 7 turned out to be a great purchase, one that I don’t regret. I’ve enjoyed it so much that this summer I’ve already upgraded to the newer model. But in retrospect, was it worth to trade in the PlayStation Vita in its infancy? No, not so much. Sure, I do get to kick around some addicting casual titles here and there, but now my gaming thirst is yearning for something more, an itch that the Nexus 7 just can’t scratch. Not yet at least.
So how did this newfound love for the PlaySation Vita come about? Well it happened three times, all around Gamescom.
First when Shuhei Yoshida, President of Sony’s Worldwide Studios, took to twitter to troll point out the intricacies of remote play and how it’s finally going to be done right when the Vita is paired with the PlayStation 4. Sony achieved this feat by taking an “add on” feature out of the hands of developers, who just like with the PS3, would seldom go out of their way to add remote play functionality for the handheld in their respective games. And instead, Sony built it in as a core feature at the system level on the PlayStation 4. Instantly catapulting the Vita as the must own peripheral for any self respecting PS4 buyer.
The second time the Vita recently gave me butterflies in my stomach was during Sony’s Gamescom press conference. More specifically when Shahid Kamal Ahmad, Senior Business Development Manager at PlayStation, took the stage and relentlessly unleashed one indie title after another re-instilling faith that the platform is not only very much alive — but if anything — it’s arguably evolving into something better than it was.
The third and final nail in the coffin was the price cut. Sony announced that the Vita’s MSRP for all SKUs (3G, Wifi, pack-in game bundles, it didn’t matter) would all be receiving a new sticker price of $199. On top of that, the Vita proprietary memory cards received a desperately needed price cut as well. Although the memory price cuts weren’t as steep as many had hoped for, any savings is a good savings and the new lowered MSRP will certainly bring down prices even more so for online vendors, namely Amazon.
Sony just nailed a hat trick. The Vita had my curiosity. But now it has my full attention. And once again, just like I did in the beginning, I’m doubling down on Vita.
A big part of growing up is admitting when you’re wrong. The PlayStation Vita combined with a price cut, amazing indie support, and the proposition of a PlayStation 4 in my pocket have managed to make me eat my own words. My colleagues on the site (and especially the readers) told me that I was crazy a year ago and that I’d regret it. And they were all right (you can rub it in my face now guys).
With all that out of the way now I just need to know: what should I pick up along with a new Vita?After a federal judge tossed out Texas' voter ID law Wednesday, Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the U.S. District Court to stay its permanent injunction against the law. He also notified the court that Texas will appeal the decision to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The federal judge's decision grants a permanent injunction which bars Texas from enforcing the original 2011 law in addition to a law with looser restrictions that was signed recently.
The 2011 law required registered voters to present one of seven forms of government-issued photo identification before casting a ballot. Groups argued that the law violated the U.S. Voting Right Act by targeting low-income, Latino and African American voters.
"The outrageous voter ID ruling is an affront to the 5th Circuit and an example of one judge choosing to create the law based on their own preferences rather than apply the law justly and fairly," Paxton said. "The voting process in Texas demands the highest level of integrity. I’m confident the 5th Circuit will agree with the U.S. Department of Justice, which said it is satisfied the amended Texas voter ID law has no discriminatory purpose or effect."
In May, Texas passed a softened voter ID law that allowed people without an ID to cast a ballot by signing an affidavit.
Read the judge's decision here:
Federal judge tosses out Texas' voter ID law by kvuenews on Scribd
You can view the motion to stay here and the notice to appeal here.KANGAROO Island on Franklin St, the Flinders Ranges in Dulwich and the Barossa Valley nestled among Rundle St cafes - welcome to Adelaide, Apple style.
Many of South Australia's most famous landmarks and tourist attractions have been moved to strange locations or have disappeared completely on Apple's new iPhone maps app, rolled out last month as part of the latest iOS6 software upgrade.
Top city attractions such as the Botanic Garden and the National Wine Centre are completely missing from the map of Adelaide.
Searching for "Adelaide Botanic Garden" brings up a marker for "Hunter Region Botanic Gardens Ltd" at O'Sullivan Beach.
North Tce is shown as a long stretch of empty paddocks, with Government House and Parliament House totally missing and the Festival Centre is relocated north to the corner of Victoria Drive.
And any tourists who happen to spell the venue the American way - "center" - will be inexplicably directed to the Wheaton Ale Fest pub in Chicago.
Even more baffling is that Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, located 11.5 hours' drive from Adelaide in the Flinders Ranges, is shown in Dulwich, and that Cleland Wildlife Park in the Adelaide Hills is supposedly on Carrington St in the city.
The app not only commits the cardinal sin of spelling Victor Harbor with a "u" but locates it more than 10km northwest of the town's actual coastal location.
Most confusing of all is Kangaroo Island's Seal Bay, one of the state's top tourist attractions, which not only is shown as being inside a chartered accountants' office in Parkside but lists a phone number that connects to the Albury All Seasons Tourist Park in NSW.
The maps, which replace the Google Maps app in the new iPhone 5 and on all iPhones using iOS6, have been the butt of online jokes for misplacing towns, cities and buildings all over the world.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook apologised last month for the mapping problems and said the company was working to fix the problem.Some concerns included the removal of board minutes from the organisation's website, as well as the introduction of a code of conduct that sought to allow the board to judge how members were publicly representing the organisation – an effective gag clause, argues Rowe. auDA in April also floated the idea of in-housing its previously outsourced registry, which some said was the organisation trying to be both a regulator and wholesaler of domain names (Boardman told Rear Window on Saturday this was the model in several overseas jurisdictions, but regardless, auDA was only ever considering the idea and has since abandoned it in favour of the previous outsourced model).
Dissidents called an extraordinary general meeting to consider four motions, one of which was the removal of Benjamin. Three days before the EGM, after several members publicly stated their intention to vote against him, Benjamin handed in his resignation, saying in a statement that there could be "no positive outcome" from a planned member vote.
The meeting went on, though one of the resolutions was no longer necessary and some people were unable to dial in due to a technically difficulty with the webinar software (which is rather ironic given the technical expertise in that room). Boardman tried to regain control of the situation, sitting those present through a long explanation of auDA's strategy. Perhaps he figured a recap of why he was changing things would de-escalate things, but it didn't really work. If anything, members saw red at what appeared to them to be management trying to derail a meeting called for the express purpose of voting on their resolutions.
Three days later, most of the contentious issues appear to have been resolved in the way the members wanted. The board sent out an email saying minutes would be restored to the website, and the conduct policy revoked. Benjamin is out, and auDA has no plans to run its own registry. Boardman told this column that his tenure has seen many necessary changes, and change is always difficult. "Members have given very strong feedback to the board that they'd like to be part of the change – and that's where we landed this week."Tonight at the Clark County Event Center in Ridgefield, Wash., Austin Springer looks to defend his Prime Fighting featherweight title against Julian Erosa in front of, at best, a few thousand people.
If he wants to get noticed by the UFC, and he does, it’s the kind of fight he’d probably better win. But here’s the problem for a pro fighter at the local level who’s trying to make it to the big time: How are you supposed to train full-time like a professional, when you don’t exactly get paid like a professional?
Which is not to say that Springer (8-1) won’t pocket some cash for his title defense. He’s one half of tonight’s main event, and for that he’ll receive $1,500 to show and another $1,500 to win.
It’s not nothing, but with the way expenses can stack up during a training camp, it wouldn’t take much for Springer to eat through his whole paycheck simply preparing to do the part of the job that pays.
“For me,” Springer told MMAjunkie, “that’s where sponsors come in.”
Even before the UFC signed an exclusive apparel deal with Reebok, we heard a lot about the sponsor market drying up in MMA. At one time, UFC fighters could reasonably expect to make more from sponsors than they did in fight purses.
Those days are gone for most fighters at the highest level of the sport, but on smaller shows, Springer has found, there’s still good money to be made if you know how to court local sponsors. And for Springer, hustling for those sponsors is the difference between making a living as a fighter and just scraping by.
“Some of the fights I’ve had, I’m basically relying on selling tickets,” Springer said. “But the goal is to get seen by the UFC, and if you’re only fighting a couple times a year, it’s going to take a long time to get there. So I’ve taken fights where the pay was not great at all, like maybe a couple hundred bucks. So if you want to make some money, you have to do it on ticket sales and sponsorships.”
For his title defense against Erosa, Springer acquired 18 sponsors in all, in part because he wasn’t afraid to get creative in how the deals are structured. For instance, not all of them pay him in cash. There’s a local Max Muscle store that provides him with free supplements in exchange for an exposure. A sensory deprivation spa gives him free floats in its tanks. Sometimes he even seeks out specific sponsors to fulfill his needs in trade.
“If my wife’s car is having problems,” Springer said, “I’ll see if I can sell a sponsorship to a mechanic.”
But there’s also cash involved. For this fight, Springer said, he expects to make a little more than $8,000 – more than twice his show and potential win money – all from sponsors. That’s money that allowed him to hire specialized coaches for this training camp, and to travel down to the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas, both of which he could never have afforded without sponsors.
His single biggest cash sponsor is Jesse Murray, who owns Painting Perfection in La Center, Wash. Murray said he was motivated to sponsor a local fighter only in part because of the marketing boost it might offer his company to have a logo on Springer’s shorts or a plug on his Facebook page.
“I’ve gotten one job out of it so far, and it was a good size job, but I’m not expecting much,” Murray said. “I was interested in funding a guy, and it doesn’t hurt to have some write-off dollars. It can go to the government or it can go to someone trying to better themselves. That’s how I looked at it.”
Springer credited his own experience as a small-business owner – he owns and operates the Elite Martial Arts gym in Vancouver – for helping him craft a winning sales pitch that would appeal to potential sponsors. That approach worked well on Murray, who said he was sold after talking to Springer about how he planned to use the money.
“He told me, ‘Hey, here’s what I need to do to get better,’” Murray said. “And he didn’t pressure me with a sales pitch. He just laid it out. And some of it is, he’s got to be able to afford daycare for his kids when he’s gone training somewhere else.”
That’s the thing many people may not realize about the life of a pro fighter, Springer said. All the work that goes into preparing for a fight means time away from something else, whether it’s family or a paying job or just another day-to-day responsibility.
“Those sponsorships play a huge role in allowing me to do what I need to do to improve,” Springer said.
Now he just has to hope it shows up in the cage – and that the UFC notices.As children, Lorenzo Carcaterra - Shakes to his friends - Michael Sullivan, Tommy Marcano, and John Reilly were inseparable. They grew up in Hell's Kitchen, a far from perfect neighborhood, one filled as Shakes says with scams and shake downs, but one where the rules were known by its residents. The one adult who they admired was Father Bobby Carelli, who understood them as kids more than most adults and more than he himself would like to admit. In 1967, their lives would change forever when a typical teenage prank went wrong which led to the four of them being sentenced to various terms at Wilkinson Home for Boys, a reformatory. There, they were physically, emotionally and sexually abused primarily by Sean Nokes, the head guard of their cell block, and fellow guards Ralph Ferguson, Henry Addison, and Adam Styler, although there were other caring figures of authority at the home including other guards. Their time at the home affected the four, not all who were able to emerge from the... Written by HuggoFollowing a huge week that saw Apple’s stock climb above $630 amid a fresh round of analyst upgrades, one analyst isn’t sold on the notion that smooth sailing is assured in the immediate future for the world’s most valuable company. BTIG Research analyst Walter Piecyk thinks Apple is set to report blowout earnings for the second fiscal quarter — he sees Apple earning $10.75 per share on sales of $40 billion in the quarter, versus Wall Street’s consensus of $9.81 and $36 billion — but he downgraded Apple’s stock to Neutral from Buy, noting that it’s time for investors to “take a breather.” Read on for more.
“We continue to maintain our view that Apple is the primary beneficiary of an accelerating growth trend in the global adoption of smartphones, considering global penetration of smartphones has not yet even reached 30%,” Piecyk wrote in a research note on Monday. “However, given the run up in Apple’s stock and the consensus estimates, we think now is a good time to more carefully consider how it will capitalize on the next and likely much larger leg of growth in the industry and prepare for the inevitable bumps that may occur on the way.”
The analyst believes Apple could run into some trouble starting in the third fiscal quarter that may eventually lead to a price cut on Apple’s iPhone, which currently drives much of Apple’s success due to huge margins. While numerous analysts see continued success for Apple’s highly sought-after smartphone, Piecyk believes carriers will soon grow less willing to sustain a $600 iPhone.
“Subsidies by post-paid wireless operators have fueled the growth of Apple’s $600 iPhone since its inception” Piecyk wrote. “Even in the pre-paid dominant markets of China and Europe, heavily subsidized iPhone’s are available to users willing to sign up for a contract. Wireless operators have been happy to subsidize smartphones to new and existing customers in order to provide a lift to the average monthly bill (ARPU) of their customer base, a metric which had been falling for the past three decades.”
The analyst continued, “The positive inflection point in ARPU was cheered by investors but the cost to drive that ARPU accretion is now starting to eat away at profitability and the performance of those stocks. Operators, unwilling to stall the pace of ARPU growth, offered generous upgrade policies including some that enabled a fully subsidized phone upgrade only one year in to a two year contract. We expect those policies to change as the faster upgrade rate of smartphones compared to legacy feature phones has been a costly surprise to post-paid and pre-paid operators, alike.”
BTIG sees Apple selling 33 million iPhones in the second fiscal quarter and 27.5 million in the third, when it could miss Wall Street’s earnings estimates as it did in the fourth quarter last year. “Specifically, we expect Apple’s iPhone sales to drop to 27.5 million units in Fiscal Q3 resulting in a revenue estimate that is $1 billion below consensus,” Piecyk noted.During holiday family get-togethers, don’t risk bringing up a topic everyone’s hoping to avoid. Instead, bring a board game and circumvent all conversation. Here are 10 of the best from 2013.
Ah, the holidays. That time of year when people of wildly divergent tastes, opinions, and political views come together under one roof to form that most heterogeneous of units: the extended family. Navigating this conversational landscape can be like playing Operation: You gingerly insert a new topic into the room and attempt to extract the viewpoints of others, without setting off the Buzzer of Familial Discord. “So hey Uncle Jeb, how about that Obamacare?” BRRRRT!
But board games can serve as more than just a metaphor for the season, they can also function as a palliative of sorts, allowing you and your kind to focus on something other than how unhinged you all appear to one another. Why quarrel over the merits of capitalism when you can simply break out the Monopoly and drive one another to penury?
Or, if you’ve had your fill of the classics, there’s no shortage of contemporary board games from which to choose, perfectly suited for presents or diversions to play leading up to the holiday. Every year I compile a list of the year’s best “Good Gift Games,” highlighting those that are easy to learn and teach, fun and engrossing to play, and that can be completed in 90 minutes or less.
Board games are often lauded for their ability to bring families together, but these 10 will prevent yours from flying apart.
With gameplay that’s hotter than wasabi. Credit: Adventureland Games
Sushi Go!
This year on Thanksgiving my family enjoyed turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes followed by nigiri and sashimi and tempura, as we spent the hour following dinner playing Sushi Go! Players begin with a hand of nine cards and simultaneously select one to play to the table; afterward everyone passes their eight-card hands to the left, chooses another card to play from their new hand, and so on, until all cards have been claimed. What makes the game interesting is that every type of food scores a different way: Only the players with the most or second-most sushi score points, tempura only scores in pairs, each dumpling scores more points that the last, etc. It’s the simplest game on this list, but Go Sushi! has sufficient flavor to keep you coming back for seconds.
Designer: Phil Walker-Harding
Publisher: Adventureland Games
Players: 2–5
Time: 20 minutes
Genre: Card drafting
When in Rome… Credit: Hurrican
Rise of Augustus
At some point during the reading of the Rise of Augustus rules you will realize that the game is a glorified version of Bingo. True enough, but the glorification is pretty glorious. Each turn a token is randomly drawn from a bag, and players look to see if they have a matching symbol on one or more of their objective cards. Fill an objective card and it’s complete; the game ends when someone completes their seventh. The game diverges from the bingo formula, however, in that a drawn token can only fulfill one symbol space, regardless of how many of that kind you have on your three objective cards, forcing you to choose its allocation. And the choice is important, as objectives award bonuses and special powers when completed, which make the completion of future objectives easier. Add to this the Roman theme and attractive artwork, and you have a game that handily transcends its humble bingo beginnings.
Designer: Paolo Mori
Publisher: Hurrican
Players: 2–6
Time: 30 minutes
Genre: Bingo? I guess?
Put on a fireworks show with a little help from your friends. Credit: R&R Games
Hanabi
Cooperative games used to be a rarity, with a new one released every year or so. But in the last decade they have become ubiquitous, and now a new entry in the genre needs to incorporate a gimmick or have an exceptionally elegant design if it wishes to stand out from the pack. Hanabi has both. Each player starts with a hand of five cards, which they hold backwards, exposing the suits and values to the other players while keeping them hidden from the owner. On a turn a player may either provide someone else with a hint about the cards they hold, or play one from their own hand. As cards must be played in a specific order, a player must rely on the scant information they receive from others, as well as their deductive reasoning and a dash of luck, to pick the correct card to play—assuming they have it at all. Hanabi is not only unique in the field of cooperative games, its central mechanism is unlike anything I have seen before.
Designer: Antoine Bauza
Publisher: R&R Games
Players: 2–5
Time: 30 minutes
Genre: Cooperative, deductive
No Dungeon Master required. Credit: Paizo Publishing
Pathfinder Adventure Card Game
Pathfinder Adventure Card Game meets approximately 0 of the Good Gift Game Guide criteria—it is complicated, it takes 90 to 120 minutes to play, and it costs 70 bucks when you factor in the borderline-obligatory expansion. Even so, I would be remiss to omit it. Not only is it the game I have played the most this year, but it is the highest rated game of 2013 in the BoardgameGeek database. More to the point, it would be an amazing gift for the right person. Based on the wildly popular Pathfinder tabletop RPG, the adventure card game casts players as wizards and warriors and rogues, searching locations for a villain and his henchmen. What sets Pathfinder apart from the myriad of other D&D-lite board and card games is that you build your character’s personalized deck over the course of several games. If you find a sword while playing a scenario, for instance, you can start the next game with it in your possession. The game provides a narrative arc designed to offer years of rich, ever-changing play.
Designer: Mike Selinker
Publisher: Paizo Publishing
Players: 1–4 (1–6 with expansion)
Time: 90 minutes
Genre: Card, cooperative, fantasy
The forces of light and darkness. Credit: Tasty Minstrel Games
Dungeon Roll
Or, if the 24-page rulebook and months-long campaign time of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game strikes you as excessive, you can head to the opposite end of the Dungeon Crawl spectrum and pick up Dungeon Roll, a super light dicefest from Tasty Minstrel Games. First form a party of adventurers by rolling a handful of specialized dice, giving you fighters, wizards, clerics, and thieves; then descend into a dungeon and battle goblins, oozes, and possibly even a dragon. Dice cancel each other out (a cleric, for instance, will negate one or more skeletons), allowing you to delve ever deeper. But if your party is wiped out before you opt to flee, you lose all of the experience points you have accumulated thus far. Dungeon Roll is a near-perfect bar game and even works well as solitaire, allowing you to take down a tribe of skeletons in the 10 minutes before you hit the hay.
Designer: Chris Darden
Publisher: Tasty Minstrel Games
Players: 1–4
Time: 15 minutes
Genre: Dice, push-your-luck, fantasy
Identity theft has never been so fun. Credit: Indie Boards and Cards
Coup
One of the most popular light card games in recent years is The Resistance, a streamlined version of Werewolf from Indie Boards and Cards. This year IBC brings us The Resistance: Coup, and although the two games are not directly related, they both require bluffing, deceit, and what they have dubbed “social deduction” (i.e., figuring out whether your friend is lying to your face). Each player secretly controls two members of the ruling class, with each character having its own unique power. On a turn, however, a player may claim to own any character, use the corresponding ability, and, if bluffing, pray they don |
division across the country.
Ukraine's interim prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, is due to travel to Washington on Wednesday for talks with Obama. The trip would be an opportunity to reaffirm the US's strongest support for the "new democratic Ukraine'", its integrity and the Ukrainian people, Pyatt said. They would also discuss Russia's invasion of Crimea.
His comments came after David Cameron and Angela Merkel agreed that any Russian attempt to legitimise Sunday's referendum in Crimea would result in further consequences, implying stronger sanctions.
The UK prime minister and the German chancellor agreed a statement after a working dinner in Hanover on Sunday night.
On Sunday, during separate telephone calls with Obama and Merkel, the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, urged a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine and for all parties to exercise calm and restraint.
"The situation in Ukraine is extremely complex, and what is most urgent is for all sides to remain calm and exercise restraint to avoid an escalation in tensions," China's foreign ministry on Monday cited Xi as telling Obama.
"Political and diplomatic routes must be used to resolve the crisis," Xi added. China had an "open attitude" towards any suggestions or proposals that could ameliorate the situation and was willing to remain in touch with all parties including the US, he said.
Xi told Merkel the Ukraine situation was "highly sensitive" and needed to be weighed carefully, according to a separate Chinese statement.Eliminate Long Delays at Immigration Promenada, 26/9 For additional information, contact Nancy Lindley, CEC President 080 494 5573 Info@ChiangMaiE Eliminate Long Delays at Immigration Promenada, 26/9 CM Governor Suriya Prasatbandit addresses Japanese residents at a meeting in 2014. For additional information, contact
Nancy Lindley, CEC President
080 494 5573
Info@ChiangMaiExpatsClub.com For several years, the Japanese long-stay community has enjoyed the special privilege of Immigration officials coming once a month to a meeting of their Chiang Mai Long-stay Life Club (CLL) to take care of immigration business. They've done this in several venues, most recently the Grandview Hotel. However, this practice was discontinued once Immigration moved to Promenada for several reasons. Immigration says they want to process at least forty "items" per sessions and some months the workload was less than this and also they state that they now need to take a photo in the office using the camera on their computer for visa extensions and re-entry permits. Local consular officials at the start of the Chiang Mai International Health Conference, Sept. 4. Currently, the various foreign consuls in Chiang Mai are engaged in discussions about conditions at Immigration Promenada based on feedback they're receiving from their nationals. They've had several opportunities to network with government officials at events like the recent Long-Stay Conference and have had meetings with Promenada management. Also, the CEC Expat Ambassadors who took the weekend tours in August and attended the conference had a chance to meet CLL members. Our days of waiting this at Immigration Promenada are over! All this explains why CEC members have been invited to join in a rather hasty reviving of of the special privilege that Immigration extended to the Japanese long-stay community. Only now the scenario is a little different: Apparently, everyone has to go out to Promenada for a mug shot. (It's not clear if that's the case for a 90 day report.) So, rather than having the event in a swank hotel ballroom, it will be at Immigration Promenada on Saturday afternoon, 26 September, 1 pm.. Here's what you need to do to participate: Services offered:
* 90-day reports
* re-entry permits
* extension of retirement visas
* extensions of tourist visas
These are the only four services offered. Processing fee: 200 baht per "item" (service), so if you obtain an extension of your retirement visa and then a re-entry permit, your processing fee is 400 baht. Processing fee is due at the time of document check and submission, 1 - 3 pm, September 22 at the CLL office and there is no receipt for this fee. Standard government fees will be paid at the time of your interview at Immigration: 1900 baht for visa extensions, 1000 baht for single re-entry permit, 3800 baht for multiple re-entry permit. No gov't fee for 90 day report. When you come to Immigration at 1 pm on Saturday, September 26, you'll present your passport and find that they've already reviewed your documents. Processing will be quick and you'll receive a re-entry permit soon after your visa extension. Your total time at Immigration should be short. You must come to the CLL office on Tuesday, 22 September, between 1 - 3 pm for document check and submission. That's because the Japanese submit all documents in advance to Immigration! Bring all forms, copies, photos, etc. If you don't have copies, they have a copy machine -- 2 ฿ each. If you don't have a photo, you can go to Kad Suan Kaew basement photo shop, close to their office.!00 baht, for 4 - 4 cm x 6 cm photos. Here is a download for the forms: http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/base.php?page=download For a Visa Extension, use TM 7
For a Re-entry Permit, use TM 8
For a 90- day Report, use a special Chiang Mai version of TM 47 Don't worry, I'll be at the CLL office on Tuesday afternoon and we'll have plenty of forms. The key thing is for you to bring photos and copies of your passport pages if you don't want to pay them for copies. And your consulate/embassy documents or bank letters if you're planning to do a retirement visa extension. You can do a retirement extension up to 45 days in advance in Chiang Mai. To do this, you'll need to bring either an Income Letter from your Consulate/Embassy that will be less than 30 days old on 26 Sept. demonstrating income greater than 65,000 baht per month or a letter from your Thai bank that you have a bank account(s) balance greater than 800,000 baht. The letter should be less than 7 days old on 26 Sept. Also, you'll need copies of your bank book to demonstrate the funds have been in the bank for at least 90 days. There will be a couple of "visa gurus" at the CLL office on Tuesday afternoon to answer your questions. Yeah, I know it's in Japanese, but study it long enough and it begins to make sense. Or just read the written instructions on how to find Srithana II condo. If you want to go to Immigration Promenada on Saturday afternoon, 26 September, your documents MUST be submitted in advance. Please come to Japanese Long-stay Life Club, 1 - 3 pm, Tuesday, 22 September at Srithana II Condo,
just off Huay Kaew Road. It's on the same side as the Shell petrol station, first soi on the left, walking from Shell Oil, toward the mountain. At the end of the soi. The office is on the ground floor of the condo, just right of the main entrance. I'll be there to help. Please email or call if you plan to participate. I will try to co-ordinate group transport from Le Méridien Chiang Mai after the CEC General Meeting. Nancy Lindley
info@ChiangMaiExpatsClub.com
080 494 5573 In the future....
If there appears to be sufficient interest, we'll look at having the document inspection and submission done during Breakfast Club at River Market and consider if it would be better to go to Promenada on a different Saturday than the General Meeting each month.
Powered by Mad Mimi® A GoDaddy® companyThe mainstream media is making great progress in their current campaign to repeal President Trump’s travel ban (rather than reporting on it) but the effort was in serious need of a poster child in order to be successful. Stories about criminals being deported would never produce the required amount of sympathy with the public. Now, however, they seem to have found the ideal star to play the lead in this drama. Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos checks all the right boxes and is now being featured in a nearly continuous loop on cable news. (CNN)
Mexico warned its citizens living in the United States on Friday to “take precautions” and remain in contact with consular officials a day after the deportation of an undocumented mother following a routine visit with US immigration authorities. Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, 35, was deported Thursday after she checked in with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Phoenix, Arizona, a day earlier. The action sparked protests by supporters of Garcia de Rayos and drew praise from proponents of stricter enforcement of immigration laws. “The case involving Mrs. Garcia de Rayos illustrates a new reality for the Mexican community living in the United States, facing the most severe implementation of immigration control measures,” Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday. Mexican consulates “have intensified their work of protecting fellow nationals, foreseeing more severe immigration measures to be implemented by the authorities of this country, and possible violations to constitutional precepts during such operations and problems with due process,” the statement said.
It’s a truly heartwarming story, isn’t it? You guys get it, right? She’s a mom. She has a daughter. She’s been in the country for 22 years trying to make a better life for her family. It’s straight out of a Hallmark movie of the week.
Of course you have to sort through a lot of the associated coverage and dig down pretty far to find the pertinent details of the story. It’s true that Garcia de Rayos is a mother and has been raising her daughter in Arizona. It is also true that she has been involved with immigration law enforcement in the past without being deported. What seems to be less frequently mentioned is that she had already been found to have falsely used someone else’s Social Security number. The entire time she has been in the country, she has been living here illegally. If you, assuming you are a legal, American born citizen, were found to be committing identity theft of this type you would quickly find yourself with an appointment to see a judge.
Now Mrs. Garcia de Rayos has been deported and is back in Mexico. Her sad story is being told on CNN and other networks complete with much wringing of hands and frightened questions about what is to become of her and her daughter. But in reality, ICE was simply doing their job. This woman had a more than two decade long career of breaking the law in a number of areas and had no right to be in the country at any time. The fact that her daughter, an American citizen by birth, was swept up in her misdeeds and now finds herself outside of the country is neither the fault of immigration enforcement nor of the White House. The fault lies with the mother who made the conscious decision to break the law and bring a child into this world under these circumstances.
It’s the same as with these other reports of “sweeping immigration raids” catching headlines. They could have just as easily said, “law enforcement enforces law.” Still, that’s not the story you’re going to be seeing on CNN nor in the pages of the Washington Post. It’s all about the horrible, uncaring nature of the new president and his hateful policies. There was a time in this country when reporting on a story about our laws being enforced would have seemed irrelevant. Sadly, it is now so remarkable as to be front page news.The MLS preseason seems to get shorter with every passing year, and this go-around was no different. The San Jose Earthquakes first took the field in 2017 less than six weeks ago, and only in the most recent days have they had the entirety of their roster together.
No worries, says head coach Dominic Kinnear, who after leading the team through a series of drills aimed at having the Quakes ready for their season opener this Saturday against the Montreal Impact, kick off at 6:45 p.m. at Avaya Stadium, looked pleased with the progress his squad has made in such a short period of time. though he acknowledged that there is still work to do.
“We are still assessing it because guys have only been here altogether for a week or two,” Kinnear told a small group of reporters at the Earthquakes training center on Thursday. “Overall, with the personnel with have, I’m excited about it.”
New general manager Jesse Fioranelli also had a pep to his step as he exited the facility after watching the team put in a 2+ hour training session. A very busy man since assuming the GM role just prior to the MLS SuperDraft, Fioranelli is even more encouraged by the confidence he sees in the players actions and attitudes.
“They can feel it,” said Fioranelli. “They are taking the initiative without any orders taken from anyone. They’re excited, and there is the right amount of competition. The best thing is if they are all engaged. We only have to help them get into that position, structure it in a way to allow it to happen.”
The optimism that is certainly flowing in each of the 22 MLS cities ahead of the league’s 22nd season can often seem like hyperbole. After all, everyone in both the Western and Eastern Conference is currently tied for first place. Pundits, polls and predictions have the Quakes finishing the season out of the playoffs — it would be the fifth straight year on the outside looking in at the postseason if that happens — with some seeing San Jose as 10th in the West at best.
“If I cared what people predicted and thought, especially about myself, I wouldn’t have made it out of high school soccer,” quipped team captain Chris Wondolowski. The Quakes all-time leading scorer made it very clear that he saw bigger things for the Earthquakes this season.
“We are finding each other on the same page,” continued Wondolowski, “and I’m liking the cohesion we are continuing to build. It’s exciting. Defensively we are very sound, and offensively we have an element of surprise, and also some class, some talent, that guys can bring, that next-level stuff.”
Building team chemistry will be a priority item for the Quakes to start the season, but Kinnear, who was pleased with his team’s comprehensive 4-1 victory over the Sacramento Republic FC in San Jose’s final preseason friendly, noted some other important to-dos ahead of the season opener against the Impact.
“One of those is fitness. We want to fine tune that I expect we will get fitter as the year goes on,” said Kinnear. “More attention to set-pieces as well. We have spent a lot of time in the coach's’ office getting geared up for Saturday with specific details we want to push to the players, so it’s been pretty good.”
The Quakes spent over an hour focused on set-pieces during Thursday’s training session, with Kinnear in the middle of the mix directing traffic and barking orders. San Jose did not score at all from a free kick in 2016, and scoring opportunities on corner kicks were few and far between. Making any improvement in this area would certainly boost the Earthquakes prospects in 2017.
The 19 outfield players currently available for selection this Saturday were active throughout the training session, as assistant coach John Spencer put them through their paces in a series of full-field scenarios. Defender Kip Colvey, who has been playing with the Quakes USL affiliate Reno 1868 FC this week is not expected to be part of Kinnear’s plans against the Impact, and the coach also lamented that there are still guys getting healthy.
“It’s nice, but there are still some guys that are injured,” said Kinnear. “Marc Pelosi is still not out here. Harold Cummings is jogging around the field. It’s nice having all the guys under one roof, but we still have those guys that are not yet on the field. For the most part, it’s the potential we have right now with the squad and the numbers we have and the roster we are putting together.”
Add Quincy Amarikwa to the list of rehabbing players, while defender Marvell Wynne continues to sit out with a heart issue that has prevented his participation in any form of training. Pelosi, who was injured in 2015 and underwent season-ending surgery, did not play at all in 2016. Kinnear had no update on the timetable for the former Liverpool youth player’s return to action.
“Nope,” Kinnear said with a shrug. “You’ll see him when you see him.”In June of 2010, when the Supreme Court ruled in McDonald v. Chicago that the Second Amendment is “fully applicable to states,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote a majority opinion that provides a rare and educational glimpse into the historical meaning of the right to keep and bear arms.
An important note: One of the reasons Democrats, leftists and avowed Marxists so easily steal away our rights in this country is because “we the people” have grown largely ignorant of the rights that are ours to begin with: and many of those who know our rights only know them abstractly. For example, many citizens know that we have religious freedom yet aren’t familiar with the way the First Amendment is worded. So they don’t understand that the amendment doesn’t just recognize our God-given right to religious freedom, but actually bars the government from interfering in our religious exercises. (In other words, when the First Amendment says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” it ties the hands of government, not the hands of the people. Yet in our ignorance we’ve allowed these things to be reversed.)
In the same say, almost every American knows they have “the right to keep and bear arms,” although a majority may not be able to quote the Second Amendment verbatim. Thus, many don’t understand that the right to keep and bear arms is not just another right Americans possess, but a right which is actually the lynchpin holding all the other natural rights in their proper place (i.e., once the right to keep and bear arms is infringed, recognition of all other rights will depend only on the benevolence of the state).
So we need to learn as much as we can about the Second Amendment now, and we need to urge our neighbors to learn along with us. And intentionally or not, Justice Alito has provided us with such a chance with his majority opinion in McDonald v. Chicago. Even a glancing look at it provides us with insights that neither academia nor the mainstream media would dare communicate to us.
For example, in his opinion Justice Alito points back to the Heller decision (2008) to highlight the fact the “the Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self-defense.” He also highlights how the right to keep and bear arms has long been viewed as one of the “fundamental rights necessary to our system of orderly liberty.” In just these two snippets from his decision we see that we have guns not primarily for the purpose of plinking or hunting or shooting sporting clays, but for defending our lives. Moreover, we learn that the private ownership of guns in this country is “necessary” to the system of liberty we enjoy: or to put it as the Founding Fathers did, the right to keep and bear arms is “necessary to the security of a free State.”
Justice Alito also focused on the Heller decision to add a third and crucial point for Americans living in the 21st century: “[Since] ‘the need for defense of self, family, and property is most acute’ in the home … we found that this right applies to handguns because they are ‘the most preferred firearm in the nation to “keep” and use for protection of one’s home and family.’” Yes, you read that correctly: Justice Alito reminded us that the Supreme Court not only held that we keep and bear arms for self-defense but that a handgun is the most preferred firearm for exercising that right. “Thus,” added Justice Alito, “citizens must be permitted ‘to use [handguns] for the core lawful purpose of self-defense.’” (I doubt that Democrats, “moderate” Republicans or the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence want you to know that the Supreme Court recognizes “handguns” as the weapon of choice for the “lawful purpose of self-defense.”)
Justice Alito bolsters these points by providing readers of the court’s opinion with a great quote from 19th-century U.S. Senator Samuel Pomeroy:
Every man … should have the right to bear arms for the defense of himself and family and his homestead. And if the cabin door of the freedman is broken open and the intruder enters for … purposes [that are] vile, then should a well-loaded musket be in the hand of the occupant to send the polluted wretch to another world, where his wretchedness will forever remain complete.
As you see, even this cursory glance at Justice Alito’s words reminds us that the Second Amendment hedges in our right to self defense, that it is necessary to liberty and that the Supreme Court recognizes handguns as the weapon of choice for exercising this right. And what the leftists would never want any of us to know is that Senator Pomeroy’s take on the right to keep and bear arms has been mainstream from the time of our nation’s founding till now. Only through our ignorance will the left succeed in changing this.
AWR Hawkins is a conservative columnist who has written extensively on political issues for HumanEvents.com, Pajamas Media, Townhall.com, and Andrew Breitbart’s BigPeace.com, BigHollywood.com, BigGovernment.com, and BigJournalism.com. He holds a Ph.D. in U.S. military history from Texas Tech University, and was a visiting fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in the summer of 2010. Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.
Daily Caller
Gun Facts
Related articlesNumerous people have asked me to comment on the Zero Hedge article Exclusive Smoking Gun: The Fed On Gold Manipulation.
The "Smoking Gun" is a now declassified document about gold, sent to president Gerald Ford on June 3, 1975 by Arthur Burns, chairman of the Fed from 1970 to 1978.
The document concerns the "broad question as to whether central banks and governments should be free to buy gold, from one another or from the private market, at market related prices"
Market prices at the time were $160-$175 and the official price was $42.22 per ounce.
Arthur Burns states "It is an open secret among central bankers that, at a later date, the French and some others may well want to stabilize the market price within some range".
Arthur Burns also states "The Federal Reserve has sought to avoid taking a rigid position", while going "some distance to try and conciliate the French view". Yet... "If we do ever acceded to French views on gold, we should at least use our bargaining leverage to some major political advantage".
Finally Burns states "All in all I am convinced that by far the best position for us to take at this time is to resist arrangements that provide wide latitude for central banks to purchase gold at market-related prices."
Shocking Revelation?
Burns sought an agreement whereby central bankers and governments would not buy gold at market prices. Because gold prices never traded at $42.22 again, essentially that was an agreement to not buy gold.
After Nixon closed the gold window, why is it such a revelation that events like this happened? Did any governments cheat?
The most interesting thing in the document was Burns' willingness to bargain for "political advantage". However, the idea that governments are lying manipulators willing to sell their soul for the right political advantage can hardly be a considered a startling revelation.
Smoking Gun or Historical Footnote?
The importance of this document is only in the historical sense in that it helps shows us how the move toward an irredeemable fiat currency evolved around that time.
The document has no direct bearing on what is happening today, although it remains true that gold is the enemy of the welfare warfare state and its central banks.
The so-called "smoking gun" of 1975 is much to do about nothing. It is nothing more than a historical footnote with little current relevance.
Misplaced Fears
If governments today are still acting to suppress the price of gold by the same methods, let's have more of them because they clearly aren't working.
Given that the price of gold is roughly $1,000 an ounce, it goes to show that governments are not bigger than the market, and that such manipulation (even if it does still exist) can never work in the long run.
The fear should not be of government to government agreements that can never work in practice, but rather a fear that governments may tax gold sales profits at some phenomenal rate, thereby effectively confiscating gold a second time.
Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List• Chilean had to return home to pick up correct identification • Pellegrini made flight to Düsseldorf with minutes to spare
Manuel Pellegrini was involved in a rush to make the flight for Manchester City’s Champions League game against Borussia Mönchengladbach after bringing the wrong passport to the airport.
With City needing a victory to kickstart their campaign after losing their opening fixture to Juventus, Pellegrini’s preparations were almost upset before they had even left England when he realised that he had picked up the wrong passport.
The Chilean arrived at Manchester airport’s terminal three on the team bus but had to make a quick U-turn after realising his error. Pellegrini was pictured getting into a taxi and returned to his home in Cheshire to rectify his mistake, making the flight to Düsseldorf only 10 minutes before it was due to leave.
“I just have two passports and I brought the wrong one,” Pellegrini explained when he was asked about the incident.WASHINGTON, D.C. – Funded by Google and George Soros, a group of leftist foundations have organized a “Fake News” war against the GOP, claiming that Republicans have voted to overturn Obama administration FCC rules designed to “protect Internet privacy.”
Three entities – Google, Soros’ Open Society Institute and the Ford Foundation – have contributed more than $72 million since roughly 2006 to non-profits that have been most active in pushing net neutrality, as well as privacy rules on the broadband industry to give the government a firm foothold in regulating the Internet.
The grant amounts were gathered from public resources including non-profit 990 tax forms, the non-profits’ web pages and other public sources.
A 2015 study released by the Media Research Center estimated that the Ford Foundation and Soros’ Open Society Foundations alone had contributed more than $196 million to pro-net neutrality groups between 2000 and 2013, funding various efforts launched Netroots Nation, the leftist Internet political activist convention originally launched by Daily Kos readers and writers
Google’s interest in privacy rules for ISPs and broadband providers should be self-evident: The draconian privacy rules only apply to Google’s competitors in the broadband industry, leaving Google – arguably the world’s worst violator of online privacy – virtually unscathed.
Google, one of the most powerful companies in the world, and one that routinely preaches an ethos of openness and transparency, is surprisingly non-transparent when it comes to its own contributions to organizations that support a government takeover of the Internet.
While the company has a “transparency” web page, it is largely a fig leaf – a token list of the non-profits it supports currently and in the past – offering no details of the often-staggering amounts of funding it provides to the groups that support its public policy goals.
The truth is Google and Soros are pushing a complete distortion of the issue in the Fake News war launched against the GOP on issues including net neutrality and Internet privacy.
The truth is the left wants to control the Internet to impose censorship of conservatives, while Google has made millions of dollars quietly selling to third-parties the massive amount of information Google has harvested by monitoring web-browsing and collecting GSP location data, typically without the knowledge or consent of Google users.
What truly is involved with the Internet privacy issue traces back to a last-hour effort by the Obama administration, getting the Democratic Party-controlled Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to rule on Oct. 27, 2016, that Internet providers like Verizon, Comcast Corp and AT&T had to obtain prior authorization from customers to market information mined from a customer’s web-browsing activity before selling that data to third parties.
As Breitbart News revealed, the truth about the party-line House vote on Thursday to overturn this rule was that the Obama administration last October was attempting to move regulation of privacy issues into the domain of the FCC, instead of the Federal Trade Commission, where privacy regulation has traditionally resided.
“The FCC already has the ability to oversee privacy with broadband providers,” Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-TN, explained to Breitbart.com. “That is done primarily through Section 222 of the Communications Act, and additional authority is granted through Sections 201 and 202. Now, what they did was to go outside of their bounds and expand that.”
“They did a swipe at the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission, the FTC.”
“They have traditionally been our nation’s primary privacy regulator, and they have done a very good job of it,” Blackburn continued.
What the GOP did by overturning the FCC privacy rule was to reverse Obama administration overreach, preventing the Obama administration from expanding the authority of the FCC to regulate the Internet such that censorship rules could be read into privacy regulations should the Democrats resume control of the White House in the future.
The GOP did not want the FCC, the traditional regulation of communications technology, including radio and television, to reach into established FTC authority to regulate privacy issues.
The GOP recalled the FCC Internet privacy rules and gave authority back to the FTC.
“The FTC has the ability to protect consumers, and that is what they do. They are the primary regulator,” Blackburn told Breitbart. “But let’s say an ISP begins to sell that data, then there would be complaints filed, and the FCC would go after that broadband provider under the regulations that are on the books.”Roy Hodgson has acclaimed Harry Kane’s improvement at Tottenham Hotspur, describing him as having “come on leap and bounds” as the manager considers whether to promote the 21-year-old to the full England squad for the first time.
Kane has established himself more prominently in Hodgson’s thinking after his impressive run of form for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, including two goals in the 5-3 defeat of Chelsea and a performance that gave John Terry and Gary Cahill more problems than at any other time this season.
England’s next game is not until 27 March when they play a qualifier against Lithuania, and Hodgson will have to balance his thinking by weighing up the fact that Gareth Southgate regards Kane as an important member of his squad for the European Under-21 Championship in June.
“Harry is one of those players – Andros Townsend being another one – who didn’t exactly burst on to the scene in his club side and get straight in,” Hodgson said. “They got loaned out first and sent out to different places to learn their trade, if you like, or at least pick up some important aspects of their trade.
“We have watched [Kane] for a while and I worked with him briefly in the Under-21s when I filled in for one game. Harry has come on in leaps and bounds and I’m not surprised because I know [the former coaches] Tim Sherwood and Les Ferdinand very well. They have worked with him at Tottenham and they always believed in him as a goalscorer. It’s tremendous to see people like him doing so well and quite strange that in the Under-21s a year or two ago we were bemoaning the fact we didn’t think our forwards were up to the level of the midfielders – and yet suddenly Kane, Saido Berahino and Danny Ings are all doing exceptionally well. It will be a headache for Gareth who he picks to play in the summer.”
Hodgson, who reiterated his long-held view that there should be a mid-season break in the Premier League, also praised Charlie Austin due to the striker’s scoring form for QPR. “Charlie is doing very well,” he said on SiriusXM FC. “He’s another one who has come through the lower leagues and, a bit like Rickie Lambert, I’m sure people have watched Charlie many times and dismissed him because he doesn’t run like the wind. You can be a good footballer sometimes without needing to run like the wind and Harry Redknapp has brought the best out of him for QPR.”Beijing’s record-breaking air pollution has spurred officials and designers to come up with innovative solutions – and the architects at London-based Orproject recently proposed the creation of gigantic Bubbles filled with fresh air! The inflatable spaces would contain parks and botanical gardens that provide fresh air to residents sick of choking on the city’s ever-present smog.
Orproject is an innovative design practice founded in 2006 that tends to explore advanced geometries with an ecological leaning. Bubbles is based on a lightweight structural system developed to mimic butterfly wings and the veins of leaves. The system utilizes a material known as ETFE, which is the same material used in China’s National Swim Center at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. This transparent and stretchy plastic could be used to create wonderful domes that allow light in while protecting inhabitants from pollution.
Orproject founder Christoph Klemmt envisions that this biome will create different micro-climates within the same space – bringing to life tropical forests next to deserts. Heating and cooling of the space will be controlled through a ground source heat exchange system, while electrical needs will be provided by solar panels integrated into the canopy structure. Their toughest challenge will be the Chinese government and developers – Klemmt was quoted in an interview with Co. Exist saying: “The big park is our dream, which depends on a lot of other people, including the government. If we were to realize this for a schoolyard, it’d be much easier for it to happen.”
+ Orproject
Via Co. ExistImage of bloodied man picked up by British newspapers has been circulating online for two years
An image apparently showing a dead Osama bin Laden broadcast on Pakistani television and picked up by British newspaper websites is a fake.
The bloodied image of a man with matted hair and a blank, half-opened eye has been circulating on the internet for the past two years. It was used on the front pages of the Mail, Times, Telegraph, Sun and Mirror websites, though swiftly removed after the fake was exposed on Twitter.
It appears the fake picture was initially published by the Middle East online newspaper themedialine.org on 29 April 2009, with a warning from the editor that it was "unable to ascertain whether the photo is genuine or not".
The Daily Mail was one of the newspaper websites to publish the fake picture of Osama bin Laden's body.
Since then, however, the image has been claimed as genuine on a number of conspiracy forums and used to substantiate claims that the terrorist responsible for the 9/11 bombings had been killed.
The Guardian was one of the few sites to hold back from using the manipulated image on its front page, reporting the picture's existence in its live blog but questioning its legitimacy.
The image is based on a genuine photograph of Bin Laden taken in 1998 and used by the Reuters news agency.
A composite including the other photograph used to make the image was quickly posted on Twitter, and a number of users showed how easy it was to find the image already online with a simple search.
• This article was amended on 3 May 2011. The username of a Tweeter was deleted from the final sentence of the piece and a link to the composite removed as the image was no longer available on Twitter.In 1998, an esteemed medical journal published a paper with a startling conclusion: that the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine — administered to millions of children across the globe each year — could cause autism.
This study, led by the discredited physician-researcher Andrew Wakefield, is where the current vaccine-autism debate started. It has since been thoroughly eviscerated: The Lancet retracted the paper, investigators have described the research as an "elaborate fraud," and Wakefield has lost his medical license.
But public health experts say the false data and erroneous conclusions, while resoundingly rejected in the academic world, still drive some parents' current worries about the MMR shot. And famous folks like Robert Kennedy Jr. continue to promote the vaccine-autism link. (Kennedy Jr. said he was asked by President-Elect Donald Trump to lead a committee looking into "vaccination safety and scientific integrity" — a claim Trump later pushed back on.)
Here are six reasons — and many links to further reading — that should remind you just how terrible Wakefield's research was.
1) The best available evidence overwhelmingly contradicts Wakefield's claim about a vaccine-autism link
Large-scale studies involving thousands of participants in several countries have failed to establish a link between the MMR vaccine and the mental developmental disorder.
Most recently, the journal JAMA looked at nearly 100,000 children who got the shot and their family histories of autism. The researchers found the MMR vaccine was not associated with an increased risk of autism, even with children who had older siblings with the disorder. "These findings indicate no harmful association between MMR vaccine receipt and ASD even among children already at higher risk for ASD," the researchers concluded.
In another of the most thorough studies to date, nearly half a million kids who got the vaccine were compared with some 100,000 who didn't, and there were no differences in the autism rates between the two groups. "This study provides strong evidence against the hypothesis that MMR vaccination causes autism," the authors wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Studies published in The Lancet, The Journal of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, PLOS One, and The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, among others, have also found no association between the vaccine and autism.
2) The MMR vaccine-autism study was just bad science
Wakefield's association between the MMR vaccine and autism was based on a case report involving only 12 children. "Case reports" are detailed stories about particular patients' medical histories, and — because they are basically just stories — they are considered among weakest kinds of medical studies.
Many children have autism, and nearly all take the MMR vaccine. Finding in this case that among a group of a dozen children, most of them happen to have both is not at all surprising and in no way proves that the MMR vaccine causes autism. (Wakefield also proposed a link between the vaccine and a new inflammatory bowel syndrome, which has since been called "autistic enterocolitis" and also discredited |
ERA in six Florida State League starts, but had just 25 strikeouts in 33 innings.
He induced more swings-and-misses by working the quicker breaking ball off an elevated fastball.
"I've gotten into a lot of 0-2 foul-ball matches," he said. "But today, something just clicked and they weren't fouling the ball off as much. My curve, I was throwing it well for strikes 0-0 and not in strikeout counts, and then I could get swings on it for a strikeout, the curve and the fastball. I think everyone I struck out was either a low curve or a high fastball."
Greene said he thinks the curve now looks more like his fastball out of his hand, and that illusion was the difference for him Thursday.
"[Horsman] has been working with me to get it faster and more straight, more like a fastball," he said.
The California native recovered from the unusual first inning by pitching perfectly through the second, third and fourth innings, striking out two batters in the second and third frames.
The right-hander again retired the side in order in the fifth, even after allowing a leadoff single to Jeff Gelalich. Carlton Daal replaced Gelalich at first on a fielder's choice ground ball. After Brian O'Grady struck out, Daal was picked off first to end the frame.
Greene retired the final six batters in order, fanning four in the process, including a swinging strikeout of Taylor Sparks to end the seventh.
Greene has thrown 19 consecutive scoreless innings over his past three starts. He has a 35-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in seven starts with Dunedin since a midseason promotion from Class A Lansing.FOXBORO — When Randy Moss and Wes Welker were driving defenses crazy in 2007, it was hard to find a better 1-2 punch in the league than this wide receiver duo from the Patriots.
They had the dominant, all-world wideout and the tough-as-nails slot guy who Tom Brady could always count on in a pinch.
Seven years later, the Patriots have a new pair attracting double teams and driving defenses batty. One dominates defenders, like Moss did, albeit in a different way. The other is Brady’s go-to guy, just as Welker was for so many years.
Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman aren’t your typical duo. Tight ends and wide receivers aren’t usually famous NFL pairs. But they’ve done enough with the Patriots offense to keep opposing defensive coordinators up at night planning and plotting to try to contain them.
Individually, it’s hard enough to deal with them. Collectively, if one doesn’t kill you at a crucial point in the game, the other will. Case in point, Edelman’s 69-yard touchdown catch in Sunday’s 23-14 win in San Diego. While Gronk also scored a touchdown, Edelman’s score ultimately put a dagger in the Chargers.
Gronk and Jules. Rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?
Their numbers stack up with the best combos in the league, whether it’s Denver’s Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, Green Bay’s Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, Atlanta’s Julio Jones and Roddy White, Detroit’s Golden Tate and Calvin Johnson.
Gronkowski and Edelman should be in the discussion if you’re looking at combined totals for receptions (158), yards (1,881) and touchdowns (13).
“To me, recognition comes from the respect they get when we go and play against other teams,” safety Devin McCourty said yesterday. “I think every team we play, a goal of theirs is to try and stop Julian and Gronk. And when you see ’em not stop them, and them have big games, I think you realize that’s why they get that type of respect.”
McCourty has had to go up against the Broncos, Packers and Lions duos already this season. And those have been tough enough assignments. But he’s also had to try to stop Gronk and Edelman every day in practice, so he knows all about the degree of difficulty.
“It’s fun. It’s highly competitive with Tom, Gronk and Jules. But like I say, they don’t do what they do in games, in practice. We don’t allow that,” McCourty said with a smile. “The look squad is highly competitive. They’re trying to stop Julian. They’re trying to stop Gronk. It’s not just pitch and catch out there at practice.”
Added Pats safety Duron Harmon: “Going against those two in practice is tough. I can only imagine when defenses have to game plan, how it is on them.”
The Dolphins, meanwhile, already have sounded the red alerts. They don’t want to be the latest victims of the dynamic Pats duo.
“They’ve got special guys out there. Edelman, you see the impact he has on offense. He has about the same impact on special teams. I think last time we played them, he was leading NFL history in average at punt returns,” said Dolphins safety Jimmy Wilson. “And Gronkowski is running around like a mad man. If you don’t catch and tackle these guys and you let them rip off big plays and get confidence and get you on your heels... it’s hard to come back on them, so you’ve got to come out of the gate ready to play.”
In the season-opening loss at Miami, Edelman caught six passes for 95 yards. Gronkowski, who was playing in his first game since coming back from knee surgery, had four catches for 40 yards and a touchdown.
Not long after that game, Brady was accused of just having a two-man band with Gronk and Edelman. That’s no longer the case with wide receiver Brandon LaFell emerging as a legitimate third pass catcher, plus tight end Tim Wright and wide receivers Danny Amendola and Brian Tyms pitching in.
More times than not, though, Gronk and Edelman tend to be the guys Brady looks to when he needs a critical play, or a first down.
Edelman is a warrior, having taken his share of hits and abuse to catch balls over the middle. Gronk, meanwhile, is just a beast, dragging bodies along for the ride after he hauls in a Brady pass.
“Gronk is a man-child,” Edelman said after the Chargers win. “Playing with a guy like him is truly fun because he goes out there and plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”
Gronk and Edelman aren’t usually paired up in discussions about the Patriots offense, but they should be. They’re like thunder and lightning. Another great combination.
“Their production speaks for itself,” said Harmon. “They should be considered amongst the top of the duos in the league.”Mutations in the presenilin-1 gene are the most common cause of inherited, early-onset forms of Alzheimer's disease. In a new study, published in Neuron, scientists replaced the normal mouse presenilin-1 gene with Alzheimer's-causing forms of the human gene to discover how these genetic changes may lead to the disorder. Their surprising results may transform the way scientists design drugs that target these mutations to treat inherited or familial Alzheimer's, a rare form of the disease that affects approximately 1 percent of people with the disorder. The study was partially funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health.
For decades, it has been unclear exactly how the presenilin mutations cause Alzheimer's disease. Presenilin is a component of an important enzyme, gamma secretase, which cuts up amyloid precursor protein into two protein fragments, Abeta40 and Abeta42. Abeta42 is found in plaques, the abnormal accumulations of protein in the brain which are a hallmark of Alzheimer's. Numerous studies suggested that presenilin-1 mutations increased activity of gamma-secretase. Investigators have developed drugs that block gamma-secretase, but they have so far failed in clinical trials to halt the disease.
The study led by Raymond Kelleher, M.D., Ph.D. and Jie Shen, Ph.D., professors of neurology at Harvard Medical School, Boston, provides a plot twist in the association of presenilin-1 mutations and inherited Alzheimer's disease. Using mice with altered forms of the presenilin gene, Drs. Kelleher and Shen discovered that the mutations may cause the disease by decreasing, rather than increasing, the activity of gamma-secretase.
One of the presenilin mutations also caused impairment of memory circuits in the mouse brain and age-dependent death of neurons.
"The findings by Drs. Shen and Kelleher are a significant departure from conventional thinking that should open up exciting and creative new possibilities at all levels of research, from basic molecular mechanisms all the way to clinical intervention," said Roderick Corriveau, Ph.D., program director at NINDS.
"This is a very striking example where we have mutations that inactivate gamma-secretase function and yet they trigger an array of features that resemble Alzheimer's disease, notably synaptic and cognitive deficits as well as neurodegeneration," said Dr. Kelleher.
Although plaques are the main biological indicator of Alzheimer's, neurodegenerative changes are also an important feature of the disease. These changes include loss of brain cells, cognitive deficits such as problems with memory, changes in the brain's electrical activity and inflammation. Commonly used mouse models of the disease exhibit excessive plaque deposition, but do not show symptoms of neurodegeneration. According to Dr. Kelleher, this may be one reason that treatments developed in mice have not been successful in patients.
"This study is the first example of a mouse model in which a familial Alzheimer's mutation is sufficient to cause neurodegeneration. The new model provides an opportunity that we hope will help with the development of therapies focusing on the devastating neurodegenerative changes that occur in the disease," Dr. Kelleher said.
Dr. Shen's previous work demonstrated that presenilins and gamma-secretase play an important role in learning and memory, communication between brain cells and neuronal survival, and cautioned against the use of gamma-secretase inhibitors for Alzheimer's disease therapy. Later, a large phase III trial was stopped because treatment with a gamma-secretase inhibitor worsened the cognitive ability of patients.
Although the majority of cases are not inherited, familial Alzheimer's disease is associated with early onset of the disorder, with symptoms often appearing before age 60. Drs. Shen and Kelleher hope that the mechanisms uncovered in this study may provide insight into the common forms of the disorder that affect more than five million people in the United States.
The results in this paper suggest a new approach for drug development. "We believe that restoring gamma-secretase would be a better, more effective therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's patients," said Dr. Shen.Being on hiatus for the past few months, John Oliver said while promoting Sunday night’s first “Last Week Tonight” of the Donald Trump presidency, was like “being tied to a train track, watching the train coming."
“And then, of course, Inauguration Day is the train hitting you, and you’re thinking ‘Yep that felt pretty much how I thought it was going to feel,’ ” he said, speaking to Stephen Colbert on CBS’s “The Late Show.”
Sunday on HBO, the British comic whom America has learned to look to for perspective on our most meaningful national woes finally got to chime in on the 45th president using his own bells, his own desk, his own set and writers.
Their grand play? A fake medical ad running Monday morning on Washington, D.C.-area cable shows that will veer away from catheter talk to explain U.S. nuclear policy “in case you’re the kind of person that really needs to know that.”
That kind of person, of course, would be the president of the United States, a known morning cable watcher.
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To say it was a blistering “Last Week Tonight,” though, would be an overstatement. There was too much to catch up on since the show last aired in mid-November, and in Oliver, like in many comics attempting to cope with Trump these days, you sense a kind of battle fatigue. Trump has only been in office a few weeks, yet the string of falsehoods and confounding or outrageous maneuvers has become almost a duty, rather than a joy, to satirize.
It’s gotten so bad, Oliver said, that when his phone buzzed with a news alert recently, he looked down and was relieved: “Oh, thank God, it’s just that Mary Tyler Moore is dead,” he recalled thinking.
He spoke of being jealous of Eddie, the dog from “Frasier,” because of his state of blissful ignorance: “He’s a dog, he’s fictional, and he’s almost certainly dead.” (Yes, in 2006.)
“Trump has made it clear that reality is not important to him,” Oliver said, citing a Politifact conclusion that two-thirds of what Trump said has been untrue. “We have a president capable of standing in the rain and saying it was a sunny day.”
While Oliver has been off the air, the late-night landscape has been shifting. Colbert and Seth Meyers, performing comedy that comes from a state of genuine alarm about the meaning of a Trump presidency, have risen in ratings and in popular regard. Samantha Bee continues to tattoo the president on her weekly show, and Trevor Noah and Bill Maher aim to do so too.
The comedy of urgency is carrying the day. The comedy of tousling Donald Trump’s hair — looking at you, Jimmy Fallon — seems naive, even a little dangerous.
So where does Oliver, a green card holder peering at us through a long lens, fit in?
The whole answer cannot come from one “Last Week." But the show, as I said, felt a little exasperated already, because it knows this battle will be long and tiresome and very likely repetitive. Sunday’s “Last Week” had the trappings of a comedy show, but it could be read also as news analysis, a PSA with high production values and a much better-than-usual timeslot.
After a video montage of Trump’s genuinely off-kilter handshake techniques, Oliver settled into the main topic. It wasn’t going to be one of the reported comic essays on the likes of tax-increment financing districts with which the show has made its mark. No, the subject would be the inevitable one: Trump.
Oliver’s goal, he said, was to answer four basic questions: How did we get “a pathological liar” in the White House? What is the source of those lies? Why do some people believe them? And what is to be done?
And so he laid out the answers, a refresher course for those who’ve been following things but perhaps an eye-opener to the folks who, um, only get their news from HBO on Sundays.
Oliver laid out the case that Trump gets news from cable TV and then from the likes of adviser Steve Bannon’s far-right Breitbart website and from Alex Jones’ bat-guano crazy InfoWars. He showed a clip of Trump telling Jones, “You’ll be very, very impressed, I hope” with what he is able to do.
People believe these things, the host said, because they’ve insulated themselves from conflicting news sources and because the White House keeps insisting that what the president believes to be true — that millions voted illegally, for instance — is a defensible position because it is what he believes.
“Faith and facts aren’t like Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton,” Oliver said. “When you confuse them, it actually matters.”
He showed a Texas congressmen counseling people to rely on Trump as their primary source for news without realizing the magnitude of such a statement. “Getting your news directly from the leader is basically the policy of North Korea,” Oliver pointed out.
As for what to do, Oliver suggested further protests, calls to legislators and lawsuits, yes. But his show, he said, was going after Trump where he seems to live: on a sofa during the cable news morning shows.
He showed the ad scheduled to air Monday morning, the host said, in hopes of getting through to the president. It featured a cowboy type in what looked like a cheap medical ad, targeting “catheter patients.” But then the cowboy explained what the “nuclear triad” is.
Other points that future such ads might make: “There are actually many non-you people,” and “You’re confusing climate with weather, podner.”
Most of the show’s jokes about Trump have been done, in one form or another, because he is being so carefully scrutinized by programs running more regularly. That’s not to say you don’t keep pointing out, say, the difference between the border wall candidate Trump promised and whatever it is President Trump will build.
But crafting an actual ad targeting Trump is an innovative response, the kind of bold maneuver that can continue to give "Last Week" a distinctive identity and help it fend off Trump fatigue.
The questions for Monday morning: Will Trump tweet about catheters or about the nuclear triad? And will the ad even be allowed to air, now that Oliver has made its satirical intent clear?In the 2013 interview Willian revealed Jose Mourinho’s words to him when he joined the squad.
‘The manager welcomed me to the club and told me he was happy that I was here,’ he said back then. ‘He told me to work hard. He said we have a very strong team but when you work hard there are rewards.’
The Brazilian clearly worked hard enough. His 49 appearances last season was only bettered in number by Eden Hazard and in 2013/14 he played 42 games.
His worth to his manager is enhanced by his ability to perform in several of the attacking positions and his important role in delivering set-pieces. He took the second-most last season after Cesc Fabregas. Indeed in his pre-match conference on Friday, Mourinho made it quite clear that the arrival of Pedro has no impact on Willian’s future at the club.
The player considers his regular selection in the side.
‘When I came I said to myself I have to work a lot, I have to try to do my best in training and in the games, so after that I improve. I am improving a lot and I play so many games. Now I have more experience in the best league in the world for me, and every game is hard, so to play here you have to work hard and improve yourself.
‘For me it is no problem to play in the middle or on the left side or the right side. I want to help the team, and always when I was a young player in Brazil at Corinthians and when I play in Shakhtar, I took the set plays, so for me no problem either, I like to do that.’
For many, Willian hit the best form of his Chelsea career in the closing months of last season and he does not disagree with that view. It followed on with him regarded as one of Brazil’s most important players in the Copa America in the summer, especially after a suspension for Neymar.
‘I am happy about that and I feel good. My confidence goes up and I play good on the pitch. I try to do skills and to shoot and score goals and I want to do more.’
Asked to choose his favourite memory from his time at Chelsea so far, other than the days when the league and the Capital One Cup were won, he goes back to his first season and a home Champions League night.
‘When we played against PSG and we win 2-0 at home and in the last minutes of the game Demba Ba scored. At this moment the atmosphere in the stadium was so amazing and this was a great day.’
Throughout these two years at Chelsea the football action has been accompanied throughout by the ‘Willian, he saw the light’ song from the fans. It is one of the most constantly sung and clearly isn’t fading away.
‘They are not forgetting about this situation and the song is a very good song,’ the subject of the refrain smiles. ‘It is good for me and I think they have to continue.’The Community Relations Service is the Department's "Peacemaker" for community conflicts and tensions arising from differences of race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion and disability. CRS is not an investigatory or prosecutorial agency, and it does not have any law enforcement authority.
Rather, the Agency works with all parties, including State and local units of government, private and public organizations, civil rights groups, and local community leaders, to uncover the underlying interests of all of those involved in the conflict and facilitates the development of viable, mutual understandings and solutions to the community's challenges. In addition, CRS assists communities in developing local mechanisms and community capacity to prevent tension and violent hate crimes from occurring in the future. All CRS services are provided free of charge to the communities and are confidential. CRS works in all 50 states and the U.S. territories, and in communities large and small, rural, urban and suburban.Two years removed from becoming the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Barkevious Mingo is fighting for a starting job in Cleveland.
Browns defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil said as much on Thursday, talking up the play of Scott Solomon, a from-the-wilderness outside linebacker who has turned heads this offseason.
"Scott is very quickly becoming one of my favorite players," O'Neil said Thursday, per the Akron Beacon Journal. "The offense calls him 'Bloodbath.' He's like a heat-seeking missile coming off the edge."
Said O'Neil, per The Plain Dealer: "It's going to be a car accident when Scott Solomon meets a pulling guard or a fullback."
A seventh-round pick by Tennessee in 2012, the 6-foot-3, 262-pound Solomon has floated between the Titans, Jets, Bucs and Browns. With zero career starts, he's hardly the guy anyone pegged to steal snaps away from Mingo, who was never the same last season after injuring his shoulder on the second play of the year against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"When we came out of training camp last year, we thought Mingo was one of our best outside backers," O'Neil said, "We all know about the injury he suffered in play two of last season. He is going to have to compete for playing time on early downs. He's going to have a role in our sub-packages. No one is guaranteed anything on the defense."
The Browns also have Paul Kruger and Armonty Bryant at the position, putting plenty of pressure on Mingo to show that he's grown.
Our biggest concern about Mingo is how slender he looks in pads. The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder's "ability to put weight" has been mentioned before by Browns coaches, who used the final days of the offseason program to send a sharply worded message to the young pass rusher.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast discusses the latest NFL news including Dez Bryant's contract situation and the latest on Johnny Manziel. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.New Delhi: The Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) has sought a special audit of Delhi airport operator DIAL, according to sources. These sources say the CAG has alleged diversion of revenues by DIAL since it formed joint venture companies for non-aeronautical functions with third parties with minority stakes. DIAL was formed in 2007 with GMR-led consortia holding majority 74 percent stake and AAI holding the remaining 26 percent. The concession agreement for the Delhi airport mandates that with 26 percent equity participation, AAI gets 46 percent share in airport revenues.
The CAG had made scathing observations on the same issue in its 2012-13 report too, where it had termed these JVs a "violation" of the terms of the airport concession agreement. The auditor had also alleged then that there was no way of knowing how much revenue from these subsidiaries was actually flowing to DIAL (and therefore coming to AAI as per the revenue share formula).
Once again, the CAG seems to have found something amiss with DIAL's 11 joint venture companies - these were formed for outsourcing various non-core operations at the airport like parking, food and beverages, cargo etc. The CAG perhaps believes that through these JVs, a part of the revenue which should have accrued to AAI is being diverted since the government does not audit these JVs and what they share as revenue with DIAL.
Sources told CNBC-TV18 that the CAG held a meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and DIAL officials about a month back where it sought a special audit. "The meeting happened about a month back. Then, the ministry issued minutes of the meeting but the CAG objected to some points in these minutes. These were then amended and the minutes of the meeting were issued again. But till date, the ministry has not written to the CAG on whether it agrees with its wish to audit the JVs formed by DIAL or not," said this source.
A DIAL spokesperson said that AAI has never objected to DIAL making any investment in JVs.
"OMDA (concession agreement) also allows DIAL to make investment in JVs of non-aeronautical businesses. These JVs are in accordance with the provisions of Companies Act, where after the approval from the board of directors, investments in JVs as a minority share-holder can be made," the spokesperson said.
He added that DIAL has not given any commitment to the CAG on divestment of its stake in any of these JVs and the "issue of divestment was never raised by the CAG".
Out of 11 JVs formed, DIAL has now divested its stake in two JVs but all others continue to be operational.
So is DIAL diverting revenues away from AAI? To answer this question, we must first understand that nowhere is the formation of JVs barred under the airport concession agreement. And it is well known that no airport operator performs all non-aeronautical functions by itself - these are usually outsourced to competent parties. So by merely forming JVs, DIAL is not violating the concession agreement.
An industry veteran pointed out that in initial years, when these JVs were formed, it is possible that AAI's revenue share was impacted because "instead of getting Rs 46 from every Rs 100 earned by these JVs, AAI would have been given Rs 46 from every Rs 100 shared by these companies with DIAL. But this shortfall should have been overlooked since the airport has done really well and overall revenues have been increasing. A third of AAI's total revenue last fiscal came from DIAL".
Also, someone has to manage services like parking at the airport - a company which is competent to do so - since DIAL cannot.
It is now for the Ministry of Civil Aviation to take a call on whether the CAG needs to conduct the special audit. Since the AAI, a party to this entire issue, does not seem to have objected to the formation of JVs by DIAL, it may really not be suffering any significant revenue loss on their account. Besides, the purpose of awarding this airport project to private developers was to build and operate a world class airport. In fact, the Delhi and Mumbai PPP models for airport modernisation and development were used as showpieces for future PPP projects. So perhaps the CAG would do well to let GMR-led consortia and AAI slug it out among themselves. Or wait for the ministry's decision on the matter.
Firstpost is now on WhatsApp. For the latest analysis, commentary and news updates, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Firstpost.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button.CLOSE Donald Trump made headlines during the first Republican presidential debate for his comments about women, his opponents and politicians in general.
Republican presidential candidates take the stage for the first primary debate at the Quicken Loans Arena on Aug. 6, 2015, in Cleveland. (Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP)
CLEVELAND — Donald Trump declined the chance to rule out a third-party presidential bid during a lively debate Thursday dominated by talk about the billionaire-turned-political phenomenon.
"I will not make the pledge at this time," Trump said when a moderator asked all 10 Republican candidates whether they would forgo an independent bid should they lose the GOP nomination. The only one to refuse the request, Trump said he has to "respect the person" who prevails, though he added that he expects to claim the GOP nomination himself.
Trump's rise to front-runner status shadowed a crowded 10-man debate that also touched on contentious issues like immigration, abortion, health care, Social Security and Medicare spending, as well as government surveillance in counterterrorism investigations.
Trump and Jeb Bush, his closest competitor in many polls, also clashed over style and background.
While denying a published report that he has called Trump a "clown" and "buffoon," Bush did declare that "I have said that Mr. Trump's language is divisive," especially comments about Mexican migrants.
For his part, Trump described the presidency of George W. Bush — Jeb's brother — as a "catastrophe" that led to the election of President Obama. While he can be abrasive, Trump said the nation faces major problems and "we don't have time for tone — we have to go out and get the job done."
Meanwhile, in one of the debate's sharpest exchanges, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie fought over government surveillance programs. When Christie said Paul's opposition to certain programs would undercut terrorism investigation, Paul told him "use the fourth amendment!" Christie said Paul and like-minded senators are "just blowing hot air about this."
When Paul said he wants to "collect more records from terrorists, but less records from innocent Americans," Christie called it "a completely ridiculous answer... How are you supposed to know?"
CLOSE In a Fox News Republican debate in Cleveland, sen. Rand Pual and Gov. Chris Christie engage in a heated exchange over Paul's opposition to the NSA's collection of phone records. Bloomberg
Trump also clashed with Paul, who blasted the businessman for refusing the invitation to refused a third-party bid, saying the New York businessman "buys and sells politicians of all stripes" and has spoken favorably of Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Paul and Trump also argued health care policy, and at one point the New Yorker told the Kentucky senator: "I don't think you heard me; you're having a hard time tonight."
In a statement after the debate, Trump said he was proud of his performance: "I am not a debater, but I am a winner."
Some analysts weren't as complimentary. David McIntosh, president of the organization Club for Growth, said that "Trump plays both sides of any issue just like the worst of Washington politicians."
Some of the Republicans on the debate stage seemed reluctant to directly criticize Trump.
John Kasich, who as governor of Ohio enjoyed a home-court advantage in the Cleveland basketball arena, said Trump is "hitting a nerve in this country," but added that "he's got his solutions — some of us have other solutions."
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., challenged some of Trump's immigration statements, and said at one point that "the evidence is now clear that the majority of people coming across the border are not from Mexico." Rubio also said he agreed that "people are frustrated."
Trump, who blasted politicians and reporters throughout the debate, replied that he has given money to many of the Republicans on the stage. The candidate whose criticism of establishment politicians has rocketed him to the top of Republican polls said at one point that "our politicians are stupid" when it comes to dealing with Mexico and immigration.
Defending his harsh comments about Mexican migrants, Trump said at one point that "we need to build a wall" and "we need to keep illegals out."
The GOP front-runner also argued repeatedly with the three debate moderators from Fox News. When Fox's Megyn Kelly asked Trump about disparaging comments he has made about women, the billionaire said the country has had a problem with being too "politically correct." He also told Kelly: "If you don't like it, I'm sorry."
In a separate debate earlier in the afternoon, GOP candidates who did not qualify for the prime-time session denounced Trump as a reality television celebrity who has only recently adopted conservative causes.
Businesswoman Carly Fiorina said Trump has shifted positions on illegal immigration, health care and abortion in recent years and has been friendly with both Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for next year's Democratic nomination.
"I didn't get a phone call from Bill Clinton before I jumped in the race," Fiorina said, referring to a Washington Post story on Wednesday which reported of a call between Trump and the former president in May.
Former Texas governor Rick Perry said Trump is "using his celebrity rather than his conservatism," and noted that he once backed "single payer health care."
Fox News sponsored the event held at the arena where the Republicans will stage their nominating convention next year. The prime-time debate featured only the top 10 finishers in a collection of polls compiled by Fox.
Bush, the former governor of Florida, found himself on the defensive over immigration and education policies that have been criticized by conservatives. The son and brother of previous presidents, Bush also said he understands the concerns about dynastic politics and the prospects of a third Bush family member in the White House.
"I'm going to have to earn this," Bush said.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who also finished high in pre-debate polls, explained why he changed his mind and now opposes a once-proposed path to citizenship for migrants who are in the country illegally.
"I said I actually listened to the American people," Walker said. "And I think people across America want a leader who's actually going to listen to them."
Also taking part in Thursday's debate were former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
All of the candidates criticized President Obama's foreign policy and pledged to step up the battle against the Islamic State; they also promised to end federal funding of Planned Parenthood.
Cruz, an outspoken conservative who accused Republican leaders of lying, disputed the idea that he is too divisive a figure to be president. "I believe the American people are looking for someone to speak the truth," he said.
The sheer size of the prime-time debate created some awkward moments.
"I wasn't sure I was going to get to talk again," Carson said at one point.
Throughout the campaign, some opponents have criticized Trump for his biting comments — accusing too many Mexican migrants of being rapists and criminals — and what they call unrealistic proposals, such as building a wall along the border and have Mexico pay for it. Trump's approach will hurt the Republicans with Hispanic voters, the fastest growing segment of the electorate, critics have said.
In his closing statement, Huckabee said it's a shame that so much of the election has been about someone who doesn't have "a clue" about how to govern, and has been so scandal-ridden — "and, of course, I'm talking about Hillary Clinton."
"Thank you," Trump said.
Follow @djusatoday on Twitter.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1SVTuZb'I've got 10.4 million votes. I have 2.7 million more folks, real people, showing up to cast their vote,' the former secretary of state said
hypotheticals about the Democratic race, Clinton pointed out that she's 'way ahead' of Sen. Bernie Sanders
A visibly frustrated Hillary Clinton made it known that she's 'way ahead' in the Democratic race when she was asked if she planned to adopt some of Bernie Sanders' policies to bring his voters on board.
Clinton, who followed Sanders tonight during back-to-back town halls on MSNBC, said she was winning with her own policies, thank-you-very-much.
'I've got 10.4 million votes. I have 2.7 million more folks, real people, showing up to cast their vote, to express their opinion, than Sen. Sanders,' Clinton pointed out to host Rachel Maddow.
Hillary Clinton pointed to her lead in the Democratic primary after she was asked if she planned to adopt some of Bernie Sanders' policies to attract his voters. Clinton replied that she was winning because of HER policies
'I have a bigger lead in pledged delegates than Senator Obama when I ran against him in 2008 ever had over me,' she continued.
'I am winning!' she said. 'And I'm winning because of what I stand for and what I've done.'
The usually calm, cool and collected Clinton was slightly exasperated when she made the pitch for herself.
Hillary Clinton seemed visibly frustrated when Rachel Maddow asked her hypothetical questions about the end of the Democratic primaries - 'I am ahead in the vote Rachel. I am way ahead in the vote'
'Look, I think we have much more in common and I want to unify the party, but my Wall Street plan is much more specific than his,' she added. 'We saw that when he couldn't even answer questions in the New York Daily News interview.'
She touted her plan to take on the shadow banking industry as well.
Maddow asked if she was correct in hearing that Clinton didn't plan to do anything differently to specifically court Sanders supporters.
Clinton used the 2008 precedent to make her case.
Hillary Clinton speaks to supporters in the shadow of Philadelphia City Hall (pictured). She lost the 2008 Pennsylvania Democratic primary to Barack Obama, which was seen as a crushing blow
'Then-Sen. Obama and I ran a really hard race. It was so much closer than the race right now between me and Sen. Sanders – we had pretty much the same amount of popular votes, by some measure I have slightly more popular votes, he has slightly more pledged delegates,' she recalled.
'We got to the end in June and I did not put down conditions. I didn't say, "You know what, if Senator Obama does x, y and z, maybe I'll support him,"' she said. 'I said, "I am supporting Senator Obama, because no matter what our differences might be, they pale in comparison to the differences between us and the Republicans."'
'That's what I did,' Clinton stated.
Sen. Bernie Sanders said it would be incumbent on Hillary Clinton to go out and get the support from his supporters if the Vermont senator doesn't win the Democratic nomination
Sen. Bernie Sanders (right) sat down with MSNBC's Chris Hayes (left) and eventually relented that he would work toward not electing a Republican to the White House
As the delegate math has become more and more challenging for Sanders, Clinton has hinted that she'd like to see him do what she did for President Obama after pulling out of the race in early June, once all the contests were over.
'At the time 40 percent of my supporters said they would not support him,' she noted tonight. 'So from the time I withdrew, until the time I nominated him – I nominated him at the Convention in Denver – I spent an enormous amount of time convincing my supporters to support him.'
'And I'm happy to say the vast majority did,' she continued.
Hillary Clinton shakes hands at the rally outside Philadelphia City Hall. Her husband Bill trounced the Republicans in Pennsylvania in both 1992 and 1996 presidential elections
'That |
talking from al Qaeda. Trash talking that served to justify torture.The Sullivan Brothers of Waterloo, Iowa: A large U.S. Navy task force left New Caledonia on November 8, 1942 to bring reinforcements and supplies to the beleaguered Marines at Guadacanal. At the same time the Japanese had sent a contingent of their navy to resupply their army on the other side of the Island. On November 12th the American ships and Marine aircraft destroyed an attacking Japanese group of aircraft. One of the U.S. vessels was the light Cruiser, the Juneau. Waterloo, Iowa had a population of less than 50,000 in 1942. Among that number were the eight members of the Sullivan family who lived at 98 Adams St. Thomas F. Sullivan, the head of the family, worked for the Illinois Central railroad. He was named after his grandfather who had been born in Ireland. Tom Sullivan married Alleta Abel in 1914 at St. Josephs Catholic church. As was typical of Irish-Catholic families of that generation, they lost no time in starting a large family. December 14, 1914George Thomas
February 18, 1916Francis Henry
February 19, 1917Genevieve Marie
August 28, 1918Joseph Eugene
November 8, 1919Madison Abel
July 8, 1922Albert Leo
April 1, 1931Kathleen Mae (Kathleen died of pneumonia just five months later) On the evening of November 12th, air reconnaissance discovered the approach of the Japanese task force. It was considerably larger than the American force. The transports fled and the warships prepared for the coming battle. Despite having radar, the American ships almost collided with those of the enemy. The engagement began about 1:45 A.M. There was no moon that night and there was instant chaos as searchlights suddenly illuminated the two adversaries at close range to one another. All ships unleashed their barrage of heavy armaments at point blank range. Within 30 minutes the engagement was essentially over. The Japanese lost a battleship and two destroyers. Five of the 13 U.S. ships had been sunk or were heavily damaged. Many men were lost, including the task force commander, Rear Admiral Callaghan. The Juneau had just barely survived, having received a torpedo hit on its port side which left a gaping hole and an almost severed keel. The Sullivan family led lives much like other middle class families of the 1920s and 1930s. It was Depression time and Tom Sullivan was fortunate that he had a job. Not all of his children were able to finish high school. A few of the boys found it necessary to help out meeting the household expenses. The vacant lot next to their home provided space for various sports activities. Most of the family found work at the Rath meat packing plant. When the two oldest, George and Frank, returned home from a hitch in the Navy, all five Sullivan brothers were working together again, just as they were when playing sports on that lot next door to their home. The youngest, Albert was the first to get married. He and his wife Mary became parents when their son, James Thomas, was born on May 11, 1940. The other brothers would probably have done the same, but World War II got in the way. When reports were received about the death of their friend, Bill Ball, who was on the battleship Arizona when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, they decided to enlist in the Navy. They did insist, however, that the Navy allow them to stay together throughout their service. The Navy agreed. On January 3, 1942, less than a month after Pearl Harbor, they were sworn in at Des Moines, and left for Great Lakes Training Center. At daybreak the surviving American ships huddled together and headed back to their base. Late that morning, a torpedo fired from a Japanese submarine, struck the Juneau near the storage area of its ammunition supply. When the torpedo hit, there was a single explosion and the air was filled with debris, much of it in large pieces. The whole ship disappeared in a large cloud of black, yellow black, and brown smoke. Debris showered down among ships of the formation for several minutes after the explosion to such an extent as to indicate erroneously, a high level bombing attack. Thus Captain Gilbert, the acting Commander of the task force, described what he saw when the U.S.S. Juneau was struck. The captain of the U.S.S. San Francisco, H.E. Shonland, reported that: It is certain that all on board perished. Captain Hoover decided that rather than delay the escape of the other ships, he would request that an Army aircraft in the area report the position of the Juneau. The pilot did send in a report but it did not get to the proper authorities. And, even more tragically, Captain Shonland was wrong there were survivors from the Juneau. It was not known exactly how many made it into life rafts; there were at least 80. Among them was George Sullivan, the oldest brother. Gunners mate Allen Heyn was one of the survivors that was finally rescued from the sinking of the Juneau. He reported that there were 10 days of intense suffering as, one by one, the men succumbed to the intense heat, their wounds, and sharks. Many were badly burned and died a painful death. They became delirious from hunger and thirst. Heyn recalled how George Sullivan decided to take a bath one night. He took off all his clothes and swam around the raft. His movement attracted a shark and that was the last Heyn saw of him. Only ten men survived the ordeal. Security required that the Navy not reveal the loss of the Juneau or the other ships so as not to provide information to the enemy. Letters from their sons stopped arriving at the Sullivan home and the parents anguish began as they awaited word. One of the survivors of the Juneau wrote to Tom and Alleta, but they still clung to the hope that their sons, or at least one of them, survived. Soon an outpouring of sympathy ensued. The Fighting Sullivan Brothers were national heros. President Franklin Roosevelt sent a letter of condolence to Tom and Alleta. Pope Pius XII sent a silver religious medal and rosary with his message of regret. The Iowa Senate and House adopted a formal resolution of tribute to the Sullivan brothers. Thomas and Alleta Sullivan, in spite of the intense pain of losing their five sons all at once, made speaking appearances at war plants and ship yards in behalf of the war effort. They hoped that they could help prevent the loss of other American boys. Their daughter, Genevive, often accompanied them, until she joined the WAVES on June 14, 1943. In April of that year Mrs. Sullivan christened a new destroyer, U.S.S. The Sullivans, in San Francisco. This ship is moored at Buffalo, New York as a memorial to the five brothers. Today there is a park and playground where the Sullivan house once stood. The Sullivan Brothers: Honoring the Sullivan Brothers: News of the deaths of all five brothers became a rallying point for the war effort, with posters and speeches honoring their sacrifice. Extensive newspaper and radio coverage of the incident made the loss of the brothers a national story, producing "a wave of humility and sympathy..." and condolences poured in on the Sullivan family in Waterloo, Iowa. One woman told the Associated Press, "And now I wonder how the sugar and coffee hoarders feel." War bond drives and other patriotic campaigns culminated in the 1944 movie, "The Sullivans." Their sister Genevieve enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a Specialist (Recruiter) Third Class and, with her parents, visited more than two hundred manufacturing plants and shipyards under the auspices of the Industrial Incentive Division, Executive Office of the Secretary, Navy Department. According to a 9 February 1943 Navy Department Press Release, the Sullivans "...visited war production plants urging employees to work harder to produce weapons for the Navy so that the war may come to an end sooner." By January 1944, the three surviving Sullivans had spoken to over a million workers in sixty-five cities and reached millions of others over the radio. To honor the five Sullivan brothers, the Navy has named two destroyers, USS The Sullivans. On 10 February 1943, the Navy officially canceled the name Putnam (DD-537) and assigned the name The Sullivans to a destroyer under construction. Sponsored by Mrs. Alleta Sullivan, mother of the five Sullivan brothers, and commissioned 30 September 1943, The Sullivans served the Navy until final decommissioning on 7 January 1965. In 1977, the destroyer was donated to the city of Buffalo, New York, as a memorial in the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Servicemen's Park. The second The Sullivans (DDG-68) was laid down on 14 June 1993 at Bath, Maine, by Bath Iron Works Co. and launched on 12 August 1995 sponsored by Kelly Sullivan Loughren, granddaughter of Albert Leo Sullivan. Commissioned on 19 April 1997 at Staten Island, New York under the command of Commander Gerard D. Roncolato, the motto of the ship is "We Stick Together." The following letter was sent to Mrs. Sullivan by President Roosevelt when he learned that her five sons were listed as missing in action after the USS Juneau was sunk: "Dear Mrs. Sullivan: "The knowledge that your five gallant sons are missing in action, against the enemy, inspired me to write you this personal message. I realize full well there is little I can say to assuage your grief. "As the Commander in Chief of the Army and the Navy, I want you to know that the entire nation shares your sorrow. I offer you the condolence and gratitude of our country. We, who remain to carry on the fight, must maintain the spirit in the knowledge that such sacrifice is not in vain. The Navy Department has informed me of the expressed desire of your sons; George Thomas, Francis Henry, Joseph Eugene, Madison Abel, and Albert Leo, to serve on the same ship. I am sure, that we all take pride in the knowledge that they fought side by side. As one of your sons wrote, `We will make a team together that can't be beat.' It is this spirit which in the end must triumph. "Last March, you, Mrs. Sullivan, were designated to sponsor a ship of the Navy in recognition of your patriotism and that of your sons. I am to understand that you are, now, even more determined to carry on as sponsorer. This evidence of unselfishness and courage serves as a real inspiration for me, as I am sure it will for all Americans. Such acts of fate and fortitude in the face of tragedy convince me of the indomitable spirit and will of our people. "I send you my deepest sympathy in your hour of trial and pray that in Almighty God you will find a comfort and help that only He can bring. Very sincerely yours,
"/s/ Franklin D. Roosevelt" Post Office Information Service Release No. 513
Thursday, September 16, 1948 Sheet of Gold Star Mothers Stamp to be presented to Mrs. Sullivan Postmaster General Jesse M. Donaldson today announced that the first sheet of the 3-cent Gold Star Mothers commemorative Postage Stamp will be presented to Mrs. Thomas F. Sullivan at Waterloo, Iowa, on September 21, 1948. On the same day the new stamp will be placed on first-day sale at Washington, D. C. Mrs. Sullivan's five sons lost their lives when the cruiser Juneau was sunk by an enemy torpedo in the Pacific on November 13, 1942. Special ceremonies will be held at Waterloo when Robert E. Fellers, United States Superintendent of Stamps, acting for the Postmaster General will present an album containing the sheet of stamps to Mrs. Sullivan. Staten Island, N.Y. (NNS) -- The City of New York named a 1,400-foot concrete pier on Staten Island in honor of the crew of USS The Sullivans (DDG 68) May 22, during a special Fleet Week ceremony. "This represents a permanent bond between the people of Staten Island and the crew," Commanding officer CDR Gerard D. Roncolato told a crowd of 300 veterans and Staten Islanders at the ceremony. Roncolato accepted the honor on behalf of The Sullivans' 340 Sailors. The guided-missile destroyer was commissioned at the same pier April 19, 1997. It was the first destroyer commissioned in New York City in more than 51 years. The name honors the memory of the five "Fighting Sullivan" brothers -- George, Francis, Joseph, Madison and Albert -- from Waterloo, Iowa. The ship returned to New York City along with 11 other warships in connection with the City's 11th annual Fleet Week celebration. The Sullivans is assigned to Destroyer Squadron 24, homeported in Mayport, Fla. Michael Handy, director of New York City's Office of Veterans Affairs, and State Sen. John Marchi, unveiled the two-foot-square brass plaque to be permanently afixed at the foot of the pier. A brass band from the New York City Police Department and a gospel choir provided music during the ceremony. Veterans and school children were on hand to mark the occasion, as well as Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops. The inscription on the plaque reads: "On April 19, 1997, the destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG 68) was commissioned here. The ship's name commemorates the five Sullivan brothers who served our country during World War II
and perished together on USS Juneau. "In honor of USS The Sullivans and her crew we, the people of New York and the residents of Staten Island, hereby designate this pier as USS The Sullivans pier. May 22, 1998, Rudolph Giuliani Mayor of New York." "Staten Island will always be something special for The Sullivans throughout the life of this ship," according to Chief Gunner's Mate (SW) Rock M. Greene, of Dakota City, Iowa. "Thirty years from now, people on this ship will be coming here to see our pier. This is beyond belief." Interior Communications Electrician 2nd Class Rhonda French, of New Orleans, said it was a "wonderful feeling" to have a pier dedicated to her ship. "I like the spirit of this crew," she said of her shipmates. "We work together as a team, and I'm really proud to have this pier dedicated to us." The 1,400-foot-long, 90-foot wide concrete pier was built for the Navy as part of the fleet build-up in the early 1980s. The Staten Island home port closed as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process. The pier has been deeded over to the City of New York. "The ship name honors the five brothers, and the pier name honors this ship and its crew," Master Chief Quartermaster (SW) Gary Campbell, of Charlotte, N.C., said. "It's a pretty unique honor. I have heard a lot of comments from Sailors on other ships asking how we rate this. I just tell them Staten Island adopted this ship and its crew, and has become a second home port for us. We will definitely be back." The story of the five Sullivan brothers was one of the most often told stories of World War II. The boys' early lives were built on a strong family and religious ethic and commitment to one another. The brothers, whose motto was "We Stick Together," stipulated as a condition of their enlistment after the attack on Pearl Harbor that they be permitted to serve on the same ship. In February 1942, the Sullivan brothers were assigned to USS Juneau, a newly commissioned cruiser in New York City bound for the Pacific.Even then, the brothers enjoyed a celebrity status for being the only five members of a family serving simultaneously in one vessel. Tragically, they all perished when Juneau was sunk during the Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942. When word reached President Roosevelt, he ordered the Navy to name its next ship in their honor. The first The Sullivans (DD-537), christened by the boys' mother, was in service from 1943-1965, earning nine Battle Stars during World War Two and two more during the Korean conflict. SULLIVAN, MADISON ABEL
S2C US NAVY
WORLD WAR II
DATE OF BIRTH: 11/08/1919
DATE OF DEATH: 11/13/1942
BURIED AT: SECTION MC SITE 31-M
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY SULLIVAN, GEORGE THOMAS
GM2 US NAVY
WORLD WAR II
DATE OF BIRTH: 12/14/1914
DATE OF DEATH: 11/13/1942
BURIED AT: SECTION MC SITE 34-M
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY SULLIVAN, FRANCIS HENRY
COXN US NAVY
WORLD WAR II
DATE OF BIRTH: 02/08/1916
DATE OF DEATH: 11/13/1942
BURIED AT: SECTION MC SITE 33-M
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY SULLIVAN, JOSEPH EUGENE
S2C US NAVY
WORLD WAR II
DATE OF BIRTH: 08/28/1918
DATE OF DEATH: 11/13/1942
BURIED AT: SECTION MC SITE 32-M
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY SULLIVAN, ALBERT LEO
S2C US NAVY
WORLD WAR II
DATE OF BIRTH: 07/08/1922
DATE OF DEATH: 11/13/1942
BURIED AT: SECTION MC SITE 30-M
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY The Sullivan Brothers: Transcripts of service: In the aftermath of Juneau's loss, the Navy notified Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Sullivan of Waterloo, Iowa, that all five of their sons were missing in action. Two of the brothers had served previous four-year enlistments in the Navy and so, when all five brothers enlisted together on 3 January 1942, the Navy was the obvious choice. They had also insisted on serving together on the same ship. Although the accepted Navy policy was to separate family members, the brothers had persisted and their request was approved. It was later learned, through survivors' accounts, that four of the brothers died in the initial explosion. The fifth, George Thomas, despite being wounded the night before, made it onto a raft where he survived for five days before succumbing either to wounds and exhaustion or a shark attack. The brothers received the Purple Heart Medal posthumously and were entitled to the American Defense Service Medal, Fleet Clasp; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four engagement stars and the World War II Victory Medal. They had also earned the Good Conduct Medal. They were survived by their parents, Mr. Thomas F. Sullivan and Mrs. Alleta Sullivan, a sister, Genevieve Sullivan, and by Albert Leo Sullivan's wife, Katherine Mary Sullivan. Their son, James Thomas, was twenty-two months old at the time of his father's death. The service record transcripts for the five Sullivan brothers, as written on 16 January 1943 by the Bureau of Naval Personnel follow below. (1) Albert Leo Sullivan
(2) Francis Henry Sullivan
(3) George Thomas Sullivan
(4) Joseph Eugene Sullivan
(5) Madison Abel Sullivan Sullivan, Albert Leo, Seaman Second Class, V-6, USNR; Transcript of service
1-3-1942 Enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve, Class V-6, as Apprentice Seaman to serve for two (2) years at the Naval Recruiting Station, Des Moines, Iowa
1-3-1942 Transferred to the Naval Training Station. Great Lakes, Illinois.
2-3-1942 Transferred to the receiving ship, New York, for duty in USS Juneau detail and on board when commissioned.
5-3-1942 Rating changed to Seaman second class.
11-14-1942 Reported missing in action. Place of birth: Waterloo, Iowa
Date of birth: July 8, 1922 (2) Francis Henry Sullivan, Coxswain, V-6, USNR; Transcript of service.
5-11-1937 Enlisted in the U.S. Navy as Apprentice Seaman, to serve for four (4) years at the Navy Recruiting Station, Des Moines, Iowa and transferred to the Naval Training Station, San Diego, California, for recruit training.
9-11-1937 Rating changed to Seaman second class.
9-15-1937 Transferred to the USS Hovey.
3-25-1938 Transferred to the U.S. Naval Hospital, Navy Yard, Mare Island, California, for treatment
4-9-1938 Transferred to the USS Hovey.
2-16-1939 Rating changed to Seaman first class.
3-18-1939 Transferred to the USS Melville for temporary duty involving medical treatment.
4-22-1939 Transferred to the USS Hovey.
5-13-1941 Transferred to the USS Dunlap for transportation to the West Coast and further transfer to the Receiving Ship on that coast for discharge.
5-20-1941 Received at the Receiving Station, San Diego, California.
5-27-1941 Issued an honorable discharge by reason of expiration of enlistment.
1-3-1942 Enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve, Class V-6, as Coxswain to serve for two (2) years at the Naval Recruiting Station, Des Moines, Iowa.
1-3-1942 Transferred to the Naval Training Station. Great Lakes, Illinois.
2-3-1942 Transferred to the receiving ship, New York, for duty in the USS Juneau detail and on board when commissioned.
11-14-1942 Reported missing in action. Place of birth: Waterloo, Iowa
Date of birth: February 18, 1916
SULLIVAN, George Thomas, Gunner's Mate Second Class, V-6, USNR
Transcript of service.
5-11-1937 Enlisted in the U.S. Navy as Apprentice Seaman, to serve for four (4) years at the Navy Recruiting Station, Des Moines, Iowa and transferred to the Naval Training Station, San Diego, California, for recruit training.
9-11-1937 Rating changed to Seaman second class.
9-15-1937 Transferred to the USS Hovey.
10-11-1937 Transferred to the USS Melville for treatment.
10-15-1937 Transferred to the USS Hovey for duty.
10-16-1939 Rating changed to Seaman first class.
2-16-1941 Rating changed to Gunner's Mate third class.
4-22-1941 Transferred to the USS Santee for transportation to the West Coast and further transfer to the Receiving Ship, San Diego, California, for discharge.
4-30-1941 Received at the Receiving Ship, San Diego, California.
5-16-1941 Issued an honorable discharge by reason of expiration of enlistment.
1-3-1942 Enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve, Class V-6, as Gunner's Mate second class to serve for two (2) years at the Naval Recruiting Station, Des Moines, Iowa.
1-3-1942 Transferred to the Naval Training Station. Great Lakes, Illinois.
2-3-1942 Transferred to the receiving ship, New York, for duty in the USS Juneau detail and on board when commissioned.
11-14-1942 Reported missing in action. Place of birth: Waterloo, Iowa
Date of birth: December 14, 1914
(4) SULLIVAN, Joseph Eugene, Seaman Second Class, V-6, USNR
Transcript of service.
1-3-1942 Enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve, Class V-6, as Apprentice Seaman to serve for two (2) years at the Naval Recruiting Station, Des Moines, Iowa.
1-3-1942 Transferred to the Naval Training Station. Great Lakes, Illinois.
2-3-1942 Transferred to the receiving ship, New York, for duty in the USS Juneau detail and on board when commissioned.
5-3-1942 Rating changed to Seaman second class.
11-14-1942 Reported missing in action. Place of birth: Waterloo, Iowa
Date of birth: August 28, 1918 (5) SULLIVAN, Madison Abel, Seaman Second Class, V-6, USNR
Transcript of service.
1-3-1942 Enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve, Class V-6, as Apprentice Seaman to serve for two (2) years at the Naval Recruiting Station, Des Moines, Iowa.
1-3-1942 Transferred to the Naval Training Station. Great Lakes, Illinois.
2-3-1942 Transferred to the receiving ship, New York, for duty in the USS Juneau detail and on board when commissioned.
5-3-1942 Rating changed to Seaman second class.
11-14-1942 Reported missing in action Place of birth: Waterloo, Iowa
Date of birth: November 8, 1919
All Photos Courtesy of Roxsanne Wells-Layton, September 2006 Webmaster: Michael Robert Patterson
Posted: 24 August 2005 Updated: 3 September 2006 Updated: 7 August 2008Dueling petitions involving a pro-life teen and a professor charged with attacking her are circulating at the University of California at Santa Barbara, and the student body is backing the teacher.
Students at the University of California at Santa Barbara are circulating the petitions, one in support of feminism Prof. Mireille Miller-Young, and another backing Thrin Short, the 16-year-old pro-lifer whose March 4 demonstration was allegedly broken up by Miller-Young. The one backing the professor, who has been charged with battery and vandalism, has more than 2,000 signatures, while the one in support of Short has 150, according to The College Fix.
[pullquote]
“The last thing we need are these people invading our community,” UCSB sophomore Katherine Wehler, a theater and feminist studies major, told the site.
She said pro-lifers with graphic images of aborted fetuses such as Short and her sister carried are like “domestic terrorists.”
However, another petition making its way around the student body calls for Miller-Young’s termination.
“This is about someone who violated the law in several ways, disregarded the idea of freedom of speech, and tarnished the image of the UCSB,” it reads, before emphasizing that it is not a petition in support of the pro-life movement, but one advocating freedom of speech.
“They talk about prioritizing the safety of our campus involving activists, yet it’s our professor that attacks somebody,” UCSB student Katie Devlin told The College Fix. “I think it’s just the contrast that she is a feminist professor and stands for protecting women, yet she attacks a young girl.”
Thrin told FoxNews.com that she and her older sister Joan, 21, were holding signs and demonstrating in a free speech zone on the UCSB campus with other pro-life activists when the feminist studies professor -- who teaches one course on campus titled “Black Women in Pornography” -- approached the group.
“Before she grabbed the sign, she was mocking me and talking over me in front of the students, saying that she was twice as old as me and had three degrees, so they should listen to her and not me,” Thrin Short wrote in an email to FoxNews.com earlier this month. “Then she started the chant with the students about ‘tear down the sign.’ When that died out, she grabbed the sign.”
The professor snatched the sign and then allegedly walked through two campus buildings as Short, her sister and two UCSB students followed her. Short said Miller-Young pushed her at least three times as she tried to stop the elevator door from closing and get back her sign.
Miller-Young was charged last month by the Santa Barbara County district attorney's office with misdemeanor counts of theft, battery and vandalism. She pleaded not guilty last week.Updated: 12.03pm
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Everyone’s talking about…
Sinn Féin has defended its decision to expel one councillor and suspend another in Cork East following an internal review.
Sandra McLellan, Gerry Adams and Pádraig McLoughlin Source: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland
In a statement, the party said it “stands over the review and its recommendations”, which saw Cobh-based county councillor Kieran McCarthy expelled and Mallow-based Melissa Mullane suspended for one year.
There had been tensions in the constituency when both councillors declared interest in running for the Dáil, putting sitting TD Sandra McLellan’s future in doubt as a result.
As the review was taking place, an anonymous blog, ‘An Rebel Óg’, strongly criticised McLellan’s performance as a TD.
In its statement, Sinn Féin noted: “Since the contention has been repeatedly made in the public arena, the party wishes to state that the decisions regarding both councillors were NOT taken in relation to any expressed or implied intention to contest election conventions.”
McCarthy compared his expulsion to being stabbed in the back, but the party wants to draw a line under the issue as it continues general election preparations.
There was another twist in the tale this morning when it emerged the entire membership of the party’s cumann in Fermoy tendered their resignations.
Support for Sinn Féin has steadily grown in recent times, but the party dropped one point in the latest Sunday Times/Behaviour & Attitudes to 19%, placing it behind Fianna Fáil – which now has a 21% approval rating.
The party will want to move on from this issue as soon as possible, but the latest development means this story hasn’t yet run its course.
The agenda
The banking inquiry will have another busy day with John McCarthy, Chief Economist at the Department of Finance, appearing at 9am, Kevin Cardiff, former Secretary General at the Department of Finance, meeting the committee for the second time at 11.30am, and William Beausang, Assistant Secretary at the Department of Finance, answering questions at 3.30pm.
, Kevin Cardiff, former Secretary General at the Department of Finance, meeting the committee for the second time at, and William Beausang, Assistant Secretary at the Department of Finance, answering questions at Social Protection Minister Joan Burton will answer questions at 9.30am.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny and junior health minister Kathleen Lynch will launch ‘Connecting for Life’, the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention in Ireland 2015-2020, at Farmleigh House at 9.40am.
Representatives from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will meet the Justice Committee at 10am to discuss global resettlement needs.
TDs will debate the following bills from 10.45am onwards:
Communications Regulation (Postal Service) (Amendment) Bill 2015
National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015 (Seanad) -
Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) (Amendment) Bill 2014 (Seanad)
Children (Amendment) Bill 2015 (Seanad)
Leaders’ Questions will take place at noon.
Children’s Minister James Reilly and Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan will attend the launch of Comhairle na nÓg’s mental health and well-being programme of events, Let’s Go Mental at the Science Gallery, Trinity College, at 12.30pm.
na Senators will debate consumer protection at 12.45pm and petroleum exploration at 3pm.
3pm The Dáil will vote on Fianna Fáil’s credit union motion after a debate from 7.30pm-9pm.
Inside Leinster House
There were heated scenes during Leaders’ Questions as Paul Murphy accused Michael Noonan of ‘ stabbing the Greek people in the chest ’ during debt deal talks. The Finance Minister has since said his comments at a meeting of eurozone ministers were misrepresented.
What the others are saying
The coalition is concerned about a spike in migrants coming to Ireland, reports the Irish Times.
The same paper notes that Fine Gael TD Peter Fitzpatrick has said he might run under a different political banner in the general election.
A number of publications report that Communications Minister Alex White has said former Tánaiste Michael McDowell was “chancing his arm” when he said new media ownership guidelines should be imposed retrospectively.
In case you missed it
On the Twitter machine
A nice day out in Sligo…Apple granted Uber the unprecedented and "disturbing" ability to record what was displayed on users' iPhone screens, researchers have found.
Uber's app had special permissions that let it see what was happening on users' devices at any time, even while a different app was open according to Sudo Security Group. It could do this by accessing the colour data of every pixel on the display, meaning it could theoretically see what a user was doing.
If it had wanted to, Uber, or someone who had access to its system, could have used monitored customers' passwords and tracked their use of other taxi apps such as Lyft.
The iPhone maker gave Uber the extensive access, which could amount to an invasion of privacy if used to monitor devices, to improve how the Uber app worked with the Apple Watch.
"It looks like no other third-party developer has been able to get Apple to grant them a private sensitive entitlement of this nature," Will Strafach, chief executive of Sudo Security Group, told Gizmodo. "Considering Uber's past privacy issues I am very curious how they convinced Apple to allow this."How accurate is this data?
As with all large government databases, there are errors in this dataset (especially since quite a lot of the data for older vehicles is based on paper records that were originally maintained by local authorities).
The most common error that crops up is vehicles that don't have exactly the correct model variant recorded on their V5 registration document. For example, a special edition Peugeot 205 Gentry might only have Peugeot 205 recorded on its V5. This can lead to some model variants appearing to be rarer than they actually are.
The key to understanding whether or not the data is accurate for your particular model is to check the model name on its V5 registration document. If it's not what you expect it to be, then it's likely that the DVLA statistics for that model aren't very accurate!
This happens more often with older vehicles, especially for those that would have originally been registered in the 1970s and earlier.Hillary Clinton did not get off to a particularly strong start in tonight’s presidential debate as Donald Trump hit her with what, by his standards, were some fairly legitimate criticisms of her past support for trade deals. She found her footing more solidly in explaining exactly why Donald Trump might not want to release his tax returns:
The transcript:
CLINTON: I think you’ve just seen another example of bait and switch here. For 40 years, everyone running for president has released their tax returns. You can go and see nearly, I think 39, 40 years of our tax returns—but everyone has done it. We know the IRS has made clear there is no prohibition on releasing it when you’re under audit. So you’ve got to ask yourself, why won’t he release his tax returns? And I think there may be a couple of reasons. First, maybe he’s not as rich as he says he is. Second, maybe he’s not as charitable as he claims to be. Third, we don’t know all of his business dealings but we have been told, through investigative reporting, that he owes about $650 million to Wall Street and foreign banks. Or maybe he doesn’t want the American people, all of you watching tonight, to know that he’s paid nothing in federal taxes because the only years that anybody has ever seen were a couple of years when had he to turn them over to state authorities when he was trying to get a casino license and they showed he didn’t pay any federal income tax.
TRUMP: That makes me smart.
CLINTON: He paid zero. That means zero for troops, zero for vets, zero for schools or health. And I think probably he’s not all that enthusiastic about having the rest of our country see what the real reasons are, because it must be something really important, even terrible that he’s trying to hide. And the financial disclosure statement [that Trump suggested voters look at to in lieu of his returns], they don’t give you the tax rate. They don’t give you all the details that tax returns would and it just seems to me that this is something that the American people deserve to see. And I have no reason to believe that he’s ever going to release his tax returns because there’s something he’s hiding. And we’ll guess, we’ll keep guessing at what it is that he’s hiding, but I think the question is, will he ever, to get near the White Wouse, what would be those conflicts? Who does he owe money to? Well, he owes you the answers to that and he should provide them.
On this point, at least, she’s not wrong!A pitch frequency chart in the MLB Dugout app
Teams will be able sift through performance stats from current and past seasons, weigh potential pitcher-hitter matchups, look at “spray charts” showing where a player is likely to hit a ball, even cue up videos of plays from previous games.
Apple and Major League Baseball have agreed to a deal that will see the sports league's coaching staffs use iPad Pros in dugouts to make better use of data during games, according to The Wall Street Journal. Baseball managers and coaches have traditionally used notebooks, pieces of paper and binders to keep track of data.Each team will receive 12.9-inch iPad Pros with rugged cases sporting the team's logo. MLB's Advanced Media division, with assistance from Apple, have built an app called MLB Dugout, which will serve as the central destination where managers and coaches can look at their data. "We're not just replacing binders with tablets, we're actually helping them do things that |
rough few weeks, with the rupee falling to a historic low and equity markets tumbling by 11% as investors pull their money out of the country.
In a press conference Friday, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram tried to restore confidence even as he acknowledged that the country was facing a challenging time.
"We believe that the rupee is undervalued and has overshot what is generally believed to be a reasonable and appropriate level," he said, according to a written statement. "Capital inflows will, in due course, correct the position."
India has been caught up in an emerging markets sell-off, triggered by talk of tighter U.S. monetary policy. But the slide has been exacerbated by local factors, including a large current account deficit, which reflects the nation's tendency to import more than it exports and leaves it reliant on foreign capital.
Chidambaram vowed to shrink India's current account deficit this fiscal year, bringing it down to $70 billion from $88 billion in 2012-2013.
He reassured investors that "there was -- and is -- no intention to introduce any type of capital control", which could further choke off foreign investment.
Related: Indian stocks plunge 11% in a month
Despite vows to stabilize the economy and allow the free flow of capital, investors and economists seem unconvinced.
Chidambaram's words appear to contradict the government's controversial move last week to restrict the amount of money Indian citizens can take out of the country. Similar restraints on how much Indian companies can invest abroad sparked concerns that foreigners may be subject to restrictions on their cash.
Kathleen Brooks, a research director at FOREX.com, said that policymakers' reaction to the slide in the rupee has been "piecemeal" and contradictory.
"They have limited the flow of money, and that's a capital control," she said.
Related: Nissan resurrects Datsun in India
India's economy grew by 5% in the year to March 31, 2013, its slowest pace in a decade, and failed to pick up pace in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.
Chidambaram said he was considering further economic reforms and forecast that growth would accelerate over the next few quarters.
"Therefore, there is no cause for the panic that seems to have gripped the currency markets and that is feeding into other markets," he said.
Chidambaram's reassurances that growth will soon gain speed may be optimistic. Analysts say corruption and bureaucracy are slowing progress.
"India has been ravaged by crony capitalism and corruption in the last five years," said Sourindra Banerjee, assistant professor of marketing at the Warwick Business School. "The country has always suffered from this, but with so much foreign investment now tied up in Indian financial markets it can't get away with it anymore."
And time for making bold new reforms is running out with national elections due to take place by May 2014.
On Thursday, the rupee hit a record low versus the U.S. dollar, falling by roughly 20% in less than a year. The rupee recovered slightly Friday and the country's benchmark index, the Mumbai Sensex, bounced back at the end of the week from its latest series of falls.A Mexican hitman who calls himself "The Soupmaker" has revealed how he dumped 300 bodies in vats of acid over the past decade to dispose oftheir remains for a drug-trafficking cartel.
"They brought me the bodies, about 300 over the last nine to 10 years," Santiago Meza Lopez, 45, said after his capture by the army.
His horrific career came to an end on Thursday when he was ambushed by elite Mexican troops, acting on a tip-off, who caught him and two other drug henchmen as they headed to a party with a prostitute in Tijuana.
Read Next
Armed with a machinegun, three rifles and two hand grenades, plus body armour, Meza and the two others tried to flee but eventually gave themselves up without a fight.
A Mexican military statement said Meza confessed to disposing of at least 300 bodies over a decade. Officials contend he dumped the bodies in graves, poured acid on them and let them dissolve underground.
Meza said he had been paid $US600 dollars ($916) a week for his work by drug boss, Eduardo Garcia Simental. He was arrested last week in Tijuana on the border with California, and is among the FBI's most wanted.
"I ask for forgiveness from thefamilies of the victims," Meza said.
Relatives of 100 missing people came forward over the weekend, saying they wanted to show Meza photos of their loved ones in the hope he could reveal their fate.
The victims were believed to be rivals of Simental, an alleged former lieutenant of the Tijuana-based Arellano Felix drug cartel, authorities said.
Earlier this month, the US Drug Enforcement Administration identified Garcia as one of10 men it believed were battling for drug-trafficking routes through Tijuana.
The DEA said Garcia was the chief rival of alleged Arellano Felix cartel leader Fernando Sanchez Arellano.
Mexican officials say the power struggle is behind a surge
inviolence in Tijuana, the birthplace of the Arellano Felix cartel. The two men split in April after a shootout between their followers in Tijuana left at least 14 people dead.
The Arellano Felix cartel rose to power in the 1980s. Since 2002, four brothers who led the cartel have been killed or arrested, most recently Eduardo Arellano Felix, who was captured in October in his Tijuana home.
Mexico's drug violence has surged and grown more gruesome in recent years, particularly in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, northern border cities.
Drug violence claimed more than 5300 lives last year.
In one case, authorities said they found human teeth and other remains inside barrels of acid left on a Tijuana street.
Officials did not say whether Meza was suspected of involvement in that case.
AFP, APThe Saudi kingdom and its coalition declared a war against Yemen on March 26, 2015. The coalition members included: Saudi, UAE, USA, UK, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal and Sudan. Malaysia, Djibouti, and Pakistan joined the coalition later. Other countries provided their support to the coalition through the sale of weapons, logistical and/or intelligence services. These include: France, Eritrea, Somalia, Spain, Germany, Canada, Finland and Australia. In June 2017, the Saudi coalition expelled Qatar from the coalition. And on June 28, 2018, Malaysia left the coalition.
Below is a summary of the human casualties and destruction reported by the Legal Center for Rights and Development - a Yemeni local NGO - for 1000 days since the war started. You can view more details in their published report [here] or visit their website http://www.lcrdye.org/en.
The number of civilians that have died because of the indirect consequences of the Saudi coalition aggression are hardly taken into account. The LCRD estimates this number to be 160,000 civilians. These include people that died because of malnutrition after their families lost their source of income, and others that died because they couldn't get proper medical care.
children killed 2,887 women killed 2,027 men killed 8,689
children injured 2,722 women injured 2,233 men injured 16,857Johnny Marr has joined Thom Yorke and David Byrne in suggesting that Spotify harms the modern music industry.
"I can't think of anything more opposite to punk rock than Spotify," Marr told NME. "I think it entirely hampers new bands, and the situation that Thom Yorke and Beck have been criticising makes the old record companies of the 70s look like cottage industries."
The former Smiths guitarist "[has] no answer to the economic side of the modern music industry", he admitted. "But I do think we certainly shouldn't stop valuing what bands do. I don't like great things being throwaway. Pop culture isn't just about 'the music, man'. It's a way of life, an aesthetic, and it's not just about pressing a button and getting something entirely for convenience."
Marr's opposition to Spotify puts him alongside Yorke, Byrne and Beck, but in a clash with the Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, who recently sided with the London and Stockholm-based company. "As a songwriter you should worship Spotify, because they've come along with a solution," he said. Billy Bragg and Gang of Four's Dave Allen published similar statements, stating that the music industry has to adapt to its new circumstances.
But Yorke, and others, have argued that the problem of Spotify is not its payouts to established artists but the way it pays emerging acts. "Streaming suits [back] catalogue," wrote producer Nigel Godrich. "Spotify and the like either have to address that fact and change the model for new releases or else all new music producers should be bold and vote with their feet."
In their own response to mounting attacks, Spotify recently launched a website to explain the way they pay their artists. "The position we take is look, we know Spotify is not perfect for all artists yet, but this is the theory behind it, this is where we are, and this is where we're going," a staffer explained.This tutorial will show you how to access your phone’s storage for transfers to and fro over your local WiFi network. We will install FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server software on the phone then mount it as a network drive on a Windows PC. Your phone and PC must be connected to the same network.
1. Install SwiFTP
SwiFTP can be downloaded freely from the market. It is a small application which allows your phone to act as an FTP server. It can also allow you to access your phone from a remote network via a proxy, but that will not be covered in this tutorial. As it states in the market description, any client (such as FileZilla or Cyberduck) can be used, but this tutorial will be using functionality built right into Windows.
2. Setting up SwiFTP
After installation, open SwiFTP. Tap the Setup button, which will bring you to the screen above. Fill in the empty fields with the details you would like to use to connect to your phone from the computer. The port number can be left as the default 2121.
3. Starting Server
Now return to the main screen and hit Start. A string of numbers in the form ftp://192.168.X.Y:Z/ will appear next to the Wifi URL label. This is the address of your phone on the local network, followed by the port that the FTP server has open for connections.
Your phone is now ready for connection to your computer.
4. Map Network Drive
Open up My Computer and click Map network drive.
5. Connect to Web site
A window will now pop up prompting you to select a drive letter and a folder. Ignore this and click the link near the bottom for a Web drive.
6. Enter Phone Address
Enter the Wifi URL from Step 3, and click Next.
7. Enter Login Credentials
Now enter the user name that you specified in Step 2. When you mount your phone as a network drive later you will be prompted for the password which you can store so as to not have to enter it every time.
8. Name the drive
Final step. Name your phone as it will appear under Network Drives in My Computer.
SUCCESS!(?)
If all went well, then you should now have access to your phone’s file storage over WiFi. FTP transfers are not as fast as USB, but it saves you having to turn off your phone to extract the microSD card or spend a few minutes trying to track down your cable. All you have to remember is to start the server on SwiFTP before connecting to the drive on your computer, otherwise it won’t be able to find it.Revolutions, famously, are devoured by their children. It was characteristic of Indian socialists that they waited until senility to gobble up the caste-and-community insurrection conceived by Dr Ram Manohar Lohia in the 1950s and 1960s. There will be many stories within and around the 2014 general elections. A principal occurrence will be the earthquake that swallows the socialists. Its epicenter will be Bihar, but the perimeter of devastation will extend across Uttar Pradesh.
The last three heirs of Lohia, Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav surely know in their hearts what their minds might refuse to admit. The party’s over. Ever since they first sipped power at the fountain of coalitions in 1967, one fact has been transparently clear. Indian socialists have always been far better at politics than government. Such talent should not be underestimated in a democracy. It is difficult enough to win elections even after delivering on the promise of incremental prosperity. To do so through sheer emotional arithmetic is genius.
Since that high point of emotion in 1989, when temple, mosque and caste dominated the debate, Lohia’s children have ruled Bihar with a tenacity that remains a formidable tribute to their rhetorical craft.
Their formula began to seem infallible: the Chief Minister’s loyal castes were rewarded with a stake in power, allies were kept onside with marginal benefits, and the vital Muslim vote was patched on with a debilitating concoction of illusion and fear. Muslims got prayer and tokenism; jobs went to others. Religion became the opium of the people.
Nitish Kumar’s brief encounter with glory had little to do with the quality of governance. He was the much-needed relief vessel after the Lalu shipwreck. His years in power were primarily consumed by a relentless search of sub-castes to knead into a political dividend. It was vote bank politics, but with rural banks, a low capital base and insufficient transactions. As a long-term business model, it offered little chance of success. Now that Nitish Kumar has run out of time and ideas, the alibi game has begun. It won’t work.
His problem was compounded by the disability that Indian socialism, like its cousins across the globe, simply did not have the legs to stride into the 21st century. Nor did its leaders possess the imagination to re-invent their philosophy, and adjust dogma to new demands. Its office-bearers became its pall-bearers.
Today’s voter is sick to the stomach of deceptive jargon. Politics, unfortunately, has become a malevolent word. Indians want jobs, security and empowerment through economic growth. They are equally tired of the misuse of secularism to justify corruption, dynasty and piteously weak administration. In any case, when the opening sentence of a book on Narendra Modi’s views states that secularism is the equality of all faiths before the law, when he avers in his speeches that the only religion of a politician is the Constitution of India, there is not much left to discuss apart from riots. Voters then compare facts. They know that a former Gujarat minister is in jail, while no one has been punished for the Sikh massacres of 1984 or the vicious Mumbai riots of 1992-93.
This is why Ram Vilas Paswan, who left the BJP coalition a decade ago over riots, will become a partner in 2014 and address a rally alongside Modi in Bihar. This is why America’s ambassador Nancy Powell goes with conciliatory flowers to Ahmedabad. This is why BJP is picking up new allies each week. Once Bihar changes, you might say, there is nothing left to change.
The long-term consequences are significant. For four decades, Indian socialists have denied BJP primacy in the crucial Ganga-Jamuna belt. BJP was successful in displacing socialists in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan (Lohia’s home province), but could never quite get their act together in UP and Bihar. The party touched nadir when two years ago Mulayam Singh Yadav won UP by unprecedented margins, and Nitish Kumar chose this psychological moment to distance himself from BJP, and start a flirtation with Congress. Today, instead of being wooed, Nitish has been isolated. And Lalu Yadav, who was so certain about his own resurrection and Paswan’s subservience that he began issuing ultimatums, has been hit by a thunderbolt from blue skies.
If Bihar’s personality-driven socialists cannot recover, and it does seem unlikely, then the confrontation in UP and Bihar will become a direct contest between BJP and Congress. This process might take a little longer in UP, since Mayawati remains a formidable third force, but the trend cannot be missed.
No party can achieve a majority in the Lok Sabha on its own without significant support from UP and Bihar. 2014 could be the starting point of the return journey to stable government in Delhi.To subscribe to Capitol Fax, click here. *** UPDATED x1 *** Who’s smearing whom? Thursday, Feb 16, 2012 * Yesterday, I received a call from a Republican operative [Doug Ibendahl - see update below] who said he’d seen a Tom Swiss campaign billboard on Chicago’s West Side. Swiss is a former Cook County Republican Party executive director who is running in a Democratic primary in a majority black district. Swiss is white. Click the pic to see a larger version of Swiss’ billboard… * My initial, humorous reaction in reply to the operative’s subsequent e-mail with the billboard pic was that this looked like the John Stroger “fisherman” ad in reverse. Stroger’s TV ad for Cook County Board President featured a white fisherman and the joke was back then that lots of voters thought the old white man fishing with his grandson was actually Stroger. Here’s the e-mail I sent… It’s like the old John Stroger fisherman ad in reverse. lol Notice the “lol.” After I sent that e-mail, I scrolled down and realized there was a pic of a second billboard… * So far, Swiss has managed to fly almost completely under the Chicago media’s radar screen despite the obvious news potential of his campaign - a white Republican operative running as a Democrat in a black majority House district. Chicago media is notorious for ignoring state legislative races, which is one reason I’ve been able to establish my niche. I wrote about Swiss in the subscriber version way back on December 2nd… (T)he longtime Republican Swiss has filed to run in the Democratic primary against appointed incumbent Derrick Smith, who got the seat when Annazette Collins was appointed to the Senate. A recent blast e-mail from the Illinois Log Cabin Republicans stated that Democrats often insert Republican plants into Chicago races and went on to claim: “It’s time to turn the tables and use their same tricks against them! This year we have a lifelong Republican supporter running as a Democrat.” In his own e-mail, which was date-stamped May 24th, Swiss dismissed the majority African-American district’s residents as “extremely low information voters,” and said he had three paths to victory. Branding and get-out-the-vote were his first two goals. His third goal, however, may raise some eyebrows. Swiss wrote that he planned on “hiring people’s yards to place a yard sign for $5.” Swiss would neither confirm nor deny last night that he wrote the e-mail, saying only that he was “running as a Democrat to serve the public and bring sound judgment to Springfield. I don’t believe that patriotism is a party label. William Lipinski, Dan Lipinski, Richard M. Daley and even Speaker Madigan can each be fairly described as Conservative Democrats. I look forward to the race.” Swiss also did not answer a question about the ethics of paying for yard sign placements. Swiss promised to run an “extremely aggressive” campaign in the e-mail, adding that the race “could possibly be the least expensive State Rep. seat pick up for conservatives.” * I had planned to reach out to Swiss again today about the billboards and to see how he was doing with his paid yard sign placements, but at 12:21 this morning several reporters including myself received this blast e-mail from the Swiss campaign… DEMOCRAT MACHINE PLANS SMEAR CAMPAIGN ON REFORMER TOM “JOBS NOW” SWISS Tom Swiss, reform candidate for the Democratic Nomination for State Senator in the 10th District, announced today that multiple sources have warned him of a coming Democrat Machine racist smear campaign against him to be unleashed to incite Black voters. It is to be run through press and blog sites friendly to the Machine, such as Rich Miller’s “Capitol Fax”. “I don’t care if someone is black or white. I care that families are suffering and people are going hungry from a lack of jobs stemming from the fiscal catastrophe that is Illinois,” stated Swiss. “The current regime cares a whole lot more about votes than jobs.” Swiss stated that he had been tipped off that the campaign would start almost immediately, and accuse Swiss of trying to misrepresent himself as African American. “I’ve never hidden who or what I am,” said Swiss. “I’ve also never waivered from my deep concern that we need to restart economies in Black neighborhoods before they are overcome by poverty and gangs. It is not a race issue. It is a people issue, and the only long-term answer is business development, starting right here in the 10th District.” He sent out a correction 21 minutes later noting that he was running for the House, not the Senate. If the Republican who sent me the billboard photos consents, I’ll post his name later in the day. I wanted to get this post up, however, because I am the one clearly being smeared by a candidate who has already apparently boasted about planning to pay for yard sign placements in a district populated with “extremely low information voters” and whose ally has all but admitted that the candidate is a GOP plant. * Also, just for snicks, you may remember this Tom Swiss story from 2010… Visitors to ChicagoGOP.com may have gotten a bit of a surprise today — for much of the afternoon, the lead item on the site featured a provocative picture of a bare-chested woman wrapped in a bed sheet. […] A phone call and email to Tom Swiss, who Blessing said runs the unofficial site, were not immediately returned. *** UPDATE *** The Republican who called me about the billboard yesterday was Doug Ibendahl. He sent me this statement… Anyone who knows me knows I’m completely against these dishonest games. As a Republican I know this nonsense hurts the Republican Party. We don’t win over Democratic voters by lying to them right out of the box. I don’t know what Tom Swiss is, but he’s not a Democrat as his signs claim. This goof has been embarrassing the GOP for years. The good news is Swiss is officially out of the Republican Party now. - Posted by Rich Miller
47 Comments Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.No Man’s Sky: how a four-person team from Guildford strode forth to create an entire universe
Hello Games’ big reveal of No Man’s Sky almost didn’t happen. Whether you watched Spike’s VGX awards show live or caught up with it after the event, the reaction to the surprise announcement was impossible to miss online. Yet had the studio’s founder, Sean Murray, got his way, the two-minute teaser trailer that prompted such a rapturous response would never have been aired. “I showed the video to about ten people before we went live with the VGXs and eight of them told me to not show it, that it wasn’t good enough and that it was a very strange game that people wouldn’t understand,” he says. “And I agreed with them, and I was actually trying to get them to not show the video.”
In the end, an unlikely ally saved the day. “[VGX co-host] Geoff Keighley fought for us to have a place there, and really stood up for us and told us it was something we should show,” Murray says. Not that he was appeased by Keighley’s enthusiasm, explaining that his overwhelming emotion on the flight to the event was “complete dread”. Murray was convinced that the trailer didn’t look as good as he wanted it to look, and that it didn’t effectively convey how the game played. Admittedly, that was partly down to the response of a handful of members of the UK press who’d seen the footage. “They met it with complete silence, and then we had to go and get [our] flight,” he remembers. “We asked them what they thought and they just sat there and said, ‘We’re not really sure what to say.’ And we said, ‘Well, got to go!’ We sat in silence in the taxi, in silence on an 11-hour flight, and then we got up the next morning and went to the VGX [show]. The four of us were there, and I went on.”
That unveiling was a crucial turning point in a journey that began many years ago. Murray spends several minutes relaying the story in a room with his three co-workers. Enthusiastic, animated, and occasionally descending into a quiet, almost conspiratorial, whisper, he tells his tale to an audience in rapt silence. You can see how he was able to sell them on the idea.
“This is a game that’s been in my head for a very long time,” he says. “Not because I thought I was going to make it, but just because I thought, ‘Someone is going to make this game at some point.’ And my explanation coming to the guys was… I had a very strange upbringing and eccentric parents, and we moved around a lot. For a good part of my childhood, we lived in the Australian outback on a massive farm on a ranch that was a million-and-a-quarter acres, [with] seven air strips and a gold mine. And it basically meant that we were a few hundred miles from anyone else. As a kid, you would spend probably more time than most in the middle of nowhere, the true middle of nowhere, where if something went wrong you were told to just stay where you were and light a fire at an exact time every day, and hope that someone would find you, because you were so far from everywhere else.
“I think that a big part of that experience, when I think back, is that you get this amazing night sky. And when I say that, people picture the best night sky they’ve ever seen, but it feels close. I mean you can see absolutely everything – more stars than you’ve ever seen in your life and they’re there every night. As a kid, I spent an inordinate amount of time with my Amstrad CPC, playing computer games; [I was] starting to program at that stage and looking up… I always thought that’s where videogames would go, that we would create videogames that just contained the whole universe, and you’d be able to visit it all and it’d be amazing.” His eyes light up at the thought. When he says NMS is “the game we’ve always wanted to make”, we believe him.
That same sense of wonder, that yearning to head towards the stars rather than look up at them, is evident in the trailer. Yet it’s difficult to gauge from it exactly what No Man’s Sky is – how it’s structured, how it plays, how it feels. If at times Murray seems somewhat cagey and unwilling to expand on such details, it’s nothing to do with “playing a coy, clever PR game”. He’s adamant that he has no interest in that, and that his reticence is a case of not wanting to give too much away. “[The industry is] obsessed at the moment with parcelling everything up so you know everything about a game before it releases. And we want to allow people to make that decision on their own. When the game releases, people will put it up on the Net or whatever, but it’s their choice as to whether to discover all of that themselves.”
It’s an ethos that extends to the game’s design, too. No Man’s Sky will not have a tutorial. It stems from a desire to show, not tell, and while Murray expresses a distaste for the ’Minecraft in space’ tag that’s been attached to his game, Mojang’s phenomenon has been an inspiration in one sense. “One of the nicest things that’s happened over the last few years in terms of game design has been Minecraft not telling you the rules and formulae for crafting,” he says. “That was a really bold move, and it’s not something that happens very often. For me, it made the game – and when I think of Minecraft, that is what I think of as the game. It just wouldn’t have been the same without [that].”
The Minecraft comparison may be inaccurate, but it’s not an unreasonable one to draw, given the trailer. It soon becomes clear, however, that the cleverly edited teaser is far from the full story. “It has been really fascinating to see that people are just interested in exploring that universe, and we will probably make steps to accommodate that more,” Murray says. “But we aren’t making an ambient or passive experience. We will allow people who really want to have that to have that, so [the reaction] has shaped that side of things, but what would probably surprise people is that we are making a core gameplay experience, and that is where a quarter of our time has been focused at least.”
Hello Games is aiming for a more handcrafted feel than you might expect from a game in which, as the trailer’s intro text proudly states, every atom is procedural. As the studio’s artist, Grant Duncan, explains: “The procedural [code] to us is just a tool we use to try to create this interesting world, and Dave [Ream, gameplay programmer] deals entirely with how you interact with that world to make it feel good. That, to us, is way more interesting than all the stuff that we have to go through in making this a living, breathing world. That’s not the game.”
“There’s a misconception in terms of what people think of as procedural,” Murray adds. “They’re used to it meaning ‘random’. They’re used to the concept of [something that’s] like a lottery, so one in 100 skies will be blue, one in 100 skies will be red, or whatever. And then they probably picture tools that control that, [with a] percentage chance of this or that thing happening.”
Instead, the studio is building a base of layers, using simple systems that Ream affectionately calls “a magic black box of maths”. Random numbers are fed in, and the box makes sense of them before spitting out something that Murray claims “feels naturalistic”. There’s a strict set of rules underpinning it all, in other words, and the biggest self-imposed restriction is that any new rule that is introduced to the game has to be explicable in a single sentence of plain English. Not only does this lead to a more efficient codebase, but it also allows each of the three programmers to retain all that information. For a veteran like Murray, who worked at Criterion before setting up Hello in 2009, it’s one of the many benefits of working in a smaller group. “I’ve worked on games like Burnout and Black, where we had 100 people working on the team, and no one person even had one-tenth of that codebase in their heads. So when a bug would occur, it would actually be somebody’s job to track down whose fault it was before they could fix it.”
Which isn’t to say that a project like this, with so many variables involved, hasn’t thrown up its fair share of strange bugs and glitches. “If you introduce a new AI behaviour for creatures, then suddenly that affects fish, birds and crazy squid creatures,” Murray explains. “It affects the ways fireflies work, and you find it also affects the way ships fly in space. It has this massive knock-on [effect]. If a lot of systems are sharing the same simple components, then the work that you do is kind of magnified as well. You can get yourself into horrible situations and horrible problems, but what we’re trying to do is to actually simplify the process in as many ways as possible.”
These problems might range from birds being found underground to the discovery of “some sort of cow animal trapped in a hole”, and yet scenarios naturally occur during testing that invite the three coders to attempt to reverse engineer them – to dig into the code and to create systems “that result in those scenarios happening in an emergent way”. Murray explains how he accidentally dropped a fish onto the shore of one planet and watched as birds began to flock around it. Unfortunately, the birds happened to pass over a large group of carnivorous plants, and a feathery bloodbath promptly ensued. As much as Hello Games is training its game to behave in certain ways, No Man’s Sky’s procedural universe also teaches its coders something new every day.
It is, Murray explains, all about creating individual stories for players; stories they can share with others. In that respect, he likens it to Dean Hall’s celebrated Arma II mod, DayZ. “I don’t think we’re similar to it, but it’s a good example of a game that delivers experiences that are unique, but when you experience them, they’re [also] very representative of what you might see in a zombie comic book or movie or TV show. The experience you have when you describe it out loud sounds like that kind of scenario. But it is emergent. And that’s the key to what we’re trying to do for science-fiction stories.”
Stories won’t be the only thing you’ll share with other players: while No Man’s Sky is predominantly a singleplayer game, it’s a universe you won’t be charting alone. You and all other players will start at its very edges, using planets as stepping stones as you steadily work your way inwards. There’s a reason for heading towards the centre of the universe, although Murray isn’t yet prepared to say what that might be. Again, he insists this isn’t about being wilfully secretive, but about deliberately keeping players asking and wondering.
Despite an element of interaction, No Man’s Sky is in no way a traditional multiplayer experience. “It would really hurt the [game] to have my most hated thing in the world: lobbies. And, ‘Oh, come and join me on my planet – it’s only 7,000 light years away,’ or whatever. We didn’t want to have that. But we still want people to really feel that they are playing together and that they are part of a community.”
To this end, certain significant things you do in that world will be persistent across everyone’s game. The first player to bring up his or her galactic map will see all the planets and the stars within No Man’s Sky’s universe, but they will all be tagged ’unknown’ or ’unexplored’. “And as you, or I, or anyone plays the game, we will discover certain things,” Murray says. “[Such as] space stations, resources, creatures, or whatever those planets hold, and we can choose whether or not to upload that information. So one person on their own will not be able to make a dent in terms of exploring that universe, but hopefully millions of people playing together will be able to start mapping this [space] out in such a way as to help each other along and make new discoveries, and that’s part of the excitement and the thrill of the game.”
We press Murray for examples of these shared significant events, and he sighs deeply before asking himself a rhetorical question: “What am I allowed to say?” He pauses, picking his words carefully. “In every solar system there is one core thing that you can do which is of great significance to that solar system. And that is shared among everyone, and fundamentally changes that solar system, and people can choose whether or not to do that. And there are a number of mechanisms like that, which create emergent gameplay.”
If No Man’s Sky’s planets are stepping stones, then what of the leaps between them? In a universe so vast, how will Hello Games keep the journeys interesting? Murray insists that space in the game is much busier than you might think, with space stations, pirates, NPCs and more to distract you, while your ship will be powerful enough from the outset to make interstellar travel more of a short hop than a trek. “If you’re on a planet and you see another on the horizon, it’s not a chore to get there,” Murray says, before wryly nodding to Wind Waker’s “hours of boat travel”. Realism is a secondary concern: “I don’t want a game where we are restricted by the speed of light and it takes days to travel between planets. It’s a process that should be very empowering for exploration.”
And yet at the same time you’re vulnerable: “We want [players] to be a speck, to be infinitesimal.” This is not, it seems, the time nor the place for thrilling heroics, although you will be able to assist others. How the game balances a feeling of empowerment with a sense of fragility will go a long way towards determining whether or not No Man’s Sky succeeds.
Empowered yet vulnerable: it’s a description that seems to fit Hello Games rather comfortably at the moment. Now the world knows of its plans, is the pressure beginning to tell? After all, three coders and an artist working in a modest Guildford studio have suddenly found themselves creating one of the most talked-about games in the entire industry. “I don’t think we believe it,” Ream says. “It’s a weird thing to say, because you can look and you can see all this evidence, but there’s not thousands of people just stood outside the office. That would definitely make you feel like, ‘Oh my God.’”
And yet the moment he left the VGX set, leaving behind Geoff Keighley and a faintly incredulous Joel McHale (“You’re just four people making this game?” may have been the Community star’s most honest contribution of the night), Sean Murray found himself in a room with several other developers, including Double Fine’s Tim Schafer, all congratulating him. “They were shaking my hand and patting me on the back, and then we came down and all had a hug, and it was like this big Mighty Ducks moment. Somebody shouted, ’You’re trending on Twitter!’ and we all said ’Yeah!’, and I really don’t remember much of the rest of the night.” It was then that the pressure really took hold.
“I’m ten times more nervous now,” Murray admits. “I feel much more comfortable being the underdog that no one expects to deliver.” So if he had his time over, would he show the trailer again, or would he redouble his efforts to get it pulled from the show? “The positivity has been amazing, but all I want to do right now is to go into a very tiny room or hide under my desk with my laptop and just get back to development and really deliver.”
Besides, it’s the scepticism the trailer provoked that inspires Hello Games more. Although Murray dislikes the word ‘ambition’ (“It always sounds driven by |
orientation and lifestyles. Tempers have been raised and emotions have flowed, but whatever individuals thought about homosexual or heterosexual lifestyles, an atmosphere of acceptance and tolerance has been established in all but the most narrow-minded circles. The tabling of the Bill runs the risk of driving a cart and horses through that atmosphere, which has been carefully built up, of acceptance building on previous tolerance.
13. Some of the phrasing in the Bill is a bit convoluted.
Lord Quirk:
This is perhaps especially manifest in the 60-page document, laughably called Explanatory Notes, which has several explanations such as this one on page 29, which states that, “‘husband’ here will include a man or a woman in a same sex marriage … In a similar way, ‘wife’ will include … a man married to a man”. Such linguistic acrobatics, distorting the marital bed into a Procrustean one, are inherent in the Bill at present. They smack, not so much of Humpty Dumpty’s world—as the noble Lord, Lord Dear, implied this morning—as of the dystopias of Jonathan Swift and George Orwell. After all, Lewis Carroll was only joking; Swift and Orwell were deadly serious.
14. The Famous Lesbian Queen Conundrum (explained in more detail by Lord Tebbit here).
Lord Tebbit:
There is, I believe, no bar to a lesbian succeeding to the Throne. It may happen. It probably will, at some stage. What, then, if she marries and her partner bears a child by an anonymous sperm donor? Is that child the heir to the Throne? If the Queen herself subsequently bore a child by an anonymous donor, which child then, if either, would inherit the Throne? The possibilities must have been discussed in the deep consideration of this Bill in government, so the Minister must know the answer. If she does not know it immediately, I am sure that her officials will be able to give it to her, because it has all been discussed thoroughly.
15. People might lose their jobs.
Lord Davies of Stamford:
The one that has been mentioned is the fate of people who might lose their jobs as a result of this Bill being enacted. We should all be extremely concerned about that. What about registrars, whom no one has mentioned? As I read the Bill, registrars, unlike priests and ministers of religion, will not have the opportunity to opt out. Are they all going to be fired? Are they going to be compensated? Is a decent effort going to be made to find them another decent job? We need to know. We cannot possibly allow this Bill to go on the statute book without having an answer to those questions.
16. Some doctors are apparently against it.
Lord Hylton:
There is ample evidence that public opinion, including medical opinion, is against the Bill.
17. Civil partnerships already perform the legal functions of a marriage.
Bishop of Exeter:
Why was civil partnership insufficient? Such partnerships already allow couples to share the legal benefits of marriage and, if there are remaining differences, it is easy to amend the law. I struggle to hear what is missing.
18. Not everyone agrees about it.
Lord Flight:
If there is one single point on which I think this Bill should not proceed, it is that the nation is absolutely divided. I do not know whether it is 70% one way or the other or if it is 50/50, but it is clear that, in the main, the senior part of the country believes in the traditional role of marriage and wishes to keep it, while a lot of younger people think that it is all a load of hooey and ask, basically, why anyone should get married. There is an absolute divide, and in this sort of territory I believe that it is a mistake to push through legislation until there is some form of consensus.
***
As a post-script, I thought I would include this from Baroness Berridge, who delivered an interesting speech touching on the role of the House of Lords in relation to gay marriage. The important quote:WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund, convinced that Europe erred in forcing debtor countries like Greece and Portugal to bear nearly all the pain of recovery on their own, is pushing hard for a plan that would impose upfront losses on bondholders the next time a country in the euro area requests a bailout.
Scarred by its role in misjudging the depth of the Greek recession and rebuffed in its attempt to get European governments to write down their Greek loans, the I.M.F. is advocating a more aggressive approach to debt restructuring to try to ease the rigors of German-style austerity.
But the proposal — which is still being hashed out behind the scenes by top economists and lawyers at the fund — is encountering stiff resistance, not just from the powerful global banking lobby, but also from European policy makers, and more recently, the United States government, which is the I.M.F.’s largest financial contributor.
Indeed, despite tough talk on both sides of the Atlantic about making bond investors share the cost of bailouts with taxpayers, the world’s largest economies seem to have accepted the dire warnings advanced by investors and bankers that the I.M.F.’s proposed new approach would badly roil still-fragile credit markets in Europe.John McCain, out of costume
This is indeed a good ad — the Obama camp slamming some not-so-straight talk from mushmouth McCain.
Why is this a good ad? Let us count the ways:
1. It’s a haymaker right to McCain’s alleged "strength," his image as a straight talking maverick Man of Honor. This "strength" is no such thing; it’s in fact his glass jaw. Just ask Joe Klein, of all people. McCain’s rep as Captain Integritude is a fraud bought into by a gleefully gullible fanboy media. A lot of the grisly details are here — and if you’ve not read this article from a Phoenix reporter who knew McCain before he attained sainthood, you really should. It ain’t pretty. McCain is a phony. He’s arrogant, vindictive, short-fused, ill-informed… he’s a dick, is what I’m saying. And this is not news, or a surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention and isn’t encumbered by the biases of incredibly wealthy and powerful media organizations who did not become wealthy and powerful by exercising an ability to acknowledge the obvious as opposed to trough-slobbering.
2. Ohio is a a working-class state. Whatever reasons McCain had for his maneuvering on this DHL deal, he was less than honest — or more than confused — when he looked a potential voter in the eye and made shit up. This does not play well with the working class. Or anyone else, either, but McCain is banking everything on how the Other Guy is the doubletalking elitist, and he’s, uh, not. Which is crap.
John McCain and the rest of the Republican Party’s only hope is that they can stave off the humiliating exposure of their bullshit-mongering until mid-November. I doubt they have that long.Instead, the reality is a concerted, deliberate attempt by the religious right to put gender non-conformity, in all its forms – whether “uppity women”, same sex marriage, or gender variance – back in its box.
If that sounds extreme, look at some of the organisations behind this push. For instance, the Family Research Council, an influential conservative lobbying organisation which the Southern Poverty Law Centre has designated a hate group. Last year it put out an analysis recycling every tendentious and debunked piece of pseudo-science about trans people from the last three decades, but it also advocated a five-point plan for containing the transgender movement's "assault on the sexes":
No legal change of gender markers No protection against discrimination No trans right to use facilities (changing rooms and bathrooms) matching their gender identity. No funding of medical cover A trans-free military.
In other words: a detailed programme making it so difficult for a trans person to function in public that, they hope, the majority will just give up.
Nor are these new demands. Compared to official recognition or funding for medical transition, bathrooms may seem a trivial issue. But imagine trying to live, work, shop, unsure where or even whether you can pee legally.
Politicians, mostly Republican, have bought into this. The Republican National Committee this year encouraged state legislatures to pass "bathroom bills": Republican politicians, including Ted Cruz, have come on board; Trump, who publicly invited Caitlyn Jenner to use whatever bathroom she wished at Trump Towers, stands apart. The Human Rights Council counts 44 anti-trans bills at some stage of the legislative process across 16 states.Actress Lindsay Lohan continues her lawsuit against Grand Theft Auto 5 makers Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games with a new 67-page complaint against the companies for allegedly using her likeness in the open-world video game, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The new complaint features 45 pages of pictorial evidence, including one of the game discs that features the image of a blonde, bikini-laden woman. According to the text, the suit emphasizes a "common interest among all celebrities, actors, singers, and athletes... to protect their likeness and personas from misappropriation by unscrupulous merchandisers."
The filing also alleges that Take-Two Interactive used this female character on merchandise and advertising: "The Defendants were in the business of selling games as opposed to artists displaying artwork in galleries for profit where unauthorized images or portraits of individuals were reproduced in limited editions as opposed to the mass production for commercial promotion and financial gain."
The Associated Press reported earlier this year that Lohan's legal team filed a lawsuit in a Manhattan court that alleges Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games based GTA 5 character Lacey Jonas on the actress, who has starred in Herbie Fully Loaded and The Canyons.
The developer "incorporated her image, likeness, clothing, outfits, [Lohan's] clothing line products, ensemble in the form of hats, hair style, sunglasses" and the jean shorts worn by Lohan without her permission, according to the complaint.
The suit also alleges that the in-game hotel Gentry Manor, based on West Hollywood hotel Chateau Marmont, is associated with Lohan, as she formerly resided there.
In Grand Theft Auto 5, players can encounter Lacey Jonas in a mission in which they must escort her to escape the paparazzi. Her in-game dialogue portrays her as a famous Vinewood actress with an eating disorder. You can see what she looks like in the image at the top of the page.
Lawyers for Take Two had previously claimed the lawsuit filed by Lohan was done "for publicity purposes."ATLANTA—More than eight months after suspending his campaign amidst plummeting poll numbers and allegations of sexual misconduct, Georgia businessman Herman Cain appeared at a spirited rally Friday to announce he was officially lifting the suspension and resuming his bid for the presidency.
"I’m back!" said Cain, surrounded by hundreds of supporters holding “Cain 2012” signs and chanting his name. "As of today, with the blessing of friends and family, my presidential campaign is once again in full effect."
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"They wanted you to believe we couldn’t do this," he continued to uproarious applause. "They wanted you to believe that with enough character assassination, with enough dirty tricks, and with eight months of zero campaigning, I would drop out of this race. Well, let me tell me you something: The people of America have a different idea."
The announcement came as a surprise to many who assumed that Cain, still burdened by numerous sexual harassment charges and a poor showing in the primaries, had abandoned his bid for the White House. The former pizza company executive’s fundraising woes and nonexistent campaign infrastructure this year further convinced Beltway observers he had given up his presidential ambitions for good.
However, months after throwing his support behind then-candidate Newt Gingrich, Cain told supporters that his campaign was “back and better than ever,” and that he looked forward to battling President Obama all the way up to Election Day.
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"We've got a lot of work to do, no doubt about that," said Cain, who added that campaigning in crucial battleground states, as well as officially securing his party's nomination at the Republican National Convention this month, would be key to winning the presidency in November. "But make no mistake, we are in this for the long haul. And I'll tell you something else: It sure feels good to be back."
"Just call me the Comeback Kid," Cain added.
Cain, who had not appeared at a campaign event since December, went on to tell supporters that his time off had allowed him to regain his focus and redouble his commitment to key policy platforms such as his 9-9-9 initiative, building electrified fences along the U.S.-Mexico border, and promoting prayer in public schools.
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The former, and now current, candidate for president also took the opportunity to harshly criticize President Obama.
"Barack Obama will tell you he is looking out for ordinary American taxpayers, but this campaign knows better," said Cain, stating that he believes he has a "great chance" of defeating Obama in November. "I look forward to debating the president on this and other issues in due time, but until then, you better get your tickets ready, because it's time to ride the Cain train again."
At press time, Cain told reporters he was leaning toward former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney as his running mate.On Oct. 30, 2007, astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery set out on a routine mission: installing two solar panels on the truss, or backbone, of the International Space Station (ISS). While the first panel deployed successfully, astronauts noticed a two-foot-wide tear in the second panel.
To repair the tear, crewmembers devised a risky plan, sending an astronaut on a spacewalk while tethered to the shuttle’s inspection arm. The mission marked the first time an astronaut had used the robotic arm in such a way — a potentially dangerous undertaking, as a wrong move could have electrocuted the spacewalker. In the end, the mission was a success, due partly to the robotic arm’s operators, who were trained to maneuver the multijointed arm with high precision.
Today, all incoming astronauts complete extensive training to learn to operate a similar robotic arm on the space station. But the operation isn’t intuitive, and there’s a steep learning curve for some.
MIT researchers in the Man Vehicle Laboratory (MVL) are looking for ways to streamline this lengthy training process. They administered standard cognitive spatial tests to 50 astronauts, and compared these initial results with the astronauts’ performance in NASA’s 30-hour Generic Robotics Training (GRT) course. The researchers found that the initial spatial tests were able to predict the top performers in the more extensive course.
The results, says MVL director Charles Oman, suggest that the initial spatial tests may be used as a screening tool to place low-scorers on an in-depth training track, while accelerating high-scorers through a shortened course.
“Astronaut training time is a precious resource, and we want to use it as efficiently as we can,” says Oman, who is a senior research engineer in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. “We want to see if there is an objective way of picking people who may be stars, or identifying people who maybe shouldn’t be doing robotics.”
Oman and his colleagues have published their results in the journal Acta Astronautica. The paper’s co-authors are research scientists Andrew Liu and Alan Natapoff, and graduate research assistant Raquel Galvan.
Turning the world over
Operating robots in space requires a degree of mental dexterity, as there are few landmarks with which to orient an object. A zero-gravity environment can also add to spatial confusion.
“On Earth, we don’t have to remember what things look like upside down,” Oman says. “We don’t have to be able to turn the world over in our mind to remember which way to turn when we’re trying to follow a route.”
But mental rotation is an essential spatial skill for maneuvering objects in space, particularly with the space station’s robotic arm. Controlling the arm is a fairly unintuitive process, unlike some other robots whose arms can be moved by a person who makes the same motion.
Instead, astronauts must manipulate the space station’s arm via two joysticks — one that moves the arm up, down, and sideways, and another that controls the arm’s attitude, or tilt. Complicating matters is the system of cameras aboard the station, which view the arm from different angles.
“You’re looking at the task and the arm from each camera, and each time, you have to reorient your mind to figure out what you’re looking at,” Oman says. “If you move the controller to the right, the arm might move another way because the camera is tilted. So that’s one of the things that makes it challenging.”
Predicting the top of the class
The researchers determined that the spatial skills involved in such robotic operation generally break down into two categories: object rotation, or the ability to imagine how an object looks when rotated, and perspective taking, the ability to imagine how an object or scene looks from different viewpoints. While the two tasks seem similar, Oman says they appear to operate via different pathways in the brain.
He and his team chose three pen-and-paper cognitive spatial tests and one computer-based test to gauge astronauts’ skills in object rotation and spatial visualization. Each test involved a number of timed exercises in which an astronaut chose a correct object orientation, given a set of instructions. All four tests were completed in one hour or less.
“Even within the astronaut community, there was a distribution of how good their spatial abilities are, according to the tests we gave them,” says Liu, who administered the tests at NASA’s Astronaut Training Office in Houston.
Liu worked the test data into a model to predict astronaut performance in NASA's GRT course. The model was able to predict the top performers in the class, as measured by the astronaut's final GRT exam scores.
Dan Burbank, chief of robotics and extravehicular activity at NASA’s Astronaut Office, says that robotics training is one of the most critical components of the operational training astronauts undergo prior to flight. Today’s robotics training is more intensive and time-consuming than was the case in the space shuttle era, primarily because of the greater complexity of the ISS.
“A key requirement for safe robotics operations is for the arm operator to quickly and accurately synthesize multiple, disparate, remote camera views with often-counterintuitive telemetry cues and the occasional direct visual view,” says Burbank, who has flown as a mission specialist on two shuttle missions and as commander of ISS Expedition 30. “A suite of predictive evaluation tools that could identify a specific crewmember’s aptitude in synthesizing accurate 3-D mental models could help instructors tailor robotics training to that individual.”
While the researchers caution that such a screening tool is not meant to determine an astronaut’s career direction, the spatial tests and model may be used to help customize training. For example, if an astronaut scores low on initial tests, he may be assigned to a more comprehensive course, with extra practice. If he aces the tests, he may be considered for a more abbreviated version of the course.
“An astronaut’s schedule is really packed with traveling and other training,” Liu says. “So being able to know who’s going to require more time is a real boon for planning their schedule.”IBM will pay $1.5 billion to Globalfoundries in order to shed its costly chip division.
IBM will make payments to the chipmaker over three years, but it took a $4.7 billion charge for the third quarter when it reported earnings Monday.
The company fell short of Wall Street profit expectations and revenue slid 4 percent, sending shares down 8 percent before the opening bell.
Privately held Globalfoundries will get IBM's global commercial semiconductor technology business, including intellectual property and technologies related to IBM Microelectronics. It also gets IBM's semiconductor manufacturing operations and plants in East Fishkill, New York and Essex Junction, Vermont, as well as access to thousands of patents and IBM's commercial microelectronics business.
Globalfoundries said that it plans to employ substantially all IBM workers at the East Fishkill and Essex Junction plants, except for a team of semiconductor server group employees who will stay with IBM.
Under the agreement, Globalfoundries will become IBM's exclusive server processor semiconductor technology provider for 22 nanometer (nm), 14nm and 10nm semiconductors for the next 10 years.
IBM said handing over the chip division will allow it to concentrate on fundamental semiconductor research and the development of future cloud, mobile, big data analytics, and secure transaction-optimized systems.
The deal is expected to close next year.
On Monday, IBM reported that its adjusted earnings from continuing operations were $3.68 per share, while revenue totaled $22.4 billion. The performance missed the expectations of analysts polled by FactSet, who predicted earnings of $4.32 per share on revenue of $23.39 billion.
Shares of International Business Machines Corp., based in Armonk, fell $14.33 to $167.72 in premarket trading Monday.Australia's oldest man has spent a lot of his days knitting sweaters for little penguins.
Alfred 'Alfie' Date spoke to 9 Stories about how his inability to say 'no' to favours got him into making the miniature animal clothes.
The jerseys were requested from Victoria's Phillip Island Penguin Foundation in 2013, to assist the survival of little penguins after an oil spill. Little penguins are a species of penguin only found in southern Australia and New Zealand, with a lone colony of 32,000 remaining on Phillip Island.
The 109-year-old, who lives in a retirement home on the New South Wales Central Coast, was asked by two nurses to help make the sweaters, as they had heard he was an experienced knitter. It was a request he could not refuse. Using heavy wool provided by the nurses, Alfie put his 80 years of knitting skills to good use and got to work.
Alfie Date speaks to 9 Stories about his love of knitting. Image: 9 Stories screengrab.
The self-taught knitter, who refined his skills after making a baby jacket for his nephew in the 1930s, has seven children and 20 grandchildren, and "about the same amount" of great grandchildren. According to a profile on The Daily Telegraph in 2014, Alfie remembers the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and the declaration of World War one. He told the newspaper his secret to a long life is simply "waking up every morning."
Donations of the knitted penguin outfits were received from all over the world. The foundation says this "is not a fashion statement" but instead they help the little creatures if they are affected by an oil spill. Oil can make their feathers stick together, allowing water to get to their inner layers. This causes the little penguins to get cold and not be able to hunt due to heaviness.
An oily penguin gets around in his sweater. Image: AP Images/Associated Press
When oiled penguins arrive at the foundation, they are given a jacket to wear so that they don't consume the toxins or preen their feathers. In 2001, 438 penguins were affected in an oil spill at Phillip Island and by using the knitted outfits, 96% of the penguins were rehabilitated at the clinic, according to the foundation's website.
The centre currently has "plenty of penguin jumpers (sweaters) at this time donated by generous knitters across the globe" and has asked for no more donations from eager knitters.
Today, Alfie keeps his ageing hands active by knitting scarves for friends and beanies for premature babies. It is a good thing Alfie never worked out how to say 'no.'
A penguin in a knitted sweater. Image: Rex Features via AP Images/Associated Press
Correction: The penguins shown in the photo at the top of this story are stuffed toy penguins displaying the sweaters at Phillip Island, this was not mentioned in the original caption.While finding these sea creatures crushed into the city’s walls is fascinating, they’re not the only compelling feature of London’s architectural geology. In fact, Ruth Siddall, a geologist at University College London and the co-creator of London Pavement Geology, seemed a little weary of fossils when she discussed the project with Citylab:
For the non-geologist, the most immediately eye-catching part of the map tells you where to spot fossils, crushed shells, bones, and leaves embedded in the very fabric of London’s buildings. These are everywhere—somewhat unsurprisingly so, given that much of London’s building stone comes from Southern England’s Jurassic Coast, a Unesco World Heritage Site so named for its complete geological record of the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. The limestone in this area has disgorged an incredible variety of fossils over the years (including the world’s first complete Ichthyosaur ), and in the form of Portland Stone, its crushed shells have formed the foundation of many London buildings. This stonework by Green Park Tube Station, for example, is revealed on closer inspection as an infinity of oyster shells packed together with sediment.
The London Pavement Geology project is a loving catalog of the many different types of rock to be found across the city. To be released as an app later this summer, it doesn’t just reveal the geological variety of the city’s building materials. In tracking down the seam of rick running through the U.K. capital, it also reflect key shifts in the city’s history.
Look closely at London’s stone buildings and you’ll see the city is really a disaster site. The rock that much of England’s capital is built from is the residue of billion-year-old volcanic eruptions and tsunamis, of plants and animals flattened into gritty seams beneath layers of debris, and of earth warped by meteor falls. Now, an impressively detailed map (below) shows you exactly where to find the evidence of this turbulent prehistory.
“Fossils are everywhere, and London actually has some much rarer materials to offer,” she says. Her favorite example is a building called Irongate House (below), which is made from rock hit by a meteorite three billion years ago; traces of the impact are visible in the black veins running across the stone.
Testaments to a globalizing London
As Siddall notes, there’s another thread running through London’s stone—a timeline of the city’s globalization. From the city’s founding by the Romans up to the early modern period, London building stone was mostly quarried in Kent, then brought by boat up the channel and along the Thames. After the Great Fire of London destroyed most of the city in 1666, London’s use of stone and brick shot up, in order to replace the less flame-retardant wood, plaster, and wattle buildings that had previously dominated the now-gutted city.
This time, the stone came from further down England’s coast, from the aforementioned Limestone quarries of Portland Bill. This stone became popular partly because new ideas about building aesthetics had been filtering into England from Italy. This Portland Stone had been used earlier throughout Italianate buildings by architect Inigo Jones, which derived from Italian Renaissance prototypes and formed the blueprint for post-fire designs from Christopher Wren and others. The sudden proliferation of Portland stone buildings in this period thus shows a city forging a more international style of non-religious architecture, using a local, flexible alternative to Italian marble.
Then in the late 19th century, Scottish and Scandinavian Granite suddenly started appearing across London, its polished surface providing sparkle to many of the city’s elaborate pubs. It started to appear because Scottish masons were the first to master the technique for cutting and polishing the material. Fast railways allowed the material to reach London quickly and cheaply, creating such a demand that Aberdeen stone polishers shipped stone across from Scandinavia to fill their orders. This elaborate finish is thus the expression of a faster, cheaper European transit network for goods. Without the railway and the steam ship, this granite wouldn’t have reached London in any great quantity.
The bedrock of postmodernism
Finally, at the end of the 20th century, the eclectic anti-purism of postmodernism clad London is a flood of novel exotic rock. Its flashiness was also a fitting visual expression of the global buccaneering of the finance companies whose offices it often graced. As Siddall put it to Citylab:
“In the 1980s, postmodern architecture was very flashy and plasticky and demanded bright colors, which encouraged export of fancy, brightly coloured stone from places like Brazil. These are these amazingly pretty coloured rocks. It reflects not just the vogue for Postmodern architecture but also the development of the diesel engine for shipping, which made it very cheap to import. It's now cheaper to bring granite from Brazil than from Cornwall.”
The changing building stone mapped by London Pavement Geography are thus a weathervane showing the city’s changing direction even today, when self-consciously austere brick is back in vogue. The stones are reflection not just of the historical record and changing aesthetic tastes, but of the economic shifts that made such changes possible. If anything, this makes the materials’ origin only more interesting and fantastical.
H/t LondonistPhoto
As Hillary Clinton courted African-Americans in Harlem on Wednesday, across Central Park, in the gilded ballroom at the Metropolitan Club, former President Bill Clinton sipped a pint of Guinness and addressed the Irish, another critical constituency as the Democratic contest descends on New York City.
Accepting a lifetime achievement award at the Irish America Hall of Fame luncheon for his role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland, Mr. Clinton, wearing a green tie, didn’t mention his wife’s presidential campaign. Instead, he talked about his own 1992 campaign, when, as governor of Arkansas, he tried to learn how to win a New York primary.
“What happened to me — and it sort of happened to me — began here in this city, late at night, almost exactly 24 years ago when I was trying to win the New York primary,” Mr. Clinton explained.
Back then, a group of powerful Irish Americans and sympathizers, including the Clinton adviser Harold M. Ickes and former Representative Bruce Morrison of Connecticut, had assembled to talk to Mr. Clinton about the fighting that plagued Northern Ireland and what the next president could do.
“They were grilling me about all matter of things, and I think they were surprised I was prepared,” he said.
Mr. Clinton won the bitterly contested New York primary in 1992, catapulting him to the nomination.
Years later, after he had helped to broker the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 that effectively ended the conflict in Northern Ireland, his daughter, Chelsea, wrote her senior thesis at Stanford about the history of Irish-American politics.
“She said, ‘You know, Dad, you didn’t care about this when you came to New York. You just wanted the Irish to vote for you,’” Mr. Clinton recalled.
“Well, not quite, but close enough,” he said. “‘But afterward, you really did care,’” Mr. Clinton said Chelsea told him.
Today, the Clintons enjoy some of their most loyal support from Irish-Americans, who remember their role in ending what are known as the Troubles. And that loyalty is likely to bolster Mrs. Clinton in the state’s April 19 primary.
As Mrs. Clinton spoke in Harlem alongside Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the annual awards luncheon, hosted by Irish America Magazine, drew influential Irish politicians, business leaders and media personalities. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the astronaut Eileen M. Collins and the journalist and essayist Pete Hamill were also among the honorees.
As Ireland celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising against British rule, Mr. Clinton delivered a poetic address, praising the Irish for their inclusive government and weaving lines of poetry from W.B. Yeats into his extemporaneous remarks. “Things fall apart, the center cannot hold,” Mr. Clinton said. “If the center does not hold, inclusive economics, inclusive societies, all fall to the politics of blame.”
Mr. Clinton urged Britain to remain in the European Union, afraid of the consequences for Northern Ireland should Britain vote to leave the union in a referendum in June.
“Northern Ireland would really get whacked if England left the European Union,” Mr. Clinton said. “I hope they don’t, because it’s easy to believe that the only solution to the modern world is to hunker down.”
“It’s a dangerous world out there,” Mr. Clinton continued, speaking on a pressing foreign policy issue that Mrs. Clinton has not yet addressed. “It’s easy to turn away, but it’s better to find a way to move forward because the enemies of freedom, the people who don’t believe in diversity, will always find a way to pierce the walls.”
“We can never let our hearts to turn to stone, and we can never let things fall apart so much that we cannot build a center where the future of our children counts more than the scars of our past,” Mr. Clinton concluded. “That is the ultimate lesson of every single thing that has happened from 100 years ago since that declaration was issued and all that has happened since 1995.”Anti-choice advocates are making an effort to convince men to stop their partners from terminating pregnancies.
Between new billboards and new public speakers, it’s becoming more clear that the next wave of the anti-choice war is to recruit men to talk their partners out of abortions.
Which is why this new “study” is no shock, and probably the first of many to be released in the next year.
Via National Right to Life News:
“…[T]his study adds new depth to our understanding of this neglected population. The recurring meaning of abortion for the men in this study was that of profound loss and a common reaction to that loss was anger. The men experienced significant, multiple losses related to relationships with their partners, their masculine identify, their self of self-esteem or self-worth, and fatherhood. For some men, the abortion raised issues related to disappointment in their own fathers as well as to perceptions of themselves as fathers. For all of the men, abortion entailed a much more complex loss than has generally been recognized.” Get the facts, direct to your inbox. Subscribe to our daily or weekly digest. SUBSCRIBE The authors freely admit the limitations—the number is small and is comprised of men “who self-identify as having been harmed by the experience.” They call for more investigation. But they also make a very important statement: “This may or may not represent a minority of men, since the prevalence of men who experience significant psychological sequelae after abortion is not known at this time.”
Yet another avenue to cutting off a woman’s right to choose — partner coerced pregnancy. Ironic, since the most recent set of state restrictions pushed by the anti-choice advocates were reminding a woman that it is illegal for a partner to coerce you into ending a pregnancy.
But it’s only coercion if you are being talked out of motherhood, as anti-choicers in South Dakota have proven over and over again.Me thinks he (the lady) doth protest too much
My apologies to William Shakespeare. This line from Hamlet has come to suggest that those who constantly complain about something are often the ones who are guilty of that very something.
Liberals, who are constantly accusing others of being racists, are, by the policies they support, the real racists. The policies they support are, by design, responsible for keeping blacks and other people of color poor, undereducated and without any initiative to escape the vicious circle of poverty. I am so tired of the “holier than thou” attitudes of people like Piers Morgan and Chris Matthews. But the most racist of all are the black liberals who have attained positions of influence: people like Ophra Winfrey, Whoopie Goldberg, Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson, Morgan Freeman, and a myriad of sports professionals. Even worse are those who are career politicians: from Maxine Waters right up to to President Barack Obama.
It may be hard to believe that someone could be more racist that President Obama; but I contend that Eric Holder, the nation’s top cop, is also our nation’s worst racist. Although an US president is arguably the most powerful man in the world, Eric Holder is using his position of Attorney General to intentionally keep black Americans ignorant and poor and devoid of the hope of improving their lot in life with the sole purpose of making sure that these folks will keep voting for liberal Democrats.
It was Eric Holder who called Americans cowards for refusing to have an honest discussion about racial issues in America. It was in a Congressional hearing that Eric Holder said part of his job is to protect “his people”. Well, let’s see how well Mr. Holder is protecting “his people”.
Voter ID Laws
Every time a state passes a law to curb election fraud, Eric Holder and his Department of Justice take them to court. Holder is currently suing the State of Texas over their Voter ID Law. Eric Holder has consistently taken the position that voter ID laws make it harder for minority voters to vote. In other words, he thinks blacks and other people of color are too stupid or lazy to manage to obtain a voter ID and, therefore these laws discriminate against minorities. If Eric Holder wasn’t a racist, he would know what the Say Anything blog knows:
“There are eleven states that have vote ID laws, and black voter participation actually increased and exceeded that of whites in nine of them,” said Fox News contributor Deroy Murdock. Not only did voter ID laws not seem to have any real impact on minority turnout on the state level, but nationally black participation increased as well. “Black participation in the 2012 election not only went up from 2008 but in the fist time in history exceeded white participation.” The trend in America has been toward more strict voter ID laws (here in North Dakota out legislature toughened identification laws earlier this year). And yet, there doesn’t seem to be evidence that it’s suppressing minority voters. Even Indian tribes use voter ID to ensure that their elections aren’t influenced by unqualified voters. Maybe it’s time to stop questioning the motives of voter ID proponents, and start questioning the motivations of opponents.
So, it seems that black voters are not as stupid or lazy as Eric Holder thinks they are.
Blacks Don’t Deserve A Better Education Than They Are Getting.
Louisiana Governor, Bobby Jindal, has begun a program to help black and other minority students to escape from their failing school and attend the school of their choice. But, Eric Holder and his DoJ will have nothing of that: John Hayward reports:
“The Obama administration is trying to use rules that were designed to protect poor minority kids to actually keep them trapped in failing schools,” said the Governor. “We’ve got 8,000 kids getting these scholarships. 100 percent of these are low-income families. 100 percent of them are coming from C, D, or F public schools. 100 percent of their parents chose this as a way for their kids to get a better education. 90 percent of them are minorities. We talk about equal opportunity in America, but we’re not providing it unless we give every |
to qualify with professional players, Japan narrowly missed a ticket to the 1994 World Cup after drawing with Iraq in the final match of the qualification round, remembered by fans as the "Agony of Doha". Japan's next tournament was a defence of their continental title at the 1996 Asian Cup. The team won all their games in the group stage but were eliminated in the quarter-finals after a 2–0 loss to Kuwait.
The nation's first ever World Cup appearance was in 1998, where Japan lost all their games. The first two fixtures went 1–0 in favour of Argentina and Croatia, despite playing well in both matches. Their campaign ended with a 2–1 defeat to Jamaica.
2000s [ edit ]
In the 2000 Asian Cup, Japan managed to reclaim their title after defeating Saudi Arabia in the final, becoming Asian Champions for the second time.
Two years later, Japan co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with South Korea. After a 2–2 draw with Belgium in their opening match, the Japanese team advanced to the second round with a 1–0 win over Russia and a 2–0 victory against Tunisia. However, they subsequently exited the tournament during the round of 16, after losing 1–0 to eventual third-place finishers Turkey.
On 8 June 2005, Japan qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, its third consecutive World Cup, by beating North Korea 2–0 on neutral ground. However, Japan failed to advance to the Round of 16, losing to Australia 1–3, drawing Croatia 0–0 and losing to Brazil 1–4.
2010s [ edit ]
During the 2010 World Cup qualification, in the fourth round of the Asian Qualifiers, Japan became the first team other than the host South Africa to qualify after defeating Uzbekistan 1–0 away. Japan was put in Group E along with the Netherlands, Denmark and Cameroon.[15] Japan won its opening match of the 2010 World Cup 1–0 against Cameroon, but subsequently lost to the Netherlands 0–1 before defeating Denmark 3–1 to advance to the next round against Paraguay. In the first knockout round, Japan were eliminated from the competition following penalties after a 0–0 draw against Paraguay.
After the World Cup, head coach Takeshi Okada resigned. He was replaced by former Juventus and Milan coach Alberto Zaccheroni. In his first few matches, Japan recorded victories over Guatemala (2–1) and Paraguay (1–0), as well as one of their best ever results, a 1–0 victory over Argentina.
At the start of 2011, Japan participated in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. On 29 January, they beat Australia 1–0 in the final after extra time, their fourth Asian Cup triumph and allowing them to qualify for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.[16]
Japan then started their road to 2014 World Cup in Brazil with numerous qualifiers. Throughout, they suffered only two losses to Uzbekistan and Jordan, and drawing against Australia. Afterwards, on 12 October, Japan earned a historic 1–0 victory over France, a team they had never before defeated. After a 1–1 draw with Australia they qualified for the 2014 World Cup, becoming the first nation (outside of Brazil, who hosted the tournament and qualified automatically) to qualify.
Japan started their 2013 Confederations Cup campaign with a 3–0 loss to Brazil. They were then eliminated from the competition after losing to Italy 3–4 in a hard-fought match but received praise for their style of play in the match. They lost their final match 1–2 against Mexico and finished in fourth place in Group A. One month later, in the EAFF East Asian Cup, they started out with a 3–3 draw to China. They then beat Australia 3–2 and beat South Korea 2–1 in the third and final match in the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup to claim the title. The road to Brazil looked bright as Japan managed a 2–2 draw with the Netherlands and a 2–3 victory over Belgium. This was followed by three straight wins against Cyprus, Costa Rica and Zambia.
Japan was placed into Group C at the 2014 World Cup alongside the Ivory Coast, Greece and Colombia. They fell in their first match to Ivory Coast 2–1 despite initially taking the lead, allowing two goals in a two-minute span. They drew their second game to Greece 0–0. To qualify for the second round, they needed a victory against Colombia and needed Greece to beat Ivory Coast. Greece beat Ivory Coast 2–1, but Japan could not perform well against Colombia and were beaten 4–1, eliminating them from the World Cup. Alberto Zaccheroni resigned as head coach after the World Cup. In July 2014, former Mexico and Espanyol manager Javier Aguirre took over and Japan lost 0–2 to Uruguay in the first game he managed.
Aguirre would begin a strong revamp of the team, switching out Zaccheroni's long-used 4–2–3–1 formation for his own 4–3–3 and applied this with a roster of the J.League's finest, dropping many regulars. A 2–2 draw against Venezuela was followed by a 1–0 victory over Jamaica. However, they lost their following match to Brazil 4–0, with Neymar scoring all four goals. Japan's sights turned to January and their title defense at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
Japan national team vs Paraguay 2008
Japan won its opening match at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Group D against Asian Cup debutantes Palestine 4–0, with goals from Yasuhito Endō, Shinji Okazaki, Keisuke Honda via a penalty and Maya Yoshida. Okazaki was named man of the match. They then faced Iraq and Jordan in their next group matches, which they won 1–0 and 2–0 respectively. They qualified to knockout stage as Group D winner with nine points, seven goals scored and no goals conceded. In the quarter-finals, Japan lost to the United Arab Emirates in a penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw, as Honda and Shinji Kagawa missed their penalty kicks. Japan's elimination marked their worst performance in the tournament in 19 years.
After the Asian Cup, Aguirre was sacked following allegations of corruption during a prior tenure. He was replaced by Vahid Halilhodžić in March 2015. Japan started on a rough note during qualification, losing to the UAE 1-2 at home. They then picked up the pace in their other qualifier games against Iraq, Australia, and Thailand, picking up 5 wins and 2 draws. Then, on 31 August 2017, Japan defeated Australia 2–0 at home thus qualifying them for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, making it their sixth successive World Cup. However, the Japan Football Association decided to sack Halilhodžić on 9 April 2018, only ten weeks before the World Cup finals, citing reasons of a breakdown in relationship between coach and player, and poor recent friendly results, and appoint the Technical Director, Japanese coach Akira Nishino, who had managed the Japanese Under-23 team at the 1996 Olympics, as the new manager.[17]
Japan made history in the 2018 FIFA World Cup by defeating Colombia 2–1, their first ever victory by any AFC team against a CONMEBOL team in an official tournament,[18] as well as Japan's first ever victory at the FIFA World Cup finals in UEFA nations. Their second match ended in a draw against Senegal, with one goal scored by Takashi Inui and the other by Keisuke Honda.[19] Japan were defeated in their last group game in the Group H against Poland 0–1,[20] leaving Japan and Senegal tied for second with an identical record, however, as Japan had received two fewer yellow cards, Japan advanced to the knockout stage on the Fair Play Points tiebreaker, the first team to do so.[21] The match with Poland caused controversy; as Japan were made aware of their advantage over Senegal with ten minutes left and decided to play an extremely conservative game, passing the ball around to one another and keeping it in their own box, seeking to avoid any bookings and didn't attempt to take any serious shots on goal, despite losing 0–1, with some fans booing the players.[22][23][24] The match received comparison to the 1982 World Cup Disgrace of Gijón, in which a similar game was played.[25] Japan were the only AFC team to have qualified to the knockout stage.[26] In the Round of 16 against Belgium, Japan took a surprising 2–0 lead with a goal in the 48th minute by Genki Haraguchi and another in the 52nd by Takashi Inui, but yielded 3 goals afterwards, including the winner by Nacer Chadli on the counter attack in the 94th minute. This was Japan's third time having reached the last 16, equaling their best result at a World Cup.[27] Japan's defeat to eventual third-place finishers Belgium was the first time a nation had lost a knockout match at the World Cup after taking a two-goal advantage since England lost to West Germany 2–3 in extra-time in the quarter-final of the 1970 edition.[28][29] However, Japan's impressive performance was praised by fans, pundits and medias for their fighting spirits, as demonstrated by Japan's win over Colombia, a draw to Senegal and a strong counter offensive against heavyweight Belgium.[30]
Rivalries [ edit ]
South Korea [ edit ]
Japan maintains a strong football rivalry with South Korea. Japan has played 78 matches against the South Korean football team with 14 victories, 22 draws, and 41 losses. The football rivalry is long-seated and is often seen as an extension of an overall historic rivalry between the two nations.
Australia [ edit ]
Japan began to develop a fierce rivalry with fellow Asian powerhouse Australia, shortly after the latter joined the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).[31] The rivalry is regarded as one of Asia's biggest football rivalries.[32] The rivalry is a relatively recent one, born from a number of highly competitive matches between the two teams since Australia joined the AFC in 2006.[33] The rivalry began at the 2006 World Cup where the two countries were grouped together, and continued with the two countries meeting regularly in various AFC competitions, such as the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2011 AFC Asian Cup Final and the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup.[34]
China [ edit ]
Japan also has a long standing rivalry with China, because of historical tensions between two countries in the past. China is leading the series with 16 wins, with Japan only has 14 wins; however Japan has achieved more successes than China.
Team image [ edit ]
Names [ edit ]
The Japanese team is commonly known by the fans and media as Sakkā Nippon Daihyō (サッカー日本代表), Nippon Daihyō (日本代表), or Daihyō (代表) as abbreviated expressions. Although the team does not have an official nickname as such, it is often known by the name of the manager. For example, under Takeshi Okada, the team was known as Okada Japan (岡田ジャパン, Okada Japan).[35] Recently, the team has been known or nicknamed as the "Samurai Blue", while Japanese news media during the 2018 FIFA World Cup still referred it to by the recently departed manager's (Akira Nishino) last name, as "Nishino Japan" (西野ジャパン, Nishino Japan).[36][37]
Fan chanting [ edit ]
Fans waving flags in support of the Japanese national team.
Japanese national team supporters are known for chanting "Nippon Ole" (Nippon is the Japanese word for Japan) at home matches.[38]
Kits [ edit ]
The national team kit design has gone through several alterations in the past. In the early 1980s, the kit was white with blue trim. The kits worn for the 1992 Asian Cup consisted of white stripes (stylized to form a wing) with red diamonds. During Japan's first World Cup appearance in 1996 Asian Cup and in 1998, the national team kits were blue jerseys with red and white flame designs on the sleeves, and were designed by JFA (with the sponsor alternating each year between Asics, Puma, and Adidas). The 1996 design was reproduced in a special kit used against Syria on 7 June 2017.
Japan uses blue and white rather than red and white due to a superstition. Japan used blue shirts in a 3–2 victory over Sweden in the first game of its maiden major international competition, the 1936 Summer Olympics.[39] When Japan was coached by Kenzo Yokoyama (1988–1992) the kits were red and white, matching the colors of Japan's national flag. After failures at 1990 FIFA World Cup and 1992 Summer Olympics qualifications, the red shirt was scrapped.
In the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, Japan temporarily switched the colour of the numbers from white to gold.
Japan's kit is provided by German company Adidas, the team's exclusive kit supplier since April 1999.[40] Before that, Asics and Puma had been the team's official apparel sponsor alongside Adidas.
Kit suppliers [ edit ]
Kit supplier Period Notes Asics, Puma, Adidas 0000 –April 1999 Adidas April 1999–present Exclusive kit supplier
Kit deals [ edit ]
Kit supplier Period Contract
announcement Contract
duration Value Notes Adidas 1999–present 2014–11–07 2015–2022 (8 years)[41] Disclosed[42]
Crest [ edit ]
JFA logo used on the kits (2009–2017)
The crest or emblem of the national team was adopted in late 2017 as part of a larger rebranding by the Japan Football Association.[43] The crest features the Yatagarasu, a three-legged crow from Japanese mythology, holding a solid red football. The text "JFA" (for the Japan Football Association) is inscribed at the bottom of the crow. A red stripe is also present at the center of the shield behind the crow. The shield has a metallic gold trim and has a thicker black outline. The name of the country represented by the national team "Japan" is also inscribed within the black border.[44][45]
The previous crest had a shield with a more complex shape. The ball held by the Yatagarasu had white details. The text "Japan" is absent and "JFA" is written in a different typeface.[44]
Japan has one of the highest sponsorship incomes for a national squad. In 2006 their sponsorship income amounted to over 16.5 million pounds.
Primary sponsors include Adidas, Kirin, Saison Card International, FamilyMart, JAL, MS&AD Insurance Group, Asahi Shinbun, Mizuho Financial, Daito Trust Construction and KDDI.
Mascot [ edit ]
The mascots are "Karappe" (カラッペ) and "Karara" (カララ), two Yatagarasu wearing the Japan national football team uniform. The mascots were designed by Japanese manga artist Susumu Matsushita. Each year when a new kit is launched, the mascots change uniforms.
For the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Pokémon character Pikachu served as the mascot.[46]
Recent results and fixtures [ edit ]
2018 [ edit ]
2019 [ edit ]
2020 [ edit ]
Coaching Staff [ edit ]
Position Name Head Coach Hajime Moriyasu Assistant Coach TBD Assistant Coach TBD Goalkeeping Coach TBD Fitness Coach TBD Technical Director TBD
Players [ edit ]
Current squad [ edit ]
The following 23 players have been called up for 2019 AFC Asian Cup.[47]
Caps and goals as of 1 February 2019 after the match against Qatar.
Recent call-ups [ edit ]
The following players have been called up to the Japan squad in last 12 months.
Records [ edit ]
Statistics below are from matches which the Japan Football Association consider as official.[1][48][49][50]
Updated to 1 February 2019:
Rosters [ edit ]
Coaches [ edit ]
As of 1 February 2019[51]
Competitive record [ edit ]
*Denotes draws includes knockout matches decided on penalty shootouts. Red border indicates that the tournament was hosted on home soil. Gold, silver, bronze backgrounds indicate 1st, 2nd and 3rd finishes respectively. Bold text indicates best finish in tournament.
FIFA World Cup [ edit ]
FIFA World Cup Finals record Qualifications record Hosts / year Result Position GP W D* L GS GA GP W D L GS GA 1930 Did Not Enter No qualification 1934 Did not enter 1938 Withdrew Withdrew 1950 Suspended from FIFA Suspended from FIFA 1954 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 3 7 1958 Did not enter Did not enter 1962 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 1 4 1966 Did not enter Did not enter 1970 Did not qualify 4 0 2 2 4 8 1974 4 1 0 3 5 4 1978 4 0 1 3 0 5 1982 4 2 0 2 4 2 1986 8 5 1 2 15 5 1990 6 2 3 1 7 3 1994 13 9 3 1 35 6 1998 Group Stage 31st 3 0 0 3 1 4 15 9 5 1 51 12 2002 Round of 16 9th 4 2 1 1 5 3 Qualified as hosts 2006 Group Stage 28th 3 0 1 2 2 7 12 11 0 1 25 5 2010 Round of 16 9th 4 2 1 1 4 2 14 8 4 2 23 9 2014 Group Stage 29th 3 0 1 2 2 6 14 8 3 3 30 8 2018 Round of 16 15th 4 1 1 2 6 7 18 13 3 2 44 7 Total Round of 16 6/21 21 5 5 11 20 29 120 68 26 26 247 85Friday marks the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.
Why has it lasted so long? CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley is just back from spending a few days with American troops there. Pelley saw first hand the difficulties they face, when CBS News went on patrol with a platoon in the fields and villages of Kandahar Province.
Greg Durso, 23 years old, from Lynbrook, New York, is two months into his first combat tour. As a lieutenant in the 287 Infantry, he leads his own platoon: 40 Americans, and 30 Afghan soldiers.
Special Section: Afghanistan, Ten Years Later
"I think any leader can say his worst day is when you lose your own men. You are given this gift of these American sons and their families entrust their lives to you. But this is war, there are some thing you cannot avoid, and losing people feels like losing your own children," Durso said.
Durso has lost two men, both to homemade landmines. They find dozens of them every week. If it seems we've been in Afghanistan a long time, it helps to watch these men's boots. You don't cover much ground when you worry over every step. It might take hours to cross 100 yards. The new lieutenant has learned: Leave the path, go the hard way -- in this case, trudging down a stream.
"Better wet than dead," Durso said.
The homemade mines don't spark under water.
"If you can walk in water the whole time, you'll do it," Durso said.
Durso went to West Point because he wanted to serve in Afghanistan. When we asked why, he told us about a day, 10 years ago, in New York, when a childhood friend waited for a father who would never come home.
"The day after 9/11, I was at her house. She got real quiet and she eventually looked back at me and asked: 'Who's going to walk me down the aisle when I get married?' It wasn't just an event to me it was people, my own people, my own town, so to see something like that and not do anything about it was ludicrous to me. I knew this was what I needed to do," Durso said.
Now he's learning this new terrain. There are the long mud walls that support grape rows. They hide the enemy and slow the march.
One of the unique things about fighting in this part of Afghanistan are the structures called "grape huts." This is where the farmers in this region take their grapes and dry them into the raisins this part of Afghanistan is famous for. But the insidious thing for U.S. forces is that these grape hut walls, these mud walls, are more than two feet thick. The American rifle cannot penetrate this and yet there are all these slits that are just perfect for snipers.
The troops find weapons caches in grape huts and the huts are often booby trapped. So Durso's men clear them with explosives.
While Durso steps lightly, he also walks a fine line. Protecting his men often alienates the farmers he's trying to win over. This man's house was damaged in the mine clearing explosion. He says, "My house is destroyed." He's exaggerating. The damage was small and the soldiers will pay him. But if you ask why the path in Afghanistan so long, one lieutenant will tell you, it's two steps forward, one step back.
"If I destroy a grape hut, in the long run does that help or hurt me? Maybe in the short run I got two insurgents. Great, you might have found a cache, but then, weeks down the road does that hurt you when those farmers who own that grape hut say, 'Well, these guys blew up my livelihood'? It is a process that requires a people's change of heart and that is not something that you see overnight," Durso said.
Lieutenant Durso is on an eight-year enlistment. He added three years to get the Army's guarantee that he would be in the infantry in Afghanistan.In the 1960s and 1970s, many automobile odometers did not even read beyond 99,999 miles. Hit 100,000, and the odometer “flipped” or turned back to zero. But now, thanks to tougher quality standards and post-recession financial concerns, Americans are driving their cars longer than ever before, says IHS Markit, and high-mileage cars may now be the rule, not the exception. Is 200,000 miles the new 100,000 miles?
Get a quick, personalized insurance quote today. Select coverage Type Home Auto Renters Life Condo Motorcycle Boat ATV/Rec. Vehicle Business Insurance Get a quote
The average age of light vehicles (cars and trucks) on U.S. roads increased to 11.6 years, according to IHS Markit. The trend of holding onto vehicles longer continued through the end of 2015. The average length of ownership was 79.3 months, more than 1.5 months longer than reported in 2014. For used vehicles, that number is approximately 66 months, and both are significantly longer lengths of ownership since the same measure 10 years ago.
“It used to be that when a car hit 100,000 miles, that’s the end of things. That’s no longer the case with regular maintenance,” said Carroll Lachnit, Edmunds.com features editor to Boston.com.
And the oldest vehicles on the road is the group that’s growing the fastest, according to IHS Markit. The number of vehicles 16 years and older is expected to grow 30 percent from 62 million units in 2016 to 81 million units in 2021. The research also indicates that more than 20 million vehicles on the road in 2021 will be more than 25 years old.
Is your car approaching 100,000 miles and maybe you’re looking toward 200,000? Consider these tips to help keep your car on the road
Drive calmly. Aggressive driving, hard stops and starts, and rapid accelerating or decelerating may hurt your fuel economy, and also adds unnecessary wear and tear to your car. Rough driving may somewhat mimic stop-and-go city driving, which can put extra strain on your vehicle’s suspension and engine. Curbing your need for speed may help keep your car running longer.
Aggressive driving, hard stops and starts, and rapid accelerating or decelerating may hurt your fuel economy, and also adds unnecessary wear and tear to your car. Rough driving may somewhat mimic stop-and-go city driving, which can put extra strain on your vehicle’s suspension and engine. Curbing your need for speed may help keep your car running longer. Keep it clean. A good wash will not only help your car sparkle, but it will also remove excess road debris like tar and salt. This is especially important during winter months when salt residue from wintry roads may cause undercarriage corrosion. Regular waxing helps protects the paint job and can help resist rust.
A good wash will not only help your car sparkle, but it will also remove excess road debris like tar and salt. This is especially important during winter months when salt residue from wintry roads may cause undercarriage corrosion. Regular waxing helps protects the paint job and can help resist rust. Don’t ignore the check engine light. Some divers can end to overlook when their, check engine light turns on. If you have an older car, it’s especially important to get your vehicle checked out right away. It may be indicative of a serious problem with the transmission, timing belt or engine. Prompt attention can save you the headache and expense of a major problem that could’ve been resolved sooner.
What’s your mileage number? And how long do you plan to drive your car?
Originally published July 2012The new portable Io IP device simplifies the transfer of SMPTE standard HD video over 10 GigE IP networks, with high-quality local monitoring over 3G-SDI and HDMI 2.0, and supports high frame rate, deep color and high dynamic range workflows.
Harnessing the throughput of Thunderbolt 3, Io IP enables fast, reliable ingest/output from/to IP networks for HD/SD video and audio workflows. Compatible with Thunderbolt 3 equipped Macs and PCs, it works with a range of production, post, mastering and streaming tools from Apple, Adobe, Avid, Autodesk, Telestream and many others. Io IP features dual Thunderbolt 3 ports for daisy chaining, and two SFP+ cages for video and audio routing over 10 GigE IP networks. The rugged, aluminum encased device supports SMPTE 2022-6 uncompressed video, audio and VANC data over IP, as well as SMPTE 2022-7 for redundancy protection.
“Broadcast professionals are up against a number of challenges in the transition to IP, and we’re consistently looking at creating tools to simplify that transition. Io IP combines the speed of Thunderbolt 3 with the connectivity, quality and reliability of our Io products to bring powerful I/O capabilities to IP workflows, bridging compatibility with existing infrastructure and standard creative tools,” said Nick Rashby, President, AJA Video Systems. “Its rich feature set, expansive connectivity and compact design give professionals tremendous flexibility and performance in the field.”
Io IP feature highlights include:
Laptop or desktop HD/SD capture and playback over IP across Thunderbolt 3
Backwards compatibility with existing Thunderbolt hosts
SMPTE 2022-6 and 2022-7 I/O
Dual 10 GigE connectivity via two SFP+ cages, compatible with 10 GigE SFP transceiver modules from leading third-party providers
Two Thunderbolt 3 ports for daisy chaining of up to six Thunderbolt devices
3G-SDI and HDMI 2.0 video monitoring
Audio I/O: 16-channel embedded SDI; 8-channel embedded HDMI; 4-channel analog audio In and 4-channel audio out via XLR break-out
Small, rugged design suited for an array of production environments
Downstream keyer
Standard 12v 4-pin XLR for AC or battery power
Compatibility with creative applications including Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple FCP X, Avid Media Composer; FilmLight products; AJA Control Room and more
3-year international warranty
Io IP will be available February 2018 for $2495. Follow the link for more information about AJA’s new product.
Was This Post Helpful:Pity the poor honeybee. Since 2003, bee colonies around the globe have declining at an alarming rate. And since bees play a vital role in agricultural production, that's bad news for us humans. Scientists suspect many factors may be responsible, including pesticides, viruses, the varroa mite, genetically modified crops, and even exceptionally cold winters. Now we can add cellphones to the list of possible culprits.
A study by Swiss researcher Daniel Favre shows that mobile phone-generated electromagnetic fields may contribute to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a condition that causes worker bees to desert the hive. In most cases, the queen bee is left with eggs, immature bees, and a lot of honey. The colony survives for a short time, but soon dies out without its workers.
"Recent efforts have been made to study another potential cause responsible for bee losses: manmade electromagnetic fields," Favre writes. And while the results obtained to date have been "highly controversial," they suggest a connection between the growing use of cellphones and a declining bee population.
Earlier studies have shown that cordless telephones placed at the bottom of beehives altered the behavior of honeybees that returned to the hive after foraging. However, other reports have failed to find a connection between mobile phones and colony collapse.
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Favre's 2009 study exposed honeybees to active cellphone radiation. "The goal of these experiments was to identify potential effects of mobile phone communications on honeybee behavior," he writes.
The researcher recorded sounds produced by bees in five healthy hives in two Switzerland locations between February and June 2009. The study recorded the bees' sounds with active mobile phones in the hive. Two mobile handsets (900MHz GSM) were chosen at random.
The bees were also recorded during their normal activities, both with and without inactive mobile phones.
With the active devices, the first handset was triggered to call the second phone in the hive. A connection was made after 5 to 10 seconds of ringing.
Sound analyst shows the bees weren't disturbed by inactive or standby mobile phones. However, active cellphones confused the bees, creating "worker piping," or a signal to leave the hive.
The findings suggest that "the behavior of the bees remained perturbed for up to 12 hours after the end of the prolonged mobile phone communication," Favre writes. "This observation means that honeybees are sensitive to pulsed electromagnetic fields generated by the mobile telephones."
More Study Needed
In real life, of course, you won't find mobile phones in beehives. And further studies are needed--those that place cellphones at greater distances from the bees--to study the connection between odd honeybee behavior and mobile phone-generated electromagnetic fields.
Favre points to a recent experiment suggesting that cellphones and cellphone towers located near beehives hamper honeybee navigation.
"In one experiment, it was found that when a mobile phone was kept near a beehive it resulted in a collapse of the colony in 5 to 10 days, with the worker bees failing to return home, leaving the hives with just queens, eggs, and hive-bound immature bees," he writes.
Contact Jeff Bertolucci via Twitter (@jbertolucci) or at jbertolucci.blogspot.com.Heavily armed cops raiding private citizen’s houses in the war on Marijuana. The only problem, the houses raided were not growing marijuana. With the prevalence of marijuana at an all time high, so is law enforcements efforts to stop the drug.
This has led to an almost humorous increase in false alarm busts. A Cartersville, Georgia resident recounts his encounter of one such bust. Mr. Perry late one night was startled out of bed. Not by an intruder, but by the loud hum of a low flying helicopter above his house.
Moments later heavily armed police officer and canine units were barging into his house. This elite drug suppression group is part of the Governor’s Task Force. Adrenaline pumping and guns raised, officers were ready to make a huge weed bust. What they found instead, Okra. Yes the vegetable.
Read the entire story and see other oops moments by cops here NJDJyaZB.Cella White in the anti-gay marriage advert. "We checked with all the teachers; it never happened," John Albiston said. "I have never had any complaints that we advised the boys they could wear dresses. We didn't offer them that option. "Why would this so-called incident that never happened have anything to do with marriage equality?" Mr Albiston said Ms White had raised concerns with him about the Safe Schools program, but the school's uniform had never cropped up as an issue.
Sale pastor Heidi McIvor in the Coalition for Marriage's new television advertisement. Credit:YouTube / Coalition for Marriage "She has never spoken to me about it," he said. "You would think if she was so concerned she would have raised it." The Coalition for Marriage said the three mothers in the ad were "real mums who are bravely speaking out about their concerns".
It can be revealed that one of the mothers in the advertisement is Sale pastor Heidi McIvor, who works at the City Builders Church. "Kids in year 7 are being asked to role play being in a same-sex relationship," Mrs McIvor says in the ad, which links same-sex marriage to sex education in schools. It alleges that in countries which have legalised same-sex marriage, "parents have lost their rights to choose". On its website, the group claims that the ad will help Australians understand that "saying 'yes' to gay marriage would mean saying 'yes' to radical gay sex education in schools". Mrs McIvor told Fairfax Media that this link was fair, despite the fact that it's compulsory for Victorian state secondary schools to sign up to the Safe Schools program by 2018 whether a same-sex marriage bill is passed or not.
"If same-sex marriage is legalised I feel that we won't have any legs to stand on," she said. She also raised concerns about handouts she says were given to year 8 students as part of the Safe Schools program. The leaflets, Mrs McIvor claims, list the "full spectrum" of sexual activity including anal sex, oral sex, groping and rubbing. "They are creating an environment where they are encouraging students to experience and try things and telling them that there are so many different types of sex," she told Fairfax Media. "I am concerned that they will be considered the odd one out if they haven't tried these experiences."
Mrs McIvor is a former journalist who has worked for former Nationals MP and federal Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran, state Liberal MP Philip Davis and Family First Senator Steve Fielding. Last year she was the master of ceremonies at an anti-abortion rally on the steps of State Parliament and posed alongside Democratic Labour Party MP Rachel Carling-Jenkins. Sydney doctor Pansy Lai – who spearheaded a signature petition against the Safe Schools program in NSW – also appears in the video. "When same-sex marriage passes as law overseas these type of programs become widespread and compulsory," she says. When Fairfax Media contacted Dr Lai's clinic in Hornsby, Sydney, the receptionist passed on the phone number of the Coalition for Marriage.
Dr Lai is the founder of Australian Chinese for Families Association and has been a vocal critic of the Safe Schools program. She collected 17,500 signatures from members of the Australian Chinese community opposed to the program. The ad has been criticised by Opposition leader Bill Shorten, who said it was "offensive and hurtful to LGBTI Australians and their families". "This is exactly what was predicted when Malcolm Turnbull decided to waste $122 million on a postal survey. He gave the green light to this rubbish," Mr Shorten said. The Equality Campaign labelled the ad as "disgraceful and dishonest".NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bangalore's fans of Virat Kohli or followers of Rohit Sharma in Mumbai Indians can heave a sigh of relief. There's every possibility that the two star players, along with other Team India performers, will stay with their respective teams come the 2018 Indian Premier League IPL ).TOI has learnt from a top BCCI official that the board, in all likelihood, will continue with the IPL retention policy, providing all eight franchises - including the comeback consortiums of Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) - the 'right to preference' over their respective players.However, the players would also be given the option to decide whether they want to remain part of the earlier franchise or want to join the auction, tentatively scheduled for February next year.“The retention policy would be there in all possibility. This is what the majority of franchises want. The only issue we need to thrash out is the number of players who can be retained. We need to work out whether it would be three or five players. For this very purpose, we have called the meeting of franchise owners on November 21 in Mumbai,” the official informed.“The players would be given the option to decide over continuing with respective franchises or joining the auction pool. It will depend solely on them. Even if a franchise decides to open up its purse for a particular player, it can't do so against his wishes. If a player has made up his mind to go under the hammer, no one can stop him. He will stay back only if he's satisfied with the new offer his franchise is making,” the official added.TOI had exclusively reported in its edition dated October 28, 2017 that rising allrounder Hardik Pandya is keen to be on the auction block for the IPL's next season. His franchise, Mumbai Indians, however, |
this kind of fallout by standing up for bike/ped funding?
Extensions used to be employed in order to buy more time so that lawmakers could debate policy changes. Now, policy changes are demanded in order to just buy more time. It’s in this frenzied, time-strapped atmosphere that Congress will decide over the next two weeks whether or not to kill federal support for active transportation programs.Connacht head coach Pat Lam will leave the province at the end of the season.
The New Zealand born coach led the team to the Pro12 title last season, in his third year at the helm.
He will join English Premiership club Bristol in June to begin preparations for the start of the new season.
Connacht confirmed the news on Monday morning, explaining that the former Samoa captain, currently in his fourth season with Connacht, “will finish up next summer to take up a new coaching role.”
Guinness Pro12 player of the year for last season, Bundee Aki who in October signed a new long term deal with the province - turning down offers from clubs in England and France - tweeted that he was “feeling pissed”.
Commenting from Galway Lam said:
“This has been one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make in my life as Connacht and Galway is such a special place for myself and my family. The friendships, support and memories we all have experienced throughout our time in the West of Ireland is truly heartfelt and will never be forgotten.
“I feel extremely blessed to have been given an opportunity four years ago to build on the excellent work of Eric Elwood. I’m very proud that I can now pass on the baton with the knowledge that Connacht Rugby is truly seen as one of four strong provinces of Irish rugby.
“Rugby should never be about the individual as players and coaches will always come and go. We have worked hard to have the structures and systems in place to ensure the future success of the province for our community. I truly believe that through our strategic plan and the vision of Grassroots to Green Shirts, Connacht Rugby is in an extremely strong place going forward.
“There is a lot of rugby to be played between now and the end of the season and myself, our management team and the players are fully committed to our goals on and off the pitch. We are heading in to Champions Cup rugby this week on the back of so much hard work over the last number of years. We want to continue to inspire our community and we have many more opportunities on and off the field to do that this season.”
Lam signed a new three-year deal with the province last January, to remain in his position until the summer of 2018. Connacht CEO Willie Ruane added:
“Firstly I’d like to thank Pat for everything he has done for Connacht Rugby. He led the province to a first ever trophy and that will be something that will live long in the memory. While there is a lot of rugby yet to be played this season, we wish Pat, Steph and their family the very best in the next chapter of their lives.
“Connacht Rugby has made a huge amount of progress over the last number of years, with Pat building on the great work of those who went before him and we remain extremely confident and excited about the future.
“As a club, we will immediately engage with our Professional Games Board and the IRFU with respect to starting the process of recruiting our next head coach.”Woodward (centre) was appointed Manchester United executive vice-chairman in 2013
Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has not gone on the club's tour of China amid reports of a world-record bid for Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba.
Managing director Richard Arnold was the senior executive on the trip, which includes games against Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City.
It has been reported United will make a bid in excess of £105m for Pogba.
The Frenchman left the club for free in 2012, joining Juventus.
It is anticipated Woodward will join the tour at some point, and it is not known whether his absence is connected to the reported approach for Pogba.
United are interested in the France international, whose agent Mino Raiola - who also acts for summer signings Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan - is in Italy.
Ibrahimovic, who moved to Old Trafford after his contract expired at French side Paris St-Germain, was not selected by manager Jose Mourinho for the tour.
Mourinho did not select any player whose team went beyond the last 16 of Euro 2016, but Ibrahimovic's Sweden were knocked out of the group stage.
United's tour begins on Friday when they play Borussia Dortmund in Shanghai before meeting Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in a hugely anticipated game in Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium on Monday.Image copyright AP
David Cameron has invited acting Labour leader Harriet Harman to a high-level security meeting about the threat posed by Islamic State (IS) extremists.
The government is seeking support from Labour MPs to extend the RAF's air campaign to strikes against IS targets in Syria, as well as Iraq.
Labour has hinted it would not oppose action in Syria, as it did in 2013.
Ms Harman will join senior ministers and military chiefs at Tuesday's National Security Council meeting.
The last time a Labour leader received such an invitation was in 2013.
Doubtful backbenchers
The prime minister believes IS fighters need to be confronted in Syria, where the US are conducting operations, but will not take military action without a Commons vote.
Some Conservative backbenchers have expressed doubts about further action in the absence of a wider diplomatic strategy so Mr Cameron is reluctant to ask MPs to vote to extend the campaign unless he has Labour's backing.
A Number 10 spokesman said: "The PM thought it was important to ensure the leader of the opposition was fully briefed on the current situation."
Shadow defence secretary Vernon Coaker has also been invited.
Earlier this month, Ms Harman said Islamic State had to be "stopped" and Labour would look "very seriously" at any proposals brought forward by the government.
She said the situation was different from that in 2013, when Labour voted against air strikes in Syria, because IS was a terrorist organisation, while President Bashar al-Assad was the head of a government, albeit a "terrible regime".
Labour had been concerned about "what would fill the space" if the Syrian president had been toppled, Ms Harman added.
Image copyright EPA Image caption British tourists were forced to cut short their holidays
Mr Cameron was defeated in the Commons in 2013 when Tory rebels joined forces with Labour to oppose air strikes on Syrian government targets designed to deter the use of chemical weapons.
The 2013 vote focused on the Syrian president, not IS militants.
Parliament approved UK bombing of militant positions in Iraq last year. However, MPs were not asked at the time to authorise strikes across the border in Syria.
Heading home
The National Security Council meeting comes as ministers are facing criticism for advising UK holidaymakers to come home from Tunisia amid fears of another terror attack.
Last month 30 Britons were killed when a gunman opened fire on tourists staying in a popular Tunisian holiday resort. IS said it carried out the attack.
Tunisia has accused the UK of playing into terrorists' hands and some tourists complained they were being ordered out of the country.
After the Tunisian beach attack, Mr Cameron said IS posed "an existential threat" to the West, and its members in Iraq and Syria were plotting "terrible attacks" on British soil and elsewhere.Forty-two people have been arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office during an extensive undercover investigation targeting child sex predators, authorities said. Detectives served several search warrants and arrested 18 people who they said engaged in the promotion, possession and distribution of child pornography, deputies said. >>Download the WESH 2 News app for iOS and Android Twenty-one additional arrests were of people who deputies said failed to register as sex offenders. Three others were arrested during the operation, but not for child sex crimes, deputies said. Deputies said a warrant has also been issued for a person accused of possessing child pornography. "Our children are this community's most precious resource. We must do everything we can to protect them,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Forty-two people have been arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office during an extensive undercover investigation targeting child sex predators, authorities said.
Detectives served several search warrants and arrested 18 people who they said engaged in the promotion, possession and distribution of child pornography, deputies said.
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>>Download the WESH 2 News app for iOS and Android
Twenty-one additional arrests were of people who deputies said failed to register as sex offenders. Three others were arrested during the operation, but not for child sex crimes, deputies said.
Deputies said a warrant has also been issued for a person accused of possessing child pornography.
"Our children are this community's most precious resource. We must do everything we can to protect them,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
AlertMeWhy did the Associated Press change its Stylebook on the term “illegal immigrant” just as Washington is about to release proposals for immigration reform? That’s what I asked the AP’s Director of Media Relations Paul Colford. Here is his answer:
“The timing had nothing to do with the situation in Washington. The timing had to to with the print edition of the new Stylebook.”
The AP also changed its rules for term “Islamist.”
Please, even Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano thinks the Stylebook is being too sensitive. As the Washington Post reported, she said, “They are immigrants who are here illegally, that’s an illegal immigrant.” But not to the AP.
In October, the AP had stuck with the term. Here’s why. Since then there has been a change of thinking Colford told me. And: “The Stylebook editors routinely meet with people, groups, rerpresentatives of groups that feel passionately about one thing or another.” It’s all part of The Conversation.
To read my column about AP’s new speech code, go here.A rainbow flag, raised on the pole outside the old SUB for the Pride Collective at UBC’s OUTweek this week, was discovered to have been burnt down earlier today in what is presumed to be a violent act of hate.
Pride Collective members noticed that the flag was missing this morning and contacted the UBC Equity and Inclusion Office to ask if they knew anything about the disappearance. Upon investigation, the office found remnants of the scorched flag still attached to the pole.
“It’s been a rough day,” said Rachel Garrett, one of the coordinators of the Pride Collective. “[There’s been] a lot of stress. I don't think any of us feel safe right now and that’s a really hard feeling to be going through.”
OUTweek is an annual eight-day event, organized by the Pride Collective, which celebrates “queer and trans identities, communities and learning,” according to its Facebook page.
Although OUTweek will not be completely cancelled, the Pride Collective has cancelled a Fuck the Cis-tem March due to take place tomorrow in response to the event because of concerns that it would give public recognition to individuals who could then potentially be targeted by further acts of hate.
“We are incredibly disappointed and upset that this is what needs to happen to protect the safety of all our members and supporters because of the external visibility of this event,” said a statement released by the Pride Collective on their Facebook page. “All other events will be going forward as planned.”
The AMS and the UBC Equity and Inclusion Office have also released statements condemning the act and offering support to those affected by it.
“As strong supporters of safer spaces on campus for all students — especially those in the LGBTQ+ community — the AMS vehemently denounces this act of hate and commits to work closely with The Pride Collective and the university administration to repair the damage that has been caused,” said Aaron Bailey, president of the AMS, in a statement released earlier this afternoon.
“UBC condemns this incident as an act of hate and in contravention of the values of equity, inclusion and respect deeply held by the university community,” read a statement signed by Interim VP Academic and Provost Anji Redish, VP Human Resources Lisa Castle, VP Students Louise Cowin and Associate VP Equity and Inclusion Sara-Jane Finlay on behalf of the university. “UBC fully supports OUTweek 2016 which is an annual celebration of gender and sexual diversity organized each year by the AMS Pride Collective with support from UBC units including the Equity and Inclusion Office.”
Both statements included contact information for support services and counsellors on campus for students affected by the event.
“The main thing is we don’t want this to get swept under the rug,” said Garrett. “We want to make this be as big of a deal as it is and amplify the fact that this is not okay and this is an intentional act of hate.”
Garrett noted that the intention of OUTweek is to create safe spaces for LGBTQ+ students on campus and they intend to carry out that goal.
“There’s people out there that are doing these horrible things, there’s people out there that don’t support us, but we’re still trying to resist and stay strong and create these spaces,” said Garrett.
Support is available through the Pride Collective at UBC. Counselling is available through the AMS Sexual Assault Support Centre and UBC Counselling Services.Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson), left, teams up with tech-savvy trainer Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo) in “Cars 3,” directed by Brian Fee. (Disney/Pixar)
FOR YEARS, most of Pixar’s films had male leading characters. A Jesse or an Elastigirl might get her moments in the sun, but these universes generally revolved around the dudes, be they a toy or an ant, a race car or a rat.
But a funny thing happened on the way to this weekend’s “Cars 3″: More Pixar creatives became inspired by their daughters. Brenda Chapman broke barriers by directing Pixar’s “Brave” as a cinematic love letter to her daughter, she told Comic Riffs at the time. Pete Docter said his “Inside Out” was inspired by observing his tween girl. And “Finding Dory” blended an obvious sequel choice — given the fan affection for Ellen DeGeneres’s blue tang character — with the aim to move toward more equal representation.
Now, with “Cars 3″ (opening Friday), fans may come for ol’ Lightning McQueen, but they will leave surely appreciating new car Cruz Ramirez (voiced by comedian Cristela Alonzo) as a breakout character.
In the case of the new film’s director, Brian Fee, the parenting of daughters Lucia, 11, and Eleanor, 8, has enlarged his perspective. “A lot of them is in Cruz,” he says.
Through much of his career, Fee says, he wrote from the male perspective because, as the old literary adage goes, “Write what you know.” And as a child of the ’80s while growing up in northern Kentucky, he notes, the movies he gravitated toward — the “Indiana Jones” and “Back to the Future” and original trilogy “Star Wars” films — had male leads.
“Now that I have two daughters, I see the world through their eyes,” the director says. “I see how little they have [culturally], and I see what they’re up against. I see how they hold themselves back.
“It’s still, ‘Write what you know.’ It’s just that now, I know this other side.”
In the film, Cruz enters Lightning McQueen’s life as a seemingly confident motivational trainer. But gradually, we see that she has forfeited her dream of becoming a race car because she was told it would never happen — that she couldn’t compete with the big boys.
“I have empathy for my daughters,” says Fee, noting that he recently suggested to them that they might take up an instrument. The reply: “Daddy, guitars are for boys.” One daughter, he says, “had already drawn that conclusion and line for herself — that this was no longer an option. … That breaks my heart.”
Director Brian Fee, actress-comedian Cristela Alonzo and executive producer John Lasseter this month at the world premier for Pixars Cars 3 at Cars Land at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, Calif. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
Such moments, though, inspired the filmmakers to turn Cruz — who was originally conceived as a male character — into a female car. Many of the existing characters were male, he notes, as they looked around to make the gender representation more even.
“Cars 3″ is also a tale about mentorship — Fee’s parenting of daughters led to parallels in how Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) guides Cruz to strengthen her self-belief to overcome prejudice.
“That found a way onto the screen in some ways,” Fee says. “I can’t wait for that day when there are no barriers, but until then, I want to help them break those barriers.”
Last week at the premiere for “Cars 3,” a red carpet reporter asked the director’s younger daughter what she thought of the film. Eleanor summed it succinctly: “It was funny but also inspiring.”
“I didn’t tell her to say that,” Fee says with a laugh. “They don’t really know how much they inspired a lot of the Cruz character.”Belief in God encourages people to be helpful, honest and generous, but only under certain psychological conditions, according to University of British Columbia researchers who analyzed the past three decades of social science research.
Religious people are more likely than the non-religious to engage in prosocial behaviour – acts that benefit others at a personal cost – when it enhances the individual's reputation or when religious thoughts are freshly activated in the person's mind, say UBC social psychologists Ara Norenzayan and Azim Shariff
Their paper "The Origin and Evolution of Religious Prosociality" appears in the October 3, 2008 issue of the journal Science.
The two-part paper first reviews data from anthropology, sociology, psychology and economics. Norenzayan and Shariff then go on to explore how religion, by encouraging cooperation, became a factor in making possible the rise of large and stable societies made of genetically unrelated individuals.
To date, says Norenzayan, the public debate whether religion fosters cooperation and trust has largely been driven by opinion and anecdote.
"We wanted to look at the hard scientific evidence," says Norenzayan, an associate professor in the Dept. of Psychology.
The investigators found complementary results across the disciplines:
Empirical data within anthropology suggests there is more cooperation among religious societies than the non-religious, especially when group survival is under threat
Economic experiments indicate that religiosity increases levels of trust among participants
Psychology experiments show that thoughts of an omniscient, morally concerned God reduce levels of cheating and selfish behaviour
"This type of religiously-motivated 'virtuous' behaviour has likely played a vital social role throughout history," says Shariff, a Psychology PhD student.
Shariff adds, "One reason we now have large, cooperative societies may be that some aspects of religion – such as outsourcing costly social policing duties to all-powerful Gods – made societies work more cooperatively in the past."
Across cultures and through time, observe the authors, the notion of an all-powerful, morally concerned "Big God" usually begat "Big groups" –large-scale, stable societies that successfully passed on their cultural beliefs.
The study also points out that in today's world religion has no monopoly on kind and generous behaviour. In many findings, non-believers acted as prosocially as believers. The last several hundred years has seen the rise of non-religious institutional mechanisms that include effective policing, courts and social surveillance.
"Some of the most cooperative modern societies are also the most secular," says Norenzayan. "People have found other ways to be cooperative – without God."Marvin Hoffman is listed in campaign finance records as one of the many lobbyists with the powerful PMA Group donating money to lawmakers. But Hoffman is a soon-to-retire information technology manager in Marina del Rey, Calif., who has never heard of the Arlington lobbying firm or the Indiana congressman to whom he supposedly gave $2,000.
"It's alarming that someone is stealing my identity somewhere," Hoffman, 75, said in an interview. "I've never heard of this company."
Another contributor listed as a PMA lobbyist is, in fact, a sales manager for an inflatable boat manufacturer in New Jersey. John Hendricksen said he did make campaign donations but never worked at PMA and does not know how he ended up listed in records that way.
These errors, along with other unusual donations linked to the firm, come as the Justice Department examines allegations that PMA may have violated campaign finance laws. The offices of PMA, which ranked last year as the 10th-largest Washington lobbying firm by earnings, were raided in November by FBI agents and Defense Department investigators.
Federal investigators are focused on allegations that PMA founder Paul Magliocchetti, a former appropriations staffer close to Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), may have reimbursed some of his staff to cover contributions made in their names to Murtha and other lawmakers, according to two sources familiar with the investigation. PMA has long had a reputation for securing earmarks from congressional appropriators, particularly for defense contractors, and it has donated generously to influential members of Congress. Magliocchetti personally gave $98,000 in campaign donations last year, according to campaign records.
Federal election laws limit the amount of money individuals may contribute to candidates, but lobbying firms often show their clout by collecting and bundling contributions. It is illegal for employers to reimburse donors for their contributions.
The Washington Post examined contributions that were reported as being made by PMA employees and consultants, and found several people who were not registered lobbyists and did not work at the lobbying firm. It is unclear whether the donors misidentified as PMA associates are part of the federal probe.
A PMA spokesman said the firm's management does not know Hoffman or Hendricksen and does not know how the errors were made in reports to the Federal Election Commission.
"It's up to the campaigns to report contributions in their FEC filings," said PMA spokesman Patrick Dorton.
FEC spokeswoman Mary Brandenberger said she has not often seen such misidentified donations, but if a complaint were received, the commission would first question the campaign about its record-keeping.
Jan Witold Baran, a campaign finance and ethics expert and Wiley Rein lawyer, said the errors pose serious questions and should be cleared up.
"It's true that candidate campaigns have the responsibility for disclosure, but the information they obtain usually comes from the contributor or the person who solicited from the contributor," Baran said. "The question is: Where did that information come from?"While there has been much concern about innovation in the United States, engineering is often undervalued. So kids are more likely to dream of being sports stars and rock musicians than engineers. But without exciting role models, students are unlikely to pursue the field. To inspire the next generation of inventors, we need heroes who are engineers.
Astronaut Mark Watney -- played by Matt Damon in director Ridley Scott's epic 3-D film, The Martian, released October 2 -- is a great example. Marooned on the lethal Red Planet, this plucky astronaut with engineering skills figures out how to make water, grow food, and restore communication with NASA to survive. So far, audiences love him.
In fact, The Boston Globe called the film a "great recruitment tool for the STEM fields" because it "makes knowing stuff seem attractive, cool, even sexy."
Coinciding with all the excitement about the film, recent findings from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter offer the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows on Mars today.
Also, right now, NASA is testing how long-term isolation and confinement may affect six astronauts living inside a 1,000-square-foot dome on a Hawaiian volcano in conditions as harshly Martian as possible.
At the same time, aboard the International Space Station astronaut Scott Kelly is participating in a study with his astronaut twin brother Mark of differences between living in space and on Earth.
Isn't it time for a new Sputnik moment?
The Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik I October 4, 1957, set off the space race, woke us up to the importance of science and technology, and led to the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Sputnik spurred American engineers and scientists to land Neil Armstrong on the moon July 20, 1969.
And, when NASA rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, landed on Mars in 2004 to investigate whether its hostile environment could ever have supported life, engineers and scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory went wild. NASA's Curiosity, launched in 2012, is still beaming images and data back to Earth.
But plans to build the Ares I and Ares V boosters for a return to the moon and trip to Mars were abandoned.
Unfortunately, the Program for International Student Assessments (PISA) places U.S. students raw scores in math and science in the lower percentile, while Finland, South Korea, Japan and Estonia are near the top.
Now is the time to elevate engineering as key to innovation.
Innovations developed by NASA engineers and astronauts have changed our lives -- from technologies improving kidney dialysis, voice-controlled wheel chairs and lifesaving heart pumps to computer programs that monitor air quality, flat-screen televisions, shock-absorbing running shoes, lightweight oxygen tanks used by firefighters, and freeze-dried food.
To prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers, I believe that introducing students early to engineering will challenge them to apply their math and science knowledge to solve real problems. Children practically emerge from the womb fascinated by making things. Engaging them in engineering skills -- identifying the challenge, proposing a solution, testing, and improving the design -- is at the heart of creating the new technologies that enhance our lives.
We must fund engineering education at all levels and advocate for engineering in learning standards and assessments. Also, lively, relevant engineering curricula, teacher professional development, and lifelong programs in schools and museums nationwide are critical.
We must make engineering cool enough to motivate kids to want to land on Mars. While we can't all be Sally Ride or John Glenn, we can learn enough about engineering to thrive in our complex technological world. Let's make the Orion spacecraft, designed to take humans into deep space, a real first step toward Mars.
Ioannis Miaoulis, PhD, is president and director of the Museum of Science, Boston and former dean of Tufts School of Engineering. He has served on NASA's Advisory Council and is on the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) Board.A volunteer distributes food to refugees near the village Miratovac, Serbia, near the border with Macedonia, Aug. 23, 2015. Igor Pavicevic / AFP / Getty Images
Echoing Orban’s claims of “a clear link between illegal migrants coming to Europe and the spread of terrorism,” Czech President Milos Zeman has said that “by accepting the migrants, we strongly facilitate Islamic State’s expansion to Europe.”
After police fired tear gas to stop asylum seekers breaking out of a refugee camp last month, Zeman said, “Nobody invited you here … If you are already here, you have to respect our rules. And if you don’t like it, go away.”
Central Europe’s leaders say such statements reflect the views and defend the interests of their people, but civil society keeps telling them otherwise.
In Slovakia, more than 10,000 people have signed an online Plea for Humanity, which was created after 71 refugees, thought to be Syrians, were found dead Aug. 27 in Austria in the back of a truck abandoned by suspected people smugglers.
“This tragedy shows that refugee’s crisis is not some abstract political problem. It is a matter of life and death of real people,” the petition states. “We call on the Slovak government to immediately take measures to ease the burden of countries most affected by the influx of refugees and to alleviate the suffering of people. Hundreds of individuals and communities have offered to help. These people can be the cornerstone of our effort.”
In the Hungarian town of Szeged, 10 miles from the border with Serbia, refugees are met at the train station by volunteers from a group called Migrant Solidarity.
“This is the most divisive issue in Hungarian society today,” said Mark Kekesi, a psychology professor and volunteer. “We can work well in Szeged because it is the only major Hungarian city run by the liberal opposition party. But the country is split on this question.”
Orban’s fence, Kekesi explained, has done nothing to reduce the number of refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Eritrea, Somalia, Bangladesh and many other countries who seek help as they pass through Szeged.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “Anyone can crawl under or over the fence in a couple of minutes. It is very expensive and will never stop anything. But this is a political statement. Orban wants to project the idea that he is protecting Hungary and Europe from invaders.”
Ahmad Rashid, 28, crawled under the razor wire on Sunday and hoped to be on the one train that took refugees west from Budapest on Thursday.
Its passengers did not get far, however.
Just 20 miles outside Budapest, the train stopped at the town of Bicske, where police tried to take the passengers to a camp for asylum seekers.
Some scuffled with police, ran away or refused to leave the carriages, while others threw themselves on the rails in front of the train — which was painted to celebrate a borderless Europe and 25 years since the fall of the Iron Curtain and showed people running free past a watchtower and broken barbed-wire fence.
When news filtered back to the train station, many refugees said they would not trust anything they were told Hungarian police or officials after what they called a trick.
“What the authorities did with that train was very dangerous,” said Zsohar. “As far as we know, many people were stuck inside the train in baking heat, without any volunteers there to help them. It was like a trap.”
On Friday afternoon, hundreds of refugees left the train and broke through police lines at Bicske, setting off down the tracks toward Austria; at about the same time, hundreds of people at Keleti station packed their bags, rounded up their children and walked out of Budapest and along a westbound highway.
In the end, they may not have to walk the full 120 miles to Austria, because more than 2,000 people there have joined a social media campaign to find drivers who are willing to use their cars to go to Hungary to transport refugees.
“The Austrian government and the EU stand by idly and watch as people on the streets of Budapest — without any appropriate supplies — have to endure appalling conditions,” the project’s organizers wrote on its Facebook page. “That’s why we are intervening and starting a convoy of buses and cars to bring the refugees to safety.”
As Orban and other central European leaders turn their backs on the refugees, volunteers across the region are showing what activism can achieve in countries where civil society often faces strong pressure.
“Volunteering is a perfectly natural thing to do,” said Evelina Politidou, a council official in northern Greece, where she handed out food and drinks to weary refugees following a rail line into Macedonia near the village of Idomeni. “I couldn’t do anything else, seeing this situation,” she said.
“And anyway, my surname shows that my ancestors came here from Asia Minor at some point. We were all migrants once.”VPNs are amazing tools to encrypt your internet traffic, but like all widely used tools, they have vulnerabilities. If you’re not using a top tier VPN, you might be experiencing some form of an IP leak. Since VPNs are designed to protect your IP address, this can be a huge problem. IP leaks can be in the form of DNS leaks, IPv6 leaks, and WebRTC leaks.
If you want to check if you have an IP leak, go to ipleak.net. Here you can click to check for all forms of IP leaks except for IPv6 leaks. For IPv6b leaks, visit test-ipv6.com. If you recognize your real IP anywhere, this means that you have a potential IP leak.
DNS Leak
A DNS leak is a vulnerability in your VPN that leaks out your information so your internet service provider can see it.
The way it’s supposed to work is that your domain names (for example Facebook.com) are translated from IP addresses (21.321.213.123) by a dynamic name system or DNS. This is so you don’t have to remember numbers. When a DNS leak happens, the DNS request is routed to your ISP (internet service provider) instead of through your VPN. When your DNS request is routed through your VPN, everything is encrypted. The problem occurs when your traffic isn’t being routed through a VPN and is leaking out to your ISP.
IPv4 Leaks
IPv4 is a protocol that defines IP addresses. Sometimes your operating system can produce errors and send requests to the wrong DNS server, creating an IPv4 leak.
IPv6 Leaks
Most websites use IPv4 (Internet Protocol Version 4) to define IP addresses. However, since the web continues to expand quickly with IPv4 assigned IP addresses running out, more and more websites are being built with the new IPv6 standard. Most VPNs don’t support IPv6 DNS requests, however, which results in IPv6 IP leaks.
Smart Multi-Homed Name Resolution
Windows 10 has a new feature called Smart Multi-homed Name resolution. A DNS request should only go through a VPN, but Windows 10 automatically routes DNS requests to the fastest resources available– meaning that requests can be directed to your ISP through your local network interface and not through your chosen VPN.
WebRTC
Web Real-Time Communication is a standard that allows browsers to add features like voice calling, video chat, and P2P file sharing within your browser. Unfortunately, WebRTC allows websites to detect directly your host machine’s real IP address even if you’re using a proxy service or VPN.
VPN dropouts
Sometimes with poorly designed VPNs, your connection to the VPN might drop. If you’re torrenting with a VPN, that could be appalling since the torrent will continue to download with your exposed IP address.
End-All VPN solution to Ending IP leaks
There’s a ton of third party tools that can help you fix IP leaks regardless of the VPN you’re using. However, getting all of these tools installed and working together alongside your VPN is a huge hassle. Shouldn’t a VPN be a complete security solution after all? Well, you’re right. Some are.
Out of all of the VPNs we’ve reviewed so far, TorGuard VPN is the ONLY VPN to protect against DNS leaks, WebRTC leaks, and IPv6 leaks. Not only that, but it also has application and network kill switches that ensure dropped VPN connections will cut the application or stop your outgoing internet traffic. TorGuard VPN is also powered by the strongest encryption available (256-bit), with a 2048-bit RSA key that can’t be cracked even in censored countries that utilize million-dollar security firewalls.
While TorGuard is your best secure solution, other VPNs do offer some similar security measures (but not all on their own). Private Internet Access protects against DNS leaks, has IPv6 Protection, and has a Network kill switch. It’s only missing an application kill switch and WebRTC protection.
AirVPN and VyprVPN are some other solid contenders with strong security, but they only have a network lock switch. BolehVPN features DNS leak protection while CactusVPN features DNS leak protection with another network kill switch. MullVad VPN surprisingly protects against both IPV6 leaks and DNS leaks, and features a network kill switch–but as a service, we can’t recommend them.
Thanks for reading our guide on “end-all VPN solution to ending IP leaks (DNS,WebRTC, IPv4, IPv6). Let us know if you have questions below!Image copyright Jeff Moore Image caption Mark Duggan was killed in August 2011
The jury at the inquest into the death of Mark Duggan, who was shot by police, has reached its conclusion.
The 29-year-old was shot dead by armed officers in August 2011 in Tottenham, north London.
His death sparked riots in Tottenham which then spread to a number of cities across England.
Jurors at the Royal Courts of Justice could decide he was killed lawfully or unlawfully, or return an open verdict. The decision will be made public later.
'Evidence alone'
The inquest began in September and before the jurors retired last month, Judge Keith Cutler told them to reach their decisions "on the evidence and the evidence alone".
Summing up the case last month, Judge Cutler told the jurors that they must be sure, "beyond all reasonable doubt", that Mr Duggan was unarmed, in order to return an unlawful killing conclusion.
The judge also told the panel of 10 jurors that they may reach conclusions and findings on which at least eight of them are agreed.
The jury was instructed to consider several questions, including whether Mr Duggan had a gun, whether a gun was in his hand when he was shot and how a gun came to end up in a grassy area near where he was shot.
Judge Cutler also said jurors should examine whether the Metropolitan Police and the Serious Organised Crime Agency did "the best they reasonably could have done" to react to the intelligence that Mr Duggan had a gun.The State Department has instructed Defense Distributed to take down the downloadable files for “The Liberator,” the world’s first gun comprised entirely of printed plastic parts.
On Thursday, Cody Wilson, the de facto face of the organization, received a letter from the government agency asserting that making the files available was in violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), a piece of legislation enacted in 1976 largely aimed at preventing weapons from ending up in the wrong places (Syria, for example).
In its letter, the State Department’s Office of Defense Trade Control Compliance noted that it wanted to review the files to ensure that they were compliant with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), a set of regulations created by the aforementioned AECA.
“Until the Department provides Defense Distributed with final [commodity jurisdiction] determinations, Defense Distributed should treat the above technical data as ITAR-controlled,” the document explained. “This means that all data should be removed from public access immediately.”
The files in question were first made available on Monday, just a day after Wilson and Defense Distributed uploaded a video showing him use the Liberator. Wilson told Forbes’ Andy Greenberg that the Liberator file had been downloaded more than 100,000 times in the first two days.
Wilson and his non-profit organization have taken down the requested files from the site and posted a red banner that reads “DEFCAD files are being removed from public access at the request of the U.S. Department of Defense Trade Controls. Until further notice, the United States government claims control of the information.” Given Wilson’s longstanding opposition to any type of government regulation—he describes himself as a cryptoanarchist—that last sentence is most likely |
more groundwork was needed. Here is much of that groundwork, in primal form. And now to start refining the raw material into a normal piece of scholarship. Your “heated” comments would greatly assist the refining process. As fraught as the topic may be, I hope you find this approach mostly friendly, reasonable, and agreeably Biblical.
I have also attached a 10-page “summary” of the 30-page version. It was my failed attempt to get it all down to a two-pager I could print off as a single-sheet handout for priming discussions. But I got too late a start on condensing it by my target date. Perhaps this stripped-down version will serve as a handy teaser for busy folks who can’t dive into the complete document. In any case, I’m not seeking agreement, only a fair hearing and honest objections. There’s no human labor under the sun that can’t be improved. No one’s perfect…and I’m a perfect example!
May your thoughtful attention be well rewarded. I quite understand how busy you must be with personal research and academic duties. So no worries if this does not overlap your particular expertise or interests. But feel free to forward this missive and attachments if you know of someone else who might find them worthwhile. This is a one-time mailing, so there will be no follow-up from my end. Any communication from you, however, is most welcome, and I will try to respond in a timely fashion.
Respectfully yours in Christ
Ronald RoperCan this post be about how awful white people are?
I'm so tired of them.
They're so bland and beige and everywhere on TV. Reply
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why do u hate white people so much tho Reply
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Yeah, why don't we just torture them? Reply
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Can we have a post where we don't generalize all groups of people and attack one another? Reply
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i hate 90% of white ppl tbh. most of them are so oblivious to white privilege and say casually racist shit all the time and get so DEFENSIVE if you ever call them out because in their mind, being racist is this extreme thing that only ppl like the kkk are capable of. they don't get how racism is literally everywhere and most of it is subtle and that they themselves are participating in it. Reply
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can this post be about you getting banned? Reply
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"Public spectacle lynchings involved large crowds of white people, sometimes numbering in the thousands, to witness what the report referred to as 'prolonged torture, mutilation, dismemberment and/or burning of the victim.'
In one such spectacle lynching, in 1904 in Doddsville, Mississippi, the victims were a black man named Luther Holbert, who allegedly killed a white landowner, and a black woman believed to be his wife. They were tied to a tree and forced to hold out their hands as their fingers were'methodically chopped off' and distributed to the gathered crowd as'souvenirs,' the report said. Their ears were cut off, and their attackers used a corkscrew to 'bore holes' into their bodies and "pull out large chunks of "quivering flesh."' The report said both were then thrown into a fire and burned.
'The white men, women, and children present watched the horrific murders while enjoying deviled eggs, lemonade and whiskey in a picnic-like atmosphere,' the report said."
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/2/10/new-report-on-lynchings-in-jim-crow-south.html i just read this al jazeera america article about lynchings in the south. im am 110% done with yts atm...."Public spectacle lynchings involved large crowds of white people, sometimes numbering in the thousands, to witness what the report referred to as 'prolonged torture, mutilation, dismemberment and/or burning of the victim.'In one such spectacle lynching, in 1904 in Doddsville, Mississippi, the victims were a black man named Luther Holbert, who allegedly killed a white landowner, and a black woman believed to be his wife. They were tied to a tree and forced to hold out their hands as their fingers were'methodically chopped off' and distributed to the gathered crowd as'souvenirs,' the report said. Their ears were cut off, and their attackers used a corkscrew to 'bore holes' into their bodies and "pull out large chunks of "quivering flesh."' The report said both were then thrown into a fire and burned.'The white men, women, and children present watched the horrific murders while enjoying deviled eggs, lemonade and whiskey in a picnic-like atmosphere,' the report said." Reply
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Edited at 2015-02-11 03:58 am (UTC) Reply
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Oh it's ontd's local rapist apologist. Reply
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Why do you hate us so much tho? Don't you have sympathy for us as humans? Reply
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i would agree but u support rapists and hate fat people so nah Reply
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1/10 seen better shitposting on 4chan Reply
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uh huh Reply
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this comment is such a mess Reply
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What if they rape people though
Can we talk about how annoying Azealia Banks stans are? Reply
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yeah, but don't you find them being racist killers and terrorists even more offensive? or the willful ignorance to all of it?
i need a lifetime sabbatical from whites and white supremacy.
eta: you're a rape apologist? oh.
Edited at 2015-02-11 05:48 am (UTC) Reply
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I've read the thread people are dragging you so much about and I have a few questions, not trolling I promise.
Why did you call that person out for hating rapists? What did they say to provoke that? Was it the torture they wished upon them? Are you anti-torture when it comes to all humans or are you giving rapists a special exception? I would understand defending another human being (all human beings, even the "bad" ones) on the premise that you are against torture altogether and that you disagree with some human's predisposition to violence and knee-jerk reaction to want the suffering of another individual, but if you think that some other humans deserve it and rapists don't then I don't get it. Reply
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LinkA year ago, Linda Tirado was working as a cook in an IHOP. And in a couple of weeks, her first book will be released, complete with a foreword from Barbara Ehrenreich and a blurb from Matt Taibbi.
Tirado grew up middle-class, but a series of events including a car crash and a flood sent her into a life of fast food jobs, living in motel rooms, and dealing with major dental problems. She wrote about her experience in a Gawker comment thread, and that rant became a viral essay called "Poverty Thoughts." She also became controversial when people questioned her credibility, based on her middle-class upbringing, combined with her revelation that her essay in part was based on "observations" and not entirely her own experience of living in low-income America.
Tirado has spun her essay out into a full-length book, "Hand to Mouth," which will be released next week. Tirado spoke to Vox about her past struggles to make ends meet and the challenges of dealing with viral fame.
DK: You have a chapter in your book titled "Poverty is Fucking Expensive." Explain what you mean by that.
LT: You're assuming that when you're wealthy you can go buy things when they're in bulk. Because it's the question of startup capital, really: if you can spend your money up front in the right places wisely, then you'll save money in the long term. But if you're constantly struggling just to kind of patch it up and make ends meet, you're taking whatever the most convenient option is, which is inherently going to be more expensive.
A wealthy person can just afford to take [a broken car] to a decent mechanic and make a good repair. A poor person is going to jury-rig that thing with literal baling wire and duct tape, and it's going to do more harm to the car in the long term.
"nobody's taking millions of dollars from smith & wesson and then talking about, 'how do we make the average mcdonald's worker's life better?'"
DK: You've come a long way since then, and your book is already getting a good amount of buzz. Do you fear forgetting where you came from, so to speak?
They gave me a book deal, and I wrote a book, and now I'm a published author. It looks very different from here than working at Burger King.
With that said, I don't think you can unlearn some of these lessons. nor do I think you can take the class off that much.
I don't think we have to worry about me deciding that bon-bons are the coolest thing in the world and I'm just going to sit on my happy ass and eat those. Because I literally have been really uncomfortable for the last few months because I don't have a wage-earning job. And I don't know what that means that I do for a living.
DK: So what do you think of things like Paul Ryan's proposal to fight poverty — the one with Opportunity Grants and life plans?
LT: I think that Paul Ryan is studying extreme generational poverty, where people might need things like that. And [his ideas] might actually be helpful. I know people that that would be a helpful thing for. Is that the majority of the people that I know that are on assistance? Absolutely not.
I mean, most of us have jobs. We already have jobs. The trouble is that the jobs don't pay enough to pay our bills. That's why we qualify for food stamps. The majority of people on food stamps work. The majority of people on welfare have jobs, so having us write a life plan about how we're going to get a job is counterproductive and a waste of my time.
DK: You write that it would be great to get poor Americans more engaged in politics. How do we as a nation do that — or is even asking that question missing the point?
LT: I think that's utopia — full participation. And that would be great, because if we had full part we'd have policies that reflect the actual nation, et cetera, et cetera.
Everybody knows the argument. The trouble is you can do as many [get out the vote] programs as you want to, but until [low-income Americans] start feeling like they have some connection to the people that are in auth over them, until they stop feeling like they're condescended to, until they start feeling like anybody actually gives a shit about what they're saying or hears their voice, you're not going to see anybody come out to vote.
You're literally asking us to please take time off work, reschedule our days, figure out what to do with our kids, so that we can go possibly wait in line for five minutes, maybe for seven hours, nobody really knows.
DK: So is it a matter of making Voting Day a holiday?
"Suddenly my opinion is valuable. and it's the same opinion i had a year ago."
LT: It would be super-handy; I don't know that it would drive turnout. Turnout is low because we are disenfranchised. We feel separate from the system.
The hubris of people who take millions of dollars from banks, from oil, from whatever special interest you care to name that's your personal bugaboo — we know that they're having these fundraisers. We know what rich folks talk about, and it ain't us, and it ain't our interest. Nobody's taking millions of dollars from Smith and Wesson and then talking about, "How do we make the average McDonald's worker's life better?"
Until you get that gone, until you get the money out of politics, until you get a sense that the nation belongs to its citizens instead of to the people who hold the money, you're not going to see voter turnout go up. I don't care if you have same-day registration. I don't care if you have early voting. I don't care if you take a laptop to every person's house and say, "Would you like to vote?" You're going to get an awful lot of folks going, "I just don't care."
DK: What's the biggest difference you've seen in your life between being in the working poor and having more ample means?
LT: There's two of them. And the physical change is the pillows are really friggin' nice up here, man. The pillows are amazing. I can't even tell you.
But more to the point of your question, I think, I am not accustomed to people actually processing my opinion when they ask for it. I'm accustomed to people saying, "What do you think?" And I tell them what I think, and they don't hear I said it, and they carry on.
And now, people will say, "What do you think?", and then everyone stops to listen, and then we have a discussion. It's insane. People actually listen to my opinion because I have some whatever social standing. Suddenly my opinion is valuable, and it's the same opinion I had a year ago.
DK: You were accused of being a hoax after that "Poverty Thoughts" essay came out. Is that flaring up again now, with your book coming out? What's your response to all that?
LT: I'm a published author at this point, and The Nation did a very, very good job of reporting on that. But most of the criticism I've seen centers around my decision-making processes. What I see a lot of is people talking about like things I have to explain — like why did you do this or why did you do that? A lot of people are confused about how I couldn't, for instance, feed myself when I could pay my electric bill.
DK: Looking back on the blowback you took, would you have written your initial essay differently?
LT: The piece was written as part of a broader conversation with my friends. The fact that millions of people looked at it was wildly unexpected. You don't go onto your favorite message group expecting the entire world to know that you were writing...you don't go talk with your friends expecting the entire world to listen in. It's always possible on the internet, but who actually thinks that way?
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.Hamburgers With Souls
You were created in a crucible mixture of cooking and magic: ancient sustenance sorcery that has bestowed, in you, a soul. This magic has varying and potent effects on you.
This creation of the Anthrohambugers happened long ago, and today there are very isolated hamlets of hamburger folk strewn about the world. Wherever they are, hamburgers tend to be extreme compared to other sentient races, and have had mixed contact with them - sometimes being hunted, other times, themselves being the hunters. Wherever you came from and whatever you're made of, most Hamburgers share these traits.
Note to DMs: If this seems a bit strong, remember that this is a literal sentient hamburger and NPCs should react accordingly.
Hamburger Traits
Your cooked heritage manifests in constant ways of your race throughout time.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 1.
Alignment. Hamburgers vary wildly in alignment, and no one generalization is true of their morality.
Speed. As a food, you cannot walk. You can, however, propel your body forwards in what would best be described as jumping. The amount of jumps you can make depends on your subrace, but as a rule, each jump can propel you up to 10 feet forwards or upwards.
Living Food. You're a hamburger. You don't need to eat, but you can and might be eaten by other people. Your body is a tasty meal, kept fresh by your soul. You don't sleep, but enter an inactive trance for four hours a day, in which you are as perceptive to your surroundings as you are when not in trance. You also count as a Beast, whenever that comes up.
Eyeless Perception. You have no eyes and cannot see. However, when you are on solid ground like earth, stone, thick wood, etc; you gain tremorsense out to 30 feet. Your other senses work normally, except for your exquisite sense of taste.
Spicy Heritage. Your race was cooked into existence, and none of you have ever quite forgotten that. You gain advantage on all checks when you are considered to be cooking.
Invisible Hands of the Soul. You do not have any appendages. However, you have invisible hands that allow you to wield weapons almost comically. They cannot be seen, even under Truesight.
Languages. Hamburgers, as a general rule, have a hard time replicating the sounds that humanoids can make. However, they find it strangely easy to speak Dwarven, and as such, they speak an understandable dialect of it.
Burger Variants. Three variants of Hamburgers have evolved over the years. Choose one of these variants.
Bite-Sized Burger
You are a much smaller burger than normal. You can cram into tiny spaces, and you make an apt meal for even the smaller sized beings of the world without being too much. You gain the following traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.
Size. Your size is Small.
Speed. You can jump twice per round, to a total of 20 movement.
Capricious Build. Your small stature and quick movements seem surprising to many other races, because you're a hamburger. You gain proficiency in Stealth.
Vegan Burger
You're an average sized burger as far as sizes go, but there's something special about you - you are not made of any meat! Whether this has an effect on your level of pacifism is up for you to decide, but no one of your race is made of any meat or other animal products.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2.
Size. Your size is Medium.
Speed. You can jump thrice per round, to a total of 30 movement.
Au Naturale. You and your tribe are closely attuned to nature. You can communicate with Small or smaller beasts through sounds and simple gestures.
The Hunter Hambourgeois
You are probably closest to the original race of hamburgers made to serve the mighty Cook. You're bigger than the other kinds, and you hold your size as your pride. Many of your race consider themselves to be the biggest and best of all the Hamburgers.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.
Size. Your size is Large. Instead of dealing double damage die with physical weapons, you add 1d4 to the damage, as with the spell Enlarge. In addition, you're on the bigger side of Large. You can't fit through normal Medium spaces. None of the weapon statistics change, i.e. heavy weapons are still heavy for you, and you require a feat to dual-wield normal sized weapons.
Speed. You can jump thrice per round, to a total of 30 movement.
Meatly Menacing. You contain much more meat than the other burgers, and are considered a bit more savage. You gain proficiency in Intimidation checks. In addition, when you jump, you can use your attack to attempt to squash them, dealing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.Samsung is one of the first to market with an Android Wear smartwatch, and the company arguably has a head start since it’s been making its own smartwatches since last year. The Gear Live owes much to its predecessors, which have run both a modified version of Android and Samsung’s own Tizen, but it manages to feel like much more than an older sibling’s hand-me-downs.
Video Review
Basics
1.63-inch Super AMOLED 320×320 display
1.2GHz Processor
512MB RAM with 4GB storage
Comes in black and wine red
MSRP: $199
Product info page
Pros
Great screen
Heart rate monitor
Cons
Battery life
Polarizing design
Design
Samsung hasn’t strained themselves with the Gear Live’s design – this is a very similar device to the Gear 2 on the outside, minus the camera at the top and the button at the bottom. It looks a lot like an original Galaxy Gear, in fact, but with a bezel that makes the screen seem a bit more like it’s protruding from your wrist and cleaner lines overall. The minor tweaks are for the better, however, and this is overall a better-looking device than any of Samsung’s older smartwatches.
[gallery ids="1025403,1025402,1025401,1025400,1025399"]
The design is much more prone to strong negative reactions than that of the LG G watch, however, at least in my experience. While many were fine with its looks, a lot more said they definitely didn’t like it, vs. a mostly neutral or net positive reaction to the G Watch. You’re less able to add your own personal flair to the Gear Live, too – it uses a proprietary band connector meaning aftermarket options aren’t nearly as readily available.
That said, the wrist-hugging design is comfortable on the wrist, and though the clasp isn’t all that easy to affix to begin with, it’s secure once you’ve got it clipped in. Samsung also gets points for including a recessed hardware button on the right side of the display – it’s every bit as surreptitious as LG’s complete lack of any physical controls, but loads more convenient for power on/power down functions.
Software
As mentioned in my review of the LG G Watch, all Android Wear devices are virtually identical in terms of their software experience so far, and that’s by design. The exception here is that Samsung offers some of its own apps for monitoring heart rate and activity (alongside the native Google-provided software for handling both).
The similarity of experience is a very good thing: users who learn Android Wear once will never have to go through a learning curve or adjustment period again when they upgrade or change devices, so long as Google sticks with this plan.
Android Wear does offer everything that users should need in a smartwatch, however, and nothing more. The crucial part will be keeping things clutter free: I enjoyed the relatively spare influx of notifications and activity possible on the wrist, but developers will be able to do a lot more with the Wear SDK, so simplicity might not last forever.
Existing watch apps from partners including Pinterest offer interesting functionality, however. And Google’s own turn-by-turn navigation on the wrist is pretty much perfect for walking or even biking (if you’re extra careful) places without continually taking your phone out of your pocket.
Display
Samsung has proven with its most recent devices that if there’s one place it excels, it’s in display tech. The Super AMOLED screen on the Gear Live has all of the advantages of the big, bombastic versions it includes in its new Tab S line of Android tablets, but shrunk down and on your wrist.
Those advantages include super contrast and deep blacks thanks to the absence of a backlight, decent daylight visibility and colors that really pop. Receiving photos on the Gear Live through Hangouts actually provided a pleasant enough experience that I was seldom tempted to reach into the pocket and pull out the connected phone, in fact.
Samsung’s screen is also more pixel-dense than LG’s, and it makes a difference. Text appears super crisp and legible, and overall Samsung is the clear winner when it comes to display quality.
Battery
The battery on the Gear Live is one of its least appealing features. Your watch will probably last you through any given day, but don’t expect it to go much further than that. Depending on how actively you’re using the device, you’ll probably need to hit the charger around the same time your head hits the pillow.
The price of wearables, at least for now, appears to be getting used to the fact that these devices require at least as much charging as our smartphones. Samsung’s charger is at least small and easy to hide on a nightstand, but it clips in with a ferocity that makes plugging in and unplugging
Bottom Line
Samsung may not have had to do much to pivot its own existing smartwatch efforts into a launch day product for Android Wear, but that doesn’t mean the device it did ship feels half-baked. In fact, if anything it benefits from not having been as rushed as its competition, and for the time being at least, that earns Samsung bragging rights as the best available Android Wear device for most users.In an explosive report on CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday, the British supervisor of local security guards protecting the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on the night of Sept. 11, 2012, provided a harrowing account of the extremist attack that killed four Americans.
The man whom CBS called Morgan Jones, a pseudonym, described racing to the Benghazi compound while the attack was underway, scaling a 12-foot wall and downing an extremist with the butt end of a rifle as he tried in vain to rescue the besieged Americans.
The “60 Minutes” broadcast, in which Jones also recounted his clandestine visit that night to a Benghazi hospital to view the body of slain U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, helped propel a new round of partisan conflict this week over the attack.
Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) and other Republican lawmakers referred to it repeatedly during a Wednesday news conference. Graham said he would block confirmation of all of President Obama’s nominees, including Jeh Johnson as homeland security secretary and Janet L. Yellen as head of the Federal Reserve, until the administration allowed government witnesses to the attack to appear before Congress.
But in a written account that Jones, whose real name was confirmed as Dylan Davies by several officials who worked with him in Benghazi, provided to his employer three days after the attack, he told a different story of his experiences that night.
In Davies’s 21 / 2- page incident report to Blue Mountain, the Britain-based contractor hired by the State Department to handle perimeter security at the compound, he wrote that he spent most of that night at his Benghazi beach-side villa. Although he attempted to get to the compound, he wrote in the report, “we could not get anywhere near... as roadblocks had been set up.”
He learned of Stevens’s death, Davies wrote, when a Libyan colleague who had been at the hospital came to the villa to show him a cellphone picture of the ambassador’s blackened corpse. Davies wrote that he visited the still-smoking compound the next day to view and photograph the destruction.
The State Department and GOP congressional aides confirmed that Davies’s Sept. 14, 2012, report, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post, was included among tens of thousands of documents turned over to lawmakers by the State Department this year.
Davies’s book on the attack, titled “The Embassy House,” by “Sergeant Morgan Jones,” was published this week and largely comports with the “60 minutes” account. It says that he served 14 years in the British military before becoming a private security contractor.
A person answering the telephone Thursday at Blue Mountain, based in Wales, said no one was available to discuss Benghazi or Davies, who no longer worked there.
Damien Lewis, co-author of the book, said in a telephone interview that Davies was “not well” and is hospitalized. Lewis said he was unaware that the Blue Mountain incident report existed but suggested that Davies might have dissembled in it because his superiors, whom he contacted by telephone once he was informed that the attack was underway, told him to stay away from the compound.
“All I can presume, and again I’m speculating, is that his boss told him to stay in the villa and not go anywhere. So he would have penned a report and said he had done what was ordered,” Lewis said.
Kevin Tedesco, a spokesman for “60 Minutes,” said, “We stand firmly by the story we broadcast last Sunday.”
Administration officials seized on the discrepancies to again criticize GOP zeal in pursuing the Benghazi incident. “The people who were injured and the families of those who died are owed an apology” by Davies and “60 Minutes,” said a senior administration official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. “There were real heroes that night, including the quick response team that actually got into the U.S. compound and saved lives. Davies was, according to his own after-action report, not one of them.”
Asked Thursday about Graham’s threat to hold up Obama’s nominations, White House press secretary Jay Carney said, “The fact is, we have been enormously cooperative and gone to extraordinary efforts to work with seven different congressional committees investigating what happened before, during and after the Benghazi attacks, including testimony at 13 different congressional hearings and participation in 40 staff briefings and the provision of over 25,000 pages of documents.”
Republican aides said discrepancies in Davies’s accounts do not undermine wider points made by him and others in the broadcast and hammered on by GOP lawmakers for the past year — that al-
Qaeda-linked forces were known to be rampant in Benghazi and the administration ignored warnings that the compound was not secure; that the White House and the State Department lied in their initial accounts of the incident; and that the administration has actively impeded congressional investigation of the security lapse.
“Outside his narrative of his own individual actions that night, [Davies’s] information about key Benghazi events appeared consistent with a well-established consensus of an inadequate security posture,” said Frederick Hill, a spokesman for House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). Hill said the committee had not spoken to Davies and had not requested an interview with him, though administration officials confirmed that the FBI has interviewed him.
The several dozen employees of the State Department and the CIA who were present that night at the diplomatic compound, or at the nearby CIA annex that was also attacked, have been told that they are free to speak to members of Congress. But neither agency has actively encouraged them to do so. The State and Justice departments have instructed lawmakers that testimony by security agents could compromise their value as witnesses in any future prosecution of the attack perpetrators.
“That’s a bunch of garbage,” Graham told CNN on Thursday. “How can you close the chapter on Benghazi when you’ve never talked to the witnesses?”Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos on Monday stressed the need to combat tax evasion in order to increase tax revenues and reduce tax rates. Tsakalotos was addressing a conference of the Independent Public Revenues Authority on the dispute resolution and the protection of tax payers.
The Finance Minister explained that the times when economic forces were uncontrollably tax evading has come to an end. “For many years, revenues in Greece were below the European average of 6-7 percent, a fact that was also considered legal tax evasion. This period has come to an end, the revenues must increase so that the tax rates are reduced,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of examining the issue of dispute resolution that is critical for the relations between tax payers and tax authorities. Referring to his meeting with the Bavarian State Minister for Finance, Dr. Markus Söder, he said that it aims to the provision of technical aid on our tax system.
(source: ana-mpa)We'll be covering something a little different this month, with fellow member and lead programmer at opGames Inc (Beakiez (http://www.beakiez.com/)) demonstrating the use of Kinect, Kinect 2 and the SDK. In his words:
We'll be demoing the pre-release Kinect 2 SDK! We'll also focus on how you can be using your Xbox 360 Kinect sensor right now for:
• Game control in Unity.
• Scanning in 3D models and environments.
• Motion capture in Unity.
• Kinect is opening a lot of possibilities to all Indie Developers.
GoldFire Studios (http://goldfirestudios.com/) will be sponsoring free pizza and soda this month. Come hungry and ready to talk game development!
PS: Don't forget that we also now have a Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/okgamedevs/) that is great for sharing with the rest of the group!We learned this week that the failed Seattle bike-share program Pronto! seemingly lied about its membership numbers. If that’s true, the Seattle City Council bailed out a program under false pretenses, not just further showing the decision was financially imbecilic, but proving to the voters how little vetting either the council or the Seattle Department of Transportation is capable of.
Related: Ethics investigation launched into SDOT director over Pronto bike share
According to KING 5, the general manager of Pronto’s parent company, Motivate, admitted the bike share service’s membership is far below the 3,000 members they claimed.
KING 5 reports:
Demi Allen, in an email to KING 5, acknowledged current membership is closer to 1,900, writing, “We’ll be working hard to win back members who have chosen not to renew over the past few months during this period of uncertainty.”
Perhaps Demi can first work hard at explaining how this massive screw up happened and explain who will be fired over it.
But, more importantly, how did the Seattle City Council not catch this? They just spent $1.4 million of taxpayer money that, even at 3,000 membership levels, was money foolishly spent. We just now realize they spent $736 per Pronto member to save a service that can’t succeed in Seattle.
Did the city council not vet the data provided to them? Perhaps they didn’t care. This was an ideological decision by most of the council members and they would have supported this bad bailout even if there were only 10 members. So why was the membership data hidden? Surely Pronto knew they had support from the majority of the council. (If the council wouldn’t have supported a bailout with the true membership numbers, I expect they will reconvene and discuss this sale again, don’t you think?)
But the questions go beyond just the council. Did the Seattle Department of Transportation knowingly lie to the city council over the details of this failed business? How did SDOT, the chief advocate for buying this business, not know the actual membership data? The expectation is that they vet the data. And how much did the former Motivate employee (then known as Alta) and current SDOT Director Scott Kubly know about this?
Kubly is now at the center of a Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission investigation. We’re not certain what the investigation is over but we do know it’s somehow connected to Pronto.
Something has long been fishy with how hard he’s fought for the company he has ties to. He’s a bike activist first (SDOT Director second), and we learned last week, per the Seattle Weekly, that the city’s “law department hadn’t actually vetted Kubly over any potential conflict of interest as I’d been led to believe by the mayor’s office.”
The Weekly reports:
Kubly, acknowledging there’s no written or formal record of the city vetting his relationship with Alta, says he talked with the ethics department about the rules and subsequently, at their advice, talked to the mayor’s office. He says he does “not remember” who he talked to in the mayor’s office. Ethics director Wayne Barnett confirmed that he sat down with Kubly and “explained the ethics code” – you can’t work on any matter involving a private company where you worked a year prior without a written request from your boss (the mayor in this case) explaining why the assignment is necessary and what ethical safeguards are in place – and “did discuss with him what was required as the result of his past relationship with Alta.”
Is this the subject of the investigation? We’ll find out. Kubly promises to be transparent with us, just not until after the investigation. How about he openly discusses what he’s being accused of and opens up about his relationship with Pronto. It’ll save us a lot of time and speculation.A newly uncovered photograph suggests legendary pilot Amelia Earhart and her navigator survived their mysterious 1937 plane disappearance, according to evidence from a History Channel documentary shared with the "Today" show 80 years and three days after they vanished.
The image, discovered in a formerly top secret American file, appears to show Earhart and Fred Noonan on a dock in the Marshall Islands, and investigators, including an NBC News analyst, believe her plane can be seen on a barge being towed by a Japanese ship in the background.
The photo is believed to have been taken by a spy who was later executed by Japan, which investigators believe imprisoned the pair of aviators in Saipan, where Noonan was executed and Earhart died.
Japan's Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry and National Archives tell NBC News they have no documents of Earhart being in their custody. However, many records from that time were destroyed during or after World War II.
Newly Released Video Before Amelia Earhart's Last Flight
Black-and-white film of Amelia Earhart before her last flight has surfaced. It was taken at Burbank Airport in California and features her last photoshoot before she flew most of the way around the world and disappeared. (Published Tuesday, June 9, 2015)
The History Channel is running a two-hour documentary on Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET.Christian Abortion: A Pro Choice Church?
I hate writing articles like this one. It’s painful. Abortion is such a sensitive topic for everyone and people, Christians included, flip out before they think. It is among the top 3 topics I can think of that completely inflame a large percentage of the Christian church (homosexuality and creationism being the other two hot topics). This is somewhat understandable since ideas about life and death cut to the heart of our theology.
When life begins is a subject that lines the foundations of our ever so sensitive belief system. Those sensitivities include me and I hate hurting other peoples feelings as much as I hate having my own feelings hurt.
I’ll try my best to tread gently (yet deeply) on the topic of Christians and abortion.
The matter is hard to avoid, if not impossible. It’s constantly on the news. Even worse, the subject is continually poured out across pulpits by pastors preaching politics. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard ‘Christian profanity’ peppered with phrases like “democrat this…” or “libertarian that…” I guess being bombarded with such a sensitive subject makes you think about it more (even if many don’t consider it sans emotion). I’ve tried to |
gaming journalist failure.
As I said before, this is about corruption and collusion. Unfair coverage and silencing of developers. Intimidation and cronyism. This isn’t about you, your ex, your ex’s ex, your sex life, your trendy lip piercing or your hair color. This isn’t about you in even the slightest. What this *is* about, however, is the “San Francisco scene” you and Phil fish ran around in. You can play it off and act like it’s just conspiracy nerds throwing around wild theories, but with how much has been dug out and how much of it has been both verified and fact checked, you look really foolish by passing it all off as wild fantasies and make-believe.
Another mistake you made is by talking about the 4chan organized “Women against father’s day” twitter fiasco. You claim, in your villainous screed, that 4chan did it to make fun of black feminists. Black feminists? This is how I know you are, like most silver-spoon suckling middle class white hipsters, very racist. I was in on that prank, and it was *not* about “black” anyone. Color never played a part in that exercise. It was done for one reason and one reason only: To trick extremist tumblr feminists into believing it was real and getting them to retweet the hashtag. To be honest, very few people within the operation actually thought it would work. The belief was that it was too crazy for even the most far-gone tumblr feminist to believe…
Yet they surprised even 4chan by not only RT’ing it, but coming up with their own hilariously awful versions of it.
The problem with you, Zoe, is that you don’t care about the gaming hobby. You only care about your own ego, your own wallet, and your own success. You wonder aloud, constantly, why we continue to pursue this “foolish” crusade when you know exactly why we do. It’s because we care about this hobby and the scene that fosters it. We care about its continued growth and stability. We want it to be both lucrative to developers and beneficial to fun-seeking gamers. Unlike you, we care about the health of the industry and the money it creates on the whole. We sat here buying games for three decades, all the while helping to build a tiny little hobby into a multi-billion dollar industry that surpassed both movies and music as the way the world entertains itself. You, however, are only concerned with being famous and making sure Depression Quest gets as many 10/10s as possible. Even if you (or others in the San Francisco clique) have to step on other developers to accomplish it.
Of course, I’m talking about a person who cries about wanting more women in gaming, yet actively worked against and sabotaged an all-female game development jam simply because she didn’t like the fact that the women involved weren’t programmers.
You are the epitome of the selfish, entitled, modern American 20-something. It’s your way or the highway. Step on whomever you have to in order to get the attention, power and prestige you feel you deserve. The boom times of the 80s and 90s helped create an entire generation of weak, greedy, self-entitled, selfish little kids who grew up feeling like they were “owed” certain things by society at large…and now we see exactly what kind of fruit this country’s failings have created. A generation where a very large portion of people are unable to accept failure and gleefully piss on others to get the things they feel are owed to them.
But I digress, and I don’t want to lump every Generation Y member into the same unfair grouping.
Elsewhere in this article, you make the joke that this is all about getting you to give up your “Wealth” gained from giving away your game for free…alluding to the (incorrect) assumption that we are mad at you because you became rich and we are now jealous of your success.
Where to start?
Firstly, not a single Gamer Gater out there is jealous of your fountain of riches, real *or* imagined. The fact that you constantly bring up this rather weak strawman to deflect criticism of you and your friends just proves how egotistical you are. You’re rich, you’re beautiful, you’re successful…anything else you want to accuse us of being jealous of? You exhibit a classic case of narcissism that would make any psychologist’s toe’s curl. It’s truly astounding, and if there is anything you should be proud of, it’s that.
Lastly, you mention the death threats and how you fear it’s going to scare girls away from game development.
Sigh.
Considering the success of the #NotYourShield hashtag and how many women have rallied behind it, both gamers and developers, I really doubt any females are scared of entering the hobby. Now, what *might* hurt them is when a woman sabotages an all-female game development jam meant to bring females into the hobby. THAT might scare them off. Know anyone who might have done such a despicable thing, Zoe?
In closing, I’d like to say this is ultimately what Chelsea Van Valkenburg wants. She wants us to constantly talk about her, tweet about her, get her coverage in national media outlets and major news websites. She is loving the attention and lapping it up like a thirsty dog attacking its water bowl on a hot day. She simply cannot get enough of this and is doing everything she can to keep the attention on her when it so very clearly isn’t meant to be. Her victim complex is an insatiable beast, and having dealt with internet ne’er-do-wells like her that get off on pity, I fully expect her to only get worse as time goes on.
As for Cracked, they should re-freeze their cavemen writers and hire whomever worked there back before they started sucking.$\begingroup$
$
ewcommand{\xhat}[0]{\hat{x}}$ $
ewcommand{\yhat}[0]{\hat{y}}$ $
ewcommand{\zhat}[0]{\hat{z}}$ $\renewcommand{\c}{\cos \theta}$ $
ewcommand{\s}{\sin \theta}$ $
ewcommand{\fce}{F_\textrm{cent}}$ $
ewcommand{\fco}{F_\textrm{cor}}$ $
ewcommand{\vfce}{\vec{F}_\textrm{cent}}$ $
ewcommand{\vfco}{\vec{F}_\textrm{cor}}$I saw a question I wanted to answer which was a duplicate of this one. So I guess I will answer this question. Instead of restricting to the special case of jumping at the equator, I will consider the general case of jumping at a latitude $\theta$. First I will give an intuitive argument for which direction you will move. Then I will give a leading order estimate for how far you will move.
First I will present the intuitive argument. The first thing to remember is that the earth rotates from west to east. Now let's say you are standing in london. You turn on your mods and jump very high. You will notice two things as you go very into orbit. First, your angular velocity about the earth's axis of rotation will have decreased because of conservation of angular momentum. Second, you will be moving south, because you are in orbit around the earth, and it would be weird if you stayed at the same latitude; you are supposed to be orbiting the center of the earth. So as you look down, you would see the earth spinning beneath your fit, and london would head east and you would be somewhere in the americas. Also you would be heading south, so you might land in central or south america. From this we can see that you will land southwest of where you started. (If you were in the southern hemisphere you would land to the northwest.)
Now let's try to estimate the magnitude of the effect. We will consider only the earth's gravity and rotation; we will not consider effects from other planets, moons or stars, since these should be weaker effects. We will also assume a spherical earth. I am not sure how much this assumption affects the answer.
We will start by picking a coordinate system. The origin of the coordinate system will be the place that you jump from. We will choose the $\xhat$ axis to be pointing east, the $\yhat$ axis to be pointing north, and the $\zhat$ axis to be pointing up.
Some quantities which will be important to this problem are: $\theta$, the latitude you are jumping from; $R_e$, the radius of the earth; $\rho_0 = R_e \cos \theta$, the your initial distance from the axis of rotation of the earth; $\omega = 2 \pi / \textrm{day}$, the angular velocity of the earth; $H$, how high you can jump; $m$, your mass; and $g$, gravitational acceleration.
There are three force acting on you when you are in the air. One force is gravity, and the other two are (fictitious) inertial forces. One is centrifugal force, and the other is the coriolis force.
Let's start by considering gravity. Gravity points down to the center of the earth, so the force of gravity is $\vec{F}_g=mg\zhat$.
Next is the centrifugal force $\fce$. This has magnitude $m \omega^2 \rho$, where $\rho$ is the distance from the axis of rotation. It will be sufficient to approximate this distance to be the constant $\rho_0$ even though you will be jumping. Thus we will make the approximation that the magnitude of the centrifugal force is $\fce=m \omega^2 \rho_0$. The direction of the centrifugal force is away from the axis of rotation. Thus $\vfce = \fce (\zhat \c-\yhat \s).$
The third force is the coriolis force. This force is given by $\vfco = -2m \vec{\omega} \times \vec{v}$, where $\vec{v}$ is your velocity. The magnitude of this force is then $\fco = 2m \omega v \c$. On your way up, the direction of the force will be west, as we expect. Thus $\vfco = -2m \omega v_z \c \xhat$.
Having analyzed the forces, we are now ready to calculate the your motion as you jump. We assume you are jumping straight up a height $H$. Your initial speed must be $v_0 =\sqrt{2gH}$, and so the time you will spend in the air is $\Delta t = t_f - t_i = 2 \sqrt{\frac{2H}{g}}$. Your distance from the center of the earth as a function of time $r(t) = R_e + v_0 t - \frac{1}{2} g t^2$ where we have taken $t_i = 0$.
Already we can calculate the displacement due to the centrifugal force. To lowest order, we can neglect the $z$ component of the centripetal force. Then we get a acceleration due to the centripetal force which is directed along the $y$ axis. The $y$ component is $ \omega^2 \rho_0 \s = \omega^2 R_e \c \s = \frac{1}{2} \omega^2 R_e \sin(2 \theta)$. The $y$ component of the displacement due to this acceleration is $\frac{1}{2} \frac{1}{2} \omega^2 R_e \sin(2 \theta) * (\Delta t) ^2 = \frac{1}{4} \omega^2 R_e \sin(2 \theta) * 8\frac{H}{g} = 2 \sin(2\theta) \frac{\omega^2 R_e}{g} H$. Thus the fraction of $H$ that you move toward the equator is roughly the fraction of centrifugal acceleration to gravity.
Next we can calculate the displacement due to the coriolis force. We saw the coriolis force gives an acceleration with $x$ component equal to $-2\omega v_z \c $. Integrating once, we find $v_x = -2 \c \omega z$. Plugging in our formula for $z$, we find $v_x = -2 \c \omega (v_0 t - \frac{1}{2} g t^2)$. Integrating this once with respect to time, we find $$\Delta x = - \c \omega (v_0 (\Delta t)^2 - \frac{1}{3} g (\Delta t)^3) \\ = - \c \omega (\sqrt{2gH} 8 \frac{H}{g} - \frac{1}{3} g 8 \frac{H}{g} 2 \sqrt{\frac{2H}{g}} ) \\ = - \frac{8}{3} \sqrt{2} \c \sqrt{\frac{\omega^2 R_e}{g}} \sqrt{\frac{H}{R_e}} H.$$ Here we see that the fraction of the height you jump that you move west is roughly the product of the square roots (i.e. geometric mean) of two fractions: the ratio of centrifugal force to gravity, and the ratio of the amount you are able to jump to the radius of earth.
Now let's calculate distances for the case where the height $H$ you jump is one meter, and the latitude is $45^ \circ$. In this case the centrifugal force will move you $6.91 \textrm{ mm}$ south and the coriolis force will move you $62.1 \textrm{ $\mu$m}$ west. In the spherical earth approximation, I think these values should be good to about 1%, the largest error being the uncertainty in the acceleration due to gravity.Two Illinois State Police troopers en route to Michigan State Police Trooper Chad Wolf's funeral in Fenton on Tuesday morning were involved in a crash.
One of the troopers, a 42-year-old male, sustained minor injuries and was taken to the hospital. The troopers were headed eastbound on Interstate 94 near Kalmbach Road in Sylvan Township at 10:23 a.m. when the 42-year-old trooper ran off the roadway into the center median, lost control and was thrown from his 2014 Harley Davidson police motorcycle, MSP Sgt. Mark Thompson said in a news release. The trooper sustained minor injuries and was transported by Huron Valley Ambulance to Chelsea Community Hospital for treatment, Thompson said. A second crash occurred when traffic slowed for the motorcycle leaving the roadway, the release said. A 2007 Dodge Charger being driven by a 43-year-old Battle Creek man traveling eastbound on I-94 slowed down for traffic after the motorcycle left the road. A 2005 Dodge van being driven by a 78-year-old Jackson man was unable to stop and struck the Dodge Charger, Thompson said. The Dodge van then veered to the left and sideswiped an Illinois State Police, 2013 Harley Davidson motorcycle, operated by a 33-year-old Illinois trooper, according to the release. "No injuries resulted from this contact on only minor damage," Thompson said in the release. The driver of the Dodge Charger sustained minor injuries and was transported by Huron Valley Ambulance to Chelsea Community Hospital.
John Counts covers crime and breaking news for The Ann Arbor News. He can be reached at johncounts@mlive.com or you can follow him on Twitter. Find all Washtenaw County crime stories here.During UDS there was a discussion to drop non-PAE kernel in 12.04 LTS as Linux kernel with PAE support can already take care of 32bit systems with 4GB RAM or more.
Most of the modern computers come with PAE (Physical Address Extensions) support by default however many older computers do not support PAE. If only PAE kernel flavor is provided in LTS, Ubuntu may not be installable in these old computers and one of the main uses of Linux distributions is to make old computers work.
Technical Board Meeting couple of days back, a decision was taken that will please everyone. Drop of non-PAE kernel have been postponed to 12.10 i.e P+1. Since this is LTS release, non-PAE kernel flavors will be provided for another 5 years as LTS versions are supported for this period. So this topic was much debated on mailing list. In acouple of days back, a decision was taken that will please everyone. Drop of non-PAE kernel have been postponed to 12.10 i.e P+1. Since this is LTS release, non-PAE kernel flavors will be provided for another 5 years as LTS versions are supported for this period.
Logs from meeting:
Kernel team would like to drop non-PAE kernel soon
TB members generally feel that (1) dropping the current default kernel is too much of a step, and (2) there is still a significant number of users which have non-PAE systems, based on Launchpad bug report data and an ubuntu-devel@ strawpoll
Maintaining the extra flavour is not much extra work, and not comparable to e. g. the -ti-omap4 kernel which is an entirely separate source tree
We need a way to prevent upgrades for non-PAE systems. Some options were mentioned: Add update-manager check to not offer the upgrade if PAE is not available; Add libc6/linux preinst to abort the upgrade early if PAE is not available; that's not the best failure mode, but will prevent a safety net for users of apt-get dist-upgrade
Agreements:In college, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian told a professor that he wanted to make the world suck less. A Total Disruption has just released a new video showing exactly how he accomplished that goal.
At first, he and co-founder Steve Huffman planned to make the world suck less by inventing a phone-based sub sandwich ordering app … in 2005. But after a spring break meeting with Y Combinator’s Paul Graham — before Y Combinator existed — and an initial rejection from Y Combinator, Huffman and Ohanian decided to create “the front page of the web.”
And Reddit, the site that had 47 million visitors last month, was born.
“Content was being created — even back in 2005 — by such a broad array of sources that no one source could really lay claim to that,” Ohanian said. “Unless it aggregated everything.”
So the pair took the ideas behind two popular sites of the day– Delicious, an early social-bookmarking site, and Slashdot, the first truly large geek community focused on news and ideas — and combined them. When they joined YC, the two worked day and night on the first version of Reddit.
“The only outdoor experiences we had,” Ohanian says, “were in Azeroth, the fictional world of Warcraft.”
The site launched accidentally after three weeks of work, after Paul Graham criticized the pair for not launching earlier. They got a beta version live, and Graham — unbeknownst to Ohanian and Huffman — linked to it in a blog post, giving Reddit its first thousand visitors.
Here’s the whole story:
As is well-known, Huffman and Ohanian created fake users and much of the early site’s content. But not for long.
“The day I woke up and Reddit was working on its own was just the most incredible feeling,” Huffman says. “It was, like, holy shit … we’ve got a thing that’s making a difference in people’s lives!”YOSHODEMO!!! That’s not a real word, but it communicates Anime Games Online’s excitement for this new Naruto Storm 3 partial scan! As you can see below, hack and slash battles are confirmed! This is similar to the type of battle found in Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Impact for the PSP where players roam around and fight hordes of enemies. The latest scan shows Sasuke taking on Samuri during the Five Kage Arc.
Anime Games Online is pretty sure this is part of story mode, but the question is, will this be how story mode plays out completely? In other words, in Storm 2 players just ran around freely until they were met with a person standing around who challenged them to a normal or giant boss battle fight. Will Storm 3’s story mode be filled with this kind of hack and slash (in addition to giant boss battles and normal battles)? We aren’t sure at this point in time, but we’d certainly dig it!
Also, from our understanding (and we could be wrong) there is a new system called “The Ultimate Decision” where players will be able to follow different paths in the game. We hope to have more info on this once it is revealed.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 is Namco Bandai Games and CyberConnect2’s fourth entry in the Storm series. It will be available for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 in Japan, North America, and Europe sometime Spring 2013.Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had some unusual advice when top officers gathered for his first speech last year – read an American academic’s book on how India has succeeded in keeping the military out of politics.
The army has no business trying to run the government, Bajwa told the gathering of army officers of Rawalpindi Garrison at the General Headquarters auditorium in the last week of December, according to The Nation newspaper.
Bajwa’s first speech as army chief, described by the daily as “an articulation of his vision”, was delivered “in a poised manner” and his views were communicated “to his officers in unequivocal terms”.
The general urged the officers to read Army and Nation: The Military and Indian Democracy since Independence, written by Steven I Wilkinson, the Nilekani Professor of India and South Asian Studies at Yale University.
The 2015 book, which was well reviewed in India and the West, draws on comprehensive data to explore how and why India has succeeded in keeping its military out of politics when other countries have failed. It looks at political and foreign policies and strategic decisions that have made the “army safe for Indian democracy”.
The book also details why India’s democratic process has been a success.
It has been widely reported that Bajwa reads a lot about India, including reports in the media and books about the country. His colleagues have said his interest in India dates back to his days as a young major serving on the Line of Control in 1992.
Brig (retired) Feroz Hassan Khan, who was Bajwa’s commanding officer on the LoC, told the Hindustan Times that the man in what is usually seen as the most powerful position in Pakistan also does not have a “visceral hatred” of India.
Some have credited Bajwa for a reduction in tensions along the LoC and international border in Jammu and Kashmir though attacks by Pakistan-based terror groups have continued unabated.
Bajwa told the officers that the Pakistan Army “must remain within its constitutionally defined role” and “alluded that an impression of a competition between the civilians and the military is counter-productive for the country”, The Nation reported.
The report added that three months after becoming army chief, it could be “discerned that while Gen Bajwa believes in civilian supremacy, he will also not do anything that upends that existing structures and dynamics”. When a controversy recently erupted about land allocated to his predecessor, Raheel Sharif, a “sharp, almost edgy, rebuttal came from the military”.
It also said the comparison between the personal styles of Sharif and Bajwa “cannot be starker”. While Sharif “basked and glowed under the glare of television and press cameras”, Bajwa “likes to go about his job without pomp and show”.
His trips to the frontlines or speeches to troops have “lacked the breathless coverage that was the defining factor” of Sharif’s tenure and there has been no attempt to portray Bajwa as a “parallel, competing powerhouse, with strong political undertones”.
In his public remarks, Bajwa has said the army will support and assist the civilian government in the national interest. Officials were quoted as saying that “United we rise” was the theme adopted by the military and its media arm under Bajwa’s leadership.
Bajwa took over from Gen Raheel Sharif, who had an uneasy relationship with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The civil-military equation has always been a tricky issue for Pakistan, which has been ruled by the army for almost half its history. The army exercises an outsize influence on the country’s foreign and security policies.
First Published: Feb 13, 2017 13:30 ISTThe recognition isn’t coming around fast enough for UFC welterweight contender Kamaru Usman.
The South Florida-based native of Nigeria has been downing opponents left and right, but only now, after a first-round knockout of Sergio Moraes that upped his UFC record to 6-0, is he starting to get the type of media attention his record should command.
But the UFC has yet to put their full promotional power behind Usman in a manner like they have for some other fighters who have accomplished less in the cage, and he’s wondering why.
“I don’t know if they think, well he’s from Nigeria, you know?” Usman said on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “We haven’t really broken into that market yet or we can’t sell a lot of fights there or we don’t have a TV contract there, so what’s the point of pushing a guy that’s from that area in Africa. I’d like to think that’s what it is, because it can’t be anything else.”
Usman is still having a little bit of trouble getting some of the bigger names in the division to meet with him, and with that in mind, he has a target for his next fight: Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos.
Dos Anjos is in the welterweight title discussion after just two fight in the division, and that doesn’t sit well with Usman.
“You bring in RDA after taking two Ls in lightweight, he moves up, he fights [Tarec] Saffiedine who was ranked I think 14th while I was ranked 10th at the time,” Usman said. “You bring in a guy who was ranked below me and he went to a decision with that guy. He goes to a decision and then the rankings come out and RDA is ahead of me. How much sense does that make?
“And then he fights Neil Magny who I have been calling out for a long time,” Usman continued, “who somehow seemed to find a way to duck me, and then fights Neil Magny and finishes Neil Magny in four minutes and I just killed a guy who also finished Neil Magny faster than he did in the first round. What sense does that make?”
So the way Usman sees it, he dos Anjos should square off to settle things. But it sounds like Usman isn’t holding his breath waiting to happen.
“I will be unhappy if RDA ducks me,” Usman said. “I will be very unhappy. He’s the one. He’s sitting at No. 5, which I think currently I should be. I think I could beat the champion. But right now No. 5 needs to be next to my name.... RDA needs to see me, and if he ducks me like I know he will try to, then we’ll see what makes sense.”
And that’s where things get a little tricky. There’s no point in Usman beating up on opponents ranked below him any more. But most of the fighters ranked ahead of him at the moment have something else lined up while champion Tyron Woodley rehabs a shoulder injury. Stephen Thompson and Demian Maia are meeting at UFC 217; Demian Maia recently signed to fight Colby Covington, and Robbie Lawler is Usman’s training partner, so they’re not in a rush to fight each other.
One name that keeps coming up, should an RDA fight not pan out: bombastic knockout artist Mike Perry.
“I think Mike Perry is a guy the fans actually care about,” Usman said, “And I think Mike Perry is a guy that actually tries to fight, so he’s going to want to fight. Hopefully he won’t duck me himself.”
Another potential wild card? Former WEC champ and UFC interim champ Carlos Condit, who recently tweeted about a potential return after a year’s hiatus.
“If that’s something that he’s interested in, I’m not saying no,” Usman said. “He was once the interim champion of the division so that’s definitely a fight that, for me, I want the fight thats going to get me that title shot. I think I’m deserving of it.”
Either way, Usman knows he’s ready to become a star, if only the UFC gives him the opportunity.
“You can’t say I don’t have the skills,” he said. “You can’t say I don’t have the confidence. I have that. You can’t say I don’t have the belief, I have that. I’m not the ugliest guy in the world. It’s not that I’m not marketable. C’mon.”Later this year, the Pokemon Company is releasing their 20th Pokemon movie, which features a flashback to Ash Ketchum and Pikachu's earliest days. Since the movie is set in the past, some fans think this would be a perfect opportunity for the Pokemon Company to bring back Ash's original voice actor: Veronica Taylor.
Veronica Taylor gave Ash his voice from the start of the Pokemon anime back in 1998 until 2005. When the Pokemon Company took over licensing of the anime from 4Kids Entertainment before the 9th season, they replaced Taylor with Sarah Natochenny, who still voices the character today.
However, some fans feel the new movie is the perfect time for Taylor to return as Ash. An unofficial campaign is slowly gaining steam on Twitter, led in part by voice actor Sean Schemmel.
Let @Pokemon know that you want @TheVeronicaT to play the voice of Ash Ketchum in the upcoming Pokémon the Movie 20: I Choose You! — Sean Schemmel (@SeanSchemmel) May 12, 2017
Taylor seems enthusiastic about the idea, as she's retweeted several tweets that ask the Pokemon Company to bring her back for the new movie.Fulton, N.Y. -- The best game of Tim Conners' senior year at G. Ray Bodley High School in Fulton was one his football team lost.
Conners - six- feet- two -inches tall and 220 pounds - played center, snapping the ball only three times. Fulton drove 60 yards on those plays.
"You could just hear everybody yelling and screaming. The whistles were blowing," Conners said.
But he couldn't see a thing.
The 18-year-old Fulton teen lost his sight to cancer in 2010. That football game, which Fulton lost 35 to 7 to Nottingham High, was his first time back on the field. The coaches from both teams worked it out ahead of time: no one would touch Conners.
Conners didn't get to play in a game again. But today, he will graduate with the rest of his class. He is ranked seventh. When he takes that diploma in his hand, it will be more than an affirmation that he's a high school graduate. It is a victory against a cancer that at one point had his family gathered around him, saying their last I love yous.
When Conners was 15, he struggled with what a doctor first thought were sinus infections. Then he started having other strange symptoms: half of his face was paralyzed when he had his wisdom teeth removed. On April 3, 2010, doctors found a tumor the size of a football in his chest. He had his first round of chemotherapy that same day.
Chemo had that cancer under control within months, but in July 2010, Conners found out the cancer was back and had spread to his optic nerve. He'd been seeing strange shadows for a while.
Doctors needed to perform surgery to remove the cancer, but warned him the operation would leave him blind.
Conners asked for his mother, Betsy, right before the operation. "I told her, 'I want the last thing I see to be your beautiful face,'" Conners said.
But that surgery wasn't enough to push the leukemia out of his body. He had a bone marrow transplant at Boston Children's Hospital in September 2010. Conners' older brother, Mike Jr., was the donor. Conners' body struggled to fight back to health. His organs failed. The doctors told his family to say good bye.
But he rallied slowly, spending more than 100 days in the hospital. After that, his was in virtual isolation at home during his sophomore year because his immune system was so weak.
During that year, although Conners was newly sightless and weak, a teacher instructed him at home and he kept up with his school work.
Conners started his junior year wearing leg braces because his body was still regaining strength. But he continued to attend practices for the three sports he played before he got sick: track, wrestling and football. He was able to participate in all of them, to some degree, by his senior year.
Through his illness, Conners found that his story could help others. He began speaking at cancer fundraisers and events. On June 17, he told his story at the Joe Andruzzi Celebrity Golf Tournament. Andruzzi, a former player with the NFL's New England Patriots, battled non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2007. His foundation helps families battling cancer, often paying nonmedical expenses like rents and mortgages. Andruzzi visits kids and their families in the hospital.
Conners doesn't remember meeting him at the Boston hospital. Conners was too sick. But it was a high note during a difficult time for his dad, Mike Conners Sr., former Fulton football coach and current athletic director at Oswego High School. Andruzzi got Conners' dad and brother passes for a Patriots game.
Conners and his family have stayed in touch with Andruzzi, who has continued to be impressed by the positive way the teen has handled a fate that could have been devastating.
"Cancer has taken his sight," Andruzzi said. "But it hasn't taken his vision."
In the fall, Conners will go to the Carroll Center for the Blind in Massachusetts for 22 weeks. He'll work on the skills that he needs to be independent. There are good days and bad, he said. Sometimes, he can make it across the street using his cane in one try. Sometimes he gets disoriented and has to go back to the curb and start again. It's frustrating.
"But you can't give up," Conners said. And he won't. He'll start Ithaca College in the spring. He's not sure what he'll major in.
Conners said he knows the cancer could come back, but he doesn't focus on that.
"You don't always get what you want, but you get things you don't expect," Conners said. "I've had success and I'm thankful for that."
The success just looks different than it might have before he got sick. On the bus home from that football game in the fall, the team gave Conners the game ball: "It was like a win."
Contact Marnie Eisenstadt at meisenstadt@syracuse.com or 315-470-2246.Beating Male Depression
Chlamydia, the most common bacterial STD reported in the United States, is known as the “silent” STD. This is because symptoms and signs are usually absent, mild, or not noticeable. It may be transmitted through vaginal, anal, or oral sex.
If infected, the disease targets the cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, urethra, anus, throat, and eyelids. The symptoms are not only silent, but vary greatly from person to person, and even more shockingly, from gender to gender.
While the Center for Disease Control (CDC) currently suggests that both women and men may experience abnormal discharge, pelvic pain, or painful urination as symptoms of a chlamydia infection, recent studies have found that chlamydia infections in men are completely asymptomatic in 50-70% of cases.
If symptoms do present, they may appear in as little as 5 days or as much as 3 weeks. The spectrum for chlamydia is huge and varying, especially in men who rarely show symptoms.
Though there is no blanket “one size fits all” guide to chlamydia and its symptoms, there are a few signs and symptoms to look for specifically in men, such as:
Pus and/or watery or milky discharge from the penis
Swollen testicles
Swelling around the anus
Pain during urination
If left untreated, these seemingly mild symptoms can develop into a chronic case of chlamydia which may lead to urethritis (the swelling and inflammation of the urethra) and even more severely, Reiter’s Syndrome. Reiter’s Syndrome is a relatively rare complication which expands from common urethritis, also infecting the eyelids, joints, and skin. It becomes an auto-immune disorder (a disease which forces your own body to turn against you) and currently affects 1-3% of the male population infected with chlamydia. Additionally, it is even more prevalent among white males, compared to other racial groups.
Another extreme health risk associated with chlamydia is the potential for developing epididymitis and proctitis—the swelling of the testicles and anus. Though epididymitis and proctitis only occurs in approximately 2% of genital chlamydia infections, the symptoms are severe. Epididymis causes swelling of the testicles or scrotum, fever, tenderness and redness of the genitals, and the potential to develop a subsequent case of urethritis. Diagnosis is typically non-invasive and involves ultrasounds and palpitation. In extreme cases, exploratory surgery may be necessary to fully identify the problem.
Proctitis as a result of chlamydia affects about 20% of all cases, making it much more prevalent than epididymitis. Men who participate in anal sex with an infected partner are much more likely to contract proctitis. Symptoms may include severe diarrhea; rectal bleeding; inflammation of the anus; cramping and spasms of the bowels; and possible discharge or mucus from the anus. Diagnosis is incredibly invasive. Doctors will perform a colonoscopy, biopsy, and will take a stool sample.
Using condom protection during sex is one of the best ways to avoid STDs while getting tested for chlamy |
Paper, Swaps, Derivatives etc. So it makes perfect sense when the Chinese walls came down between investment banking and high street banking, that this attracted traders who could lever this new found wealth of available capital and take large risks that gave them quick benefits in pay and bonus personally, but created long term weak companies that used to be banks.
Traders are thick skinned. Go back to the opening quote. Bankers are thin skinned. Traders are cowboys. Bankers are stewards. Thinking back to my early days in training, one of the central banks primary tools was “moral suasion”. This was a defined concept whereby the Central Bank would telegraph its intentions and desire regarding rates to the banking community. Banks were partners in the management of the economy and would adhere. Of course if they didn’t the Central Bank could always extract adherence in other ways, but that time was based on trust and co-operation.
Fast forward to 2012. Imagine the ‘moral suasion’ language of Paul Tucker in that 2008 conversation with Bob Diamond. I listened to Diamond in today hearings on BBC and it is clear that no matter what question is asked, that he answers with a series of points that highlights his greatness. The pomposity and arrogance was quite visceral I thought. “The Barclays that I love”. They forgot to instruct him to say that with meaning.
But here while he cannot articulate it because he is a trader there is a point to be made that I hinted at in my last post.
The design of LIBOR harks back to the earlier age of banking that I speak of here. It predates banks being taken over by Merchant Bankers. It was designed in an age where there was a co-operative regime that had the best interests of the country in mind. When you have a ‘country’s best interest’ person speaking to a trader, you have a recipe for complete misunderstanding. I have to accuse Tucker for not recognising that too. If I can see the sweeping changes that have affected banks over the last 30 years, then surely the Bank of England can see that too.
Finally, this meme is only just beginning. The loose methodology around LIBOR setting will engulf all large banks in Europe and USA. This is the next subprime crisis. A relatively small subprime mortgage portfolio was a catalyst. Forget Europe … LIBOR is the catalyst of the next banking crisis.Less than a year after the sudden death of the conservative provocateur and pioneering blogger Andrew Breitbart, the web empire he had begun to build under his own name is plagued by an unusual degree of disorganization and rampant infighting as his disciples battle for ownership of his legacy, according to current and former employees, and people close to the company.
Breitbart spent the beginning of 2012 feverishly working to overhaul his website, transforming it from an aggregator of newswire stories into a splashy, tabloid-style landing page featuring content from his scrappy network of "Big" blogs: Big Government, Big Journalism, Big Peace, and Big Hollywood. He was days away from the relaunch when his heart failed on March 1 in Los Angeles — shocking the online right that worshipped him, and the liberals who loved fighting with him.
Publicly, his staff showed a united front. After the funeral on March 6, 10 of the website's editors posed for a picture together, and posted it to Instagram with the hashtag #war. “We took that picture to say, ‘Hey! We’re still here,’” editor Mike Flynn told Slate's Dave Weigel at the time. "We're going to carry out Andrew's vision."
Their stated goal — to become "the Huffington Post of the right" — was ambitious, but Breitbart.com is, at least, now competing in the traffic wars on the right. For the first time this September, Breitbart.com topped it main rivals on the right — The Daily Caller, Weekly Standard, National Review, Pajamas Media, and Hot Air — in traffic, with 2.9 million unique visits in September, according to comScore. That's still less than 10 percent of The Huffington Post's traffic, but a record for the site, which had endured fewer than half that many visitors in the months of April, May, and June.
But insiders say that a few strong months of traffic, aided by regular, loyal Drudge links, have masked deeper problems. The portrait that emerged from multiple interviews with sources at the site and in its orbit was one of a disorganized, downtrodden army of conservative foot soldiers eager to carry out their fallen leader's mission, but deeply divided over how to interpret his battle plan.
"We were running a kind of happy cult when Andrew was in charge, and when Andrew died everyone had an incentive to spin what they thought he was up to," said one former employee. "If he knew he was going to die, I'm sure he would have called a dinner the night before and given us the tablets or something…. But he didn't."
(Breitbart.com has described BuzzFeed as "a left-wing rag;" has turned our editor's name into a verb, "Bensmithing," meant to describe a sophisticated form of journalistic malpractice in which damaging facts about Democrats are reported as a means of covering them up; has repeatedly referred to this reporter as a "media-approved Mormon;" has accused us of editing a hug out of a video to protect President Obama; has accused us of conducting "partisan strategy" to protect President Obama; and has written, according to a search of their site, 396 posts attacking BuzzFeed.)
There is also a sense that some of its highest-profile contributors may be drifting away. Dana Loesch, a CNN contributor who is the face of the Breitbart empire these days and its only veritable TV star, hasn't written a post in more than a month — and one source said she has sought a job at The Daily Caller. Asked about the situation, Breitbart editor-in-chief Joel Pollak said she was "still a contributor" but declined to comment further. Loesch did not respond to specific questions about her employment prospects. In any case, she remains a major player in the fight to define Breitbart: her husband, for instance, produced the music in the recently-released tribute documentary Hating Breitbart.
But at the center of the new Breitbart.com is a small circle of business partners who took control of the company and, by default, the rights to Breitbart's legacy after his death.
Larry Solov, Breitbart’s best friend and longtime confidante, became CEO; Steven Bannon, who made his name last year for directing a documentary defending Sarah Palin from her critics, became executive chairman; and Joel Pollak, an unsuccessful congressional candidate from Illinois and Harvard Law School protégé of Alan Dershowitz who began as lead counsel for the company, is now editor-in-chief. Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro also serves as editor-at-large, and his byline is a mainstay on the homepage.
Without Breitbart's larger-than-life persona holding it together, fault lines quickly began to form on staff. Solov, Pollak and a few others run the company from an office in L.A., but the site's contributors are spread across the country — and many complain that the editors are all but impossible to reach.
E-mails and phone calls go unreturned for days, two sources said, and the people at the top of the masthead are so unresponsive that one employee sent a notarized letter to inform Pollak he was quitting.
In an interview with BuzzFeed, Pollak dismissed the claims that he's unreachable as "not accurate," and said he reads every one of the 200 to 300 emails he gets daily.
But prominent conservatives, reluctant to criticize an ideological ally, also privately shake their heads at the site’s management.
"They don’t even know how to do basic stuff, like, what a lede is. Like, maybe you should inform your readers in the first paragraph what your story is about," said a high-profile conservative journalist who works for another outlet. "I think most of the criticism they get is ideological in nature, from liberals. But the real critique is on a much more basic, practical level."
Staffers who talked to BuzzFeed were willing to give the benefit of the doubt to Solov, a Breitbart loyalist who one person described as "a good guy [who] just has no idea what water he's swimming in." The staff reserves blame for Pollak and Bannon, who are viewed by some internally as opportunists parleying their position into personal prestige in Republican circles.
Complained one staffer: “It has nothing to do with what Andrew stood for. I don’t think he would even read the site or like it. I think he would detest what it’s become.”
"Andrew wasn't a flack. He wanted to take them all on," said a former Breitbart employee, complaining that the site is now run by “partisan hacks.”
Several sources, meanwhile, complained that Pollak was a Republican “shill” who had become reliant almost entirely on scraps of opposition research from the Romney campaign for scoops. Breitbart.com scored a rare interview with the candidate earlier this year, an apparent benefit of the site’s coziness with the campaign.
Pollak pushed back against the notion that he had turned the site into "a mouthpiece for the Romney campaign," and cited numerous examples where they had published stories critical of Romney — particularly during the primaries, where they attacked him from the right. But managing editor Alex Marlow also defended their widely favorable coverage of the candidate, arguing that's what Breitbart would have wanted.
"It’s revisionist history to act as thought Andrew wouldn’t have wanted to fight for whoever the Republican nominee was," he said, citing Breitbart's CPAC speech earlier this year where he urged activists, "Ask not what the candidate can do for you, but ask what you can do for the candidate."
One reporter who eventually left the site complained that Pollak would regularly assign reported stories to advance his take on the news, and if the reporting deviated even slightly from his preferred message, he would simply rewrite the article.
"If you investigated it and it didn't come out in the way he wanted it, he would be upset," said the reporter, who complained that editing sometimes introduced factual errors. Pollak denied the claim, and said most of the rewriting he does is to protect the company against potential lawsuits.
More broadly, several people lamented that the site had lost its founder’s eagerness to break provocative stories dealing with electrifying third-rail issues like race, gender, and corrupt power — replacing much of the content with repackaged conservative commentary.
"Their dysfunction has made it hard to be what Andrew Breitbart is all about, which is breaking stories no one else wanted to touch," he said. "I think their obsession with whatever is on MSNBC every day is just boring."
A current Breitbart staffer singled out a colleague, John Nolte, who has devoted much of his time to attacking journalists on Twitter rather than moving the ball with reporting.
“He’s capable of tremendous insight but… he’s written the same post for three years,” the colleague complained.
One pressing consequence of the company's organizational challenges: Questions from inside the organization about how the finances are being handled. Shortly before Breitbart's death, Bannon helped bring in $10 million in capital, which was meant to fund the site's relaunch and expand its staff. But when Breitbart died, he left a wife and four young children who could benefit from a financial return — and two sources familiar with the situation say the widow has been asking about the money.
Asked about the claims, Solov said there was "zero truth" to them.
The most jarring change to the Breitbart empire this year, however — the one that's prompting some of its oldest contributors and biggest stars to jump ship — is its waning ability to get the attention of the mainstream media.
That's because when the site lost Breitbart, they didn't just lose an editorial vision; they lost a media savant who had trained under a bipartisan pair of web geniuses — Matt Drudge and Arianna Huffington — who taught him how a good stunt, or a sophisticated prank could drive national news cycles for days.
He took the lessons to heart. When Breitbart's Big Government broke the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal, for example, the blog mogul made sure he got the credit when he seized the podium and began taking questions from a crowded hall of New york reporters awaiting the Congressman's statement.
And he relentlessly promoted James O'Keefe's undercover videos — including the famous pimp-and-hooker sting that took down the community organizing group ACORN — by going on network morning shows, and exhibiting a certain comic self-awareness that his disciples today lack. He was a partisan prankster with a knack for showmanship whose self-awareness and sense of humor endeared him to the press, and helped his scoops go national. These days, the only time reporters pay attention to Breitbartians is when they're clicking the "block" button on Twitter.
"Without Andrew there, it's difficult to imagine a long-term future for the site," said one longtime friend of Breitbart's.
Marlow agreed that Breitbart was unparalleled in his ability to promote a story, but said they were proud of the work they've done since his death. Pollak pointed to instances where they've helped shape conservative narratives over the course of the year. They said their site was among to first to sound the alarm bell on what they consider to be skewed presidential polls, and took pride in introducing new arguments into the "Benghazi coverup."
"It's very hard to own a national news cycle the way you do with Weiner and ACORN. That doesn't happen every day," said Marlow.
As for the detractors on staff — who Pollak derided for hiding behind anonymity because "they want to receive the paycheck" — editors chalked it up to bloggers whose work hasn't been good enough to earn prominent placement on the site.
"Andrew designed it so that there would be friendly competition for spots on the front page," said Marlow, adding, "In any environment where there's competition, there's going to be people who feel like they've gotten a better shake than others... But the core editorial unit are people who understood Andrew's vision the best of anyone possible."
True or not, there are many in Breitbartland who believe management is falling far short of their founder's vision — and it's hard to wage an effective battle for relevance when a civil war is brewing at home.
Shortly after Andrew's death, Breitbart.com staffer Charles Johnson wrote a tribute column to his friend and boss, and planned to submit it to another site, sources said. Pollak forbade him from publishing it. And though he didn't provide a reason, staffers suspected it was because he viewed any unapproved content written by his staff as a threat to his control of the Breitbart narrative. After a standoff, the writer proceeded to publish the tribute against his editor's demands anyway. Johnson (who declined to comment on the incident to BuzzFeed) was promptly fired.
He was re-hired a week later, and the two men made amends. But the larger fight never ended.
"I don't even call it Breitbart.com anymore," said one staffer. "I call it Wannabe Breitbart.com. I said at the time, when Andrew died, they gotta shut this thing down or else it's going to fall apart. I think I was right."
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated John Nolte's first name.It’s valentines day and that means love is in the air. Without further ado, here are our favorites (spoof) political rom coms that we’re sure your significant other will make you watch in the next week. And this is work friendly. We stayed away from the “Common Hardcore” section.
We await your arguments in the comment sections below.
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#1 – Failure to Launch
Starring Ann and Mitt Romney
Original – Failure to Launch
#2 – Sleepless in Rayburn
Starring Eleanor Holmes Norton and Kevin McCarthy
Original: Sleepless in Seattle
#3 – She’s out of My District
Starring The Kissing Congressman, Vance McAllister
Original: She’s out of my League
#4 – 27 Terms
Starring John Dingell
Original: 27 Dresses
#5 – Along Came Lindsey
Starring Lindsay Graham and Jennifer Aniston
Original: Along Came Polly
#6 – When Harry Met Sally
Starring Harry Reid
Original: When Harry Met Sally
#7 – Forgetting Barbara Boxer
Starring Barbara Boxer
Original: Forgetting Sarah Marshall
#8 You’ve got constituent mail
Starring Chuck Schumer and Joni Ernst
Original: You Got Mail
#9 – Pretty Woman
Starring David Vitter and Juila Roberts
Original: Pretty Woman
#10 – 10 things I hate about you
Starring Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner
Original: 10 things I hate about You
#11 – What Women Want
Starring Aaron Schock and Helen Hunt
Original: What Women Want
Our 11 Political Rom Coms article is just made for humor. And we hope you find it worthy of sharing with your friends.Aliens is my favorite action movie of all time. You’ve got Hudson running around screaming “Game over!” and Apone snarling “Nobody touch nothin’,” but I really liked the gritty combat of colonial marines vs. ghoulish space aliens.
Looking at all of the futuristic weapons used in the movie, the standard M41A pulse rifle with its 10mm “explosive-tipped standard, caseless, light armor-piercing round” was the one I always liked the best. With 100 rounds of a.40-caliber round on tap, I figured the M41A was a pretty cool infantry weapon.
Probably the most interesting aspect of the rifle was the digital display on the right side of the gun, which gave the shooter an exact magazine round count. I wasn’t sure how useful it would be while engaged in combat, but I figured it would be nice to be able to check your mag load during a pause in combat. Glancing down to see “63” on the counter sure beats pulling the magazine and trying to guess.
Though not digital (or designed for explosive tipped ammo), there is an analog equivalent for today’s combat rifle.
EMA Tactical Countdown
The EMA Tactical Countdown magazine is a polymer, 30-round magazine for the AR-15/M4/M16 platform guns. The magazines are black. While resembling any number of other polymer AR mags, the EMA has a distinctive feature that clearly distinguishes it from others.
At the rear of the magazine (facing the shooter) is a clear plastic window. Visible through the window is a simple device that gives the shooter a count of the rounds remaining in the magazine.
The indicator is marked for an exact round count, but the more useful feature is the color code. The indicator is colored red, yellow and green, which indicates an approximate round count. Red is 0-9 rounds, yellow is 10-19 rounds and green would be anything more than 19 rounds.
I believe it would be highly unlikely that under the stress of combat anyone could glance down and pick out an exact number. However, the brightly colored backgrounds do stand out, which could be useful in helping someone decide if they should reload or not.
The EMA magazine has a second window in the floorplate of the magazine. This window will not give an accurate round count, but the color-coded background will still give an approximate count.
Additional Features
Though not the main feature, the Tactical Countdown magazine uses an effective anti-tilt follower. I tried to get the follower to tilt or bind up, but could not force it to do so.
The body of the magazine has a slight waffle pattern offering a decent grip during magazine changes. The body is not aggressively textured, but with very sweaty hands, I had no problems with the magazine slipping around.
Range Time
The magazine performed flawlessly on the range. Feeding was consistent and no malfunctions were experienced with the rifle while using the EMA magazine. Although it would be nice to give you some exciting story, the fact of the matter is boring is good.
My real concern lay with the disassembly and cleaning of the magazine. I wasn’t sure how easily the mag would come apart, or more importantly, how easy it would be to put back together.
As it turns out, disassembly and cleaning was easy. The round count is essentially a small tape measure, and unless you roughly pull on it while cleaning (damaging it), it will not give you any problems during reassembly.
Final Thoughts
I don’t know how useful the round count window is, but from the safe position in my office chair, I can see where it could be helpful in some circumstances. The only concern I have is the reliability of the magazine over an extended period of time on the battlefield.
In all fairness, my magazines functioned perfectly well, and I can find no fault with them…for my uses. If you are spending time in one of the many combat zones around the world, you will have to balance the usefulness of the round count window against the possibility of reliability issues.
(Side note for all of the Aliens fans out there… The role of Sgt. Apone was played by Al Matthews. Matthews is a former Marine with 13 combat awards and decorations. Among his other accomplishments, Matthews was the first black Marine to be meritoriously promoted to the rank of sergeant during the Vietnam War. I had the pleasure of corresponding with Matthews, and was impressed by him. His personal web site is here.
[Richard Johnson is a firearms instructor, law enforcement veteran, contributor to Guns and Patriots, and the publisher of Guns Holsters And Gear.]Queens hip-hop legends A Tribe Called Quest stunned their hometown crowd Sunday at New York’s Panorama music festival, when rapper Q-Tip announced in the middle of their main-stage set — which was attended by Dave Chappelle, Amy Schumer, and Aziz Ansari — that this would be Tribe’s final NYC-area concert.
“This is our last show here in New York, that’s it — as Tribe. You know, we gotta honor our brother, Phife Dawg,” Q-Tip explained, staring up at a video-screened image of his late bandmate. Phife died due to complications from diabetes, at age 45, in March last year — eight months before the release of Tribe’s critically acclaimed final album, We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service — and Panorama marked the first full A Tribe Called Quest concert in New York since his passing. It turned out the group was already saying goodbye.
“We wanna thank everybody in New York City for supporting A Tribe Called Quest since 1988 up to now,” Q-Tip continued, noting that Phife’s parents were in the Panorama audience. “And we want to thank all of y’all who extended all of your wishes and empathy and prayers — not only to us, but to Phife’s family as well.”
Tribe, also featuring Jarobi White and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, then played an a cappella recording of Phife’s verse from “Butter,” off 1991’s The Low End Theory, with Q-Tip saying, “This is one of my — and I think one of Jarobi’s too — favorite joints from Phife.” Q-Tip also shared an amusing anecdote about how the verse was originally supposed to be his, until Phife heard it in the studio and claimed it for himself.
Tribe’s NYC swan song wasn’t the only emotional moment of Panorama Sunday. Closing out the festival, headliners Nine Inch Nails performed their new “Farewell Remix” of “I Can’t Give Everything Away,” the closing track from David Bowie’s final album, Blackstar (which, like Tribe’s album, was one of the greatest releases of 2016). NIN frontman Trent Reznor was a longtime friend and collaborator of Bowie’s — the two toured together in 1995, and in 1997 they released the duet “I’m Afraid of Americans,” the chilling music video of which was shot in New York City. Watching Reznor salute Bowie in New York, 20 years after “I’m Afraid of Americans,” was a beautiful and bittersweet moment indeed.
Speaking of being afraid of Americans, Reznor is still righteously, vein-poppingly angry about the state of our nation, after all these years — NIN’s brand-new EP is titled Add Violence, and in a recent Village Voice interview, Reznor called Donald Trump “a complete f***ing moron,” “a bad guy,” and “a vulgar, grotesque dope, everything I hate in people.” Reznor refrained from any overt political commentary or Trump-bashing at Panorama, but he definitely seemed to be venting through his intense music Sunday evening, from the moment he stormed the stage to “Branches/Bones” (from last December’s comeback EP, Not the Actual Events) with its doomy intonation, “Everyone seems to be asleep.” All black leather and white-hot rage, the alt-rock icon proceeded to fume and grit his teeth throughout the fast and furious “March of the Pigs, “The Wretched,” “Head Like a Hole,” and “Copy of A.”
However, there were moments of restraint and reverence, during which the crowd — as they had for Reznor’s respectful Bowie homage — went absolutely pindrop-silent. The rarely played lost-love lament “Something I Can Never Have,” off 1989’s Pretty Hate Machine, was a stunning comedown, and NIN’s set ended with The Downward Spiral’s achingly sad “Hurt” — a ballad now associated in many fans’ minds with another fallen legend, Johnny Cash, who recorded it in 2002 for his own final album, shortly before his death.
The second annual Panorama Music Festival took place at New York’s Randall’s Island Park July 28 to 30 and streamed live on Yahoo Music; check out our recaps from Friday and Saturday, as well as other video highlights here. A Tribe Called Quest’s farewell tour will continue with festival appearances at San Francisco’s Outside Lands on Aug. 11 and Ireland’s Electric Picnic on Sept. 2.Frozen Poop Pills Fight Life-Threatening Infections
Enlarge this image toggle caption Courtesy of the Hohmann Lab Courtesy of the Hohmann Lab
Fecal transplants can be life-saving for people with stubborn bacterial infections, but they're not for the faint of heart. So doctors have come up with a way to make them more palatable: the frozen poop pill.
People infected with Clostridium difficile suffer debilitating diarrhea, but the bug often defies antibiotics. Doctors have recently discovered that a fecal transplant will restore good gut bacteria that banishes the C. diff. But the procedure is awkward, requiring a donation of fresh feces, usually from a relative, and a colonoscopy to deliver it.
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital figured they could improve on that. First they tried delivering the fecal transplant through a tube snaked down the nose and into the stomach. It delivered the healthy bugs but wasn't much fun.
"Just getting the tube down is a problem," Dr. Elizabeth Hohmann, a staff physician in infectious diseases at Mass General, told Shots. And the doctors worried that if people gagged and vomited, they could inhale fecal matter. "That's pretty scary."
Enter the poop pill.
A pill wouldn't require invasive procedures, the researchers speculated, and would be less likely to cause vomiting. And if they froze the pills, donors wouldn't need to be standing by.
To test that hypothesis, the researchers got donations from young, healthy volunteers screened to make sure they didn't have HIV, hepatitis or other infectious diseases. They froze the material and waited four weeks to test the donors again. Once the donors got a clean bill of health, pill production began.
By now you're probably wondering what a poop pill looks like.
"When I first started doing this, I had in my mind that it would be a little red-and-white banded capsule, like a Tylenol capsule," Hohmann says. "That was my dream." But alas, the capsules had to be acid-resistant so they could make their way past the stomach into the large intestine, where the good microbes work their magic.
And acid-resistant capsules only come in translucent. "So they are sort of brownish-colored capsules," Hohmann says. "Fortunately, because they're frozen, when you take them out of the freezer they sort of frost up a bit and they're not too gross."
Twenty people with recurrent C. diff infections took 15 pills a day, about the size of a large multivitamin, for two days. Fourteen of them were free of diarrhea almost immediately, with no recurrences. The other six tried the treatment again; that did the trick for four of them. The two people who failed to get results were in poorer health overall, the study found. But the treatment worked for people from age 11 to age 89.
The Mass General group has since treated another 21 people with the pills, with similar success. The results were announced Saturday at the IDWeek meeting in Philadelphia and published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"We're really jazzed that a journal of this stature has picked this up," Hohmann says. "I've been a microbiology researcher for 25 years, and this is the biggest thing we've done."
Has she been published in JAMA before? "Oh no, no, never."
Despite the impressive results, poop pills may turn out to be not the silver bullet they seem today. Though the treatment appears safe and effective, "there's always the possibility that unknown infectious agents could be transmitted this way," Hohmann says. "We screen these people to be as healthy as we can determine in 2014, but who knows?"I am a cyclist. Cycling is a central part of my core identity. To my friends and family, I’m the “bike guy”. I love riding for work, fun, sport, and I’ll do it just about anywhere, regardless of the conditions. I even advocate for cycling improvements in my community, volunteering at events and even knocking on doors of residents. In other words, my interest in cycling goes a tad beyond what might be considered “normal”.
Despite countless research that cycling is good for health, business, and cities in general, bike lanes consistently lead to polarized debates of “drivers versus cyclists”. Impatient and rude cyclists! Traffic headaches for drivers! These two timeless characters are pitted against each other time and time again, each of them unyielding and equally loathing of the other.
But I’m sorry to say that while these characters make for great storytelling and news-grabbing headlines, they simply don’t represent the general population.
Every day, people make decisions on how they will travel. Some choose to drive, while others take transit. For short trips, many people choose to walk. Increasingly in many cities, people are now choosing to travel by bike. What’s been learned from countless recent cycling projects is that when you make improvements that make travelling by bicycle safer, more people choose to ride bikes.
Which brings me to my point: bike lanes are not for cyclists – they’re for people who ride bikes. Ordinary people, wearing ordinary clothes, who have chosen to travel by bike. Most don’t identify as “cyclists”, they won’t yell at you for cutting them off, they don’t blatantly run red lights, and you definitely won’t catch them sporting Lycra. Every morning, they simply get dressed for work, hop on their bikes, and enjoy the convenience of cycling.
Take Toronto, for example. As of August, the Toronto Bike Share had already surpassed last year’s ridership, a protected bike lane pilot on Bloor Street led to a 49% increase in cycling volumes in less than a year, and the city’s bikeway on Richmond was carrying up to 674 bikes in a single hour. Even local conservative reporter Sue-Ann Levy has taken an interest in cycling, admitting to being a “born-again cyclist”. In vast stretches of the city, more and more people are riding bikes. Where is this growth coming from? More annoying “cyclists”? Nope – Toronto’s cycling growth is coming from more normal people choosing to ride bikes.
Every time cities add new bike lanes, their cycling networks grow, and travelling by bicycle becomes a safe, convenient option for more people.
But these new bike riders are timid, and just as quickly as they appeared, a reversal of safe infrastructure almost surely guarantees their disappearance. Unlike stereotypical “cyclists”, these people aren’t comfortable cycling in any condition. If you’ve ever biked with someone who’s new to cycling (or tried it for the first time yourself), you know this. Things that an experienced cyclist knows to look out for, like a right-turning car or an opening door, can be downright terrifying for someone new to cycling. A single bad experience can shatter someone’s confidence and they may never ride again out of fear for their safety.
“Bike lanes are not for cyclists – they’re for people who ride bikes.”
This is why we desperately need more protected cycling infrastructure that makes cycling comfortable and safe for all people who choose to ride bikes.
As a cyclist, I don’t advocate for cycling because I want more bike lanes for myself. I advocate for cycling because I see it as part of the solution to the transportation, health, and environmental problems facing cities today. I’ve found inspiration from places like Amsterdam, which was clogged with cars just like North American cities not too long ago. Mostly, I find inspiration every day on my ride to work as I experience the growing number of ordinary people in Toronto who choose to ride bikes.
This post is an adaptation of an article I wrote for the Toronto Star.We appear to be back with Stephen Deadalus and Buck Mulligan. The Bloom chapters are definitely easier to read. Also: I'm starting to like Stephen and Buck less and less. I guess it's kind of an unfair bias to have a problem with everyone who likes the Socratic philosophers, but I find them more and more annoying and banal, and lately it's irritating to listen to people who wax on and don't see their flaws.
That's not the only way in which Stephen is an idiot:
--Bosh! Stephen said rudely. A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.
As far as I've been able to tell, the difference between normal people and genius writers is that the geniuses make way, way more mistakes. Their mistakes are just better, or they're better at pruning them.
Descriptions of food are more fun to read than this. Though I'll admit, Stephen gets more text out of me than Bloom.This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: On Wednesday, three brothers convicted in the case of the Fort Dix Five appeared in a courthouse in Camden, New Jersey, for a rare court-ordered hearing to determine whether they received a fair trial and effective representation from their lawyers. In 2008, the brothers—Shain, Dritan and Eljvir Duka—were among five men from suburban New Jersey who were convicted of conspiring to kill American soldiers at the Fort Dix Army base. Republican presidential candidate, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, then U.S. attorney in New Jersey, was responsible for prosecuting the case, and often cites it as one of his crowning achievements. This is Christie speaking in 2007 from the steps of the federal courthouse in Camden, New Jersey.
CHRIS CHRISTIE: The philosophy that supports and encourages jihad around the world against Americans came to live here in New Jersey and threaten the lives of our citizens through these defendants. Fortunately, law enforcement in New Jersey was here to stop them.
AMY GOODMAN: However, social justice activists and several media outlets have cast doubt on the prosecution. They also question the merits of the case, which involved two government informants who, over 18 months, befriended the Dukas and attempted, unsuccessfully, to involve the brothers in a plot to attack the Fort Dix Army base. Only by ensnaring another friend of the Dukas to agree to participate in an attack was the government able to make a case of conspiracy against the Duka brothers, though none of them agreed to participate in or knew anything about the scheme. Shain, Dritan and Eljvir Duka were found guilty of conspiracy to kill members of the military at Fort Dix and sentenced to life in prison. In a video on the Fort Dix Five produced by The Intercept this past June, one of the government informants, Mahmoud Omar, said the Duka brothers were innocent of any crime.
MAHMOUD OMAR: [translated] I don’t know nothing about those guys. And I said that in court. Those Dukas, they didn’t do nothing, and I never heard nothing from them. They are good and kind people.
AMY GOODMAN: That was the informant. Well, now the brothers argue they didn’t receive effective counsel and their court-appointed attorneys dissuaded them from testifying, which they wanted to do, at their own trial. Supporters from several social justice groups held a vigil in support of the three Duka brothers before Wednesday’s hearing in Camden. Democracy Now! was there.
PROTESTERS: Free the Dukas now! Free the Dukas now! Free the Dukas now!
LYNNE JACKSON: I’m Lynne Jackson. I’m with the Fort Dix Five Support Committee. And we’re outside the federal court in Camden, New Jersey. What’s happening today is the Fort Dix Five were five Muslim men who were entrapped by the FBI, and today there’s going to be a court hearing for three of the men. They are brothers, the Duka brothers—Dritan, Shain and Eljvir Duka. These three men were convicted of a conspiracy that they didn’t know about, and they were given life sentences.
This is a very unusual hearing. The Duka brothers have lost all of their appeals. They lost in court. They lost all their appeals. But the judge has allowed them—they made another motion, and the judge has allowed them to argue on one of the issues of that motion, about whether they were allowed to testify at their trial or not.
BURIM DUKA: My name is Burim Duka, the youngest brother of the Duka brothers. This hearing came about from the public defenders that my brothers have—that they had, not have. They told my brothers not to testify during the trial. And my brothers were trying to testify, they wanted to testify. They didn’t want to listen to the attorneys. The attorneys kept telling them, “Don’t testify. We’re not prepared for it.”
This gives us hope, my whole family hope, gives me hope, my brothers hope. I’ve been taking care of the family since 15 years old, paying all the bills in the house, taking care of six nieces and nephews, taking care of my mother, my father, taking care of my three brothers in prison. It’s been hard, but that’s not the hard part. The hardest part is having three innocent brothers in prison for no reason at all.
PROTESTERS: No justice! No peace!
MAHA HILAL: |
However, out of all the retirement accounts on the market, the Roth IRA can be used for other goals.
Since you have already paid taxes on your contributions, you are able to enjoy tax-free distributions of those contributions (but not the earnings) before you reach retirement age. As long as all distribution requirements have been met, you may access that money for other things. These include a down payment on a home or college tuition. Often times I will meet with young parents who are very ambitious about saving for the kids' college. However, they are barely saving anything for their own retirement. In these situations, I often suggest the Roth IRA as a viable substitute.
6. Roth IRA distributions don't contribute to taxable earnings
One of the most attractive features of the Roth IRA is that, when you start taking distributions, you don't have to worry about them contributing to your taxable income. This is because Roth IRA contributions grow in your account tax free since you're contributing after-tax dollars. With a traditional IRA, you make a contribution with pre-tax dollars. As a result, you end up with a deduction. A traditional IRA contribution lowers your taxable income.
This is not the case with a Roth IRA. You get no tax benefit immediately for making a contribution to your Roth retirement account. You pay taxes on your income, and then you make your contribution. However, because you have already paid taxes on the money you use, you won't be taxed on it again. Your money grows tax free. For those who think that they'll be in a higher tax bracket or that tax rates will go up by the time they retire, this can be an advantage. You pay taxes at your current, lower rate. And then when you take your distributions, you avoid paying taxes at your future higher rate.
7. There is a five-year rule for Roth IRA withdrawals
It is possible to withdraw money that you have contributed to your Roth IRA at any time, tax- and penalty-free, as long as you meet the distribution requirements. However, if you want to withdraw the earnings from your Roth IRA, it is important to realize that you must have the account for at least five years. The clock starts ticking from the first day of the tax year in which you designate your contribution. So, if you open your Roth IRA in September of 2016 and make your initial contribution, you can make withdrawals of your earnings starting January 1, 2021.
This also works if you open your Roth IRA before April 15 and designate the contribution for the previous year. For example, you can open a Roth IRA on April 10, 2017, and designate 2016 as the year for your contribution. The clock starts ticking on January 1, 2016, even though you opened your IRA in April.
The five-year rule also applies to conversions. You cannot withdraw the converted amount in your Roth IRA until five years have passed.
8. There are no required minimum distributions during the life of the Roth IRA owner
For some folks, required minimum distributions (RMDs) are a big problem with retirement accounts. This is a minimum amount that the IRS says you have to withdraw from your retirement account each year once you reach a certain age. With some accounts, like 401(k)s, this can be disheartening. Since RMD can add to taxable income, this can possibly put you in a higher tax bracket.
However, with a Roth IRA, there are no RMDs. The owner never has to withdraw money if he or she doesn't want to. It is important to note that this privilege disappears upon the death of a Roth IRA owner. Heirs to the Roth IRA must take RMDs (but the RMDs are still tax-free). Inheriting a Roth IRA is very similar to receiving the proceeds of a paid-out life insurance policy.
The bottom line for Roth IRAs
The Roth IRA is growing in popularity because it offers many benefits without several of the drawbacks associated with other retirement accounts. In addition, the Roth IRA allows for contributions for the remainder of your life. This is unlike the traditional IRA that restricts you from contributing after age 70-1/2.
A Roth IRA can be a great savings tool. Just make sure you understand the Roth IRA rules that come with it, and be careful to adhere to them.
Author: Jeff Rose Jeff Rose CFP blogs at GoodFinancialcents.com. Jeff is well known among bloggers for his various causes: The Debt Movement, The Roth IRA Movement and The Life Insurance Movement. His also wrote a book, Soldier of Finance.Update: Evan Rapoport from HedgeCo tells us that his client list is only a "sample" and thus, LogiEnergy wasn't included on said list.
Reuters today reported that troubled business lender CIT Group was offered $1 billion by unknown hedge fund LogiEnergy. According to the report, LogiEnergy was looking to pick up a "sliver" of CIT's oil and gas debt in an effort to boost its Peak Oil fund.
But the entire deal is shrouded in deep mystery. Who is LogiEnergy? We went searching for answers and found that its main corporate website, which is buried within Google, isn't even operational. Their Peak Oil website at www.logipeakoil.com allows you to access no information without signing up. Furthermore, the designers of the Peak Oil website, HedgeCo Websites, have apparently dropped LogiEnergy from their client list and no record of the hedge fund exists on its website:
Asked about the source of the financing, logi's chief investment officer, Lorenzo Ortega, declined to comment.
But Ortega told Reuters, "We have an institutional-class investor that is interested in supporting it." The financing is contingent on CIT accepting the offer.
A spokesman for CIT declined to comment on the proposal. Analysts and energy investors said they had not previously heard of logi.
Ortega said he did not believe the debt offer was a game-changing deal for CIT.
"This is simply a hip pocket opportunity for them," he said. "Those poor guys have a much bigger problems... CIT has a big chunk of oil and gas debt. We only want a sliver."
Who is this "institutional-class investor" that Ortega offers up to the press? Surely it would come out and announce its plans to purchase $1 billion of CIT asssets if it were serious. For now, LogiEnergy is nothing more than an apparition.WSI, a division of The Weather Company, issued their January through March 2016 outlook update, and both forecast temperatures and precipitation have the fingerprints of the current strong El Niño, the strongest in 18 years, all over them. The forecast includes the potential for a significant cold snap in parts of the central and eastern states starting in the middle portion of January.
Stronger El Niños typically exhibit their peak influence on North America's weather pattern during the core winter months.
Keep in mind, however, there are several other factors in the atmosphere, operating on shorter time scales, that can, at times, oppose the overall three-month trend.
We'll go into more detail on those patterns following the outlooks a bit later. First, let's take a look at the latest outlooks for average temperature and total precipitation across the U.S. for January through March 2016.
These predictions do not project when and where individual storms may occur. An individual cold front or an upper ridge of high pressure can lead to a brief period of colder or warmer weather, respectively, that bucks the overall three-month trend. The same front or area of high pressure can bring a brief period of enhanced precipitation or dry spell that may or may not be indicative of the overall trend that is forecast.
Temperatures
For the first three months of 2016, WSI says the best chance of colder-than-normal temperatures lies in roughly the southern half of the Lower 48 states, from Southern California into the Southern Plains, Deep South, Florida and the Carolinas.
Meanwhile, a large swath of the western and northern United States from northern California into the Pacific Northwest eastward into the Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast is expected to be warmer than normal, overall.
However, there's a January catch.
"We expect a 'tale of two months', with a cold-West, warm-East first half of the month, followed by a reversal during the back half of the month towards potentially much colder eastern U.S. temperatures," wrote Dr. Todd Crawford, WSI chief meteorologist, in their outlook released Friday.
Interestingly, one factor in this pattern reversal may have been brought about by an Icelandic storm that tugged above-freezing air to the North Pole between Christmas and New Year's Eve.
"The rapid and unexpected destruction of the tropospheric polar vortex, via the historically strong North Atlantic storm this week, has thrown a significant monkey wrench into the January forecast," said Crawford.
(MORE: Icelandic Storm Sent Warm Air to the North Pole )
Specifically, the more "blocked up" the upper-level flow is in the higher latitudes, the more likely cold air is going to be forced south into the U.S. The stronger and more persistent the blocking, the longer the cold air will stick around.
Crawford said whether the colder East pattern relents later in January is uncertain, as upper-atmospheric blocking, such as is forecast for mid-January, often lasts longer than numerical models suggest.
"It would not surprise us if the second half of the month was quite cold across much of the East, and there are clearly cold risks to our forecast."
(MORE: Warmest December on Record For Hundreds of Cities )
Beyond January, the basic warmer-than-average North, but colder-than-average South outlook still holds.
In a typical strong El Niño winter, a warm South in December eventually transitions to a colder-than-normal January, February and March, while the northern tier of states remains relatively mild, by winter standards.
But that's not always the case. The winters of 1972-73 and 1965-66 were considerably colder in much of the northern tier of states during those strong El Niños, and the winter of 1957-58 was very cold in the Northeast.
Precipitation
NOAA expects January through March 2016 to trend wetter than usual over much of the southern tier of the nation, from California into the Desert Southwest to the southern and central Plains, as well as the Gulf Coast and Southeast coast, including Florida.
Parts of the Northeast seaboard from the Mid-Atlantic states into southern New England, may also see more precipitation than a typical winter.
Conversely, a relatively dry winter is expected over parts of the Pacific Northwest, northern Rockies and into the far northern Plains, Great Lakes and Ohio Valley.
This precipitation outlook owes to the typical dominance of the subtropical or southern branch jet stream during a strong El Niño winter, bringing more frequent and vigorous low-pressure systems along the nation's southern tier.
(MORE: El Niño and Seasonal Snowfall | Your Typically Snowiest Month )
This should at least deliver a significant dent in California's exceptional drought, but even a strong El Niño winter doesn't assure that.
As we discussed in an early December article about the winter outlook, one of the five previous strong El Niño seasons was drier than average in the Golden State (1965-66).
The aforementioned subtropical jet stream usually brings an increase in Pacific storms to California in January and February.
Conversely, drought may either hold steady or expand during the winter in the northern Rockies and northern High Plains, thanks to persistent warmth and expected drier conditions.
El Niño Not the "Be-all and End-all"
The current strong El Niño has peaked, but its influence on the atmopshere and subsequent temperature and precipitation impacts is most strongly felt in the northern hemisphere winter months.
However, three variables, in addition to El Niño, could play an important role in early 2016, including the North Atlantic Oscillation, the Arctic Oscillation and the Madden-Julian Oscillation. These features can be difficult to forecast more than a few weeks in advance.
The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) basically describes the degree of blocking of the jet stream over the North Atlantic Ocean, frequently in the vicinity of Greenland. The NAO's negative phase features high pressure aloft blocking the west-to-east flow of the jet stream, forcing it to buckle south over the eastern U.S., ushering in prolonged cold air. The positive phase is just the opposite; no blocking means Canadian cold air mainly drains west-to-east across the content, not plunging deep into the U.S.
The Arctic Oscillation is a climate pattern characterized by the strength of counterclockwise winds around the Arctic. Its positive phase confines cold air to the polar regions, while its negative phase is associated with cold air penetrating farther south, as well as an increased chance of nor'easters.
(MORE: Winter Storm Names 2015-2016 | The Science Behind Naming Winter Storms )
The Madden-Julian Oscillation is associated with variations in tropical thunderstorm activity (convection) and is characterized by an eastward-moving pulse of atmospheric features affecting cloud formation, precipitation and pressure patterns. This pulse circles the globe roughly once every one to two months. In turn, the jet streams over the North Pacific and South Pacific can be impacted during the winter due to large-scale changes in tropical convection. This can contribute to blocking activity which impacts the amount of precipitation across the Pacific Northwest.
MORE ON WEATHER.COM: The Best Photos of 2015Provides Comments on CanniMed's Poison Pill Tactic
TSX:ACB
Aurora's proposed offer currently valued at $24.00 per CanniMed share
per CanniMed share Represents a 56.9% premium to CanniMed's closing price prior to Aurora's takeover proposal announcement
Lock-up agreements already in place with CanniMed's 3 largest shareholders for 38% of CanniMed shares
CanniMed's intention to acquire Newstrike is highly conditional and oppressive to CanniMed shareholders in light of Aurora's proposed offer
VANCOUVER, Nov. 20, 2017 /CNW/ - Aurora Cannabis Inc. (the "Company" or "Aurora") (TSX: ACB) announced today that, further to its press release of November 14, 2017, it intends to make an offer (the "Offer") to purchase all of the issued and outstanding common shares (the "CanniMed Shares") of CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. ("CanniMed") (TSX: CMED) for consideration consisting of common shares of Aurora (the "Aurora Shares").
The Offer will provide holders of CanniMed Shares with 4.52586207 Aurora Shares for each CanniMed Share, subject to a maximum of $24.00 per CanniMed Share (the "Cap Price"). If the market value for 4.52586207 Aurora Shares is more than the Cap Price (based on the 20-day VWAP of Aurora Shares on the earlier of the expiry date for the Offer and the date on which the conditions to the Offer have been satisfied), then Aurora will adjust the number of Aurora Shares offered as consideration in the Offer, such that the consideration payable for each CanniMed Share is equal to the Cap Price.
The Offer Price, which would currently be equivalent to the Cap Price of $24.00 given Aurora's closing share price of $5.51 on November 17, 2017, represents a 56.9% premium over the closing price of CanniMed Shares on November 14, 2017, the last day prior to the public disclosure of Aurora's intention to pursue a combination with CanniMed.
Background to the Offer
On November 13, 2017, Aurora presented the CanniMed board of directors (the "Board") with a proposal (the "Proposal") to explore a mutually agreeable merger on the terms set forth in the Offer, and requested a response prior to 5:00 pm Pacific Time on November 17, 2017 (the "Proposal Deadline"). Although CanniMed's Board failed to respond to the Proposal prior to the Proposal Deadline, Aurora would still welcome a transaction supported by CanniMed's Board, and looks forward to engaging with CanniMed's Board to deliver significant value to CanniMed shareholders. However, at this time, the rationale for the combination is too strong to accept inaction, and thus the decision has been made to proceed to take Aurora's Offer directly to shareholders.
"While we have attempted to engage and have a constructive dialogue with CanniMed's Board and management about the strong merits of our offer, their refusal to enter into such a discussion, along with the powerful strategic rationale for the combination, leaves us no recourse at this point but to launch a formal offer for the company," said Terry Booth, CEO of Aurora. "We believe that CanniMed shareholders would benefit greatly from a combination, not only through the very significant premium we are offering for their shares, but also by participating in Aurora's continued growth, which is well above our industry peers, and is based on superior business strategy and exceptional, industry-leading execution. We already have the support from a large percentage of CanniMed shareholders, and look forward to bringing this process to a positive conclusion for the benefit of our combined shareholders."
CanniMed's Highly Conditional Intention to Acquire Newstrike Resources
CanniMed's announcement late on November 17, 2017 (the "CanniMed Press Release") of its highly conditional intention to acquire Newstrike Resources Ltd. ("Newstrike Resources" and "Newstrike Resources Offer") is extremely troubling in light of the bona fide acquisition proposal that Aurora presented to CanniMed's Board on November 13, 2017. At no point did CanniMed try to engage or otherwise entertain discussions with Aurora regarding the significant offer that had been presented to their Board for CanniMed shareholders prior to entering into the Newstrike Resources agreement.
The Newstrike Resources Offer requires CanniMed shareholders to approve the transaction. Given that 38% of CanniMed shareholders have contractually agreed to support the Aurora Offer and to vote against any proposed action by the CanniMed Board, the Newstrike Resources Offer is a highly conditional proposition with significant uncertainty.
In entering into the highly conditional agreement, CanniMed has agreed to pay a $9.5 million termination fee to Newstrike Resources should a superior proposal, such as the Aurora Offer, emerge. The termination fee, if paid, represents approximately $0.41 cash per share loss to CanniMed shareholders.
The assertion in the CanniMed Press Release that the terms of the Aurora offer "are unknown" is dubious, given that the detailed terms available to CanniMed shareholders were outlined in the proposal delivered by Aurora on November 13, 2017 to the CanniMed Board.
In light of these considerations, it is clear the Newstrike Resources Offer should be considered oppressive to CanniMed shareholders and to Aurora's Offer, which delivers significantly higher financial and strategic value to CanniMed shareholders. Aurora is reviewing its options with respect to CanniMed's Newstrike Resources Offer and will comment further in due course.
Compelling Strategic Rationale for the Aurora-CanniMed Combination
Aurora believes that the combination of the two companies is extremely compelling, in the best interest of all shareholders, and will accelerate growth and shareholder value creation for the combined entity, further extending the Company's leadership position within the global cannabis sector.
Among other things, the combined entity will have:
Over 40,000 patients - a combined total of over 40,000 active registered cannabis patients in Canada ;
a combined total of over 40,000 active registered cannabis patients in ; 5 state-of-the-art facilities - significant cultivation capacity with five state-of-the-art facilities;
significant cultivation capacity with five state-of-the-art facilities; 130,000 kg funded capacity - funded capacity of over 130,000 kilograms of annual production, with significant additional capacity planned and funded;
- funded capacity of over 130,000 kilograms of annual production, with significant additional capacity planned and funded; Expanded international presence - a strengthened international presence with operations and agreements across North America, the European Union, Australia, South Africa, and the Cayman Islands ;
- a strengthened international presence with operations and agreements across, the European Union,,, and the ; Increased export capacity - multiple EU GMP-compliant production facilities and significantly increased export capacity;
- multiple EU GMP-compliant production facilities and significantly increased export capacity; Increased oil production - high throughput oil production through Aurora's strategic extraction partner Radient Technologies Inc. to satisfy growing international demand;
- high throughput oil production through Aurora's strategic extraction partner Radient Technologies Inc. to satisfy growing international demand; Broader product portfolio - expanded existing and new, near-term product offerings, delivery mechanisms, and devices;
- expanded existing and new, near-term product offerings, delivery mechanisms, and devices; Strategic product synergies - complementary product offerings which will enable faster market penetration in new sectors for both companies;
- complementary product offerings which will enable faster market penetration in new sectors for both companies; Improved yields - enhanced production yields and product quality through cross-application of proprietary technologies and intellectual property from each of Aurora and CanniMed;
- enhanced production yields and product quality through cross-application of proprietary technologies and intellectual property from each of Aurora and CanniMed; CanvasRx - immediate ability to address demand growth constraints at CanniMed through CanvasRx's industry leading physician education and patient counselling services;
- immediate ability to address demand growth constraints at CanniMed through CanvasRx's industry leading physician education and patient counselling services; Accelerated growth through innovation - enabling CanniMed to leverage Aurora's sector leadership in execution, technology integration and innovation to accelerate development and growth potential;
- enabling CanniMed to leverage Aurora's sector leadership in execution, technology integration and innovation to accelerate development and growth potential; Genetics - expansion of both companies' portfolio of genetics;
- expansion of both companies' portfolio of genetics; eCommerce - enabling CanniMed to leverage Aurora's unparalleled e-commerce platform, including the only mobile app in Canada that enables customer purchases;
- enabling CanniMed to leverage Aurora's unparalleled e-commerce platform, including the only mobile app in that enables customer purchases; Same day delivery - expanding Aurora's same-day delivery service into additional areas across Canada ; and
- expanding Aurora's same-day delivery service into additional areas across ; and Strong cash position and balance sheet fueling rapid growth - Aurora`s sector-leading cash position and balance sheet will enable faster roll-out of initiatives for CanniMed to accelerate growth.
Reasons for CanniMed Shareholders to Support the Aurora-CanniMed Combination
Significant Premium to Market Price. The Offer, based on Aurora's closing share price of $5.51 on November 17, 2017, will result in CanniMed shareholders receiving the Cap Price of $24.00, which represents a 56.9% premium over the closing price of CanniMed Shares on November 14, 2017, the last day prior to the public disclosure of Aurora's intention to pursue a combination with CanniMed.
The Offer, based on Aurora's closing share price of on, will result in CanniMed shareholders receiving the Cap Price of, which represents a 56.9% premium over the closing price of CanniMed Shares on, the last day prior to the public disclosure of Aurora's intention to pursue a combination with CanniMed. High Likelihood of Completion. Aurora believes that there is a high likelihood that more than 66 2/3% of the outstanding shares will be tendered to the Offer, and therefore the Offer will be successful, given that the Offer is already supported by 38% of CanniMed shareholders (the "Locked-Up Shareholders").
Aurora believes that there is a high likelihood that more than 66 2/3% of the outstanding shares will be tendered to the Offer, and therefore the Offer will be successful, given that the Offer is already supported by 38% of CanniMed shareholders (the "Locked-Up Shareholders"). Support of Major Shareholders. 38% of CanniMed shareholders have already agreed to tender their shares in favour of the Offer and are precluded from tendering any of their common shares in favour of any other competing acquisition proposal relating to CanniMed. The Locked-Up Shareholders include CanniMed's three largest shareholders.
38% of CanniMed shareholders have already agreed to tender their shares in favour of the Offer and are precluded from tendering any of their common shares in favour of any other competing acquisition proposal relating to CanniMed. The Locked-Up Shareholders include CanniMed's three largest shareholders. Continued Participation with an Industry Leader. Aurora has rapidly become a globally dominant cannabis company with a proven track record of exceptional shareholder value creation, with its rapid expansion driven by its agility, innovation and unparalleled execution. The Offer provides CanniMed shareholders the opportunity to continue to participate in the compelling industry growth alongside the established and successful track record of Aurora.
Aurora has rapidly become a globally dominant cannabis company with a proven track record of exceptional shareholder value creation, with its rapid expansion driven by its agility, innovation and unparalleled execution. The Offer provides CanniMed shareholders the opportunity to continue to participate in the compelling industry growth alongside the established and successful track record of Aurora. Increased Scale, Capital Markets Presence and Access to Capital. The pro forma combined company would have a market capitalization of approximately $3 billion, in addition to significantly enhanced liquidity relative to CanniMed, providing greater access to capital. Aurora has cash of more than $340 million upon closing of its two current capital initiatives, relative to only $54 million for CanniMed. Aurora's capital position provides very significant firepower to continue pursuing its aggressive global expansion and differentiation strategy.
The pro forma combined company would have a market capitalization of approximately, in addition to significantly enhanced liquidity relative to CanniMed, providing greater access to capital. Aurora has cash of more than upon closing of its two current capital initiatives, relative to only for CanniMed. Aurora's capital position provides very significant firepower to continue pursuing its aggressive global expansion and differentiation strategy. Potential for Downward Share Price Impact if Offer is Not Accepted. The Offer represents a significant premium to the market price of CanniMed shares prior to the public announcement of Aurora's interest to acquire CanniMed. Given the the agreements with the Locked-Up Shareholders, CanniMed will be unable to proceed with an alternative competing transaction to the Offer. If the Offer is not successful and no competing transaction is made, Aurora believes it is likely the trading price of CanniMed shares will decline to pre-Offer levels.
Proposed Offer Particulars
Provided Aurora does not uncover or otherwise identify information suggesting that the business, affairs, prospects or assets of CanniMed have been materially impaired, Aurora intends to commence the bid during the week of November 20, 2017 and thereafter mail a takeover bid circular to the registered holders of CanniMed Shares (in the time required under applicable Canadian securities laws). Aurora expects that the Offer, when made, will be remain open for acceptance for at least 105 calendar days from the date of the commencement of the Offer.
Aurora anticipates that the Offer will be subject to a number of customary conditions, including: (i) there being deposited under the Offer, and not withdrawn, at least 66⅔% of the outstanding CanniMed Shares (calculated on a fully diluted basis), excluding any CanniMed Shares held by Aurora; (ii) receipt of all governmental, regulatory and third party approvals that Aurora considers necessary or desirable in connection with the Offer; (iii) no material adverse change having occurred in the business, affairs, prospects or assets of CanniMed; and (iv) the minimum tender and other conditions set out in National Instrument 62-104 Take-Over Bids and Issuer Bids. In addition, Aurora may require the approval of its shareholders to issue the Aurora Shares to be distributed by it in connection with the Offer. If required, Aurora expects that it may call a meeting of its shareholders to consider a resolution to approve the issuance of Aurora Shares in connection with the Offer in early 2018 if required by the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Intention to Make an Offer
CanniMed shareholders should note that Aurora has not yet commenced the Offer and should carefully review the cautionary statements set out below in this News Release respecting the status of the Offer and the factors that may cause Aurora not to make the Offer.
Aurora may determine not to make the Offer if: (i) it identifies material adverse information concerning the business, affairs, prospects or assets of CanniMed not previously disclosed by CanniMed; (ii) CanniMed implements or attempts to implement defensive tactics (such as a shareholder rights plan, grant of an option (or similar right) to purchase material assets, material acquisitions, issuances of shares (including, a private placement), or increased indebtedness (including, incurrence of significant new liabilities) in relation to the Offer); (iii) CanniMed completes or undertakes to complete any significant transactions, including the proposed, but not yet completed, acquisition of Newstrike Resources Ltd.; or (iv) CanniMed determines to engage with Aurora to negotiate the terms of a combination transaction and Aurora and CanniMed determine to undertake that transaction utilizing a structure other than a takeover bid (a plan of arrangement, for example). Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the Offer will be made or that the final terms of the Offer will be as set out in this News Release.
If Aurora proceeds with the Offer, full details of the Offer will be included in the formal offer and take-over bid circular to be filed with securities regulatory authorities and mailed to shareholders.
This News Release does not constitute an offer to buy or an invitation to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or invitation to sell, any of the securities of Aurora or CanniMed. Such an offer may only be made pursuant to an offer and take-over bid circular filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada.
Advisors
Aurora has retained Canaccord Genuity Corp. as its financial advisor in connection with the Offer. McMillan LLP is acting as the legal advisor to Aurora for the Offer. Laurel Hill Advisory Group has also been retained by Aurora as its information agent in connection with the Offer. Shareholders with questions regarding Aurora's Offer can contact Laurel Hill at 1-877-452-7184 (or +1-416-304-0211 – collect call for shareholders outside North America).
About Aurora
Aurora's wholly-owned subsidiary, Aurora Cannabis Enterprises Inc., is a licensed producer of medical cannabis pursuant to Health Canada's Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations ("ACMPR"). The Company operates a 55,200 square foot, state-of-the-art production facility in Mountain View County, Alberta, known as "Aurora Mountain", a second 40,000 square foot high-technology production facility known as "Aurora Vie" in Pointe-Claire, Quebec on Montreal's West Island, and is currently constructing an 800,000 square foot production facility, known as "Aurora Sky", at the Edmonton International Airport.
In addition, the Company holds approximately 9.6% of the issued shares (12.9% on a fully-diluted basis) in leading extraction technology company Radient Technologies Inc., based in Edmonton, and is in the process of completing an investment in Edmonton-based Hempco Food and Fiber for an ownership stake of up to 50.1%. Furthermore, Aurora is the cornerstone investor with a 19.9% stake in Cann Group Limited, the first Australian company licensed to conduct research on and cultivate medical cannabis. Aurora also owns Pedanios, a leading wholesale importer, exporter, and distributor of medical cannabis in the European Union, based in Germany. The Company offers further differentiation through its acquisition of BC Northern Lights Ltd. and Urban Cultivator Inc., industry leaders, respectively, in the production and sale of proprietary systems for the safe, efficient and high-yield indoor cultivation of cannabis, and in state-of-the-art indoor gardening appliances for the cultivation of organic microgreens, vegetables and herbs in home and professional kitchens. Aurora's common shares trade on the TSX under the symbol "ACB".
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
AURORA CANNABIS INC.
Terry Booth
CEO
SHAREHOLDER QUESTIONS
Questions may be directed to Aurora's Information Agent at:
Laurel Hill Advisory Group
North America Toll Free: 1-877-452-7184
Collect Calls Outside North America: 1-416-304-0211
Email: assistance@laurelhill.com
This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of such statements under applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward looking statements in release include statements regarding the proposed terms of the business combination of Aurora with CanniMed (the "Combination"), the timing or potential for discussions regarding the Combination, the expected benefits of the Combination, and the anticipated market capitalization of the combined entity. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forward-looking statements throughout this news release, including assumptions based upon CanniMed's publicly disclosed information, and that there will be no change in the business, prospects or capitalization of CanniMed or Aurora. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law. A more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company appears in the Company's Annual Information Form and continuous disclosure filings, which are available at www.sedar.com.
In particular, this News Release contains forward-looking information concerning: (i) the Offer, various terms of the Offer and the anticipated timing of commencement of the Offer; (ii) expectations with respect to synergies and efficiencies that may be achieved upon a combination of the businesses of Aurora and CanniMed and other benefits of a combination of the businesses of Aurora and CanniMed; and (iii) expectations with respect to business and geographical diversification of the combined entity.
Neither TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Statement Respecting CanniMed Information
The information concerning CanniMed contained in this News Release has been taken from, or is based upon, publicly available information filed by CanniMed with securities regulatory authorities in Canada prior to the date of this News Release and other public sources. CanniMed has not reviewed this News Release and has not confirmed the accuracy and completeness of the CanniMed information contained herein. Neither Aurora, nor any of the officers or directors of Aurora, assumes any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such CanniMed information or any failure by CanniMed to disclose events or facts that may have occurred, or which may affect the significance or accuracy of any such CanniMed information, but which are unknown to Aurora. Aurora has no means of verifying the accuracy or completeness of any of the CanniMed information contained in this News Release or whether there has been a failure by CanniMed to disclose events or facts that may have occurred or may affect the significance or accuracy of any such information.
Notice to U.S. Holders
The Offer will be made for the securities of a company formed outside of the United States. The Offer will be subject to disclosure requirements of Canada that are different from those of the United States. Financial statements included in the documents, if any, will be prepared in accordance with Canadian accounting standards and may not be comparable to the financial statements of United States companies.
It may be difficult for a securityholder in the United States to enforce his/her/its rights and any claim a securityholder may have arising under the U.S. federal securities laws, since the issuer is located in Canada, and some or all of its officers or directors may be residents of Canada or another country outside of the United States. A securityholder may not be able to sue a Canadian company or its officers or directors in a court in Canada or elsewhere outside of the United States for violations of U.S. securities laws. It may be difficult to compel a Canadian company and its affiliates to subject themselves to a U.S. court's judgment.
Securityholders should be aware that the issuer may purchase securities otherwise than under the Offer, such as in open market or privately negotiated purchases.
Cautionary Statement Respecting Status of the Offer
Aurora has not yet commenced the offer noted above in this news release. Upon commencement of the offer, aurora will file a takeover bid circular with various securities commissions in Canada. The takeover bid circular will contain important information about the offer and should be read in its entirety by CanniMed shareholders and others to whom the offer is addressed. After the offer is commenced, CanniMed shareholders (and others) will be able to obtain, at no charge, a copy of the offer to purchase, takeover bid circular and various associated documents when they become available on the system for electronic document analysis and retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com. This announcement is for informational purposes only and does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell, otherwise dispose of or issue, or any other solicitation of any offer to sell, otherwise dispose of, issue, purchase, otherwise acquire or subscribe for any security. The offer will not be made in, nor will deposits of securities be accepted from a person in, any jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the laws of such jurisdiction. However, Aurora may, in its sole discretion, take such action as it deems necessary to extend the offer in any such jurisdiction.
SOURCE Aurora Cannabis Inc.
For further information: Cam Battley, Executive Vice President, +1.905.864.5525, cam@auroramj.com, www.auroramj.com; Marc Lakmaaker, Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Development, +1.647.269.5523, marc.lakmaaker@auroramj.comNations must speed the dissemination of information to enable real-time responses and counter disabling cyber threats.
The long-standing intelligence sharing pact between the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Canada needs to adapt more quickly to meet rapidly evolving, 21st century threats.
To modernize the “Five Eyes” arrangement, the five governments must develop a common strategy for gathering information on today’s threats, which stem from non-state actors like terrorist groups, hackers and transnational criminal syndicates — as well as from nation-state adversaries. However, to be successful, they must speed the dissemination of information to enable real-time responses, counter disabling cyber threats like the recent “Wanna Cry” ransomware attack and overcome adversaries’ use of encryption.
Furthermore, to maintain public support for robust intelligence collection in democratic political systems, each of the Five Eyes governments must strengthen and clarify the legal |
place to ditch it, onto a high mountain top," the unidentified mission crew commander told Air Force investigators, according to the accident-investigation report. "Our deal is we try to do it into high mountain tops."
Less than two months later, on Feb. 4, 2015, an Air Force Reaper had to cut short a surveillance mission over Somalia when its starter-generator died.
The flight crew tried to rush the drone back to its base in Djibouti. But with about 30 miles to go, the battery ran out and the Reaper was ditched in the sea, according to the Air Force's accident investigation report.
In an appendix to the report, General Atomics noted that it had completed the development of a "more robust" starter-generator in response to the string of mishaps. The appendix, which was heavily redacted, did not give further details.
In March, the Air Force's program manager for its Reaper fleet filed a report with the Pentagon noting that there had been "a dramatic increase" in starter-generator failures since 2013.
Col. William S. Leister informed Pentagon officials that investigators from the Air Force, General Atomics and Skurka had investigated the problem for more than a year. The team, he said, had identified "numerous manufacturing quality issues" yet had been unable to determine the exact cause of the failures.
"But, I am pleased to report that we may have light at the end of this dark tunnel," he added, promising unspecified "corrective actions in the very near term." He declined to comment further for this article.
Changes to the Reaper drone may prevent future crashes. U.S. Air Force
Other Air Force officials said the service began installing a secondary generator on its Reapers in July that can provide up to 10 extra hours of electricity in case the first one fails.
The Air Force determined that 60 Reapers in its fleet were carrying the buggy starter-generators. So far, the new backup part has been installed on 47 of those aircraft, according to Baker, the colonel in charge of the drone capabilities division.
Since then, Baker said, there have been 17 "saves" — or incidents in which the primary generator failed mid-flight. In each case, he added, the backup generator kicked in and the drone was able to land safely.Farage’s communications advisor, Dan Jukes, added further fuel to the fire by tweeting an from the Sunday Times which says that it is the DUP themselves who could put pressure on Theresa May to bring him into the fold to alleviate the fears of Brexiteers who rightly feel the issue they campaigned so hard for is now under threat because the Tories saw it as a vehicle to increase their Parliamentary majority.
The Sunday Times report DUP want @Nigel_Farage as part of the Brexit team in government. pic.twitter.com/LOU5PYpAWJ — Dan Jukes (@DanJukes17) June 11, 2017
The job, which could also come with the offer of a peerage, would see Farage at the top table facing across from the likes of including Guy Verhofstadt and Jean-Claude Juncker. Oh how they’d love that.
Nigel has always said he would put country before party to deliver Brexit, so perhaps it’s time for Theresa May to have a big slice of humble pie and invite Nigel round for a cuppa? When it comes to knowledge of the EU system, big Brussels beasts and Brexit in general, no one understands this stuff better than Mr. Brexit himself.According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, there have been 816 New York law enforcement officers who have died in the course of duty. Most of those who have died in the page six years succumbed to 9/11-related illnesses. The last firearm-related death, Paul Tuizzolo, sadly came just a last month, killed in a gunfight in the Bronx.
The official count considers all NY officers from as far back as 1802 and the days of the New York City watch under the supervision of its renown High Constable Jacob Hays, pictured below. (See our podcast Case Files of the NYPD for more information.) Hays would be the sole administrator of this early form of law enforcement and would lead the group until the formation of the New York Municipal Police in 1845.
The gruff looking Jacob Hays.
The watch’s first casualty came in 1806. The man’s name was Christian Luswanger, murdered in the line of duty during a very unthinkable altercation.
In 1806, New York was still a city shaking off its colonial trappings and still finding its identity. The mayor of New York that year was 37-year-old DeWitt Clinton, the well connected nephew to the former governor of New York and a man with great things in his future. The British had been gone for over two decades, and the city and its port were rapidly growing. But the real jump starts to the city’s economy and expansion — the Erie Canal, the debut of the steamboat, the Commissioners Plan — would come in the next decade.
New York was small but restless. When mayor Edward Livingston formed the night watch in 1801, it required only a handful of men, overseen by a Watch Committee on the city council (or Common Council). By 1806, all watchmen reported to Hays, and the constable reported to the council, who often directly advised on priorities. “The Captains of Watch in the first district [should] be particularly attentive to the neighborhood of Burling Slip,” according to the minutes of one council meeting.
Broadway and City Hall, in 1809. The mobs of the so-called ‘Augustus Street Riot’ would have scuffled just to the west of this illustration. (Courtesy NYPL)
Hays supervised a couple captains for each of New York’s wards — captains with such sturdy names as Magnus Beekman, Nicholas Lawrence, Gad Dumbolton and William Van Wart. Those captains had other men reporting to them, including Christian Luswanger, of which almost nothing is known — regular watchmen didn’t appear in the council payrolls, only the captains — nothing at all, except for the event which took his life. An event sometimes referred to as the Christmas Riot, the Highbinders Riot or the Augustus Street Riot, so named for the forgotten street where many of the rioters lived*.
The original St. Peter’s Church at the corner of Barclay and Church Streets.
In 1806, St. Peter’s Church — at Barclay and Church Street — was the only parish in town if you were a practicing Catholic. (The current St. Peter’s, sometimes called Old St. Peter’s, a simple, neo-classical gem near the WTC site, was built over the location of the old structure in 1840.) Its most famous congregants would be Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American to be declared a saint, and the venerable Pierre Toussaint, who’s currently interred at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Built in 1785, St. Peter’s was a perpetual target of anti-Catholic sentiment, and indeed, horrific violence would erupt here on Christmas morning 1806. As worshippers gathered for midnight mass, a group of nativist rowdies gathered outside, prepared to disrupt services.
One source, perhaps drawing from a contemporary New York Evening Post article, calls the group of about fifty a ‘gang’ called the Highbinders. However I’m not exactly sure it was any kind of an organized gang. The word ‘highbinder’ would eventually come to mean any kind of gangster and would even be slang for a corrupt politician. The first ‘gang’ of New York is commonly thought to be the Forty Thieves, who wouldn’t surface for at least another twenty years.
Simply consider them a massive of drunken, anti-Catholic thugs — sailors, according to one source, “a nativist gang of apprentices and propertyless journeyman butchers” according to Edwin Burrows and Mike Wallace — all looking to cause trouble. Still another newspaper referred to them as “a desperate association of lawless and unprincipled vagabonds.” [source]
Parishioners ran to get their alderman who successfully convinced the group to disperse for the evening.
However the mob which returned the next night — Christmas night — far more incensed, only this time the churchgoers were ready, armed with weapons. The defenders at St. Peter’s were not merely parishioners but other Irish immigrants who had heard about the prior evening’s altercation and came looking for a fight.
Many other Irish New Yorkers stood watch over their homes on Augustus Street, waiting for the anti-Irish mob to arrive there. That night, the two groups clashed in the streets, a few dozen men on each side, attacking each other on the streets around City Hall.
In this melee, the watch were called to quell the violence and arrest the rioters. Jacob Hays may have been there; several of his captains certainly were. Watchman Luswanger was called to join them. Somewhere along the way, a rioter stabbed Luswanger, and the watchman “expired without a struggle.”
The streets of Five Points in 1827, a short distance away from the riotous events of 1806.
Apparently, this did nothing but bring more rioters into the chaos.
Diarist and fellow rowdy William Otter presents a vivid recollection of these events, although he does not mention Luswanger:
“The church was surrounded with a motley crew of Irish and sailors … engaged in deadly conflict … The mob fought from the door of the church to Irish town, being the distance of about a fourth of a mile ….
“[W]e fell to and drank as much as we pleased, and while we were refreshing ourselves the mob came in and began to break bottles, glasses, pitchers, barrels and all and every thing they could find in the shop; and fought on till day light through Irishtown; laying all Irishtown waste; a great deal of property was d was destroyed by the mob, and a great deal of human blood shed.”
It took most of the night watch and the light of day to dissolve the rioters. Ten men, all Irishmen, were arrested. The mayor offered a reward for any information on Luswanger’s demise, but danced around firm condemnation of either group. I’m gathering from the lack of evidence that the case of who stabbed the watchman remains unsolved.
NOTE: One of my prime sources on this article states that the watchman’s name was Christopher Newfanger, not Christian Luswanger. I believe the latter is correct, and it is the name officially recognized by the police department.
*According to Forgotten New York, Augustus Street “was later called City Hall Place and in 1941 it was again renamed for Patrick Cardinal Hayes who had died in 1938.” Today the street is gone, contained in the pedestrian plaza of Civic Center, near St. Andrew’s Church.
NOTE: There are no images or illustrations of the Highbinders Riot. The riot depicted at top is actually of a Lower East Side riot in the 1860s.Clean Wisconsin on June 19 filed a challenge to a wetland fill permit in northern Monroe County because it would allow an out-of-state logging and frac sand company to permanently destroy more than 16 acres of a rare and valuable wetland forest.
“The Department of Natural Resources has found that this wetland provides ‘exceptional’ value to people and the surrounding ecosystem, and yet they’re allowing for it to be destroyed by issuing this permit,” Evan Feinauer, Clean Wisconsin staff attorney, said in a news release. “If a wetland of this rare quality is allowed to be destroyed, it could spell disaster for other rare wetlands across the state.”
Much of the 16.25-acre parcel consists of a unique White Pine-Red Maple wetland considered “imperiled” by the state. The wetland is home to several rare and endangered species of animals, as well as the Blanding’s Turtle and the Four-Toed salamander, considered animals of special concern.
Clean Wisconsin argues that destroying this pristine wetland would open the door to development of similar large-scale filling and permanent destruction of rare wetlands. The group also takes issue with the contradictions between the DNR’s findings stated in the permit and its ultimate decision to approve the permit.
“Despite the DNR’s admission in the permit that this project could set a negative precedent for filling rare wetlands, they issued the permit anyhow,” said Feinauer. “This is troubling, both for our unique ecosystems and for the integrity of the permitting process.”
Atlanta-based Meteor Timber is proposing to fill the wetland for a frac sand drying facility. If the project moves forward, it would be the largest wetland fill for an industrial frac sand project in the state.
“We can’t recreate this rare wetland. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever,” said Feinauer. “The permanent destruction of this unique ecosystem will cause a loss of rare ecology and human enjoyment that outweighs any proposed benefit from plans on the table.”These pages explain quantum entanglement by way of pictures, analogies, but without math.
To understand quantum entanglement, several ideas and words must be explained, especially the idea of a photon. The photon is a key concept in physics, and so critical to entanglement that its behaviours must be fully understood. But before delving into the details of photons, let’s take a look at the world of the tiny, beginning with waves and atoms
What is a Wave?
Tossing a pebble into a pond creates ripples that travel from where the pebble landed to the edge of the pond. The ripples are also called waves. Another way to make waves is with a long rope. If you swing your arm up and down while holding the rope (as in Figure 2.1), you can see waves start from your hand and disappear off the end; moving the rope faster makes more waves.
Figure 2.1. Making Vertical Waves.
Image copyright © National Science Foundation, 2000.
Waves have three important properties: frequency, amplitude, and wavelength.
Frequency
This is the number of waves that happen over time. Figure 2.2 compares two frequencies:
Figure 2.2. Wave Frequency
Amplitude
This is the height of a wave. Figure 2.3 compares two amplitudes:
Figure 2.3. Wave Amplitude
Wavelengt
This is the distance between the top of one wave to the top of the next. Figure 2.4 compares two wavelengths:
Figure 2.4. Wave Length
Experiment
You can play with frequency and amplitude using your voice. When you talk, your throat vibrates which causes waves of sound to travel through the air around you. (This is just like how waves travel across the pond, except instead of the wave travelling across water, it goes through air.) Try this:
Place two fingers against your throat. Start humming a single note. Change the pitch of your hums (from ohhhh to eeeee). Change how loud you hum.
You can feel the different vibrations: slower (lower, less frequent) waves, and faster (higher, more frequent) waves. The louder you hum, the larger the amplitude; likewise quiet hums have smaller amplitudes. A loud hum gives off more energy (and needs more energy), which causes a stronger vibration in your arm.
Interference
When two waves interact with one another at the same space and time, they create an interference pattern. Figure 2.5 shows two waves interacting. Where they meet, the regular pattern of circles is disrupted because waves have constructive and destructive behaviour.
Figure 2.5. Interference Pattern.
Image copyright © Museum Victoria, 2003.
Constructive Wave
When the top (crest) of one wave meets the crest of another, they make a higher wave. Similarly, when the bottom (trough) of a wave meets the trough of another, they make a deeper trough. Figure 2.6 shows how constructive waves can merge together.
Figure 2.6. Constructive Waves
Destructive Wave
When the trough of one wave meets the crest of another, or vice-versa, they cancel each other out. That is, the troughs are made more shallow and the crests are lowered. If the crests are as tall as the troughs are as deep, then the waves can cancel each other out completely. Figure 2.7 shows how destructive waves can merge together
Figure 2.7. Destructive Waves
Waves and Light
Before 1801, scientists thought that light travelled through space as tiny particles. In 1801, Thomas Young elegantly demonstrated his double slit experiment. The experiment showed that light also behaves like waves, because it interferes with itself. The role light plays with other particles is crucial to understanding how quantum entanglement works. And those particles are found within the realm of the atom …
What is an Atom?
The atom was once thought to be the basic building block from which all else was created. It is the smallest particle of an element that still has the characteristics of that element. Helium atoms, for example, are used to fill balloons because they are lighter than air. One helium atom will rise up through the air, but because it is so tiny, many are needed to conquer the Earth’s gravity. Today, physicists know that atoms are made from even smaller parts called elementary particles. Figure 3.1 represents a typical atom:
Figure 3.1. Model of an Atom
Image copyright © 2003 HowStuffWorks.com
Protons, Neutrons, and Electron
The nucleus, at the centre of an atom, is made up of elementary particles called protons and neutrons. Travelling around the nucleus, in a variety of ways, are electrons. An Electron Orbital Pathis the space through which electrons travel as they tour the nucleus. Each Electron Orbital Path has a limit to the number of electrons allowed on it. Figure 3.1 shows blurry electrons because both their position and precise momentum can never be known at the same time (this is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle). These paths are known as shells.
The shell an electron follows depends on its energy. All the electrons in a specific shell have exactly the same amount of energy. To move from one shell to another, an electron must either gain or release a fixed amount of energy. A fancy way to say this is: electrons are restricted to quantizedorbits. These shells are not necessarily fixed in size, but defined in terms of probability. Although there is a chance that an electron could be thousands of kilometres away, it is more likely to be close to the nucleus around which it travels.
Although useful to picture electrons orbiting a nucleus as planets encircle the Sun, it is not entirely accurate.
The next section illustrates these concepts with a race analogy.
Electron Orbital Race
Imagine a race with the following rules:
runners on their track must run single file, without passing; runners must remain on their track while they have the same physical fitness; a runner that gets a boost of energy must jump to an outer track; a runner that loses energy must jump to an inner track; and there are many tracks, shown simplified in Figure 3.2.
Figure 3.2. Atom Analogy
In this analogy, a runner gains energy by eating fruit. When this happens, the runner instantly obtains a new level of fitness, and must jump to a new track according to the rules. Runners can never be moderately fit, or somewhat lazy, but always lose or gain specific amounts (discrete units) of fitness.
Quantum Leap
The word quanta means discrete units. It is analagous to the difference between a ladder and a slide; you can stand anywhere on a slide, but only on the rungs of a ladder. Now substitute the words track and runner with shell and electron. The word quantized describes the small, discrete, leaps that electrons make from shell to shell, as though ascending or descending a ladder.
The act of an electron jumping between two shells is called a quantum leap.
Force Carrier
Electrons do not eat apples to make a quantum leap (their mouths are too small). They do, however, revolve around the nucleus as close as possible because it uses less energy; this is known as their ground state. If an electron gets extra energy, it must leap to a higher shell. After a short period of time, it will spontaneously release the extra energy, and leap back to its former shell. Just as a runner eats fruit for more energy, electrons get energy from a force carrier to make quantum leaps.
What is a Photon?
A photon is a force carrier particle. Elementary particles (electrons, protons, neutrons, and such) can only interact using force carriers. In the race analogy, photons are like fruit; they are responsible for electromagnetic interactions.
Electromagnetic Interaction
Electromagnetic means having both electrical and magnetic properties. When physicists talk about interaction, it typically refers to the exchange of energy via photons. Keep in mind that visible light is only a small range of frequencies where photons exist.
Electromagnetic interaction between particles has three forms: forces within atoms, forces between atoms, and electromagnetic fields and waves.
Forces Within Atoms.
This force causes the electrons to bind with an atom’s nucleus (the positive nucleus attracts negative electrons, similar to the attraction between north and south poles of magnets).
Forces Between Atoms.
The friction when tires roll, the pressure of squishing your thumb and forefinger together, and a chair holding you up occur because of changes in energy. The energy changes because electrons, or atoms, reposition themselves as material is deformed upon contacting itself or another material.
Electromagnetic Fields and Waves.
This interaction is responsible for electric or magnetic fields, and electromagnetic waves that travel (light, x-rays, microwaves, and such). All these forms of waves are basically the same, differing only by wavelength.
Quantized Behaviour
An electromagnetic wave must carry one or more whole units of energy (never arbitrary amounts). The units of energy carried are called quanta. Thus a single photon is an electromagnetic wave carrying one quantum of energy. Since it is a wave, it has a frequency; a higher frequency means a more energetic photon. Let’s revisit the rope analogy to explore this concept.
Imagine making waves in a long strand of rope by swinging your arm up and down. The faster you move your arm, the more waves move along the rope. You have to work harder to make more waves, which means you have to put more energy into the rope. Since a photon behaves like a wave, when it has a high frequency it must have lots of energy! However, unlike the rope, a photon can only take on certain fixed frequencies. This is like being allowed to make 20 waves in the rope each second, or 30 waves, or 40 waves, but never 25, 37, or 42. The energy you put into the rope must be in quantized units.
Electrons will only absorb or emit photons of specific frequencies to perform a quantum leap. From the race analogy, this is similar to saying that runners are so picky that they will only eat fruit of a precise, fixed weight (for example, an apple weighing 140 grams is edible, but 142 grams is not).
Now that we know the role photons play, and how selective they are about their energy levels, the two remaining items we need to understand are spin and polarization. Both are tricky properties that play a role in quantum entanglement.
Spin
There are two types of spin covered in this section: particle spin and photon spin.
Particles
All particles have a property known as spin. The following describes the spin of typical particles, excluding photons. Once the notion of spin has been highlighted, the property of spin as it relates to photons will be addressed.
Although there is no exact classical analogy, it helps to picture spin in terms of a globe. Figure 4.1 shows a tiny globe that you can imagine rotating around its axis as it travels through space. (But note that particles do not actually rotate like a globe.)
Figure 4.1. Particle Spin Metaphor.Image copyright © NASA, 1972 from Apollo 17 – The Blue Marble.
The concept of spin can be clarified by showing an experiment that detects this property. Figure 4.2 shows the behaviour of a particle when passing between two magnets.
Figure 4.2. Particle Spin Detection.
In the above figure, a particle is shot from the Emitter like an arrow from a crossbow. When the particle passes through the influence of the two magnets (the S and N rectangles), it will change course depending on its spin. If the particle is spinning up, it will deflect along the high path to the detector; if spinning down, it will travel the low path. This behaviour is caused by the particle’s intrinsic angular momentum, which is a fancy term for spin.
The spin of a photon has slightly different behaviour than other particles.
Photons
A photon’s axis and its direction of motion are directly linked, making it impossible to change one without changing the other, much like a gyroscope. In all cases, a photon’s axis must be 90 degrees to its motion. Since photons travel at light speed, their spin is limited to two states: clockwise or counter-clockwise. These states correspond to left-handed and right-handed photons.
The last property of photons that we need to explore, polarization, is related to spin.
Polarization
Polarization is the direction that photons oscillate. In physics, oscillate means to vary between alternate extremes, often within a set time limit. For a photon, its polarization is the orientation of its axis, which in turn is linked to its direction of motion. The following sections explore the idea of how photons and waves are related to polarization.
Polarized Waves
In Figure 4.3, a rope is being swung haphazardly, which makes not only horizontal and vertical waves, but all types in between. Note how the rope’s length physically limits the size of waves that can be created.
Figure 4.3. Making Random Waves.Image copyright © National Science Foundation, 2000.
The size of light waves is different from rope in that it is restricted by the waves’ frequency, and consequently their energy. The direction of light waves, like the rope, has no restriction; most light (from the sun or incandescent bulbs) travels randomly, similar to the rope movement in Figure 4.3. Passing light through a specially constructed material will filter out photons that do not have a specific polarization.
Figure 4.4 continues the rope analogy to illustrate the concept of filtering waves. When the same haphazard motion from Figure 4.3 is used to whip waves through a picket fence, only vertical waves will pass through the slit. Consequently, someone watching from the other side of the fence will only see vertical waves in the rope.
Figure 4.4. Making Polarized Waves.Image copyright © National Science Foundation, 2000.
Imagine placing a second fence after the first whose slats are horizontal. When waves try to pass through the first fence, only vertical ones succeed. The second fence, being horizontal, blocks all vertical waves. The result is that someone watching from the other side of the fences will see no waves in the rope. By using two fences with slits rotated 90 degrees to one another, all the rope waves are elimiated.
The same effect happens with photons, which can be demonstrated by a simple experiment.
Experiment 1
To see the effect of polarization on light, try these simple steps:
Find two polarized sunglasses. Hold one pair horizontally. Hold one pair vertically. Press a horizontal lens against a vertical lens. Look through the pressed lenses.
As shown in Figure 4.5, the outer lens will block all vertically aligned photons, while the inside lens blocks the horizontal ones. The result is that no light completes the journey beyond the second lens.
In practice, some light may make it through. This could be due to flawed polarizing material in the lenses, or because the lenses are not exactly 90 degrees (perpendicular) to each other.
Figure 4.5. Polarized Lenses Blocking Light.Image copyright © Sierra Trading Post, 2004.
Experiment 2
Polarization is not as simple as the previous experiment would lead you to believe. For example, place a third lens between the two lenses in the first experiment. Now rotate the third lens and watch what happens. Colorado University has an in depth explanation of polarization.
Quantum Entanglement
Whatever happened to one particle would thus immediately affect the other particle, wherever in the universe it may be. Einstein called this “Spooky action at a distance.”
Amir D. Aczel, Entanglement, The Greatest Mystery In Physics.
The Theory
When a photon (usually polarized laser light) passes through matter, it will be absorbed by an electron. Eventually, and spontaneously, the electron will return to its ground state by emitting the photon. Certain crystal structures increase the likelihood that the photon will split into two photons, both of them with longer wavelengths than the original. Keep in mind that a longer wavelength means a lower frequency, and thus less energy. The total energy of the two photons must equal the energy of the photon originally fired from the laser (conservation of energy).
When the original photon splits into two photons, the resulting photon pair is considered entangled.
The process of using certain crystals to split incoming photons into pairs of photons is called parametric down-conversion.
Normally the photons exit the crystal such that one is aligned in a horizontally polarized light cone, the other aligned vertically. By adjusting the experiment, the horizontal and vertical light cones can be made to overlap. Even though the polarization of the individual photons is unknown, the nature of quantum mechanics predicts they differ.
To illustrate, if an entangled photon meets a vertical polarizing filter (analagous to the fence in Figure 4.4), the photon may or may not pass through. If it does, then its entangled partner will not because the instant that the first photon’s polarization is known, the second photon’s polarization will be the exact opposite.
It is this instant communication between the entangled photons to indicate each other’s polarization that lies at the heart of quantum entanglement. This is the “spooky action at a distance” that Einstein believed was theoretically implausible.
The Practice
Experiments have shown that Einstein may have been wrong: entangled photons seem to communicate instantaneously. Figure 5.1 illustrates how to create entangled photons.
Figure 5.1. Photon Entangler Device.Image copyright © European Space Agency
An ultraviolet laser sends a single photon through Beta Barium Borate. As the photon travels through the crystal, there is a chance it will split. If it splits, the photon will exit from the Beta Barium Borate as two photons. The resulting photon pair are entangled.
An ultraviolet laser is used because the laser light has a high frequency. A high frequency implies a greater chance of splitting into two entangled photons.
The Result
Figure 5.2 is an enhanced photograph of a photon that has split into an entangled pair.
Figure 5.2. Entangled Photons.Image copyright © Anton Zeilinger, Institute of Experimental Physics, University of Vienna.
Spooky Behaviour
This section describes some of the strange behaviours seen in experiments.
Double-slit Experiments
Figure 6.1 illustrates what happens when a source of light shines through two tiny slits onto a screen. The detector screen illuminates a wave-like pattern caused by light interfering with itself. This is how waves are expected to behave.
Figure 6.1. Experiment 1 – Light Waves.
Since photons are also particles, we can transmit them one at a time. Figure 6.2 shows the result of many solitary photons being fired at the detector.
Figure 6.2. Experiment 2 – Light Particles.
The interference pattern still appears; but if photons are fired alone, then with what do they interfere? Quantum theory tells us that each photon interferes with itself. If true, then it implies that we cannot know through which slit the photon travels; the photon seems to have travelled both slits simultaneously!
Trying to detect which slit the photons travel puts this quantum weirdness in the spotlight, so to speak.
For example, we can polarize the light before it goes through the slits. Like rippling a rope through a picket fence to permit only vertical waves (see Figure 4.4), polarizing allows us to limit the type of light waves that make it through the slits to the detector.
When we put a polarizing filter around one of the two slits, the interference pattern disappears. The result is shown in Figure 6.3.
Figure 6.3. Experiment 3 – Polarized Light Waves.
Whenever we can detect, or deduce, through which slit a photon has travelled, the interference pattern instantly disappears. An interference pattern only appears when the photon’s path is unknown.
It gets weirder.
Even if we examine the photon’s trail after it passes the double-slits (but before it reaches the detector), the interference pattern disappears. And it disappears regardless of whether the examination uses a direct or indirect measurement of the photon.
But what if we used two photons that are inextricably linked (through entanglement), to perform the experiment?
Entanglement Experiments
I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there.
Richard Feynman, Letter to Armando Garcia.
Parametric Down-conversion
We have already seen how to create entangled photons through a process called spontaneous parametric down-conversion:
Figure 6.4. Photon Entangler Device.Image copyright © European Space Agency
To review, the laser in Figure 6.4 fires a high-energy beam into a special type of crystal. Every once in a while one of the photons from the beam will split into two less energetic photons. These two entangled photons will have opposite polarizations and travel in two different directions, resulting in two streams of polarized light.
The previous double-slit experiments detected interference patterns by shining a single light source through two slits (Figure 6.1 and Figure 6.2). The next experiment uses two streams of entangled photons.
Quantum Eraser
Figure 6.5 shows a Bell-state quantum eraser, named after John Bell. It illustrates the application of the following steps:
a laser fires photons into a Beta Barium Borate (BBO) crystal; the crystal entangles some of the photons; and then entangled photons travel to two different detectors: A and B.
Placed between the crystal and detector B is a double-slit, like in the previous experiments. Immediately in front of detector A is a polarizing filter that can be rotated. Figure 4.5 showed an experiment using sunglasses to see the effects of rotating a polarizer. Those same effects apply here.
Figure 6.5. Experiment 4 – Bell-state Quantum Eraser.
The Bell-state quantum eraser has one more feature: each slit is covered by a substance that filters the polarization of a photon. Consequently, the left-hand slit will receive photons with a counter-clockwise polarization, and the right-hand slit will pass photons with a clockwise polarization.
Note: Polarization does not affect interference patterns.
Initially, neither detector shows an interference pattern. Since we control the polarization of photons passing through the slits and we know the polarization accepted by each slit, we can deduce which way the photons travelled (counter-clockwise through the left; clockwise through the right). Thus no interference patterns are detected.
However, if we rotate the polarizing filter in front of detector A so that the polarizations of the photons that hit the detector are the same (that is, we can no longer distinguish between clockwise and counter-clockwise polarizations), then the interference pattern appears at both detectors!
How do the photons arriving at detector B know that the polarizations have been “erased” at detector A?
Conclusion
Quantum Theory is continually being challenged and tested; physicists are finding new ways to explain the world of the tiny. Each passing year brilliant minds add to, or subtract from, the pool of knowledge about quantum behaviour.
Unlike the static nature of the web pages presented here, quantum physics is ever changing. Physicists are confronted with problems that will take many iterations, many years, to solve. Scores of theories will be presented, some of them merely tweaking, while others radically alter, our perceptions of quantum nature.
Whatever we observe in the future, it promises to be exciting!The unstoppable shape-shifting T-1000 from the Terminator films continues to walk present-day earth in the form of Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who refuses to accept the results of the 2016 presidential election, despite legal setbacks and regardless of cost.
Stein appeared on Fox News Wednesday afternoon and spoke with Neil Cavuto, who questioned why she wasn’t pursuing recounts in states where Hillary Clinton had won by even slimmer margins than Trump’s wins in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Don’t let that make you suspect she’s trying to flip the Electoral College to Hillary Clinton, though.
.@DrJillStein: "This is not about helping [@HillaryClinton]. This is not about hurting Donald. This is about addressing… serious doubts." pic.twitter.com/kbQv2qPJHo — Fox News (@FoxNews) December 7, 2016
@FoxNews @DrJillStein OK then investigate and recount democrat states? especially democrat sanctuary states — Sunny (@IMInfidel01) December 7, 2016
@FoxNews @DrJillStein @HillaryClinton Liar. (1) Only challenged states that Trump won and (2) gave a press conf. in front of Trump Tower. — Deplorable Carl (@wstaar1) December 7, 2016
Here’s video, which is chock-full of great information about ensuring election integrity.
Stein claims the states she’s targeted for recounts were “basically red-flagged” … by whom? Well, there was that piece in New York magazine in which a group of computer scientists and civil rights lawyers urged Hillary Clinton to contest the election results in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
Sure, their theory was pretty much debunked on the spot, but, as Paul Krugman noted, now that the idea was out there, the suspicion of a hacked election would never go away without an investigation.
.@DrJillStein on states she wants a recount: "These were the states that were basically red-flagged." pic.twitter.com/bD79eNUtaU — Fox News (@FoxNews) December 7, 2016
“Basically” red-flagged … right.
@FoxNews @DrJillStein "red flagged" as in won by a republican — Debra Barrett (@debrabarrett937) December 7, 2016
@FoxNews @DrJillStein @TeamCavuto NH, Minnesota, Maine, Colorado & Nevada all won by 40K votes or less why no recount? She's full of S*** — James (@ItsLikeThatYoh) December 7, 2016
@FoxNews @DrJillStein they were red flagged by the sore loser @HillaryClinton campaign — Trump |
theme is “Analogies to an Asexual Experience.”
When I wrote my post on the aromantic vs. alloromantic divide (here on tumblr) a while back, there were a weirdly large number of reblogs/links with commentary on tumblr that were refuting the point that asexuals are essentially allosexuals minus the sexual attraction. Which would have been fine…had I actually made that point. But I didn’t, so I don’t really know what they were attempting to refute.
Anyway, thanks to that plus some discussion with Jo in the comments of that post plus this month’s carnival prompt, I’ve decided that it’s time to approach this dreaded topic.
Let me be frank: It drives me up the wall when people say, “Asexuals are just like everyone else, minus the sexual attraction!” I do not believe that asexuals are “just like everyone else,” unless by “just like” you mean “carbon-based life forms” or “probably not zombies.” (I tend not to like homogenizing statements of any kind, though.) At best, comparing asexuals to “everyone else” is misleading and at worst it winds up harming aces.
When we say, “Asexuals are just like everyone else, minus the sexual attraction!” we throw aromantic spectrum people under the bus.
luvtheheaven wrote in a blog post recently:
When I first was considering identifying as asexual […], I had browsed AVEN’s forums enough to know the different romantic orientation labels. Saying that you experience romantic attraction, just not sexual attraction seemed to be an easy and useful way to say, “I am exactly the same as all you *normal* people, except I don’t feel the sex stuff. The other stuff I do. I’m not some freak.” And it was hard for me to get to the point where I realized it was a lot more nuanced that that, and considering aromantics to be “freaks” […] was stopping me from really considering the fact that I might even be one of them!! [emphasis in the original]
When we talk about how asexuals are like everyone else because “asexuals can have romantic relationships too!” or “asexuals can fall in love too!” or “asexuals can get married too!” it erases that fact that, hey, some aces don’t want romantic relationships, some aces don’t fall in love, some aces don’t want to get married. It creates this artificial dividing line between alloromantic and aromantic aces, and often leaves the aromantic (or aromantic spectrum or wtfromantic) aces feeling alienated.
The problems aren’t even limited to the aromantic spectrum. Saying “asexuals are just like everyone else” winds up turning romantic orientation into “[other sexual orientation] Lite,” so heteroromanticism is Heterosexuality Lite, biromanticism is Bisexuality Lite, etc. This not only erases the fact that, hey, we’re ace, not the watered down version of some other sexual orientation (which is the whole point of claiming both a romantic and sexual orientation in the first place), but can lead to ace invalidation. After all, if biromantic asexuality is Bisexuality Lite, biromantic aces might as well just join the rest of the bisexuals and stop “trying to be special” by claiming an asexual identity.
When we say, “Asexuals are just like everyone else, minus the sexual attraction!” we throw asexual spectrum people under the bus.
How often have you heard, “Demisexuality? Isn’t that, like, ‘normal’ sexuality?” Well, I mean, obviously it isn’t (and even if it were, that’s not necessarily a good reason to get rid of the label). But if we’re so busy emphasizing how alike asexuals and everyone else are, the label may seem a lot less important to people. I mean, if aces are so similar to everyone else–just missing the sexual attraction bit–then people who do have the sexual attraction bit are basically exactly like everyone else, yeah?
This line of argument can (and does) turn into identity-policing in asexual communities, ’cause if our main difference from allosexual people is our lack of sexual attraction, those dastardly grey-As are infiltrating! The nerve! Of course, that train of thought elides a lot of the nuances and creates an us vs. them mentality, which doesn’t help anyone.
When we say, “Asexuals are just like everyone else, minus the sexual attraction!” we erase the diversity of relationships in our community.
It is common knowledge that ace relationships can look really interesting. Part of that may be because of the constraints of our relationship pools, but another part of it is probably because (surprise!) some aces have different relationship desires than allosexuals. Some aces are poly. Some aces are kinky. Some aces prefer platonic relationships to romantic ones. Some aces have sexual relationships. Some aces wind up with really unusual relationship structures because that’s what they can make work in their lives.
There’s this unfortunate tendency to try to shove all relationships into a standard mold–the problem, of course, is that some (maybe even the majority) of ace relationships just don’t fit into that mold for whatever reason. Even when aces do something marginally heteronormative, like get married, it doesn’t always mean that their marriage looks anything like a “normal” marriage. And yet the relationships that are most commonly featured in media coverage of asexuality are relationships that “look” heterosexual, just minus the sex. (More on that below, though.)
Yes, there are totally some aces who wind up in heterosexual relationships (and have sex!). There are some aces who wind up in heteroromantic relationships. There are some aces who wind up in relationships that look like “everyone else’s” relationships. But there are also aces who wind up in poly, long-distance, romantic friendships and aces who wind up in queerplatonic triads. Even those who get into “normative”-ish relationships, may not get into them in the most normative way. So talking about how we’re “just like everyone else” erases a lot of our differences in terms of relationship styles and desires–which are often what draw people to the ace community in the first place.
When we say, “Asexuals are just like everyone else, minus the sexual attraction!” we are creating a category of “everyone else” that inevitably winds up being cis, het, white people in heteronormative relationships.
People have commented before on the tendency in news coverage of asexuality to feature cis aces in “seemingly het” relationships. Although some homoromantic aces have been interviewed, I can’t think of any articles that featured aces in same-gender relationships. The few featured pan- or biromantic aces in relationships have inevitably been in het-seeming relationships. Sometimes the trans aces who (against all odds) wind up getting interviewed are misgendered. And that’s not even touching on the dearth of non-white aces in media coverage. (Hey, hello, we exist!)
I can’t be certain, but I think this tendency to present aces in the media as “normal people minus the sex!” has contributed to the constant maelstrom around whether aces are allowed to call themselves queer. If your impression of aces is that they’re Cis Het White People Lite,* it’s pretty understandable to push back against their entering your space. (Also, the Cis Het White People Lite perception leads to the arguments about how asexuality is “white sexuality.”) The problem, of course, is that we aren’t actually Cis Het White People Lite, and that the constant gatekeeping winds up, in the best case, barring many of us from spaces we could find helpful, and, in the worst case, keeping us from accepting and embracing our own identities.**
Presenting aces as being like an “everyone else” that is cis, white, and heterosexual erases the diversity in our community and creates an idealized version of asexuality that may have no relevance to our actual experiences. The experiences of a white, heteroromantic ace in a normative-ish relationship (which is essentially what media coverage wants to talk about) have very little bearing on my experiences as a queer Latina ace. The experiences of cis, white aces have very little bearing on the experiences of trans aces of color. Heck, the experiences of heteroromantic aces in normative relationships probably don’t have too much overlap with the experiences of aro aces in non-normative relationships. We shouldn’t present a homogenized view of asexuality any more than we should present a homogenized view of “everyone else.”
When we say, “Asexuals are just like everyone else, minus the sexual attraction!” we imply that asexuality is a removable component of our identities.
What do I mean by a “removable component”? Well, there are certain identities that I can technically claim but don’t have a particular impact on the way I perceive/interact with the world. For example, I wear glasses, but it’s quite easy for me to imagine a world in which I don’t wear glasses. I would not be fundamentally different as a person if I didn’t wear glasses.
I cannot imagine a world in which I am not asexual. If I were not ace, my interactions, perceptions, experiences, and sense of self would be so radically different that I simply cannot imagine a world in which I am not ace and yet am still me. This is the issue with so many of the asexuality-related analogies out there. When you try to use liking or not liking cake as an analogy for asexuality, you’re not talking about an identity of the magnitude of asexuality.*** For example, I genuinely dislike pizza.**** However, my dislike of pizza doesn’t shape my perception of the world. It doesn’t make sense for me to claim it as an identity, ’cause it has very little impact on my life, especially now that my friends have stopped having pizza birthday parties. Comparing my “lack of attraction” to pizza to my lack of sexual attraction minimizes the impact of my asexuality on virtually every facet of my life.
This is the heart of my problem with the “asexuals are just like everyone else!” rhetoric, because we’re not. My asexuality isn’t a footnote to be skipped over by all but the most fastidious graduate students, and so to skip over my asexuality in the name of finding some universal commonality is to deny a major part of my identity. When people talk about aces being, at the end of the day, the same as non-aces, that’s a form of erasure. That’s erasing our differences, our struggles, our experiences, our ways of perceiving the world, and ultimately can be used to negate our identities. If we’re the same as everyone else, why do we feel the need to claim an asexual identity? Why bother talking about our differences? Why bother forming a community? If we’re like everyone else, why not just quietly join everyone else and stop trying to swim against the current?
As you can probably guess, this line of thought can very quickly tend toward invalidation, and people saying, “Yeah, but nobody’s ever been disowned for being ace,” because if aces are like everyone else, if asexuality can get added or subtracted without changing one’s core identity, if aces are Cis Het White People Lite, then obviously we’ve never been disowned! If my asexuality is like not liking pizza, what am I making such a big deal about anyway? Nobody cares whether I like pizza or not! Nobody’s ever been attacked for not liking pizza! Nobody’s ever been disowned for not liking pizza!
If you have read…basically anything I’ve written, you probably know that I have an excessive fondness for metaphors. But I don’t think we should focus on finding analogies for asexual experience, because at the end of the day the best analogies for asexual experiences are asexual experiences. We shouldn’t have to legitimate asexual experiences by comparing them to attitudes toward cake or sensory deprivation or whatever other metaphor of the week we’re using–if people are really interested in learning about what it’s like to be asexual, they should listen to our experiences as asexual people. If I wanted to learn what it’s like to be a Korean trans woman, I wouldn’t read a convoluted metaphor about spaghetti–I would go read about Korean trans women’s experiences.
By comparing aces to “everyone else,” we present ace experiences in palatable, easily digestible soundbites that don’t require readers to think.***** We present aces as non-threatening, sure, but we throw anyone who isn’t “normative except for the sexual attraction bit” under the bus. Comparing aces to everyone else erases the very differences that our communities are formed around, and it frankly doesn’t do queer aces (or aces who need access to non-heteronormative resources) any favors. At the end of the day, arguing that aces are just like everyone else is an attempt to convince people to respect us (“See, we’re not so different from you!”). But if the only way people will respect us is if we downplay our differences (which is why most of us claimed the identity in the first place), is that really respect at all?
Perhaps, though, part of the problem is that it’s hard to define what exactly an “asexual experience” is. Sciatrix described asexual experiences as being “bounded by silence and uncertainty” recently, and I think that’s a really apt analogy. Because what exactly makes an “asexual experience” an “asexual experience” is so hard to define, we reach for analogies. We find 101 ways to do 101 and recapitulate the exact same thing someone else said yesterday, because finding new ways to talk about the things that have been designated “safe” to talk about as ace experiences is much easier than breaking new ground. It means that our communal conversations are often cyclical and focus on how to explain ourselves to outsiders inoffensively/effectively/persuasively, not on how to explain ourselves to ourselves. And, yes, doing 101 is really important, but so is supporting the people in our community. So is talking about things that not many people have talked about yet. So is releasing more 201 narratives so that aces who read them can say, “Hey, I’m not alone.”
I guess the point of all this rambling is: Let’s focus on supporting and understanding each other–rather than presenting ourselves as palatable, non-threatening entities to non-aces–because if we don’t support each other, who will?
*”White, Queenie?” you say. “What does race have to do with any of this?” Lots of things. Race has a lot to do with this. I’ll leave it to people more eloquent than I to explain the nuances of that, though. (Like this person and this person.)
**And now I’m going to barrage you with links: me on growing into “queer”, emeraldincandescent on how gatekeeping in queer spaces keeping them from realizing “how queer [they were]”, writingfromfactorx on anxiety around queer spaces, and ace-muslim on asexuality, Islam, and queerness, ’cause (surprise!) culture isn’t a monolith.
***Plus, you know, appetite for food and sexual attraction are radically different things. The Ace Theist has written quite a good piece on the problem with food metaphors when explaining asexuality.
The other common analogy I see is asexuality as disability, which is problematic on so many levels, and often tends toward, “Wow, these poor people are missing out on a fundamental part of the human experience!” rhetoric.
****There are three exceptions to this, one of which was made by a very dear friend who continually reminds me that I don’t hate pizza, I just hate pizza not made by her. So I’m putting a footnote here to remind her that, yes, your pizza is great.
*****This unfortunately isn’t the only example of aces shaping discourse around making non-aces comfortable to the detriment of actual members of our communities–for example, I’ve written about the tendency to remind teenagers that they may not be ace forever.Bitcoin compliance solutions provider Scorechain has raised €500,000 ($570,000) in seed funding from an undisclosed group of angel investors.
The Luxembourg-based startup is seeking to target both bitcoin companies and traditional financial institutions with a suite of services that help clients meet regulatory and compliance requirements, through business intelligence and risk analysis tools that illuminate transaction histories on the blockchain.
CEO Pierre Gerard suggested Scorechain will attempt to appeal to bitcoin startups that are beginning to implement more stringent know-your-customer and anti-money laundering policies by offering a web interface as well as an API.
However, Gerard also sees the service being useful for a market that is increasingly interested in the digital currency industry – major financial institutions.
Gerard told CoinDesk:
“Banks are learning more about customers using bitcoin. If someone is coming with €100,000 in cash, pretending it’s coming from bitcoin, we can allow a compliance officer from a bank to check if the person is telling the truth. All the banks today need to check where the money is coming from, if it’s from bitcoin, we provide this.”
Gerard said Scorechain’s solution is optimized for the European market, and that its service is able to build custom reports for companies in different nations, with the information it collects varying depending on local regulatory needs.
The startup’s emphasis on Europe, he said, will also be beneficial, given there is less competition among compliance providers than in the US, which is home to startups such as IdentityMind.
Today, Scorechain has four full-time employees, according to its CEO, with funding being used to expand the team to six. The service is currently operating in free beta, though Gerard said the company is now exploring pricing models.
Blockchain analysis
Users of the service who want to obtain more information about a bitcoin transaction or wallet address are able to leverage its “Lookup” tool to see details, such as how much bitcoin was sent and the fees that were paid to include the transaction on the blockchain.
Both metrics are provided in a colorful screen layout alongside the date on which the transaction was confirmed and a chart that connects that transaction ID or wallet address to past and future blockchain movements using cluster detection and address identification.
The following example shows the Scorechain analysis for one transaction where funds had previously moved through the online black market Agora.
Gerard said there are some limitations to the service, as it currently relies on public information from sources such as Reddit and Pastebin to link bitcoin addresses to specific entities.
The CEO said Scorechain may work to obtain information from other companies in the industry, like bitcoin exchanges, but suggested it still needs to determine how such potentially sensitive customer information would need to be managed.
Images via ScorechainFeatured Build
Void Ray/Chargelot/Templar PvZ [ edit ]
sOs showing everyone who's boss
The Void Ray/Templar/Zealot PvZ style is perhaps the most innovative build that emerged after the release of HotS. The basic roots of the playstyle comes from the mass Skytoss builds of the HotS beta, and to a lesser extent from standard play in Brood War, where focusing on High Templar and Zealots after a Stargate opening is the norm. It was first refined by Woonjing Stars Protoss players and particularly sOs, who showed just how devastating it can be in the WCS Season 1 Global Finals as he made Soulkey, the best Zerg in the world, look confused and even sloppy in their Ro4 match. Since then the metagame and builds have shifted and evolved, but the core ideas remain powerful today. Along with other notable players such as NaNiwa, sOs continues to focus heavily on this unit composition and enjoy great success with it. A flashy and deceptive style in pure sOs fashion, it can be considered as a middle ground between hyper-aggressive 3base Blink timings, and the slower, safe and methodical Colossus/Stargate builds that have been used in PvZ since 2010. Blink Stalker 3base builds need to hit a powerful midgame timing or not scale well enough in the endgame against zerg tech and production, and Colossus builds can be powerful but immobile, slow and exploitable by tech switches. The Skytoss/Templar style on the other hand can allow protoss players to be take map control and play aggressively almost as fast as the Blink Stalker styles, without the need to commit to an attack and with an extremely powerful lategame. The price to pay for this added versatility is the need to utilize greedier and/or trickier openings, resulting in a third base that can sometimes be harder to defend from midgame attacks. Additionally, the heavy tech investment of this style results in a lower Sentry count, and therefore in less energy for Hallucination scouting. Also, you get to feel like Bisu every time you beat someone which is pretty fucking awesome. From now on this style will be called The Bisu Build because every PvZ build with zealots templar and flying units is the Bisu build anyway. This guide will walk you through the early game (defined as the part of the game in which the protoss player executes his favored opening that leads into this style); midgame (the portion of the game in which the protoss is on 3 bases and has to react to the zerg's decisions of either teching up to lair or hive tech, or going for a lair based bust), and lategame (once the protoss tech investments fully kick in and he's free to take map control and a 4th base).This week Michael Gove claimed that people who use food banks have only got themselves to blame for mismanaging their finances. Can that be true? As the number of people relying on them has tripled in the past year – and continues to rise – we visit three centres in the UK
Grantham
"I get really, really upset sometimes," says Andrew Burton-Fullick, sitting in the front room of his small terraced house in Grantham. "I don't sleep well now. Day-to-day life is a struggle. My partner works his socks off for us and he's had time off with stress. It's hand-to-mouth all the time. And I've done nothing wrong."
Until January 2011, Burton-Fullick, 56, had been working as a care assistant in a nursing home, which he had done for 23 years. The year before, he had had a heart attack, and when he later developed heart complications his doctor told him he'd have to give up work. On top of this, he has been living with diabetes since he was a toddler and it is seriously affecting his health – his sight is deteriorating, he is suffering hearing loss (he wears hearing aids in both ears) and has nerve damage in his hands and legs. He also has arthritis, which makes walking difficult, and will soon be going into hospital for surgery on his bladder. A large plastic tub full of drugs is on the table next to him.
He was given benefits that came to nearly £400 a month – less than he had been earning, but just about enough, combined with his partner's salary as a hospital porter, to live on. Then, as part of a reassessment by Atos, he was told he was no longer eligible for the new incapacity benefit, his benefits would be stopped immediately and that, despite his numerous health problems, he was fit for work and should go and find a job. He appealed, but lost. He isn't even eligible for jobseeker's allowance.
And there are no jobs for him. When he turned down a position because it was only 16 hours a week and almost all of his salary would have gone on commuting costs, he says the staff at the Jobcentre called him "lazy". "Well, how come I worked for 23 years in the care trade and only had to stop through illness? I didn't ask to be ill. I didn't ask for this to happen," he says. "I know people who run businesses and they've told me they wouldn't touch me with a bargepole. There are well people out there looking for jobs, so people like me aren't going to get a look-in."
The couple survive on one low salary. There are no luxuries or treats. Holidays are never considered; the one day out they've had all year was a trip to Nottingham for the recent Gay Pride festival and that had to be carefully budgeted for. Burton-Fullick needs new glasses, but can't afford them; their immersion heater broke 18 months ago but they don't have the money to get it fixed. They can usually afford to eat (though Burton-Fullick will sometimes skip meals), but when the money runs out before payday, the food bank steps in.
Burton-Fullick first used it at the beginning of last year. Their house got flooded and the unexpected expense left them without any money. He was referred by the Citizens' Advice Bureau, which issued a food bank voucher. "We were so thankful, and we still are," he says. "It means a lot. It means we're not struggling." He used it a couple of times last year, and has done the same a couple of times so far this year (it's not meant to be used regularly).
At 1pm the Grantham food bank opens, and we slowly walk the few streets from his house. Burton-Fullick uses a shopping trolley to steady himself (he would like a mobility scooter but can't afford one). The food bank is on the ground floor of a Victorian terraced building, with posters in the bay window. One reads: "Restoring dignity, reviving hope, building community." Inside, several volunteers are packing supermarket carrier bags with food, while other volunteers sit at tables with food bank users, or "clients" as they're called.
Brian Hanbury, the food bank's coordinator, sits down with Burton-Fullick and asks him how he has been. "You're about the 3,000th client," Hanbury says. "We've had 33 tonnes of food come through this little building within the last two years. I'm only telling you this because I know when people find themselves in a hard place, they think they're on their own. We're estimating there are close to 6,000 people in this area who are just a few steps away from not being able to put food on their plate."
The food bank asks clients to write their stories in a book – they range from young people leaving abusive homes and ending up in a hostel, to people who had to have time off work for illness, to those affected by the new bedroom tax. Hanbury estimates around 40% of his clients come in because of Jobcentre sanctions against them stopping their benefits. Hanbury leaves us sitting at a table and when I look over to Burton-Fullick, he looks as if he's going to cry. After a while, he says: "I get so angry."
Back at home, he unpacks the bags. "They say there's three days' food here but I can make it last a lot longer than that. They are very generous." He has also been given a bag of toiletries, including loo roll, toothbrushes and shower gel (the food bank started providing this after a young mother said how horrible it made her feel to have to wash her children using supermarket value brand washingup liquid).
The food donation includes tinned vegetables, pasta sauces, packets of spaghetti, a bag of porridge, chocolate biscuits and stir-fry sauce. He runs through a list of meals he can make: "I've got some mince in the freezer so I'll do a cottage pie, curries I can do, I can convert this," he says, holding up a packet of pasta sauce, "into a risotto."
He seems so cheerful unveiling each item – we laugh at the incongruousness of a large jar of bratwurst – and you momentarily forget what an outrage it is that thousands of people are having to rely on food banks such as Grantham's in order not to go hungry. "Sometimes," he says, "I sit here and get so angry. I would love to get Mr Cameron to live at the end of the month on what we have to live on. I'm not asking for thousands of pounds, I'm not asking for people to feel sorry for me. I just want a fair deal."
Emine Saner
North London
‘I can eat bread and water but she needs infant milk’ … Tereza Stanova with her daughter Beyonce Photograph: Martin Godwin
It's midday at the Trussell Trust food bank in Stoke Newington, Hackney, and Tereza Stanova has already spent three hours on foot, in search of answers to her financial problems. After this, she will walk another hour back to her flat. She has an Oyster card but can't afford £1.40 for the bus fare – that money goes towards nappies for her nine-week-old baby, Beyonce, whom she's bringing up alone. Her daughter snuffles and sighs behind us, asleep in her pram. Tereza is in a cycle many will recognise, her life measured out in 10p pieces.
"It's not about my food," says Stanova softly, so as not to wake Beyonce. "I can eat bread and water. It's about providing for her. She's growing fast. You give her some clothes and she can wear them for two weeks, then she's too big... And as she grows, she eats more. I'm trying to breastfeed her, but it's not enough. She needs infant milk, and also nappies because you need to change her every three or four hours, sometimes even more, so it's eight to 10 nappies a day. That's really expensive." The pair need £5 a week for electricity, about the same for gas. "You need electricity, because you can't give her cold milk. You need to boil the water, you need to bath her."
Stanova is a quiet woman of 20, who has spent all her adult life in the UK, having arrived from the Czech Republic nearly three years ago to work as a nanny. She enjoyed looking after two children for a family in Kent, but when she was four and a half months pregnant, her midwife warned that the 13 hour days could prove risky – one of the children she looked after was two, the other a newborn, so there was a lot of heavy lifting and carrying. It was suggested that part-time work would be better, so she left her job and started applying, without any success.
The jobseeker's allowance she received initially ended 10 weeks before her due date. Stanova then applied for income support, but was turned down, a decision she's appealing. While still pregnant, she was able to live with friends and use the savings she'd accumulated to prepare for Beyonce's birth. Having earned £900 a month, she had some money set aside. But as her due date came closer, the savings dried up and she had to find more permanent accommodation. After looking around the handful of flats available to those on benefits, her former employers put her in touch with a landlord friend with a flat for DSS tenants in Hackney. Two weeks before giving birth, Tereza moved in and applied for housing benefit, which was also denied. She is now down to her last £50.
This is her second visit to the food bank. She was told about it by a friend, and referred by the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). We look through what she has been given. Cereal, milk, baby wipes, nappies, first infant milk. There is some sweetcorn she will mix with rice and canned tomatoes, Spam and tuna she will use for sandwiches. CAB has helped her apply for a crisis grant, which she's hoping will come through before she and Beyonce go hungry. The food bank only allows three visits.
Stanova says she needs to stay hopeful for her baby. "When you are upset, she can feel it, she's stressed." I ask what will happen if her appeals for housing benefit and income support are unsuccessful, and she says she doesn't know. "I'll probably have to go and call myself homeless." Her face crumples, she starts crying, and Liza Cucco, the food bank manager, rushes forward with a handwritten list of helpful organisations. "You're not going to become homeless," she says, grasping her hand.
The number of people who visit this food bank has doubled since changes to the benefit system in April. They now feed around 250 people a month. "The main reason people come now," says Cucco, "is because of a change, delay, or sanction in their benefit, or their inability to access short-term crisis grant funding." There are almost 90 organisations authorised to refer people to this food bank, and "typically what happens," says Cucco, "is that they realise in the course of dealing with their client that they've got no money for food. So in a children's centre, for example, someone might notice that a kid is eating crayons, and find out the family isn't able to give them breakfast."
Stanova is keen to return to work – if she could get a little financial support, she says, she has friends who could look after Beyonce three days a week, so she could work part-time. She doesn't have much contact with her family in the Czech Republic; all her strong adult ties are here. For now, she's trudging around north London for hours each day, in the hope of securing just enough financial support "for nappies," she says, "and to live normally, to not be stressed every day".
Kira Cochrane
Rotherham
Volunteers at the Rotherham food bank. Photograph: David Sillitoe
Neil is 17 years old. He arrived at the Rotherham food bank by skateboard, armed with a voucher given to him at Rush House, a charity providing a range of accommodation and support services to young people.
At the end of July, Neil [not his real name] appeared in court charged with criminal damage after climbing on a roof in the town centre while drunk and accidentally smashing some air vents. He pleaded guilty and received a £250 fine, which the judge agreed he could pay off in instalments of £5 a week from his benefits. But when Neil went online to check his bank account a few weeks later he saw that all of his benefits for the forthcoming fortnight – £103 – had been docked to pay the fine off more quickly. Suddenly he had no money at all.
Neil has not had a good few years. Kicked out of home aged 15, he sofa-surfed for two years until March, when he was taken in by Rush House. They helped him come off drugs (mephedrone, marijuana, MDMA), got him enrolled on an art course at college and found him shared accommodation. Then he got drunk one midsummer night, did something daft – and now he's hungry. "I've had no proper food for days now," he says. "I've just been eating pasta with no sauce for every meal and drinking water. It's not ideal."
Pasta, it turns out, is one of Neil's favourite foods. "I like cooking pasta dishes – lasagne, spag bol, carbonara, things like that."
The two carrier bags given to Neil by two kindly parishioners do contain pasta, but in the form of a pre-cooked tin of macaroni cheese. Many food bank visitors have very rudimentary cooking equipment and can't afford to pay for gas to do much more than heat things up. Also inside the bags are a box of value cereal, teabags, a packet of chocolate digestives, tins of beans, tuna, soup and peas, bread rolls, toilet rolls and other bits and bobs. The haul is supposed to last just three days, but Neil will make it go further.
Many of the food bank visitors say they feel ashamed and embarrassed to be using a food bank. Not Neil. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about," he says. But he doesn't want his face to be seen in our photograph, and he doesn't plan to return. "I've been to the youth court and shown them a letter from the judge, so hopefully in a few days the paper work will be sorted."
The Rotherham food bank has been open for business for two hours a week since April 2012. Run by the local Hope Church under the Trussell Trust banner, it has so far fed 700 families for all manner of reasons. "People come to us via the probation service, from a women's refuge, the citizen's advice bureau, Yorkshire Housing, parenting groups, social services, children's centres, a homeless shelter, the NHS, Rotherham College, all sorts of places," says Danny Miller, pastor of Hope Church. He divvies out the vouchers to these organisations and it is their unenviable job to decide which of their clients needs food the most.
On the Thursday the Guardian visits, those with vouchers include: a man released from prison the previous Friday, having been on remand for shoplifting offences (accused of stealing food from a supermarket, he was found not guilty); another man collecting food for his ex-wife and their two grown sons, plunged into crisis after her tax credits were stopped without warning when the youngest boy finished his college course; a 41-year-old struggling to feed his wife, 16-year-old twins and toddler grandson, who had recently moved in under a court order. And Neil.
The food bank is always busy, says Miller: "If I give out 20 vouchers each week, we get 20 more families coming in. We can't match the demand."
As time goes on, they add new items. "We're learning as we go along. Recently we started giving out pet food. Because if you're struggling to feed your family, you'll let your dog starve before your kids," says Miller.
It is always intended to be a stop-gap measure rather than a long-term solution, he says. "We have a three-strikes-and-you're-out rule – in other words, you shouldn't really be coming to us more than three times. We want to avoid dependency. Our role is to help in times of crisis."
But the food bank is not temporary, he believes. "Unfortunately, we're here to stay. I can't see the need going away."
Helen PiddPresident Donald Trump’s son, his former campaign chairman, and his son-in-law were all told that the opposition research they were soliciting on campaign rival Hillary Clinton was coming from |
him, not his nightstand.Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton received a standing ovation at Isle High School when he announced Friday there will be no netting of fish on Lake Mille Lacs next year. The Mille Lacs Band has agreed to cease netting to help restore the lake’s valuable walleye population.
One resort owner said the DNR has been “asleep at the wheel for too long” and they’re thankful the governor has "woken up.”
DNR commissioner Tom Landwehr said “unprecedented” conditions in July pushed the lake within 3,000 pounds of reaching its annual walleye quota, partially blaming the high catch rates during the Fourth of July holiday and first two weeks of the month. Resort owners started receiving notices from the DNR to prepare for closures as early as Aug. 3.
The walleye decline has been apparent over the last decade, DNR fisheries chief Don Pereira said, and while it’s not wholly a result of fishing, it is a result of the changes in water clarity and warm temperatures.
Gov. Dayton and state lawmakers have discussed a special session to provide a Mille Lacs tourism relief package and to address storm damage in the Brainerd, Minn. area.
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe statement
“The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe remains deeply committed to safeguarding the long-term health of the Mille Lacs Lake and ensuring the region’s economy continues to grow and prosper, including businesses that rely on the lake.
“As Governor Dayton and legislative leaders develop a plan to help the region, the Mille Lacs Band will continue to promote the region through the DoTheLake campaign and other marketing efforts to drive additional tourism to the region. The Mille Lacs Band Department of Natural Resources and Environment will continue to work closely with the Minnesota DNR, the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission and other stakeholders to protect the lake for future generations.
“There are no quick solutions to fixing Mille Lacs Lake, but the Mille Lacs Band is committed to restoring the lake. Our people made our home here hundreds of years ago and we intend to preserve this lake for generations to come. We look forward to partnering with the Governor to support his efforts to address the immediate and long-term challenges of the region.”Gerrymandering -- drawing political boundaries to give your party a numeric advantage over an opposing party -- is a difficult process to explain. If you find the notion confusing, check out the chart above -- adapted from one posted to Reddit this weekend -- and wonder no more.
Suppose we have a very tiny state of fifty people. Thirty of them belong to the Blue Party, and 20 belong to the Red Party. And just our luck, they all live in a nice even grid with the Blues on one side of the state and the Reds on the other.
Now, let's say we need to divide this state into five districts. Each district will send one representative to the House to represent the people. Ideally, we want the representation to be proportional: if 60 percent of our residents are Blue and 40 percent are Red, those five seats should be divvied up the same way.
Fortunately, because our citizens live in a neatly ordered grid, it's easy to draw five lengthy districts -- two for the Reds, and three for the Blues. Voila! Perfectly proportional representation, just as the Founders intended. That's grid 1 above, "perfect representation."
Now, let's say instead that the Blue Party controls the state government, and they get to decide how the lines are drawn. Rather than draw districts vertically they draw them horizontally, so that in each district there are six Blues and four Reds. You can see that in grid 2 above, "compact but unfair."
With a comfortable Blue majority in this state, each district elects a blue candidate to the House. The Blues win 5 seats and the Reds don't get a single one. Oh well! All's fair in love and politics.
In the real world, the results of this latter scenario are similar to what we see in New York, though there are no good examples of where a majority party gives itself a clean-sweep. In 2012, Democrats received 66 percent of the popular House vote. But they won 21 out of 27 House seats, or three more than you'd expect from the popular vote alone. And from a purely geometric standpoint, New York's congressional districts aren't terribly irregular -- at least not compared to other states.
Finally, what if the Red Party controls the state government? The Reds know they're at a numeric disadvantage. But with some creative boundary drawing -- the type you see in grid 3, "neither compact nor fair" -- they can slice the Blue population up such that they only get a majority in two districts. So despite making up 40 percent of the population, the Reds win 60 percent of the seats. Not bad!
In the real world, this is similar to what we see in Pennsylvania. In 2012, Democrats won 51 percent of the popular House vote. But the only won 5 out of 18 House seats -- fewer than one third. This was because when Pennsylvania Republicans redrew the state's Congressional districts, they made highly irregular districts that look like the one below, PA-7, one of the most geographically irregular districts in the nation.
Now, this exercise is of course a huge simplification. In the real world people don't live in neatly-ordered grids sorted by political party. But for real-world politicians looking to give themselves an advantage at redistricting time, the process is exactly the same, as are the results for the parties that gerrymander successfully.
The easiest way to solve this issue, of course, would be to take the redistricting process out of human hands entirely. There is already software capable of doing just that -- good luck getting any politicians to agree to it, though.
The process of redrawing district lines to give an advantage to one party over another is called "gerrymandering." Here's how it works. (Daron Taylor/The Washington Post)
More on gerrymandering:
This computer programmer solved gerrymandering in his spare time »
America’s most gerrymandered congressional districts »
What 60 years of political gerrymandering looks like »
One easy way to end gerrymandering: Stop letting politicians draw their own districts »
Note: The chart above was adapted from one posted to Reddit this weekend. Credit to redditor N8theGr8 for finding the original image. He couldn't track down the original creator using a reverse image search, and neither could I. If you made the original chart, drop me a line so I can give you credit! UPDATE: The original creator reached out -- his name is Stephen Nass, and he posted the original chart on Facebook on Feb. 21.
Update: An earlier version of this post used California as an example of a majority party giving itself a bigger majority through redistricting. California's districts are drawn by an independent commission, not by the parties.He incorrectly recounted the history of the F.B.I. and falsely said its director ‘really reports directly to the president of the United States.’
Mr. Trump said that the F.B.I. started reporting to the Justice Department “out of courtesy” after President Richard M. Nixon, but that “there was nothing official, there was nothing from Congress” to cement that relationship.
The F.B.I. was founded in 1908 by Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte to conduct investigations for the Justice Department, according to the bureau’s website, and Congress expanded its jurisdiction through legislation in the next decade. It officially became the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1935.
The director “has answered directly to the attorney general since the 1920s,” according to the F.B.I. website, and the Justice Department has guidelines instructing the bureau to communicate with the White House with the approval of the attorney general or other top officials at the Justice Department. Although the director J. Edgar Hoover had close, arguably unethical relationships with six presidents, his successors have tried to distance themselves from the president, according to Douglas M. Charles, a history professor at Pennsylvania State University.
He described savings from health care and tax cuts as a ‘windfall’ for the middle class. The cuts are generally more beneficial to the wealthy.
The original version of the Senate health care bill would have repealed taxes totaling $700 billion over the next decade, with most of the money lining the pockets of the richest Americans, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.
The latest version retained two taxes from the Affordable Care Act aimed at the wealthy and was “much less regressive,” the center’s Howard Gleckman wrote. While the wealthy would still have seen the largest dollar amount in tax cuts, lower-income households would have gotten a larger cut as a share of after-tax income.
The White House’s tax blueprint — which lacks the details needed for modeling — would provide modest cuts for the middle class, but the rich and businesses have the most to gain.
If it were to contain the elements of Mr. Trump’s campaign pledges, households in the top 1 percent would get an average tax cut of about $270,000, while the middle fifth of Americans would see about $1,900, according to the Tax Policy Center.Olivier Giroud says he relishes the "big battle" that comes with competing against Premier League defenders.
The France international has scored 18 goals so far in 2015/16 - his besttally at this stage of a season with Arsenal.
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Olivier Giroud is on the front of the February magazine
Giroud believes that statistic is connected to him coping with the physical demands of spearheading the attack.
"I enjoy the battle, it's always correct and with fair play and at the end of the game we always shake hands and say 'well done'"
"I always try to help the team hold up the ball up front," he told the Arsenal Magazine. "That's part of my job and it's what I like to do.
"I think I'm doing quite well in that part of my job. I try to keep the ball for the team, or other times I try to deflect it.
"So that means winning headers or going for the flick-on. Sometimes I like to hold possession too which is important for the team to give the defence an opportunity to get up.
"It's one of my specialities, if I can say.
"I enjoy the battle, it's always correct and with fair play and at the end of the game we always shake hands and say 'well done'. So it's always done in a good mood.
"Especially with Gary Cahill at Chelsea it's always a tough battle, very physical, and with people like Ryan Shawcross too.
"They are very strong, and play a lot with their bodies so it's always nice to compete with them."Updated Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, 5:12 p.m. EST: Malissa Ancona, wife of Frank Ancona, and Paul Edward Jinkerson Jr., stepson of Frank Ancona, have been charged with first-degree murder in his death. They have both been charged with “abandonment of a corpse, first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence,” KMOV.com reports.
Updated Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, 11:41 a.m. EST: Malissa Ancona, wife of Frank Ancona, is being held on suspicion of murder in her husband’s death. Ancona is reportedly on a 24-hour hold on suspicion of first-degree murder but has not been formally charged, KMOV reports.
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Updated Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, 10:30 a.m. EST: Autopsy results reveal that Frank Ancona died as the result of a gunshot to the head. As The Root previously reported, all of Ancona’s firearms were allegedly taken from his Leadwood, Mo., home when he went missing last Wednesday. Charges should be filed as early as Monday morning, the Daily Journal Online reports.
Earlier:
The body of Frank Ancona, 51, imperial wizard of the Traditional American Knights of Ku Klux Klan, was discovered Saturday on the bank of Big River outside of Belgrade, Mo., four days after he went missing from his Leadwood, Mo., home.
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Local law enforcement said they discovered that Ancona was missing Thursday on Facebook. A Federal Forestry Service employee located Ancona’s vehicle on a forestry service road on Friday, the Daily Journal Online reports:
“Deputies responded on Friday and located [Ancona’s] vehicle and secured it,” said Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen. “We left deputies at the scene and secured it overnight due to the loss of light. On Saturday morning we conducted a search of the area by foot by member of the Potosi Fire Protection District and the sheriff’s office. We didn’t locate much of anything in the woods, but we did locate evidence of a burn pile near Mr. Ancona’s vehicle.”
Ancona’s body was discovered Saturday by a family who had gone to Big River for a fishing trip.
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According to Leadwood Police Chief William Dickey, Malissa Ancona, Frank Ancona’s wife, was the last person to see her husband alive Wednesday. She claimed that Ancona received a call from work informing him that he would have to travel across the state to deliver a part.
The name of Ancona’s place of employment has not been reported, but his employers did tell police that they did not send him anywhere and he didn’t come in to work.
Malissa Ancona made a Facebook post the day after her husband went missing in which she inquired about a roommate. She told law enforcement that she made the post because she and Ancona had discussed divorce and he took a bag of clothes with him when he left, so she assumed that she would need a roommate.
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According to law-enforcement officials, a safe in Ancona’s home had been forced open with a crowbar and emptied, and all of his firearms were gone. They do not suspect burglary.
Ancona, who is known for claiming that the Ku Klux Klan is a Christian organization, not a racist one—as if the two are always mutually exclusive—waged war on protesters in Ferguson, Mo., after Darren Wilson executed Michael Brown Jr. on Canfield Drive in 2014.
Ancona called peaceful protesters “terrorists” and began posting recruitment fliers. The virulent racist said that protesters had awakened a “sleeping giant” and the KKK would use lethal force to defend themselves, their families and police officers.
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In a Nov. 12, 2014, segment of MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes, Ancona said that the call for white supremacist violence was supported by many people throughout St. Louis County.
No police officers were killed in Ferguson and no white people were injured. The full violent force of the state was directly solely at black people seeking justice for Mike Brown.Is transhumanism really the world’s most dangerous idea? Step by step, our lives are being absorbed by technology.
In 2004 the editors of the journal Foreign Policy asked several prominent intellectuals to identify the world’s most dangerous idea. Surprisingly political scientist Francis Fukuyama’s choice was transhumanism. He described it as a movement “to liberate the human race from its biological constraints”. Its supporters, he said, want to “wrest their biological destiny from evolution's blind process of random variation and adaptation and move to the next stage as a species”. Most people would ask, “Are you kidding?” In fact, the transhumanist projects which surface in the media do sound improbable, not to say loopy. Here are three which have been widely reported. Elon Musk, the American billionaire boss of Tesla and Space X, recently told a conference of programmers in San Francisco that humans need to augment their brain power with “neural lace”, a fine mesh integrated into the brain which would link the brain directly to the internet. If we fail to keep pace with artificial intelligence, we will become house pets for “ultra-intelligent AI”, he said. “I don’t love the idea of being a house cat,” he said.
Before 23-year-old Kim Suozzi died of a brain tumour in 2012, she organized for her head to be frozen and stored with Alcor, a small company in Scottsdale, Arizona. She crowd-financed the US$80,000 procedure (euphemistically called “cephalic isolation”) on Reddit. She did this in the hope that someday scientists will be able to make a digital copy of her brain, upload it to a computer and hook it up to sensory devices to achieve a kind of immortality.
Three bioethicists, from New York University and from Oxford have suggested that children could be genetically engineered to save the world from climate change. If people were smaller, they would leave a smaller carbon footprint. “For instance if you reduce the average U.S. height by just 15cm, you could reduce body mass by 21% for men and 25% for women, with a corresponding reduction in metabolic rates by some 15% to 18%, because less tissue means lower energy and nutrient needs,” they wrote. Transhumanism is even a topic in the US presidential campaign. A 42-year-old father of two, Zoltan Istvan, is running as the candidate of the Transhumanist Party for the American presidency in the 2016 election. The three main planks in his platform are overcoming human death and ageing within 20 years, promoting radical science, and defending humanity against extinction from asteroids, pandemics or a take-over by ultra-intelligent AI. He has been touring the United States in a bus shaped like a coffin with the slogan “Live forever with transhumanism”. Furthermore, leading lights in the engine room of America’s economy, Silicon Valley, are also enthusiastic backers of transhumanist ideas. Peter Thiel, the billionaire co-founder of PayPal, has donated millions to transhumanist causes. Ray Kurzweil, who made his fortune by inventing optical recognition, and now Google’s chief futurist, is one of the leading theorists of transhumanism. Transhumanism is often described as the real religion of Silicon Valley. Defining transhumanism Enough already with the name-dropping. What is transhumanism? “isms” are not just hard to define but, strictly speaking, undefinable. They are not natural phenomena, but merely loose agreements on a handful of central ideas and disagreements over emphasis and policies. Transhumanism, like Communism, conservatism, liberalism, pacifism, and romanticism, is not a united movement. But all transhumanists do believe that the human condition is burdened with ignorance, violence, sickness and death and that these limitations can be overcome with technology. The proper goal of reason and science is to transcend those biological limitations. “Biology is for beasts,” says presidential hopeful Zoltan Istvan, who has a gift for memorable aphorisms. He defines transhumanism as “the radical field of science that aims to turn humans into, for lack of a better word, gods.” The typical concerns of transhumanists are: Overcoming death. We live, not in John Paul II’s “culture of death”, but in a “deathist” culture which accepts that someday soon we will all die. Why, ask transhumanists. If we understood and mastered the biology of ageing, why couldn’t we live for 200 years? 500 years? 1,000 years? For ever? Overcoming illness. If science can cure cancer and heart disease, why can’t it design perfectly functioning bodies? With the rapid advance of genetic engineering, it should be possible to eliminate imperfections from the human genome in new generations of children. Overcoming evolution. Mankind has reached a tipping point in human history at which we can (and must) use technology to direct our own evolution. It could take hundreds of thousands of years to become more intelligent or less violent or longer-lived. With the help of technology, we can leap ahead. Fear of “ultra-intelligent AI”. By the year 2045, predicts Ray Kurzweil, the intelligence of computers will surpass human intelligence and will begin to increase exponentially. Human intelligence will no longer be needed. Fear of extinction. Homo sapiens is just another species and could be wiped out, just as the dinosaurs and so many other species have been, by disease, asteroid impacts, climate change, volcanic eruptions, pollution, or by “ultra-intelligent AI”. While men have always been terrified by an impending apocalypse, transhumanists are preparing to defend themselves against it. Atheism. Religion meekly accepts the inevitability of death and other biological limitations and preaches an afterlife and the resurrection. But men do not need God to attain perfection and immortality. Human reason is completely sufficient. A dualistic anthropology. Transhumanists believe that the soul – or rather, our consciousness and rationality – is separable from our body. The body is the source of limitation and needs to be transcended. Trust in technology. All human problems can be solved with the proper technology, including moral ones. Scarcity will disappear because nanotechnology will enable us to reconstruct materials, objects and even biological tissue from basic elements. Hatred and violence can be curbed with drugs or by modifying the brain. Space colonisation is a familiar dream of many transhumanists. Varieties of transhumanist experience Although there is a consensus on some core notions, transhumanists have splintered into various sects and parties. Some focus on the dangers and opportunities of artificial intelligence and the Singularity, the emergence of a super-intelligent computer which makes homo sapiens obsolete. Cyborg enthusiasts experiment with body modification. Immortalists are striving to extend life span through medicine and cryogenics (freezing heads or bodies for later revivification). Some focus on eugenics, hoping to prepare for improved humans or even a superior species. “Paradise engineering” promises to deliver “genetically pre-programmed well-being”. Although nearly all transhumanism is resolutely atheistic, some transhumanists have mystical aspirations. There are even affinities with Christian eschatology in its vision of the future, just as Marxists dreamed of a communist paradise of peace and material abundance after the class struggle had ended. Christians believe that there will be a new heaven and a new earth at the end of time; that there will be no more suffering; and that the afterlife will confer immortality and preternatural powers upon those who have been saved. Transhumanism translates these into visions of perfect bodies and omniscient minds. To simplify these divisions and differences, transhumanism can be divided into three main streams: eschatological transhumanism, pragmatic transhumanism, and unconscious transhumanism. Eschatological transhumanism says that we should use technology to become a new species, Humanity 2.0, or Humanity+, or simply h+. This includes altering the human genome to incorporate new and better features and melding consciousness with computers. Pragmatic transhumanism is more concerned with practically achievable goals like life extension, better health, and mechanical interface with the human body. More influential than any of these is what we could describe as unconscious transhumanism, the acceptance of technology as the solution to spiritual yearnings. It is the logical outcome of a number of trends in contemporary culture. More about this later. Where did this come from? In his short essay, “A History of Transhumanist Thought,” Nick Bostrom traces the transhumanist impulse back to the Sumerian epic Gilgamesh, to classical myths of Prometheus and Icarus, to mediaeval alchemy and to the Renaissance. As he points out, the Italian humanist Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, in his “Oration on the Dignity of Man”, declared that man’s destiny was to be his own creator: We have made you a creature neither of heaven nor of earth, neither mortal nor immortal, in order that you may, as the free and proud shaper of your own being, fashion yourself in the form you may prefer. It will be in your power to descend to the lower, brutish forms of life; you will be able, through your own decision, to rise again to the superior orders whose life is divine. As philosophers drifted further and further from Christian theology and philosophy, the radical ideas of Pico della Mirandola began to make sense. If there was no Creator God, or if God did not maintain the world in existence, then man was free (or condemned) to fashion his own destiny. The father of science which ignored God’s Providence was the English statesman and philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626). He argued that man is perfected by transforming the world, not by wisdom, ushering into Western thought a new age of materialist utopianism. This theme was developed by Enlightenment philosophers and their successors, notably Karl Marx. But what gave it substance and plausibility was human evolution, as popularised by Charles Darwin in The Evolution of the Species. One conclusion to be drawn from this enormously influential book was that if human beings had already evolved from “apes”, they could evolve still further towards an unknown destiny. But as long as there were no tools to accelerate the evolution of homo sapiens into h+, man would only change by degrees over millions of years. (For a dismal 19th Century vision of unassisted natural selection, see The Time Machine, a novel by H.G. Wells, in which our species has evolved into civilised and weak Eloi and ruthless and bestial Morlochs.) With the rapid advance of science in the 20th Century, the time to fashion Bacon’s utopia had arrived. It became possible to accelerate evolution; man is on the cusp of reaching escape velocity from the dungeon of his own deficiencies. The rapture of the nerds Transhumanism has a religious dimension as well, even though it is thoroughly atheistic. Transhumanists have ambitious technological goals, but achieving them fails to give a meaning to life. Even if we live for a thousand years we will still die and will still ask ourselves what it all meant. So, is transhumanist man still a “useless passion”, as Jean-Paul Sartre gloomily asserted? No. The promise of transhumanism is salvation – a kind of materialist version of Christian salvation in which we are “saved” from ignorance, pain and death. Its ultimate goal is to become like God (or rather, a god) omniscient, invulnerable and immortal. How will transhumanists achieve this? The most extreme prediction is that they will upload their consciousness onto a computer. They will spend eternity as a kind of file on the hard drive of a yet-to-be-invented internet server. From there they will be able to interact with the material world by projecting their body through a hologram or by downloading their consciousness into a series of bodies. As Ray Kurzweil writes: Ultimately, however, the earth’s technology-creating species will merge with its own computational technology. After all, what is the difference between a human brain enhanced a trillion-fold by nanobot-based implants, and a computer whose design is based on high-resolution scans of the human brain, and then extended a trillion-fold? In fact, a transhumanist religion, Terasem, does exist. Founded by Martine Rothblatt, a transwoman, and her (his) wife Bina, it has four fundamental principles: life is purposeful; death is optional; God is technological; and love is essential. Its website explains: We are a transreligion that believes we can live joyfully forever if we build mindfiles for ourselves. We insist on respecting diversity without sacrificing unity, as well as pouring maximum resources into cyberconsciousness software, geoethical nanotechnology and space colonization. To conventionally religious people, this may border on lunacy, but Martine Rothblatt was the highest-paid female CEO in the United States in 2013. She may be crazy, but she has money to spend on evangelising. The ethics of transhumanism The ethics of transhumanism is utilitarianism. The aspirations of transhumanists are contentious: eugenics, body modification (or mutilation), mind-uploading, genetic engineering, hostility towards disability, chemical control of emotions and a host of other proposals. Here is a prediction of one utilitarian writer: Within the next few centuries, a triple alliance of biotech, infotech and nanotech can - potentially - make invincible bliss a presupposition of everyday mental health. From a purely technical perspective at least, global happiness can be increased by many orders of magnitude; the substrates of suffering and depression can be abolished outright; genetically pre-programmed superhealth can become the norm; and well-being in the richest sense of the term can become ubiquitous. How can such radical measures be justified? By using the “felicific calculus” of the greatest good for the greatest number. Conversely, the religion of utilitarianism is transhumanism. Even if a philosophy denies God, man still yearns for a reality which transcends himself. Many of the most famous utilitarian philosophers sympathise with goals like life extension, genetic engineering, and eugenics. Peter Singer, for example, believes that funding anti-ageing research is a better bet than most conventional areas of medical research. An Australian philosopher, Julian Savulescu, who is a professor at the University of Oxford, is a strong supporter of “moral transhumanism”. He argues that humanity will destroy itself unless people are genetically modified to be less violent: if humans do not become more moral, civilization is threatened. It is unimportant that humans remain biologically human, since they do not have moral value in virtue of belonging to H. sapiens. The appeal of philosophers like Singer is crisply logical solutions to knotty ethical problems. But the cool, rational façade falls away when they are required to explain the meaning of life and their vision for the future of humanity. They create a materialist’s mysticism. We’re all transhumanists now The picture I have painted makes transhumanism sound like the deranged dream of a geeky cult. Which is what it is. But we are all part of it, for unconscious transhumanism is hard-wired into contemporary society. This happens in two ways: in our dependence upon technology for mediating our experience of the real world, and in constantly redefining humanity. To demonstrate the former, let’s quote the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, John Roberts. In a 2014 case about privacy rights and modern technology, he wrote: “modern cell phones … are now such a pervasive and insistent part of daily life that the proverbial visitor from Mars might conclude they were an important feature of human anatomy.” He hit the nail on the head: technology has become indispensable, not just to enable us to do more physical work, but as a substitute for personal interaction. In any crowd, or office, or classroom or family meal, more people will be looking at their phones than at each other. Technology pervades every aspect of our life today, from fitness trackers to Wikipedia. We upload our heartbeats to the cloud and from the cloud we download our knowledge. Players of video games often prefer the fantasy of virtual reality to real life. We take drugs to dispel depression, to give us an edge in exams or to calm fractious children. All this is creating an intellectual atmosphere in which the beliefs of transhumanism are ever more plausible. To demonstrate the latter, let’s quote Justice Anthony Kennedy in the 1992 case Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey: “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.” Back then the Supreme Court was defending abortion rights. But redefining human life is also the central theme of transhumanism. This explains why transgenderism (as well as homosexuality and redefining marriage) is so compatible with transhumanism. As Martine Rothblatt wrote in her (his) co-authored book From Transgender to Transhuman: transhumanism arises from the groins of transgenderism. As reasoning beings, we must welcome this further transcendence of arbitrary biology, and embrace in solidarity all conscious life”. It could be argued that the world’s most common transhumanist technology is the contraceptive pill. Most people are using the pill as a substitute for continence, thus using technology as a substitute for personal will-power. And the ultimate consequence of this has been a wholesale redefinition of sex, intimacy and marriage. Geeky atheists feel the appeal of transhumanism most strongly. But in our growing reliance upon technology we are all touched by it. Is it really the world’s most dangerous idea? Perhaps not, but it deserves to be placed on a watch list for civilizational threats. Michael Cook is editor of MercatorNet.
MORE ON THESE TOPICS | immortality, Julian Savulescu, Peter Singer, Singularity, transhumanism, utilitarianism You might also like to read: The ancient Greeks knew what makes Donald Trump tick Why can’t academics say what they mean, instead of using gobbledegook? Can natural science prove or disprove the soul? Michael Cook and MercatorNet.com under a Creative Commons licence. You may republish it or translate it free of charge with attribution for non-commercial purposes following This article is published byand MercatorNet.com under a Creative Commons licence. You may republish it or translate it free of charge with attribution for non-commercial purposes following these guidelines. If you teach at a university we ask that your department make a donation. Commercial media must contact us for permission and fees. Some articles on this site are published under different terms.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. comments powered by DisqusRainbow Rowell has revealed that she wrote Harry Potter fanfiction after getting “kind of depressed” between writing two of her own novels.
Rainbow Rowell has revealed that she wrote Harry Potter fanfiction after getting “kind of depressed” between writing two of her own novels.
The American author, who has been promoting her books in the UK this week, also revealed that reading Harry Potter fanfiction led her to start thinking about fans and fandom, the subject of her YA novel Fangirl (Macmillan Children’s Books).
Fangirl focuses on a teenager who writes fanfiction based on a series of books about a magician called Simon Snow and his nemesis Baz, a vampire.
Rowell’s Harry Potter fanfiction – a 30,000-word novella written between Fangirl and her new novel Landline (Orion) – focuses on Harry and Draco, a popular romantic pairing amongst the Harry Potter fanfiction community, and is set in the future.
“It’s funny because it’s where I was in life,” Rowell told The Bookseller. “It’s Harry and Draco as a couple who have been married for many years, and they’re raising Harry’s kids, with Ginny, she has not been vilified.
“It’s them dealing with attachment parenting and step-parents and all these middle-aged issues of what it means to be a step-parent.”
Rowell, who has never published the work online, will read an extract from it when she appears at the Harry Potter fan convention LeakyCon in America later this month.
“Someday I’ll meet J K Rowling and I’ll be mortified,” Rowell told The Bookseller. “If our paths were ever to cross, I don’t want this to come up.”
Rowell said she read a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction after the final film adaptation of Rowling’s book was released, and that led to her thinking about what life would have been like if she was growing up now, which was the thought behind Fangirl and its main character Cath.
“I was always the sort of teenager who would get really excited about things, and then not always have anybody to talk to about them,” she said. “And so just the idea that I would have been able to make that connection [online], I would have felt so much less alone as a teenager, but… if I had had this internet life I wonder, with my social anxiety and shyness, I might have had a harder time breaking through that?
“Why even try when you can have a rich real life online? So that’s where I got the idea of Cath from, who I don’t think is choosing between real life and the internet, but I do think she’s sort of choosing how much she is going to relate to people face to face and how much she’s going to push herself and how much of her childhood is she going to take with her into adult life.”
A spokesman for Rowling’s literary agency, The Neil Blair Partnership, said: “Our view on Harry Potter fan fiction is broadly that it should be non-commercial and should also not be distributed through commercial websites.
“Writers should write under their own name and not as J K Rowling. Content should not be inappropriate – also any content not suitable for young readers should be marked as age restricted.”
Image by Augusten BurroughsFifty years ago, a young couple paid $27,000 for a modest home in Don Mills. That approximately 1,500-square-foot house sold for $2.3 million, more than $1.15 million over the nearly $1.19 list price on Wednesday. The home on Norden Cres. near Lawrence Ave. East and Don Mills Rd., drew 31 offers following 175 showings over nine days. Two weekend open houses attracted another 75 viewers, said listing agent Sohail Mansoor of Royal Lepage Signature Realty.
The owners of the Don Mills home “lovingly maintained” it over the years, according to their agent. ( Sohail Mansoor ) The back yard of 5 Norden Cres. ( Sohail Mansoor )
“We anticipated it would be busy. We could not have predicted that outcome,” he said on Friday. “In terms of that neighbourhood, it’s the highest price an older three-bedroom home has sold for. You have new construction properties that have sold for much higher but those are brand new,” said Mansoor. He had been working with the sellers for the last three months and gives them credit for their “tireless preparation” in selling a home they have occupied since Canada’s Centennial year in 1967.
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It was lightly staged and the time spent preparing it for market generated some buzz and made the home appealing to a wider audience, said the agent.
The living room of 5 Norden Cres. ( Sohail Mansoor )
Initially he thought the house might sell for between $1.5 million and $1.6 million. But the January market activity combined with the small number of listings on the market changed everyone’s expectations, said Mansoor. His colleague had listed a property a few weeks earlier in the same area for $990,000. It sold for $1.95 million. The Norden Cres. homeowners agreed to similarly list below market value to try and generate a similar response. They wanted to appeal to the broad range of buyers that are house hunting in the leafy neighbourhood close to the Shops of Don Mills — the buyers who might want to live in the house and the builders and consumers who could tear it down and rebuild in that location. “A |
The American Rachel Corrie’s case is perhaps the most famous, but there are others like UK citizen Tom Hurndall, not to mention those who were severely injured, such as American Tristan Anderson. The Israeli military’s attack in 2012 on dozens of ISM cyclists who were riding in solidarity with Palestinians led to more injuries and showed Israel’s willingness to defeat international solidarity at all costs.
In addition to the ISM, many others wrote and spoke on behalf of the Palestinians in publications and forums around the world. Still, many more marched in demonstrations protesting Israeli violence in the capitals of Europe and the cities of North America, not to mention the Arab world, while others began campaigns to divest from Israel and to boycott the country or US or European companies that sell it equipment used in its colonial policies. This was an important body of support that was looking for direction. It would find it in the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, or PACBI, which was founded in the West Bank in 2004, and with the establishment of the Boycott National Committee (BNC) and the July 2005 call from Palestinian civil society for boycott, divestment and sanctions.
In addition to PACBI, Ali Abunimah and a number of colleagues established their important online publication The Electronic Intifada in 2001 to inform allies of the Palestinians about the Palestinians’ daily struggle against a savage occupation. They have become a principal source of information for international solidarity and Abunimah became a powerhouse, a veritable single-person lobby, tirelessly fighting misinformation about the Palestinians in the Western media.
In the meantime, the siege that Israel laid to the Gaza Strip since 2005 generated a new kind of solidarity with the besieged Palestinians there, in the forms of flotillas and convoys aiming to break the Israeli siege and the subsidiary Egyptian siege complicit with it. Recognizing the danger of such a violation of Israeli fiat, the Israeli military fought the flotillas, preventing them from reaching Gaza, to the point of commandeering in May 2010 all the boats in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla and killing nine Turkish supporters on the largest of the ships, the Mavi Marmara, in a massacre in international waters.
With the Israeli oppression of the Palestinians intensifying on all fronts, support for BDS began to expand across Western universities, labor unions and among artists, writers and intellectuals. Some began to go on visits to Palestine to witness in person the effects of the Israeli occupation, thus unwittingly highlighting the struggle of West Bank Palestinians, and less so Gaza Palestinians, over that of the other two thirds of the Palestinian people in exile or living under Israeli colonial and racist laws in present-day Israel.
Whereas many of those who go on these visits are sincere and genuine in their support of the Palestinians, there is a worry that this amounts to no more or less than solidarity tourism for which western do-gooders have been known throughout the 20th century — from their tours of the Soviet Union in the 1920s to tours and sugar-harvesting in Cuba in the 1960s, and more so with coffee harvesting and house-building in Nicaragua in the 1980s — none of which had any real or lasting impact beyond the symbolic. While it is true that by witnessing the horrors of the occupation, visitors can and do write and agitate against Israeli policies with more authority, it remains of concern when this constitutes the maximal limit of their solidarity.
This form of solidarity tourism is quite different from the kind of solidarity many registered when they joined international brigades to support the Spanish during their civil war against the forces of fascism or those who flocked to join the Palestinian guerrillas in the 1930s and again in the late 1960s or the flotillas that sought to break the siege of Gaza. Indeed, there were no such tours of solidarity in the cases of Apartheid South Africa and racist Rhodesia, any more than there were tours of colonial Algeria before liberation, though Frantz Fanon and other international supporters joined the anti-colonial struggle in that French colony.
Unlike the post 9/11 pro-Palestinian solidarity visitors, supporters of Israeli racism and settler colonialism have been actively joining fighting units of the Israeli army since the 1947–1948 Zionist conquest to establish the colonial settlement and expel the native population. Whereas with the passage of time, the spate of solidarity with the Palestinians moved from joining their fighting units to supporting them diplomatically from afar, or writing on their behalf and organizing demonstrations in solidarity with them, to arriving in the occupied territories to defend Palestinians nonviolently against a violent occupation and in flotillas off the Gaza coast and finally in the form of solidarity tourism, supporters of Israeli colonial racism have never changed their forms of solidarity or their tactics.
Finally, and more recently, we have seen the highlighting of the question of law among some solidarity groups, specifically the question of international law and the Palestinians. This is not only being used with mixed (mostly unsuccessful) results by valiant Palestinian civil liberties lawyers who are citizens of Israel to defend the third-class Palestinian citizens of the Jewish settler-colony, but also is being adopted as one of the safest topics of discussions by liberal faculty in US universities.
Law has always been the most conservative of institutions, not to say of references. Discussing the merits and demerits of Israeli violations of international law and signed agreements has been and should continue to be an important tool for Palestinians and those who support them (I myself have written about the legal claims that Israel puts forth to justify itself). But this inordinate amount of emphasis on the question of international law smacks of a liberal safe approach that would not antagonize pro-Israel audiences, faculty and university administrators, and in so doing risks reducing the century-long Palestinian anti-colonial struggle against Zionism to a legal question, indeed to one where Israel need only practice its colonial policies in accordance with international law and not in violation of it. This overemphasis on the question of law, which has proliferated on university campuses, is a risky route, as it ignores the colonial history and nature of international law and aims to chip away at the important understanding and analysis of the Palestinian situation as a colonial one, an understanding that is now adopted by pro-Palestinian international solidarity in light of its commitment to BDS.
It is also true that PACBI and the BNC highlight the question of law and international law, which, as I already stressed, is an important tool for the Palestinian struggle, but unlike the safe liberal and reductionist approach, they do not and should not consider international law as the only tool for Palestinian resistance to the exclusion of others, but rather as one of many central issues that can aid Palestinian resistance.
Countering BDS
The enormous success of BDS across Western universities and increasingly across European labor unions, academic associations and within the artistic field, is such a great achievement that international power brokers are attempting two simultaneous strategies to break it, with a third subsidiary strategy emerging that is complementary to both:
(1) Fighting BDS head on by denying pro-Palestinian faculty employment, denying already employed faculty, students and artists freedom of expression, and preventing or sabotaging the convening of conferences, exhibits, screenings and other related events. These forms of repression in the academic and cultural spheres are in parallel with a host of repressive government measures and legislative initiatives aimed at punishing or deterring other forms of BDS, especially the economic boycott of Israel;
(2) Co-opting BDS, as many European governments have recently been attempting to do, by claiming that BDS is something to be adopted exclusively to bring about some form of a two-state solution in accordance with the colonial agreements signed by the Palestinian Authority and Israel and which the Israelis refuse to abide by;
(3) A subsidiary strategy seeks to dilute the core issues of the colonial situation in Palestine to a question of law, and to replace Palestinian activism by an anodyne academic form of “Palestinian studies,” which would be helpful to either of the above two strategies: wherein (a) faculty and students can now be accused of practicing pro-Palestinian “activism” rather than academic forms of “Palestinian studies” and be barred from doing so in the name of strict academics, thus helping the first strategy, and (b) by offering “objective” legal academic assessments of the maximum that Palestinians could achieve in line with the second strategy. This subsidiary counterstrategy has co-opted a number of Palestinian-American and other scholars who are now in the business of marketing Palestinian studies and panels on Palestine and international law.
Those in solidarity with the Palestinians should be ever so vigilant and steer clear of these three counterstrategies. Powerful as the colonial enemy of the Palestinians is, the fate of the Palestinian struggle, including that of international solidarity, lies in the balance. This is why those in solidarity with the Palestinians should not tire of emphasizing the core principles of the Palestinian anti-colonial struggle — namely ending Israeli state racism inside present-day Israel in order to bring about both the equalization of the Palestinian citizens of Israel with their Jewish counterparts and allow the Palestinian refugees to return, and the ending of Israel’s colonial occupation of the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the siege of Gaza.
On this 67th anniversary of the establishment of the Jewish settler colony on the ruins of Palestine, it should be emphasized yet again that it is not a pragmatic accommodation of different aspects of Israeli racism and colonialism that will bring about lasting justice and peace for the Palestinians, as international power brokers and their Palestinian and non-Palestinian liberal supporters insist. Rather, it is the end of the Zionist colonial venture, starting with the removal (and not the reform) of all the racist and colonial legal and institutional structures that it has erected that is the precondition for lasting justice and peace for all the inhabitants of historic Palestine. On that, those in solidarity with the Palestinians should brook no compromise.
Joseph Massad is professor of modern Arab politics and intellectual history at Columbia University. He is the author most recently of Islam in Liberalism.Former friends: Sophie Robinson (right) with Melissa Causer in the latter's bedroom before they went out for the night in Middlesbrough
When Sophie Robinson and her best friend Melissa Causer went out partying last New Year they were excited about having a great night.
The women enjoyed glasses of berry cider together as they got dressed up in their party frocks at the latter’s home and then hit the town.
During the next few hours they went from pubs to a club in Middlesbrough while downing plenty of vodka and cokes, shots and cocktails.
But what started as a fun night out in the first days of the New Year of 2014 ended in tragedy when a drunken fight broke out between the two girls, leaving Miss Robinson blind in one eye.
Causer, 21, lashed out at Miss Robinson after a row that started over a can of hairspray and escalated over who should pay for a taxi home. But the underlying cause was too much alcohol.
Miss Robinson, 20, was pinned down by Causer, who then raised her foot and brought her silver stiletto down on her face three times. The final blow pierced Miss Robinson’s right eyeball, splitting it in two.
‘I want to warn people about the dangers of drinking excessively this new year – or at any other time for that matter,’ Miss Robinson said last night.
‘I had never seen Melissa act violently before but in that split second she changed from my best friend to the person who ruined my life.
‘I’m convinced she wouldn’t have done it if she hadn’t drunk so much. We were downing shots along with vodka and cokes and cocktails.
‘I had a couple of Sex on the Beach cocktails on top of the other drinks while Melissa had even more vodka and cokes. We must have had at least ten drinks each.
Horrifying: What started as a fun night out in the first days of the New Year of 2014 ended in tragedy when a drunken fight broke out between the two girls, leaving Miss Robinson (above) blind in one eye
‘My story is a warning of how excessive alcohol can make some people turn and lose control. I just get merry when I’m drinking but some people get violent after drinking, and Melissa clearly was one of those people.
‘Even then we still don’t really know what made her snap and do such a dreadful thing, but what is abundantly clear is that people need to be warned not to get really drunk as this can be the end result.
‘I’ve been really affected by this and I’m now frightened to go out at night. I certainly won’t be going out this New Year. It has had a massive impact on me. I used to be buoyant and bubbly and now I’m scared of my own shadow.’
After the savage assault in the early hours on January 11 this year, Miss Robinson was taken in excruciating pain to the Darlington Memorial Hospital where doctors fought to save her eye.
The horrific attack in Middlesbrough left Miss Robinson, from Brompton-on-Swale, North Yorkshire, with visible scars and blind for life in her injured right eye.
Causer was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent at Teesside Crown Court in August and was jailed for seven years in September.
‘I have never spoken to Melissa since the attack and I never want to,’ Miss Robinson said. ‘I’ve replayed that scene a million times in my head since it happened and I still can’t believe she did it to me.
‘She showed no remorse in court and she has never tried to say sorry to me. If she had wanted to I’m sure she could have told the police to let me know how sorry she was, but she didn’t. I hate her now for what she did to me.’
Support: Miss Robinson (left) in hospital after the attack at the start of the year, with her little sister Savannah, 10, who stayed for a sleepover
Talking about the night it happened, Miss Robinson said: ‘Melissa had been in a really happy mood that Friday night. We were having a giggle as we got dolled up at her home before we went out, and I did her hair for her as usual, putting in her extensions and curling it for her.
‘We drank berry ciders in wine glasses as we got ready. I was wearing a tight black and white floral dress and Melissa was dressed in a little black dress with her flashy silver stilettos on.
‘Melissa often worked nights as a carer in a care home so we made the most of it when she had a night off and we were able to go out together.
I had never seen Melissa act violently before but in that split second she changed from my best friend to the person who ruined my life Sophie Robinson
‘We headed out at 10pm, and were out drinking until the early hours when the attack happened. We had been to the Barracuda pub first and then on to another lively pub with a dance floor.
‘She didn’t have room for her hairspray in her handbag so asked me to put it in mine, but my bag was really small and she also wanted me to look after her contact lens case so I squeezed that into my bag and there was so little room left I had to put my mobile down inside my bra.
‘I said I was sorry I couldn’t look after her hairspray as well. She forced it inside her bag and later when she was in the loo at the club, and was already worse for wear, she rummaged inside her bag and dropped the hairspray out.
‘When she realised she hadn’t got it she was angry and accused me of nicking it. I told her I hadn’t and that she must have dropped it and suggested we went back to look for it but she said to forget it.
‘Outside the club Melissa was clearly drunk and even approached a policeman to tell him someone had nicked her hairspray. She then started talking to two lads while I was waiting inside the taxi I had ordered to take us back to her home.
‘I kept calling her but she ignored me and eventually they cab driver said he couldn’t wait any longer and we would have to leave, so we did.’
Lengthy process: Miss Robinson is pictured in hospital after the attack, going through the initial stage of having a prosthetic eye fitted
Miss Robinson, who is training to be a child care assistant, continued: ‘I had no key to Melissa’s house so was waiting outside when her taxi pulled up.
‘She called me over to pay £20 for her taxi. I gave her £16 but she demanded I pay the rest because I had left her. I could tell she was fuming. She got out of the taxi and shoved me.
‘I got up and walked to the front door to get her dad to let us in, but Melissa marched over and dragged me to the ground. She kicked my legs to make them give way. I was in complete shock.
Couple: Miss Robinson with boyfriend Steve Mayes
‘She pinned me down by sitting on top of me. She clearly knew how to fight and it was the first time I had seen her dark side. I was helpless because her entire weight was on me.
‘I thought my ordeal was over when her dad suddenly arrived back home from the pub and tried to lift her off, but it was then she started stamping on me. The pain was terrible. The last thing I saw with that eye was Melissa bringing down her foot on my face.’
One stamp landed above her left eye, another hit the side of her head, and the third penetrated her right eye.
After she was taken inside the house, Miss Robinson said: ‘I felt a burning sensation and excruciating pain. I looked in the bathroom mirror and noticed how swollen and bruised my eye was. I put a cold towel over it because when I tried to open it blood came pouring out.
‘I told them I needed to go to hospital and they took me there in a taxi. The doctors told me I could lose my eye and I needed surgery.
‘I couldn’t think what my life was going to be like only being able to look out of one eye. I didn’t have time because they had to take me straight to theatre.
‘When she started attacking me I kept shouting for her to stop but she carried on. Now I’ll never be able to see out of my right eye again and it has changed my life forever.
‘I’ve been left devastated. I can’t believe my friend did this to me. Looking back, there were times when Melissa had boasted about being violent to other people but I thought she was just bigging herself up and I’d never seen her like that.’
Speaking about how she and her mother feel betrayed by Causer, Miss Richardson said: ‘We had known each other for three years after meeting at Darlington College where we were both doing a health and social care course.
‘After college she started work as a health care assistant in a care home for elderly people with dementia, while I did a degree in early childhood studies, but our friendship continued.
‘It staggers me to think that someone as violent and unstable as Melissa was still allowed to work as a carer after the attack, yet her employers let her until she was convicted even though my mum rang to warn them about her.
Family: Miss Robinson (right) with her mother Sophie Walker (left) following the attack. They were shocked that her attacker spun a web of lies when she went to the hospital with her injured friend
‘But before the attack there was nothing about her which made alarm bells ring. There were certainly no signs of her being violent.
‘Melissa had told me she suffered from OCD and had to always have her hairsprays lined up in her bedroom in exactly the right way, and also had to go round unplugging everything from the sockets and things like that.
‘My mum said it was a bit odd, but then lots of people suffer from OCD so we weren’t alarmed about it.’
Miss Robinson and her mother, Sophie Walker, are also shocked that Causer spun a web of lies when she went to the hospital with her injured friend.
Ms Walker, a 40-year-old community matron, said: ‘Melissa rang me at 6.50am to say not to worry but my daughter was in hospital.
‘I was very shocked and asked her what happened and she said that Sophie had got caught up in a fight between two boys and had been stabbed in the eye with a stiletto.
Melissa rang me at 6.50am to say not to worry but my daughter was in hospital... she said that Sophie had got caught up in a fight between two boys and had been stabbed in the eye with a stiletto Sophie Walker, mother
‘As I raced to the hospital I kept thinking that Melissa’s story just didn’t ring true. Why would these boys have had stilettos?
‘The doctors confirmed that Sophie had had a stiletto in her eye. It was so bad they couldn’t even see the eye as so much of the fluid had leaked out.
‘As Sophie was taken down for a CCTV head scan I told Melissa that my daughter was going to lose her eye. I said I was going to ring the police so they could hunt for these two men. A worried nurse also kept saying that we needed to ring the police.
‘I had asked Sophie before she was taken for the scan but she kept saying ‘ask Melissa’.
‘Just before I rang the police Melissa owned up that it was her. She still lied and said she had hit Sophie with her hand not a stiletto. I phoned the police while Sophie was in theatre having surgery.
‘The police came and arrested Melissa straight away. Even in court Melissa continued to lie and claimed that she attacked Sophie because she had stolen from her, and she claimed that what happened was an accident.
‘Melissa’s dad told the court that he had pushed his daughter off Sophie. He said he hadn’t seen her stamping on Sophie, but it was obvious from his evidence that it was his daughter who was being aggressive.’
Miss Robinson said: ‘I gave evidence behind a screen and Mum and I watched when Melissa was sentenced. Mum said before Melissa had gone inside the court building she was laughing and joking with her family outside while her boyfriend glared at Mum in an intimidating manner.
‘Even while I gave evidence I could hear some of her family muttering unpleasant comments about me inside the court room!’
Healing process: Miss Robinson said doctors hope that as her eye muscles relax they will be able to cope with the new prosthetic eye
Miss Robinson had her new prosthetic eye fitted on December 10.
‘The new eye is much better than the previous one,’ Miss Robinson said, ‘but there are still problems. It’s still a bit too big, and I have to go back in March for a check-up and may have to have some adjustments made to it.
‘I have to take it out each day and at the moment it is a bit painful when she I put it back in. I still have some feeling in the small bit of eye which remained in there, and I’ve realised that it is sensitive to light.
‘The doctors hope that as my eye muscles relax they will be able to cope with the new prosthetic eye better, but if I can’t cope with it then they will have to make alterations again. It is very difficult getting it right.
‘I had a new eye fitted before but it was the wrong colour and size and the pupil wasn’t right. It was only obvious once the eye had been fitted, but Mum and I knew immediately at that stage that it wasn’t right.
‘The surgeons managed to save a bit of my right eye and about 30 per cent is left in there, but it is not functioning because it was split right through.
‘They said they sewed it back up more for psychological reasons as they said that then at least I would know I still had part of my original eye in there.
Before the attack there was nothing about her which made alarm bells ring. There were certainly no signs of her being violent Sophie Richardson
‘The prosthetic eye then fills the remainder of the hole. It is made from wax and has a plastic coating. They then hand paint them in Blackpool to match it to my iris and the blue colour of my eye.
‘When I went for the fitting with the specialist nurse Mum and I selected six different eyes from the models they had as templates for my new eye.’
Miss Richardson said losing an eye has caused her many difficult situations. ‘I’m still allowed to drive,’ she said, ‘and I drive to uni in Teesside in Middlesbrough, but my distance perception has been affected and I have to be very careful if I overtake as instead of glancing out of my right eye I now have to turn my head right round to look over my right shoulder with my left eye which isn’t exactly easy.
‘It’s also much more difficult to focus my vision on anything in the distance now. And it has hugely affected my confidence.
‘One of the things is that because I can’t see properly I’m worried that if I go out and accidentally bumped into someone they might think it was deliberate and I could end up being attacked again.
‘And it takes me so long to get ready to go out now as I have to carefully fit my new eye in before I can do my make-up and get dressed.’
Ms Walker said: ‘Now my daughter has had her new eye fitted I’ve told her she has to move on. It sounds hard, but I don’t want this horrible incident to drag her down.
‘She has understandably become very down and withdrawn, but I’m encouraging her to finish off her degree. She is in her third year but has lost confidence and motivation.
‘But throughout this ordeal she has been amazingly brave and I’m so proud of her. It’s been a hell of an ordeal for her to go through again but we are determined that she has a prosthetic eye which looks as normal as possible.’
Speaking about her daughter’s attacker, Ms Walker said: ‘I had met Melissa half a dozen times, both at our house and at her home, as well as at the college and also when the girls were shopping together.Recently crowned European champion Tony Bellew has decided to vacate his title in pursue of a world title shot. The Liverpudlian was due to face Ukrainian Dmytro Kucher in a mandatory defence, but Bellew has decided against defending the belt.
Tony Belllew became European champion by beating a tough opponent in Pole Mateusz Masternak at last month’s Anthony Joshua/DillanWhyte PPV undercard, winning on points and giving him his biggest test and win to date.
Bellew insists that Masternak is a better fighter than Kucher and he feels facing the Ukrainan would be a step backwards.
“I vacated the European title as a world title is next,” said Bellew.
“I don’t believe in vacating titles, but under these circumstances I had no choice. The world title is next and there is no time for a defence of the European title.
“I also believe Masternak is better than Kucher, so it would be a step backwards in all honesty.
“I just want to become world champion.”
“I’ve won the British, Commonwealth and now European so there is just one left to get and that is my focus now.”
For Bellew to become world champion he will have to go after either Denis Lebedev (WBA), Grigory Drozd (WBC), Krzysztof Glowacki (WBO) or Victor Ramirez (IBF) – who are the current world champions at cruiserweight.
Currently Bellew is ranked best with the WBO being ranked fourth, although he is also ranked sixth with IBF and ninth with WBA.
The 33-year-old has had two previous shots at world title glory, both times coming up short against Nathan Cleverly (WBO) and Adonis Stevenson (WBC) when campaigning at light-heavyweight.
Could this be third time lucky for Tony Bellew should he get his shot?"Huayu" redirects here. For other uses, see Huayu (disambiguation)
Standard Chinese, also known as Modern Standard Mandarin, Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin Chinese (MSMC), or simply Mandarin, is a standard variety of Chinese that is the sole official language of China, the de facto official language of Taiwan and also one of the four official languages of Singapore. Its pronunciation is based on the Beijing dialect, its vocabulary on the Mandarin dialects, and its grammar is based on written vernacular Chinese.
Like other varieties of Chinese, Standard Chinese is a tonal language with topic-prominent organization and subject–verb–object word order. It has more initial consonants but fewer vowels, final consonants and tones than southern varieties. Standard Chinese is an analytic language, though with many compound words.
There are two standardised forms of the language, namely Putonghua in Mainland China and Guoyu in Taiwan. Aside from a number of differences in pronunciation and vocabulary, Putonghua is written using simplified Chinese characters (plus Hanyu Pinyin romanization for teaching), and Guoyu is written using traditional Chinese characters (plus Zhuyin for teaching). Many characters are identical between the two systems.
Names
In Chinese, the standard variety is known as:
Standard Chinese is also commonly referred to by generic names for "Chinese", notably 中文; Zhōngwén; 'Middle [i.e. Chinese] writing' and 中国话; 中國話; Zhōngguóhuà; 'Middle Kingdom [i.e. China] speech' (compare 英文; Yīngwén; 'English writing' for English, and 英国; Yīngguó; 'English country [i.e. England]'). In total, there have been known over 20 various names for the language.
Putonghua and Guoyu
The term Guoyu had previously been used by non-Han rulers of China to refer to their languages, but in 1909 the Qing education ministry officially applied it to Mandarin, a lingua franca based on northern Chinese varieties, proclaiming it as the new "national language".
The name Putonghua also has a long, albeit unofficial, history. It was used as early as 1906 in writings by Zhu Wenxiong to differentiate a modern, standard Chinese from classical Chinese and other varieties of Chinese.
For some linguists of the early 20th century, the Putonghua, or "common tongue/speech", was conceptually different from the Guoyu, or "national language". The former was a national prestige variety, while the latter was the legal standard.[clarification needed]
Based on common understandings of the time, the two were, in fact, different. Guoyu was understood as formal vernacular Chinese, which is close to classical Chinese. By contrast, Putonghua was called "the common speech of the modern man", which is the spoken language adopted as a national lingua franca by conventional usage.
The use of the term Putonghua by left-leaning intellectuals such as Qu Qiubai and Lu Xun influenced the People's Republic of China government to adopt that term to describe Mandarin in 1956. Prior to this, the government used both terms interchangeably.[11]
In Taiwan, Guoyu (national language) continues to be the official term for Standard Chinese. The term Guoyu however, is less used in the PRC, because declaring a Beijing dialect-based standard to be the national language would be deemed unfair to speakers of other varieties and to the ethnic minorities.[citation needed] The term Putonghua (common speech), on the contrary, implies nothing more than the notion of a lingua franca.[citation needed]
During the government of a pro-Taiwan independence coalition (2000–2008), Taiwan officials promoted a different reading of Guoyu as all of the "national languages", meaning Hokkien, Hakka and Formosan as well as Standard Chinese.[12]
Huayu
Huayu, or "language of the Chinese nation", originally simply meant "Chinese language", and was used in overseas communities to contrast Chinese with foreign languages. Over time, the desire to standardise the variety of Chinese spoken in these communities led to the adoption of the name "Huayu" to refer to Mandarin.
This name also avoids choosing a side between the alternative names of Putonghua and Guoyu, which came to have political significance after their usages diverged along political lines between the PRC and the ROC. It also incorporates the notion that Mandarin is usually not the national or common language of the areas in which overseas Chinese live.
Hanyu
Hanyu, or "language of the Han people", is another umbrella term used for Chinese. However, it has confusingly two different meanings:
Standard Chinese;
all the Sinitic languages spoken by the so-called Han peoples.
This term, as well as Hànzú (汉族; 漢族; 'Han nation'), is a relatively modern concept; it came into being with the rise of Chinese nationalism in the 19th and 20th centuries. A related concept is Hànzì (汉字; 漢字; 'Han characters').
Mandarin
The term "Mandarin" is a translation of Guānhuà (官话; 官話, literally "official's speech"), which referred to the lingua franca of the late Chinese empire. The Chinese term is obsolete as a name for the standard language, but is used by linguists to refer to the major group of Mandarin dialects spoken natively across most of northern and southwestern China.
In English, "Mandarin" may refer to the standard language, the dialect group as a whole, or to historic forms such as the late Imperial lingua franca. The name "Modern Standard Mandarin" is sometimes used by linguists who wish to distinguish the current state of the shared language from other northern and historic dialects.
History
The Chinese have different languages in different provinces, to such an extent that they cannot understand each other.... [They] also have another language which is like a universal and common language; this is the official language of the mandarins and of the court; it is among them like Latin among ourselves.... Two of our fathers [Michele Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci] have been learning this mandarin language... Alessandro Valignano, Historia del Principio y Progresso de la Compañia de Jesus en las Indias Orientales (1542–1564)[18]
Chinese has long had considerable dialectal variation, hence prestige dialects have always existed, and linguae francae have always been needed. Confucius, for example, used yǎyán (雅言; 'elegant speech') rather than colloquial regional dialects; text during the Han dynasty also referred to tōngyǔ (通语; 'common language'). Rime books, which were written since the Northern and Southern dynasties, may also have reflected one or more systems of standard pronunciation during those times. However, all of these standard dialects were probably unknown outside the educated elite; even among the elite, pronunciations may have been very different, as the unifying factor of all Chinese dialects, Classical Chinese, was a written standard, not a spoken one.
Late empire
Zhongguo Guanhua (中国官话/中國官話), or Medii Regni Communis Loquela ("Middle Kingdom's Common Speech"), used on the [19] (中国官话/中國官話), or("Middle Kingdom's Common Speech"), used on the frontispiece of an early Chinese grammar published by Étienne Fourmont (with Arcadio Huang ) in 1742
The Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) began to use the term guānhuà (官话/官話), or "official speech", to refer to the speech used at the courts. The term "Mandarin" is borrowed directly from Portuguese. The Portuguese word mandarim, derived from the Sanskrit word mantrin "counselor or minister", was first used to refer to the Chinese bureaucratic officials. The Portuguese then translated guānhuà as "the language of the mandarins" or "the mandarin language".
In the 17th century, the Empire had set up Orthoepy Academies (正音书院/正音書院 Zhèngyīn Shūyuàn) in an attempt to make pronunciation conform to the standard. But these attempts had little success, since as late as the 19th century the emperor had difficulty understanding some of his own ministers in court, who did not always try to follow any standard pronunciation.
Before the 19th century, the standard was based on the Nanjing dialect, but later the Beijing dialect became increasingly influential, despite the mix of officials and commoners speaking various dialects in the capital, Beijing. By some accounts, as late as the early 20th century, the position of Nanjing Mandarin was considered to be higher than that of Beijing by some and the postal romanization standards set in 1906 included spellings with elements of Nanjing pronunciation.[21] Nevertheless, by 1909, the dying Qing dynasty had established the Beijing dialect as guóyǔ (国语/國語), or the "national language".
As the island of Taiwan had fallen under Japanese rule per the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki, the term kokugo (Japanese: 國語, "national language") referred to the Japanese language until the handover to the ROC in 1945.
Modern China
After the Republic of China was established in 1912, there was more success in promoting a common national language. A Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation was convened with delegates from the entire country. A Dictionary of National Pronunciation (国音字典/國音字典) was published in 1919, defining a hybrid pronunciation that did not match any existing speech. Meanwhile, despite the lack of a workable standardized pronunciation, colloquial literature in written vernacular Chinese continued to develop apace.
Gradually, the members of the National Language Commission came to settle upon the Beijing dialect, which became the major source of standard national pronunciation due to its prestigious status. In 1932, the commission published the Vocabulary of National Pronunciation for Everyday Use (国音常用字汇/國音常用字彙), with little fanfare or official announcement. This dictionary was similar to the previous published one except that it normalized the pronunciations for all characters into the pronunciation of the Beijing dialect. Elements from other dialects continue to exist in the standard language, but as exceptions rather than the rule.
After the Chinese Civil War, the People's Republic of China continued the effort, and in 1955, officially renamed guóyǔ as pǔtōnghuà (普通话/普通話), or "common speech". By contrast, the name guóyǔ continued to be used by the Republic of China which, after its 1949 loss in the Chinese Civil War, was left with a territory consisting only of Taiwan and some smaller islands; in its retreat to Taiwan. Since then, the standards used in the PRC and Taiwan have diverged somewhat, especially in newer vocabulary terms, and a little in pronunciation.
In 1956, the standard language of the |
remarkable recovery.
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People dig frantically to pull Matt Mina from the sand
Saved: The boy is pulled out from beneath the sand, unconscious but alive
Close call: The teenager who was buried in 6 feet of sand while digging a trench on a California beach said Thursday he was certain he would die Desperate: People on the beach dig in to try to save the boy, shovelling away the sand
He told msnbc: 'I was just really scared. I didn't know if anyone could hear me when I screamed for help... Once you're six feet under you can't hear anything.
'I threw my head around to try make some room because my arms were behind me.
'I was just really scared. I didn't know if anyone could hear me when I screamed for help... Once you're six feet under you can't hear anything'
Matt Mina
'I was falling in and out [of consciousness]. I thought I was going to die.
'I want to thank everyone... that helped me stay alive. I wanted to give a shout out to them and say thank you.'
When asked if his digging days are now over, Mina added: 'For now, definitely.'
Mina is in a good condition today after the horrific accident on Newport Beach at about 3.40pm yesterday.
Authorities said the boy had dug between five to seven feet below the surface of the beach when the surrounding sand caved in on him.
He remained buried for almost 30 minutes while paramedics dug him out.
A large crowd gathered as people dug desperately around the teenager's body
Miraculous; Matt Mina is lucky to be alive after the half hour ordeal
Dramatic video footage charts the desperate attempts by other people on the beach to save Mina.
Dozens of sunbathers gathered with shovels and other items they could use to dig as they frantically tried to remove the sand on top of the teen.
When authorities eventually succeeded in rescuing him, the crowd erupted in cheers while the boy was rushed to Hoag Hospital in Orange County.
Pitching in: Passers-by use any means to try to save the trapped teen
Against the odds: People came together to help on the beach
Digging deep: The community of sunbathers came together to drag the boy out
Police said Mina had been digging tunnels with friends several feet under the surface of the beach.
They tried to make the tunnels meet before the sand toppled on top of one of them.
The alarm was raised when a family member called a lifeguard for help.
Mina spoke today of his terrifying ordeal under ground, explaining how he screamed for help although he knew no one could hear him.
The 17-year-old said he managed to stay alive by moving his head from side to side to create an air bubble. his hands were trapped behind him by the weight of the sand.
Almost: Authorities manage to grab the boy, as they pull him to safety
Got him! The teen collapses on the floor - but he is now doing well in hospital
Mr Mina's mother said thank you to those who had chipped in to save her son.
'I just want everyone to know from the bottom of my heart how grateful we are that he's alive,' Melissa Mina, from Free Union, said.
'If it weren't for the bystanders, they wouldn't have gotten him out.... I wish could go out there and hug everyone there that was digging.'
Melissa Mina said she got a call from her sister-in-law Wednesday evening while Matt Mina was in a hospital emergency room.
She said she wasn't aware of how big the hole was until she saw it on TV.
'When I finally spoke to Matt last night I asked, "How does it feel to be buried alive?" He said: "Different, mom. You have no idea how heavy the sand was",' she said.
The accident happened while Matt was visiting an aunt and uncle.
Safe: Matt Mina, 17, is rushed to hospital after his dramatic seaside rescue
Taken care of: Matt Mina owes everything to the actions of those around him on the beach and the emergency responders who quickly arrived
'I said when he left I was sending guardian angels to protect him,' the teen's mother said.
She said her son grew up in Hawaii for a time and had dug in sand previously.
'What would possess kids to do this? I hope they realise that this is dangerous to do,' she added.
Newport Beach resident Skip Snead told the Orange County Register about 40 people were digging frantically to save the boy.
'Everybody was thinking, "They're going to pull up a dead body,"' he said.
He described the moment Mina was dragged out alive. 'Everyone went crazy,' he said. 'I think he was in shock.'
Fire officials have since warned parents not to let their children dig deep at the beach because the sand is unstable.
Applause: A crowd who had watched the rescue cheer when the boy is finally found
Sink hole: This aerial shot shows just how wide the area that collapsed on the boy was
Authorities said teens building tunnels at the beach have caused many injuries this summer alone across the country. In one case near Watsonville, a boy trapped under the sand suffered brain damage.
'This gentleman [Mina] was about seven feet below the surface of the sand,' Newport Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Jeff Boyles told KTLA News. 'He was doing what we call tunneling, which is a very dangerous operation. The sand collapsed on him, essentially burying him alive.'
Chief Boyles added that such incidents have a 'high fatality rate'.
'The fact that he's still alive today - I think he has a lot to be owed to luck, and to the great efforts of the lifeguards and fire personnel that dug him out.'
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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economyInternational shipping is a fun thing, if you are patient. After waiting exactly a month, going to the post office and, after a huge line of people, seeing that desirable cardboard box felt so wonderful. I was surprised when I saw how big it was, and then I was surprised again when I've weighed it. And then I ran back home, holding the box like a baby, while listening to Indiana Jones' Theme. Yes, there were a few strange looks.
When I opened it, the first thing I saw was an envelope with my nickname on it. Inside was a cute holiday card with a heartwarming message and a thrilling postscriptum. And then…
There aren't enough words to describe the sheer joy I felt when I saw the next thing. Not only it's a framed print, it's a framed print featuring Eleven from Stranger Things! This show, without any doubts, was the brightest and biggest highlight of 2016 for me, and after a number of rewatches it became one of my favorite shows of all time, I can talk about it for hours. This print is just the right thing, and it is FANTASTIC! I adore everything about it, the style, the pose, the colors, and, because it was already framed, all I had to do is hang in on my wall, which I did, and I will never remove it from there (maybe only temporarily while moving, but it's not in the plans).
I am a huge reader and I knew there was going to be a book, since my Santa had asked me if I had ever heard of an author named Patrick Rothfuss. I didn't, and after a quick research I found out that his books were published in our country just once (and it was seven years ago), so there was no chance to become familiar with his works, since second-hand prices here are insane and shipping rates from overseas for original editions aren't that easily manageable too. I was a little worried that after one book I'd need to buy the others. And, of course, I didn't expect to get both of them and a companion novella too. OH MY GOD!!! I look forward to reading them, I can't even remember when was the last time I started a book not knowing anything about the plot and the characters. I can only imagine what is waiting for me on the pages.
Foreign candy is the best kind of a forbidden fruit, since I never heard of anything in this selection, and I could be wrong, but I can't remember even one candy here in Russia that is at least vaguely similar to any of these. It's hard to be wise about it and not to eat everything within a day, as I usually do, so it's also an interesing challenge, to enjoy these treats as long as possible.
And, just as the card promised, the last item is a weird (in a good way) Nicolas Cage activity book. During the holidays my mom and I did a little Nicolas Cage movie marathon, and she already snatched the book. She quite likes him, what more can I say?
Thank you, Santa. This is, indeed, the best gift I have ever received. No words can truly express my feelings, and these things will last for a long time. I will always remember your kindness when I look on my wall where the print is, the books will provide me with a new world to dive in when I need an escape, and treats will make even the bad days sweeter. And, of course, the great memories will always be with me when I'm away from home. Thank you very much.Well, I’m back. I still don’t believe it, at least not entirely. Haiti has been my life for the past 5 weeks, and I’ve been drop-kicked into the land of air-conditioning and giant grocery stores. Not gonna lie, I may have shamelessly binged on fresh fruit and salad… I also may have responded to a sales clerk in Kreyol the other day. Whoops.
Being in the US is weird. But nonetheless, I’ve had a bit of time to give some thought to my time in Haiti- more than just missing waking up to roosters, I mean. So, here’s a bit of what I’ve learned. Before I start, I want to say capital T Thanks. Not sure if my ramblings have been read, or if I’m just talking to the vastness of the Interwebs, but Thanks to everyone who’s supported me. Thanks for at least pretending to be interested, and please, keep asking questions about Haiti: in case you haven’t noticed, I love to talk about it!
Now, without further ado:
10 Lessons I’ve Learned in Haiti (this time around)
1. Eat to live, don’t live to eat
I didn’t realize how much of a foodie I was until I lived on rice and beans, spaghetti with ketchup, and legume (cooked vegetables). It was rough as someone who loves to cook and who eats a borderline ridiculous number of fresh fruits and vegetables. Yet, I learned to appreciate what we had. We ate VERY well by Haitian standards, and a couple of weeks taught me that even freaking rice and beans is a gift, a privilege, and a welcome source of nutrition in a country where so many wonder where their next meal will come from.
2. There is somewhere in the world that values politeness more than the Midwest!
And that place is Michaud. Everyone says hello on the street (if you don’t, it’s considered tremendously rude). They bring out chairs when you come to visit, even if it’s just for a few moments. Even if they’re the only chairs they own.
3. Sometimes a name is enough to dispel a stereotype
The little kids in the neighborhood would yell ‘blan’ (white) whenever we passed. But after a week or so, they came up and asked us our names. They met me at Ecole Shalom. The yelling continued…but it was different. “Wenata!” they’d call, running up to grab my hand and play in the street. They taught our names to the kids in the neighborhood. In that time, we went from being nameless outsiders to real people who were part of their lives. Just walking around the neighborhood was one of my favorite things to do.
4. On a related note, kids love nothing more than hearing their own name out loud
And the relationship went two ways. When I’d ask a kid their name, they instantly got a little bit shyer. They’d mumble as if they were afraid you didn’t really want to hear it. But I’d always smile and repeat their name a few times, trying not to butcher it in the process. When that happened, their faces would light up. We were friends now- mutually invested in each other’s lives.
5. You are ALWAYS dependent on someone else in Haiti, which means that patience is ESSENTIAL!
I’m really terrible at being patient. Like unspeakably bad. But after 5 weeks of waiting for someone- a tap tap, my fellow interns, the one person who of course has the very thing you desperately need in order to do any work, the students who you’re supposed to teach (but who run on “Haiti time”)- I’d like to think I’ve developed at least a teeny tiny seed of patience.
6. Plans change. Nothing will happen the way you plan.
Roll with it. Things can work out, but when your resources are limited, you take what you can get. At the risk of speaking too generally, you can reach the same goal by taking different paths.
7. Attempting to speak any Kreyol gets you pretty far in terms of respect and friendship.
ESPECIALLY as a blan. In 5 weeks, I managed to get okay at understanding Kreyol. My speaking? Still marginally awful. Nonetheless, people would be SO surprised, yet so overjoyed when I spoke their language. Even if my grammar was terrible, or I butchered the pronunciation (like that one time I gave a cholera prevention talk in Kreyol), they were more than happy to listen (and to gently correct when I made a massive error). More importantly, speaking Kreyol to people made them feel free to TALK. It was a way to show people that you respect and value their opinion, and as such, speaking in Kreyol usually smoothed the way for stories and questions and peoples’ lives.
8. If you ask people what they need, they’ll tell you.
They know better than you do. We learned this during the Community Health Day, when we asked women from the neighborhood a variety of questions. What do your families need to be healthy and happy? What health questions did they have? How could HAC serve them better? Their answers were loud, clear, and almost entirely unanimous. Contrary to the stereotype, people in the developing world aren’t helpless or stupid or oblivious to the ways of the world. They have dreams and goals and plans for how to get there. You just need to ask them!
9. Being funny is a, if not THE cardinal virtue in Haiti.
That’s the best thing anyone said in praise of their friends or family. “They’re funny”. But unfortunately for me, Haitians are not fluent in sarcasm. I’ve tried. They didn’t get it, which just made me feel silly and strange. It’s a shame, too, because I had a great line for people who would call me blan on the street…
10. Happiness is a choice. Praise is an attitude, and sometimes it’s the only way to go.
This is something that I can best explain with my experience in church. Going to church in Haiti is a party! And I say that without the slightest trace of sarcasm. Despite living in one of the poorest countries in the world, people praise with their whole being! All smiles and dressed to the nines, they shout to the rafters. They pray with their whole body and soul. They give, even when they can’t afford to.
It’s a beautiful attitude, one that I’ve tried to adapt and hope to maintain, even in my privileged life in the US. Despite the hardships, there are joys to be found in life in Haiti.
Grace a Dieu, today, I am alive. I have eaten and slept with a roof over my head. I am surrounded by family and friends. I am in good health. I am free to pray and to praise. Today, as every day, life is good.Washington, DC-- Bornean orangutans living in forests impacted by human commerce seek areas of denser canopy enclosure, taller trees, and sections with trees of uniform height, according to new research from Carnegie's Andrew Davies and Greg Asner published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Bornean orangutans are critically endangered, and despite intense conservation efforts, their numbers continue to decline. Additional habitat management strategies that account for their presence in forests affected by logging and other human activity are needed to ensure the species' survival.
That's why Davies and Asner, along with key partners in Malaysia, set out to determine which human-impacted forest areas are most-crucial to preventing orangutan extinction. Their research focused in the Lower Kinabatangan region of Sabah, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It consists of forest patches that have been highly degraded by timber extraction, which are sewn into a landscape of palm oil plantations and human settlements.
Davies and Asner employed the Carnegie Airborne Observatory's Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor, which uses reflected laser light to image vegetation in 3-D, and combined it with three years of highly detailed field observations of orangutans by co-authors Marc Ancrenaz and Felicity Oram.
"Our combination of field and airborne data on orangutans and their habitat was key to understanding how they move through and use disturbed forests in Borneo," said first author Davies, a postdoc at Carnegie's Department of Global Ecology. "Similar approaches will be needed to determine the minimum habitat requirements of other endangered species in human-modified landscapes."
They found that orangutans preferentially selected certain canopy attributes within forests that had been disturbed or fragmented by human activity. This means that some human-impacted forest segments are more important than others for orangutan conservation.
Because of orangutans' size, they require strong branches to move laterally through the forest canopy. They can descend and cross large canopy gaps on the ground, but this wastes energy and exposes them to predators. This could explain their observed preference for enclosed canopy, tall trees, and areas with uniform tree height in the human-disturbed forests studied by the team.
The researchers had anticipated that areas with a great deal of vertical complexity would be preferentially selected to assist the orangutans with climbing up and down trees. But this proved not to be the case, as lateral movement appeared to be a greater need for the orangutans, based on the scientists' observations.
"In the course of a year, we took the CAO aircraft and team to northern Borneo, mapped its habitats in 3-D, combined the data with Marc's orangutan observations, and made a critically important scientific discovery that directly bears on the conservation of one of the world's most iconic ape species," said Asner, the project's leader.
Like many large vertebrates, orangutans play a particularly critical role in maintaining healthy ecosystem function. That's why it is so important that they be protected from the effects of human activity on the forests where they live.
"Considering that most of the critically endangered orangutan's habitat is disturbed by human activities, understanding the habitat elements required to ensure orangutan survival in degraded forests is key for their long-term survival," added Marc Ancrenaz of HUTAN/Borneo Futures, a core project partner.
The results of this orangutan study contribute to a larger Bornean biodiversity mapping mission co-led by Carnegie and the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP). The research group, along with government and NGO partners in Sabah, are in the process of generating a portfolio of ecological maps, ranging from forest carbon stocks to plant and animal biodiversity. The forthcoming maps have been hailed as key input to an upcoming decision by the Sabah Forestry Department about what area should next be designated as protected.
"This orangutan study is another critical piece of information we are assembling to support the Sabah government to determine where to save the most species in this super-biodiverse region of the world," Asner added.
###
This study was supported by grants from the UN Development Programme, Avatar Alliance Foundation, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), World Wildlife Fund, the Morgan Family Foundation, and the Rainforest Trust.
HUTAN-KOCP's long-term supporters are: Arcus Foundation; zoos of Zooparc de Beauval, la Palmyre, Chester, Woodland Park, Houston, Cleveland, Columbus, Phoenix, Saint Louis, Basel, Apenheul, Hogle, Oregon Metroparks, AZA Great Ape TAG, Australian Project, Synchronicity Earth, USFW, World Land Trust, Waterloo Foundation and other partners.
The Carnegie Airborne Observatory is currently supported by the Avatar Alliance Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and William R. Hearst III.
The Carnegie Institution for Science (carnegiescience.edu) is a private, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with six research departments throughout the U.S. Since its founding in 1902, the Carnegie Institution has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science.I pretty much spent first four years of my photographic life studying light, playing with it and trying to master different aspects of it’s creations- windows, strobes, speed lights, led panels and such. all done the most cheapo way in belief that this will help me to create a decent career in photography.
In 2014 I created these diagrams for some educating purposes and later publish them via server inmybag.net where they won my first prize in some contest (it was a sony RX100M3 which I immediately turned into some sweet $).
Couple days ago I got asked question about some of my lighting on twitter (blast from a past! I haven’t talked about light for years at this point) and noticed that inmybag.net server is down so I decided to take my diagrams from drawer and re-publish here on my blog, in (yet another) try to make it little less dead&crappy.
They go from simple reflector to multiple gelled strobes. Some personal some commercial stuff. Some Canon some Fuji. I’m not currently using artificial light in my photography (I mean, I haven’t modified any speedlite in quite a while, I’m of course still heavily in love with light itself) but I hope they still be useful for someone out there on the wide world of internet! Damn, seeing those photos brings back some memories to me. Hell, maybe I should've spent more time playing outside than sitting in books and studying light.
Take care all you strobists out there!
PaulBritish punk rock band The Clash launch a tour of North America with a gig at the Commodore Ballroom. Originally dubbed the Pearl Harbor tour, it was retitled the Give ‘Em Enough Rope tour after their newly released sophomore album because their label, Epic Records, were worried American audiences might think the joke “too soon.”
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Victoria’s all-female band The Dishrags opened to a good reception from the crowd but the second opening act, blues legend Bo Diddley, less so. The story goes that when 51-year-old Diddley rhetorically asked the crowd who they loved in his 1956 hit song “Who Do You Love?” — they loudly answered with “The Clash!” He was eventually pelted with debris and booed offstage.
Clash fans often wanted Bo Diddley to go rather than stay while the opening act of the band's first North American tour
"The Only Band That Matters" also played soccer against some fans earlier in the day at a near-frozen McBride Park and checked out local band the Rabid play at the old Quadra Club on Seymour Street before hitting the stage at the Commodore.
The Clash — Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Nicky Headon — returned to town in October the same year and played at the PNE with Vancouver's DOA among the opening acts although, according to bassist Randy Rampage in the documentary Bloodied but Unbowed, the two bands clashed offstage.⌈ Secret Post #2121 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
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[Trent & Mariqueen Reznor, How to Destroy Angels]
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Secret Submission Post #303
03 pages, 051 secrets from[ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - posted twice ].Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go hereSecrecy surrounds the test plan for Volvo Polestar Racing’s first S60 V8 Supercar as the team continues to prepare for the 2014 season.
The car ran for the first time last Wednesday, completing initial aerodynamic test running at the Royal Australian Air Force’s East Sale, Victoria, base.
An image of the car leaked out to media during the historic day, instantly softening the impact of Volvo’s planned January launch.
It is understood that the S60 subsequently enjoyed its first proper track hit-out at Winton yesterday (Tuesday), where it was tested back-to-back with the Holden Commodore that the team fielded for Scott McLaughlin this season.
Team owner Garry Rogers confirmed to Speedcafe.com that his team was at Winton, although insisted that it had only run the Holden.
“We’re not testing, we’re just bedding some brakes on the Commodore,” he said.
“The same pads will fit the Volvo of course, so we’re making sure everything is in order for when the first engines arrive in a couple of weeks.
“We’ve got as far as we can with the Volvo for now (after the test last week),” he continued.
“Polestar assures us that the engines are going along ok, so we’re happy to wait.
“Until we’ve got the engines and get going we’re really just killing time.”
With initial running having taken place with one of the team’s existing Holden engines, the timing of the arrival of the Volvo powerplants is also clouded.
Although Rogers has publicly stated that the target is a mid-to-late January arrival, sources indicate that the first test with a Volvo engine aboard could happen as early as this Monday.
Meanwhile, the typically eccentric Rogers spoke enthusiastically of personally getting behind the wheel of the Holden during the Tuesday hit-out.
“I was a bit slow but never mind, I’ll improve with miles,” he laughed.
“I drove our (2000 Bathurst 1000 winning Holden Commodore) VT at Bathurst in the demonstration last year but hadn’t properly been behind the wheel in about 10 years.
“I don’t know why I did it really but it was just a bit of fun. I refuse to grow up I guess!”
Rogers has been celebrating his 50th year in motorsport throughout 2013 having transitioned from driver to full-time team owner in the early 1990s.— A man accused of setting off a small explosion near the NAACP office in Colorado Springs is set to enter a new plea in the case under a plea deal with prosecutors.
Thaddeus Murphy, 44, was due in Denver federal court late Monday morning. His lawyer notified court of the deal in June but details won’t be released until the hearing.
Murphy previously pleaded not guilty to arson and possessing a firearm as a felon.
The Jan. 6 blast drew attention because of its proximity to an office of the nation’s oldest civil rights organization but Murphy told investigators he had money problems and was actually targeting his accountant. It’s unclear if Murphy knew if his accountant died the previous June or if the accountant ever had an office in the building.
(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)GWADAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - The newly expanded Gwadar deep-water port in Pakistan that is key to a planned $46 billion Chinese economic corridor is nearly complete and expects to process about a million tons of cargo next year, the operator said on Tuesday.
A member of Pakistan Navy is seen at the Gwadar port in Pakistan's Balochistan Province April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kay Johnson
Most of the cargo will be incoming construction materials to be used in projects related to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which envisions linking far-western Chinese production regions by road through Pakistan for shipment through Gwadar port to overseas markets.
Gwadar is in Baluchistan province where separatist groups in have waged a violent campaign for decades, saying the Pakistani state has failed to develop the impoverished region and instead plundered its natural resources.
Pakistani security forces have promised to protect the corridor project.
“The port cranes are almost ready, and we are thinking that the port will be (at) full operation by the end of this year,” said Zhang Baozhong, chairman and CEO of China Overseas Ports Holding Company Ltd.
The Chinese company took over Gwadar’s operations in 2013. The revamped port has three multipurpose berths and its inner is dredged to 11.5 metres.
“We’re expecting at least one million tons of material will go in and out” next year, Zhang said, speaking at a day-long conference in Gwadar city.
The projected traffic represents a 100 percent increase over this year’s throughput, but is a far cry from the 300-400 million tons per year that the Gwadar Port Authority envisions for the facility, which has ambitions of becoming a regional hub.
Zhang acknowledged that Gwadar now had minuscule traffic – mostly Pakistani government-subsidised fertilizer imports - but he predicted a swift transformation in coming years.
Part of the problem is that the new roads that CPEC is expected to build, linking the port to China’s industrial zones, have not yet come online and the Pakistani province of Baluchistan does not have enough export-ready products.
“Even if you have a very good port, (if) you don’t have an inland transporting system and the economy in the near area is not very positive, the port will not be fully utilised,” he said.
He added that his company planned to develop seafood processing plants and other facilities in a 923 hectare free zone outside the port.
One of Gwadar’s main industries is fishing but it is not done on a scale that is suitable for export.Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events
Opinion Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events
Yesterday the Government Accountability Office issued a Yesterday the Government Accountability Office issued a report concluding that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) violated federal law in its use of social media to promote its controversial “WOTUS rule,” redefining the scope of the “waters of the United States” subject to federal regulation under the Clean Water Act. Specifically, the GAO concluded that the EPA violated express limits on the use of appropriations for indirect or grassroots lobbying, and that in doing so, the agency violated the Antideficiency Act.
According to the GAO, the EPA used various social media platforms, including Thunderclap, to develop support for its proposal to expand and clarify the scope of its own regulatory jurisdiction and combat opposition to the rule. The EPA also used social media communications to promote materials supporting the WOTUS rule by environmentalist advocacy groups, including materials that were clearly designed to oppose legislative efforts to limit or block the rule. The GAO labeled these efforts “covert propaganda.” The New York Times had According to the GAO, the EPA used various social media platforms, including Thunderclap, to develop support for its proposal to expand and clarify the scope of its own regulatory jurisdiction and combat opposition to the rule. The EPA also used social media communications to promote materials supporting the WOTUS rule by environmentalist advocacy groups, including materials that were clearly designed to oppose legislative efforts to limit or block the rule. The GAO labeled these efforts “covert propaganda.” The New York Times had previously documented some of the EPA’s actions.
, the EPA disputes the GAO’s findings, arguing that it uses social media to help inform the public about EPA initiatives, and not to engage in prohibited lobbying activity. As I noted According to Politico, the EPA disputes the GAO’s findings, arguing that it uses social media to help inform the public about EPA initiatives, and not to engage in prohibited lobbying activity. As I noted here, the WOTUS rule has sparked significant opposition and is currently subject to legal challenge in court. There are also efforts in Congress to repeal it.
As the As the New York Times reports, the controversy over the EPA’s use of social media raises broader questions about how agencies should (or should not) communicate with the public. On the one hand, social media is an important way to disseminate information. On the other hand, some legislators are concerned that government agencies use taxpayer dollars to advocate for expanding their own regulatory authority (what the GAO termed self-aggrandizement). From the Times:
The E.P.A. rolled out a social media campaign on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and even on more innovative tools such as Thunderclap, to counter opposition to its water rule, which effectively restricts how land near certain surface waters can be used. The agency said the rule would prevent pollution in drinking water sources. Farmers, business groups and Republicans have called the rule a flagrant case of government overreach. The publicity campaign was part of a broader effort by the Obama administration to counter critics of its policies through social media tools, communicating directly with Americans and bypassing traditional news organizations. At the White House, top aides to President Obama have formed the Office of Digital Strategy, which promotes his agenda on Twitter, Facebook, Medium and other social sites. Shailagh Murray, a senior adviser to the president, is charged in part with expanding Mr. Obama’s presence in that online world.... Federal agencies are allowed to promote their own policies, but are not allowed to engage in propaganda, defined as covert activity intended to influence the American public. They also are not allowed to use federal resources to conduct so-called grass-roots lobbying — urging the American public to contact Congress to take a certain kind of action on pending legislation.
This is not the first time an agency has been found to cross this line, and I doubt it will be the last.The federal government's response to this month's Vancouver oil spill is the target of the latest production by Shit Harper Did, a B.C.-based collective.
The group released a YouTube video Tuesday, showing their ambush of a Conservative event on April 17.
Protesters in white hazmat suits asked Industry Minister James Moore and North Vancouver MP Andrew Saxton if they would like to touch a piece of wood with oil on it. The residue was left from an estimated 2,700 litres of bunker fuel that leaked from a grain carrier into Vancouver's English Bay, and soiled several beaches.
Moore, who is also a B.C. MP, sidesteps a protester by answering: "I'm fine. Thanks" while Saxton replies, "'It's OK, I can see it very well."
The activist then retorts: "You can see it but you don't want to touch it, so why is on the shores?"
Moore again defended the response by the coast guard and other agencies after the April 8 spill, which he previously described as "world class," according to News 1130.
"80 per cent of the spill was cleaned up in the first 36 hours," Moore tells reporters, but then is interrupted by a protester who pushes an oil-stained rock close to the minister's face: "Here's some of the 20 per cent you didn't clean up."
Petition to re-open coast guard station
Aside from the stunt, the group highlights the continued efforts to re-open the Kitsilano coast guard station in Vancouver that was shut down by the Stephen Harper government in 2013.
It took the coast guard roughly six hours to surround the leak with an oil-absorbing boom earlier this month.
Fred Moxey, former commander of the Kitsilano Coast Guard, said if the station had been open, it would have been able to respond to the spill in 10 minutes or less.
Protesters delivered a petition with 15,000 signatures to Moore's constituency office on April 17, demanding the base be re-opened and that increased tanker traffic on B.C. coasts be banned. They argue that a potential spill from a vessel carrying oilsands, as part of the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline and Kinder Morgan expansion projects, would be catastrophic for B.C. waters.
Shit Harper Did vaulted to public attention in 2011 with videos critical of Harper and the Conservatives.
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Also on HuffPostAirPlay, Apple’s method for streaming content form one device to another, is reportedly getting an overhaul for iOS 9 which will bring enhanced security.
Speaking to 9to5Mac, development house Squirrels was distracted by some new functionality in AirPlay. The team makes an app named Reflector 2, which is “a wireless receiver for mirroring and streaming phones or tablets.”
A lot of the pairing setups (like how your mobile device interacts with a receiver) have changed. A lot of the exchanges between an iOS device and an Apple TV or any of the receivers have changed. The actual mechanism through which a mirroring connection is established was entirely overhauled. So, many underlying AirPlay components and protocols are entirely different in iOS 9. Not only at a security level but also with the way the two devices talk to each other. We discovered AirPlay has improved security, it’s faster and it improves overall performance. Using some of the new security features Apple |
the Washington Post and didn't attribute them, either.
To add insult to injury, they remove all the linkbacks, present in the WashPo article, to my original tweet, and to Cory's BoingBoing post. They don't even link to the WashPo article that they lifted the quotes and photographs from. I've asked the Daily Mail to now pay up for the unauthorised use - and knowing infringement - of these pics. I'm currently requesting 2 x £1000 charitable donations, which I will request go to MIND and ORG. Updates to come, I'm sure.
The Daily Mail knowingly and commercially used my photos despite my denying them permission.Pope Francis waves as he arrives to lead his Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican on June 17, 2015. (Photo by Max Rossi/Reuters)
Pope Francis's views on climate change shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, notes Jeet Heer at The New Republic, who cites "longstanding traditions in Catholic social thought criticizing unfettered capitalism." Those traditions raise difficult questions for conservative Catholic politicians, including Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor.
"I don't get economic policy from my bishops or my cardinal or my pope," Bush said this week. "I think religion ought to be about making us better as people and less about things that end up getting in the political realm."
The problem with that answer is that politics has always been and always will be about who we are as people. Our views on political questions such as the economy, the environment, abortion or civil rights depend on our beliefs about our duties to others, about the right way to live our lives. These are fundamentally moral issues. Bush's remarks make it sound as though he thinks of politics as some big game of Risk, in which the players' choices do not reflect on them as people.
To be sure, we can debate which responses to climate change are cost-effective, or whether federal welfare programs help or hurt the poor. These are debates over the means, but on moral questions like these, religious leaders have every authority to insist on the ends.
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What's in Wonkbook: 1) Papal encyclical 2) Opinions, including Ip and Irwin on the Federal Reserve 3) Nine are dead after a shooting at a historic black church in Charleston, and more
1. Top story: Pope issues encyclical on global warming
Francis's widely anticipated letter calls on rich nations to deal with climate change. "The pope’s 180-page encyclical on the environment is not only a moral call for action on phasing out the use of fossil fuels, as was expected. It is also a document infused with an activist anger and concern for the poor, casting blame at the indifference of the powerful.... In a press conference on Thursday in Vatican City to mark the release of Francis’s encyclical, Cardinal Peter Turkson, who wrote a draft and is the pope’s point-man on social justice issues, said it was imperative for 'practical proposals not to be developed in an ideological, superficial or reductionist way.' " Stephanie Kirchgaessner in the Guardian.
Vatican leaders released Pope Francis's environmental encyclical June 18 in Vatican City. (The Vatican English)
The document is cautious on questions of science. Francis "may have bent over backward to offer a cautious interpretation of the scientific facts. For example, a substantial body of published science says that human emissions have caused all the global warming that has occurred over the past century. Yet in his letter, Francis does not go quite that far, citing volcanoes, the sun and other factors that can influence the climate before he concludes that'most global warming in recent decades is due to the great concentration of greenhouse gases' released mainly by human activity. Michael E. Mann, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University, pointed out that the bulk of the evidence suggests that solar changes and volcanoes have slightly counteracted the warming effect of greenhouse gases." Justin Gillis in The New York Times.
The pope is making the environment an issue of social justice. "The Catholic Church’s historic emphasis on social justice makes this focus in the encyclical no more surprising than its position on climate change. But nevertheless, the social inequalities that are so often tied to environmental crises are among the document’s most important points.... Experts have long argued that deforestation, biodiversity loss, water shortages and poor water quality, loss of traditional lands and any number of climate change effects have disproportionate impacts on developing countries and the world’s poorest people. These inequalities, and the moral imperative to correct them, is likely to be a major focus in the encyclical and could be an area that extends the document’s reach beyond the Catholic community in an even bigger way than its discussion of climate science. One reason for the issue’s resonance is that Pope Francis, himself, is from Argentina, where many of the above environmental problems are of deep concern." Chelsea Harvey in The Washington Post.
American Catholics are split on the issue, like the rest of the country. "American Catholics are about as divided on the matter of climate change as the rest of the general public, the Pew Research Center found in a survey ahead a major statement on the environment by Pope Francis. Seventy-one percent of U.S. Catholics believe the Earth is warming, Pew found in a survey released on Tuesday, but fewer than half think it’s caused by human activity or think it's a very serious problem. All three figures are similar to the general public’s views on the issue. Catholics' opinions on global warming break down along party lines. Eighty-five percent of Catholic Democrats believe in global warming and 64 percent call it a'very serious problem,' according to Pew. Only 51 percent of Catholic Republicans believe the Earth is getting warmer, and it’s viewed as a serious problem by 24 percent of them." Devin Henry in The Hill.
Bush and Santorum rejected the pope's message. "In his first official day on the presidential campaign trail, Bush, who is Catholic, told a town hall event in New Hampshire that Pope Francis should steer clear of global affairs.... At least five of the Republican presidential contenders are Catholic. Two so far – Bush and Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator and devout Catholic – have come out against the pope on climate change..... Santorum told a Philadelphia radio station earlier this month: 'The church has gotten it wrong a few times on science, and I think we probably are better off leaving science to the scientists and focusing on what we’re good at, which is theology and morality.' Three other Catholic Republican hopefuls: Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal and Marco Rubio, have yet to speak out on the encyclical." Suzanne Goldenberg and Sabrina Siddiqui in the Guardian.
O'Malley is publishing a clean-energy agenda. "The former Maryland governor, who is a practicing Catholic, plans to issue a white paper Thursday morning that declares that the United States has a'moral obligation' to address climate change and outlines steps he would take to accelerate a move toward clean energy -- including several that build upon Obama administration policies and some that depart from them.... O’Malley argues that a full embrace of clean energy presents the biggest job creation opportunity the country as seen in a century. Among other initiatives, O’Malley will call for expanding an Obama administration effort to regulate emissions from power plants to include other sources of greenhouse gases, such as cement and fertilizer plans and existing oil and gas wells." John Wagner in The Washington Post.
2. Top opinions
IP: Let the economy overheat. "The Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday, with some trepidation, that it remains on track to raise interest rates later this year. Ordinarily, with unemployment now approaching levels associated with an economy at full strength, the case for raising rates would be open and shut: the Fed would not want unemployment to drop so far that the economy overheats and inflation takes off. But these are not ordinary times. An overheating economy right now would be welcome: It would help nudge inflation back to more normal levels, restore some of the long-term growth potential lost since the financial crisis, and boost ordinary workers’ wages more effectively than remedies such as big increase in the minimum wage, which can reduce employment for the low-skilled." The Wall Street Journal.
IRWIN: Does it matter just when the Fed raises rates? "If there’s one message that Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve chairwoman, tried to hammer home in her news conference on Wednesday, it is this: Don’t make so much effort to discern the precise timing of the Fed’s decision to raise interest rates... What really matters, she assures the world, is what happens after that.... But read an analyst note from a Wall Street investment firm, or tune into a few minutes of CNBC, and you’ll see the opposite tone — downright obsessiveness with whether the Fed raises its short-term interest rate in September, or in December, or in 2016. Ms. Yellen and Wall Street are both right, and they’re both wrong. Ms. Yellen is asking markets to think about interest rates as an economist, which makes sense given that she is one. To an economist, market interest rates reflect the entire expected future path of short-term interest rates.... But the traders who obsess over these things have a point, too. Predicting what interest rates will be in two or three or five years is a wide-open thing; the Fed can predict what they will do, but words (and projections) are cheap, and always subject to change." The New York Times.
LANE: The trade deal in the Pacific wouldn't harm workers. "Trade deals, by definition, affect industries that produce tradeable goods, such as cars or coal.... Only about 10 percent of union members produce tradeable goods; the rest work in construction, government and other sectors outside the flow of global commerce. For these workers, cheap imports are either irrelevant or, to the extent they consume them, beneficial. What's more, the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP — the first trade deal that would be considered under fast track — exposes U.S. industry to only a smidgen of new low-wage competition. Ninety-two percent of the trade affected by the TPP would be with countries that are either high-wage (e.g., Japan and New Zealand), already have bilateral free trade with the United States (e.g., Chile and Peru) or both (e.g., Canada and Australia)." The Washington Post.
3. In case you missed it
The House will vote on trade again Thursday. "Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives will try to revive legislation central to President Barack Obama's Pacific Rim trade deal on Thursday by offering up a simpler version of a bill that failed dramatically last week.... Under the new plan, lawmakers are expected to debate and vote on whether to give Obama "fast-track" authority to speed the 12-nation TPP through Congress, this time without a companion measure to renew an expiring program helping U.S. workers hurt by trade. If the new bill succeeds in the House, it would have to win Senate approval as well, with a vote possibly coming next week." Krista Hughes and Richard Cowan for Reuters.
The Fed will raise rates before the end of the year. "The Federal Reserve on Wednesday signaled that the U.S. economy is nearly ready to stand on its own but sought to assure investors that the process would be gradual. Officials at the nation’s central bank voted unanimously to leave the benchmark federal funds rate unchanged at zero during their regular policy meeting in Washington. But... most believe they will raise it for the first time in nearly a decade sometime this year." Ylan Q. Mui in The Washington Post.
Nine are dead after a shooting at a black church in Charleston. "A white gunman opened fire Wednesday night at a historic black church in this city’s downtown, killing nine people before fleeing and setting off an overnight manhunt, the police said. At a news conference with Charleston’s mayor early Thursday, the police chief, Greg Mullen, called the shooting a hate crime.... The pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, 41, and his sister were among those killed, said J. Todd Rutherford, the minority leader of the State House of Representatives. Mr. Rutherford, who has served in the State Legislature with Mr. Pinckney since 1998, recalled him as a tireless leader with a booming voice and a mission to serve.... Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. said the city was offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of the gunman." Jason Horowitz, Nick Corasaniti and Ashley Southall in The New York Times.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) calls for a 14.5 percent flat tax. "Tax plans increasingly have become a defining issue for Republicans in the 2016 nomination fight, and Mr. Paul’s proposal represents one of the more detailed—and aggressive—so far.... It would require substantial spending cuts to avoid adding to deficits—an amount roughly equal to all deficit reduction the federal government has done since 2010. He predicted his plan would boost economic growth by nearly a percentage point a year. The plan would eliminate payroll taxes on workers, as well as gift and estate taxes and all duties and tariffs. His flat tax would apply to all personal income, including wages, salaries, dividends, capital gains, rents and interest. It would exempt the first $50,000 of income for a family of four. The plan would eliminate many deductions but preserve two widely used ones, for mortgage interest and charitable contributions." John D. McKinnon and Janet Hook in The Wall Street Journal.
California regulators say an Uber driver is an employee. "The ruling could set a broad precedent if it is upheld, said Richard Reibstein, a lawyer at Pepper Hamilton who focuses on independent contracting. That could be problematic for Uber and other companies in the burgeoning sharing economy. California is the ride-hailing app’s home market, and according to a report it released earlier this year, it has the most drivers in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Nationwide, more than 160,000 drivers picked up at least four riders a month, the data showed. For Uber, the implications of counting its drivers as employees rather than contractors are substantial. It would suddenly have to pay for employees' health care benefits, worker’s compensation and payroll taxes, and be on the hook for costs like gas and car maintenance." Thad Moore in The Washington Post.
Why did NAFTA succeed, where TPP is struggling? "It's important to recognize a key procedural difference. In 1993, 'fast track' authority had passed years earlier, so Congress would be voting to ratify NAFTA itself, and the text was open for review. The fact that the treaty itself was finalized and made public meant that legislators knew better how it would affect their districts. Since earmarks were still allowed, Republican leadership could hand out sweeteners to those who might face labor's wrath if they voted against the accord. President Clinton, too, bargained members off the fence with side deals... The overall political climate also plays a role. Although both sides during the two fights had polls to support their positions, today’s fast-track fight has played out against the backdrop of higher awareness of economic inequality, and some evidence that trade deals exacerbate it." Lydia DePillis in The Washington Post.(Tiffany did not consent to be interviewed for this article, although she did pose for its photo shoot. Instead, the campaign delivered a list of approved contacts. Other family friends who were not on the list said they were instructed not to speak without authorization.)
Outside acquaintances echo that she is more serious than she looks on social media. “She didn’t seem like a party girl at all,” Carson Griffith, a writer who followed the Snap Pack around the Hamptons in 2015 for Du Jour magazine. (Ms. Griffith also occasionally writes for The New York Times.) “She stayed in the city Friday night to finish a paper, and I never saw her drink a glass of wine.” Ms. Griffith was impressed by Tiffany’s good manners: “When I would ask about her, she would say: ‘How about you? What’s your job like?’”
Tiffany’s vacations were mostly spent on trips with her mother — a mix of fun mother-daughter getaways and good-will tours overseas, like handing out vitamin C pops at an orphanage in Malawi. A bodyguard went with her on visits to her Georgia relatives, but otherwise she blended easily in her mother’s small hometown. Sometimes, her celebrity status poked through.
Recalling a party for 3-year-olds, Janice Kiker, a close family friend in Dalton, Ga., said: “Tiffany showed up in a faded, worn-out tutu. I was shocked.” She added with a laugh: “Then someone told me it had belonged to Shirley Temple. I said, ‘Never mind.’”
Lara Trump, who is married to Eric, said Mr. Trump is close to all his children. “I was struck when I first came into this family how much he is their dad,” she said by phone while campaigning for her father-in-law in Columbus, Ohio. “In public, he’s a performer. Behind closed doors, he is polite and respectful and wants to hear from other people,” Lara Trump said. She noted that Mr. Trump and Tiffany have a “fun and loving relationship” and that “he is very proud of her.”I recently received a great tutorial suggestion from a reader named Alix, who asked if I could show how to make a vintage style logo design in a similar style to the fighting T-Shirts over at Roots of Fight. I’ve produced a few vintage logo tutorials in the past, but since I’m a big fan of this design style, I’m always happy to play around with that kind of artwork! Follow along with today’s tutorial to create a distressed type based logo design in Adobe Illustrator. We’ll apply a range of adjustments to form the layout using fonts, then finish the artwork with texturing to achieve the aged look.
To complement the fighting theme of those Boxing and MMA T-Shirt designs cited by Alix, I’ve created a design based on Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Whilst this kind of vintage style has a hand lettered look, we’ll use display fonts to form our design, with some adjustments in Adobe Illustrator to produce the layout. We’ll then give the artwork the old t-shirt look with my free “Washed & Worn” textures.
Working with fonts rather than lettering by hand makes composing the layout so much easier and gives you the ability to edit or change the wording if you ever needed to. I’ll be using the fantastic font named Bloomsbury, which is a Script, Sans and Serif typeface with a hand drawn style. Not only do these fonts perfectly complement each other, the script variant also includes some great flourishes to decorate your design. If you like the look of this font, you can purchase it for $16. Create a new document in Adobe Illustrator and set out your fonts as text elements.
Hold the ALT key and drag the script font to make a copy. Edit the contents to spell the word ‘Gracie’. Select just the last letter and choose one of the alternative glyphs to apply a cool underline.
Go to Object > Transform > Shear and select the Vertical option. Edit the Shear Angle to -10° to flow the text in an upwards direction.
Select the Ellipse tool from the toolbar and draw a circle around the text. Nudge it roughly central to the text, then clear out the default fill and stroke.
Select the Type on a Path Tool from under the Type Tool’s menu, then click on the circle path to set a passage of text around its circumference.
Use the Eyedropper tool to quickly convert the default placeholder text to the Bloomsbury Sans font.
Edit the wording to ‘Jiu Jitsu Academy’, then alter the tracking to 50 from the Character panel and set the paragraph style to center.
Activate the Direct Selection Tool, then click and drag the middle handle of the Type on a Path element to reposition the text centrally. If you have Smart Guides turned on (View > Smart Guides), you’ll see a pink guide appear when the alignment is perfectly vertical.
Edit the font size so the wording spans from one side of the circle to the other, then move the whole circle downwards to better compose the layout.
Select the Star tool and draw a small shape underneath the lettering. Hold ALT and Shift while dragging a copy to the other side, then select them both and make a Group.
Hold the Shift key and select the Type on a Path circle, then release Shift and give the circle and extra click to make it the key object. Click the Horizontal Align Center button to align the stars up centrally, without moving the key object out of place.
Make a copy of the Bloomsbury Sans font element and edit its wording to EST. Decrease its size and set the tracking to 200. Position this text element in the empty space between the two other text elements.
Drag a duplicate of the text and change the wording to 1925. Hold Shift and select both the smaller text elements and the circular Type on a Path. Make the circle the key object and align everything up centrally.
Make another copy of the Bloomsbury Sans font. Change the wording to Rio de Janeiro Brazil, edit the tracking to 50 and set the leading to suit. Make any kerning adjustments by placing the cursor between the relevant letters, then use the ALT key and Cursor Keys to adjust the spacing.
Use the CMD+R shortcut to display the document rulers (if they aren’t active already), then drag out guides aligned to each side of the word Gracie. Scale and position the Rio de Janeiro text within the layout.
To add a couple of decorative lines, we can use the letter I of the Bloomsbury font so it matches the same irregular, hand drawn style. Right click and select Create Outlines to convert this letter into a shape.
Rotate the shape by 90° and stretch it to fit between the guide and the word Brazil. Make a copy for the other side.
Another way to create interesting layouts is to use Illustrator’s Envelope Distort feature. Select the Rio text and the two lines, then go to Object > Envelope Distort > Make With Warp. Change the settings to Arc at 10%.
Draw a selection around all the elements that form the logo and drag a copy to one side. We’ll convert the final design into shapes, so it’s useful to retain an editable copy just in case you need to make any changes.
Select all the elements of the original again, then go to Object > Expand. This will convert all the text to shapes and permanently apply the Envelope Distort effect.
Since the letters of the script font overlap, merge them all into one continuous outline using the Unite button from the Pathfinder panel.
The script font is also quite smooth, whereas the sans font has an irregular outline. We can add a similar effect using the Effect > Distort & Transform > Roughen filter. Change the settings to Smooth, Absolute, then set the Detail to 30 and experiment with a small value for the Size, which will depend on the overall size of your artwork.
Select all the elements of your logo design and Group them together. The graphic looks great, but some texturing will really finish off the vintage style.
Click the Make Mask button in the Transparency panel to apply an Opacity Mask to the artwork. Click on the square thumbnail on the right to activate the mask.
Open one of my “Washed & Worn” textures and paste it into the mask. Scale the texture down to cover the artwork. Click on the thumbnail on the left to exit out of mask mode.
The final logo design looks great with a textured appearance that gives the artwork an aged and distressed look. Apply different fills to change the colour for different applications. The mask will erase the textured areas to allow the background to show through.
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Love this design? Get the T-shirt!They are specters from our collective childhood, observed from behind half-finished sandcastles. They move purposefully along the beach, captivating young onlookers with the promise of magical treasure.
They are metal-detector guys. The archetypal loners. Sealed off from the world by giant headphones, happy to reward young tagalongs with a bottle cap.
“It’s my Zen,” says Alex Kelley, President of the Bay Area Searchers. For many, like Kelley, the hunt itself is a meditative experience, a way to escape from the daily grind.
Though metal detecting is a solitary pursuit, the hobby can be surprisingly social. Dedicated hunters compete against each other in time trials, searching the beach for pre-seeded targets. Many participate in clubs, where they meet up for show-and-tell and swap war stories about returning lost engagement rings and having close encounters with dog mess.
The activity hits a sweet spot in the Venn diagram of escapism, community, imagination and outdoor strolls. Behind the metal-detector stigma are thoughtful people seeking some atypical thrills.
Wired recently spent time with some avid beachcombers in the Bay Area. We learned the ropes and the lingo, and saw what keeps them searching. Read on for an introduction to the tools of the trade and the inner life of the modern treasure hunter.
(Some readers may prefer to load all the pages of this article at once, so we’ve provided this link.)The estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been killed in Malaysia, according to South Korean security sources.
Reuters reports that Kim Jong Nam was attacked Monday in Kuala Lumpur airport and died on his way to hospital. South Korean government sources speaking to the news agency confirmed Nam’s death, though they could not confirm reports elsewhere that the attack was carried out by two women using poisoned needles.
Selangor state chief police officer Abdul Samah Mat told the Malay newspaper Berita Harian it was highly likely that Kim was poisoned by a woman: “Based on initial investigations, we saw a woman with Korean features approach the man and suddenly covered him with a cloth.” He added that the woman later fled with a female companion.
South Korea’s TV Chosun earlier reported the details of the attack, citing an official in the South Korean government, adding that the two women were still at large. If confirmed as an assassination, it would be the highest-profile killing of a North Korean since Kim Jong Un’s uncle Jang Song Thaek was executed in late 2013 after being convicted of treason. Nam was reported to have a close relationship with Thaek.
Kim Jong Nam and Kim Jong Un are both sons of former leader Kim Jong Il, who died in late 2011, but they had different mothers. Nam was once seen as the heir apparent to his father’s throne, but an incident in 2001 caused a rift between father and son. After trying to visit Disneyland in Toyko, Nam was expelled from Japan for traveling on a fake passport.UNESCO, the U.N. body charged with protecting humanity’s cultural treasures, approved a draft resolution Thursday calling Israel an “occupying power” in its own capital of Jerusalem, ignoring deep Jewish ties to the Temple Mount and instead accusing Israeli settlers of provoking Muslims through “aggressions.”
The resolution shunned the term “Temple Mount” in favor of its Palestinian name and demanded that Israel rescind its control over access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which stands on the Temple Mount but is also one of the holiest sites in Islam.
The U.S. and some European nations fought the resolution but were easily outmuscled by Russia, China and Middle Eastern and developing nations. Opponents were also hindered by two dozen countries that refused to vote at all, delivering victory to Israel’s critics in committee. A final vote by the UNESCO executive committee is slated for later this month.
“One-sided anti-Israel resolutions have been a recurring challenge at UNESCO in recent years,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in Washington, decrying the latest version, which Israeli newspapers reported passed by a 24-6 vote.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the decision “absurd,” while members of the U.S. Congress said the resolution embarrassed the international body, whose formal name is the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
“To declare that Israel has no connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall is like saying that China has no connection to the Great Wall of China or that Egypt has no connection to the Pyramids,” Mr. Netanyahu told the Reuters news agency.
“This insanity shows that Israel’s adversaries are willing to go to any lengths to denigrate our ally,” added Sen. Ben Sasse, Nebraska Republican. “Not only does the U.N. pretend that there is moral equivalency between Israeli citizens and Palestinian terrorists, UNESCO goes out of its way to insult Israel.”
Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, said he’ll insist on Jerusalem getting recognition as Israel’s capital by moving the U.S. embassy there. And he said the Obama administration hasn’t done enough to defend the city’s place in Jewish history.
“In a Trump Administration, Israel will have a true, loyal and lasting friend in the United States of America,” Mr. Trump said in a statement.
Submitted by a handful of Middle Eastern nations, the draft resolution affirms the Old City of Jerusalem’s place in “the three monotheistic religions” of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. But the resolution then details a long list of grievances, accusing Israel of hindering Muslim worshippers’ access to their holy sites and looking the other way as Israelis provoke Palestinians in both Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Palestinian officials took the vote as a clear signal of international support to their claims to the disputed site.
“This is an important message to Israel that it must end its occupation and recognize the Palestinian state and Jerusalem as its capital with its sacred Muslim and Christian sites,” Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement.
UNESCO had previously voted to send monitors to Jerusalem to track conflicts over access, but Israel has thwarted the monitors. The new draft resolution demands that UNESCO insist on full cooperation from Israel.
Protecting key sites
UNESCO’s chief job is to list “World Heritage Sites” — magnificent and historically significant locations that showcase the beauty of the natural world, or the heights of human achievements.
In the U.S., more than 20 World Heritage sites include the Grand Canyon and Native American ruins, as well as Monticello and the University of Virginia, the architectural marvels designed by Thomas Jefferson.
Jerusalem was listed in 1981, at the behest of Jordan. But the city has recently become the flash point for a number of fights at the heritage organization. Arab members several years ago forced a delay in a U.S.-sponsored exhibit on 3,500 years of Jewish history connected to the city, and more recently have demanded votes on punitive resolutions.
The objecting nations say Israel is pursuing its own research projects but stymieing Palestinian restoration projects.
Whatever the situation in Jerusalem, it is not as disastrous as nearby Syria, which counts six UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Each of those has suffered damage in the ongoing civil war, with Islamic State terrorists last year destroying some of the iconic ruins at Palmyra, a Roman-era city.
The U.S. is a member of UNESCO but stopped paying its dues after the cultural organization in 2011 voted to admit Palestine as a member. American law automatically cuts off payments to organizations that designate Palestine as a full-fledged member-state.
President Obama has been trying to change that policy, arguing the U.S. is shirking its international responsibilities, and Mr. Toner, the State Department spokesman, said the U.S. would have had more “influence” to stop anti-Israeli measures if it paid its dues and participated in debates and votes.
But Mr. Toner admitted it wasn’t likely the U.S. could have ever headed off Thursday’s vote, and members of Congress said the episode was more evidence that UNESCO is both biased and feckless.
“The Obama administration must cease its persistent and foolhardy attempts to restore U.S. taxpayer funding to UNESCO, a body which has proven itself repeatedly to be unworthy of U.S. support,” said Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.Horatio Alger Jr. (1832-1899) was a prolific American author of boys adventure stories whose heroes lead exemplary lives to Strive and Succeed in the face of adversity and poverty, good and evil.
Horatio Alger Jr. was born on Friday the 13th of January, 1832 in Chelsea, Massachusetts, the oldest of five children. He developed near-sightedness and asthma as a youngster, and wasnt to excel academically till many years later.
His mother, Olive (née Fenno) Alger, was the daughter of a wealthy merchant. His father, Horatio Alger Sr. earned his living as a Unitarian Minister, but supplemented his meagre ministerial income by becoming the first postmaster in town, tending a small farm and occasionally teaching grammar school. But the family never really got out of economic straits, whereupon they left the town in 1844 to go to Marlborough. It was here that Horatio entered prep school and started to excel with his studies.
In 1848, sixteen year-old Horatio was accepted to Harvard University with financial assistance from his fathers cousin Cyrus Alger, and embarked on the happiest four years of his life. Studying under such illustrious teachers as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Horatio started to hone his writing skills with poetry, short sketches and academic essays on topics from chivalry to Miguel de Cervantes, earning the title Class Poet and winning many awards and prizes.
Alger was initially not as successful when, upon graduating, he submitted stories to various magazines and newspapers only to have them rejected. Carl Cantab and Charles F. Preston were two of the pseudonyms he used to publish the works that he felt were second-rate. Not earning enough to support himself by writing, Alger took on temporary teaching positions, which allowed him the time to continue writing, mostly comedic adult stories for monthly publications. Subterfuge, sexual innuendo and bachelors being tricked into marriage were prophetic themes.
In 1854 Alger left Cambridge to take a teaching position in Rhode Island, only to return three years later to attend Theological School for three years. He then went on a tour of Europe which he enjoyed immensely, sending letters back home to be published in the monthlies to defray his travel costs. Upon return ten months later he found himself docking in Boston at the start of the Civil War. Drafted and with his slight stature (he was five feet-two inches tall) and poor health he was assigned to the home front, during which he and a sixteen year-old soldier named Joseph Dean maintained an intimate correspondence. Following the War, Alger wrote the well received Franks Campaign (1864), the story about a young boy who organizes a junior army while his father is fighting in the Civil War.
Alger then accepted the call to minister at the First Unitarian Church and Society of Brewster, Massachusetts in 1860. He capably performed his duties and was welcomed by the congregation. After a period of a year however, rumours of depraved and unnatural acts began to surface that threatened Alger's security in the ministry. An inquiry and two boys confirmed charges of molestation and Alger left the church. Writing became a solace for him, one product of it being the poem Friar Anselmos Sin (1875), the process of expiating sins through atonement producing a great many works of note during this period.
At the ago of thirty-four, Alger moved to New York and got involved in assisting the homeless, particularly post-Civil war juvenile delinquent boys. He helped to secure public support for them and establish boarding homes, sometimes called Newsboy Lodging Houses. He himself took in needy boys who were often the inspiration for his stories characters, including the extremely popular serial Ragged Dick (1868). Finally finding his `voice Alger continued to produce another eighteen novels in just six years including Fame and Fortune (1868), Mark the Match Boy (1869), Rough and Ready (1869), Ben the Luggage Boy (1870), Rufus and Rose (1870) and Sink or Swim (1870). At this time, Alger was approached by his old school-mate Joseph Seligman, who proposed that he become his sons live-in tutor, which he accepted for seven years.
In 1874, Alger began to spend less and less time in New York as his asthmatic lungs gave him trouble with all the soot and smoke from the busy city, so he sought respite in his native New England and further travels across America. He continued writing but knew he was lacking in new material. Bound to Rise (1873) and its sequel Risen from the Ranks; or, The Story of Harry Waltons Success (1874) were the result of his creating new settings and themes outside of a city. The books sold well but the market was saturated with juvenile stories, so, after a few attempts at a different genre, his loose biographies of young American heroes started to sell. It would be unpatriotic to criticise them, but they conveyed villains who drew parallels with the current socio-political climate of the times but sales didnt last long. Alger was entering the twilight of his career by mid 1880. He lived in boarding houses as he no longer worked and lived with the Seligmans and loneliness and depression set in.
In the mid 1890s Algers interest in assisting needy boys started to wane and in 1896 he left New York entirely to live with his sister Augusta, in Natick, Massachusetts. Plagued by health concerns and with a partial manuscript that he desperately wanted to complete entitled Out for Business (1900), Alger asked a previous editor, Edward Stratemeyer, if he would ghostwrite the remainder of the novel. He readily agreed and although he finished the work by December 1898, Alger couldnt read it due to an eye condition.
Horatio Alger died on 18 July, 1899, at his sister's home, of heart disease. He had left instructions to Augusta that his funeral was to be as private as possible, with as little personal detail as necessary released to the public. His true age was not reported at the time of his death and his remains were promptly cremated before burial. According to his wishes, Augusta destroyed all of his personal writings and correspondence, making it difficult for historians to document his life with such a dearth of primary sources. His will left almost everything to family and friends.
Biography written by C.D. Merriman for Jalic Inc. Copyright Jalic Inc 2005. All Rights Reserved.
The above biography is copyrighted. Do not republish it without permission.
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Forum Discussions on Horatio AlgerWomen entrepreneurs in Grand Rapids have a valuable partner to help them start a business and assist them on their journey as a business owner. That partner is Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women (GROW) and they’ve been providing counseling, education, resources and networking opportunities to women since 198 |
hurt us” to actual sticks and stones and the attendant breaking of bones.
These days, people who used to feel free to shout and threaten are emboldened to punch, body-slam, and stab.
That is what has become of free speech in this country. That is why I was contemplating breaking up with it. I don’t think I’m alone, either. There are a lot of people out there who feel that they ignored racist, xenophobic, sexist white supremacists at their own peril, for months and years, when they should have been punching back. And now, a lot of people in my town are not quite sure what to do. Some liberals cheered when Richard Spencer was confronted at his gym and cheered again when Ann Coulter didn’t speak in the free speech haven of Berkeley, California. Some have decided to meet what they perceive as violence with violence of their own: A growing list of “anti-fascist” groups have announced they are willing to use “direct action” against their foes if necessary. Many progressives are sick and tired because they have found that their attempts to protect free speech have resulted in a world that is not flush with the reciprocal exchange of ideas, but one that is shimmering with the threat of imminent violence and the daily fear that comes when you live with the possibility of that violence.
Cities that never worried about much beyond trampled flora at their Memorial Day parades now need to prepare for protests as if they are riots in the making, at tremendous cost to our collective psyche. Consider the choices available to the mayor of Portland, Oregon, after two men, Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche and Ricky John Best, were stabbed to death as they tried to stop a white supremacist from harassing two young women on the light rail. Portland is in a state with robust constitutional speech protections. It has also suffered a long and frightening string of racial incidents in recent months. The white supremacist who killed two men in May had attended “free speech” rallies. And now at similar rallies everywhere, including my hometown, protesters on both sides are prepared for violence. Violence, these days, is almost expected. The only question seems to be whether cities will try to prevent bloodshed before it can happen. It’s why, immediately following the stabbings, that Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler tried to revoke permits for future alt-right protests altogether.
Of course, per the U.S. Constitution, Wheeler could not revoke these permits and stop these events regardless of how good his intentions were. And they were good: “My main concern is that they are coming to peddle a message of hatred and of bigotry,” he had told reporters. “They have a First Amendment right to speak, but my pushback on that is that hate speech is not protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.” Unfortunately, he is wrong as a matter of fact and of First Amendment doctrine because if Nazis get to march in Skokie, Illinois, racists can march in Portland. (The ACLU of Oregon quickly reminded him of this on Twitter, pointing out that “The government cannot revoke or deny a permit based on the viewpoint of the demonstrators. Period.”) Soon, Mayor Wheeler’s office was walking back the claim that he was calling to suppress speech, saying he was simply trying to avoid physical violence. As an attorney friend in Portland reminded me, this is exactly why elected officials have attorneys, so they can say, “I wanted to cancel the rallies, but my lawyers wouldn’t let me.”
Is the First Amendment allowing us to batter and attack one another in ways that are more pernicious than the act of silencing speech?
The conundrum facing Wheeler, though, is the conundrum facing us all. It’s the same one that has been plaguing me: Is the First Amendment allowing us to batter and attack one another in ways that are more pernicious than the act of silencing speech? Why is my city, roiled and bruised by the events of May, still allowing the KKK to march here next month?
So far in Charlottesville, we have kept violence at bay. But that fact has not felt like a promise. Last Wednesday morning, some of the white nationalists announced plans to gather again. The police showed up in full force, as did counter-protesters organized by local faith groups. Actually, the counter-protesters outnumbered the alleged white supremacists by about 30 to 1. Everyone I spoke to was anxious. That, not politics, was hanging in the air. The faith groups were trying to guess at who would pull a knife; the young man who had been hassled by the Richard Spencer crowd back in May for wearing a yarmulke was back, again in his yarmulke. Nobody knew which guy might be the guy—the one with the knife, or even the gun.
The scene wasn’t as clear-cut as you might think a confrontation between white supremacists and anti-white supremacists would be. A local candidate for city council, Kenneth Jackson, was off to the side trying to talk. He was there with the support of Jason Kessler, one of about four white supremacists in attendance. Both wanted the Robert E. Lee statue to remain standing. Jackson is black and gay. Kessler made headlines last week after he “covered” the torch-march for the Daily Caller; his piece declined to mention that in addition to attending, he’d been a speaker celebrating Holocaust denialism and white superiority. His article still stands, a valoric love song to white supremacy, now with an editor’s note appended that reads “The author notified The Daily Caller after publication that he spoke at a luncheon May 14 on behalf of an effort to preserve the monument.” After spending the subsequent weeks being harassed everywhere he went, he was back in the park. He carried a megaphone he did not use.
It is ever more clear to me that the free press—which exists, to make an obvious point, because of the First Amendment—is the enemy of the white supremacists who keep talking about free speech. Kessler blames the press for everything, including his now-terminated contract with the Daily Caller. But even Jackson posted a Facebook rant about a news account of last Wednesday’s protest that he felt mischaracterized the event. When the revolution comes, it will be because someone who felt he had important things to say felt wronged by the media.
While the religious groups sang songs and prayed at the foot of the monument, Kessler held forth about Jewish nepotism and the “white guilt” that infected the faith leaders leading the counter-protest. Jackson, who has taken the public position that he wants to preserve the Lee statue, lectured Kessler about racism and homophobia, then turned on the people of faith for caring less about the lived experiences of the black citizens of Charlottesville than they do about symbols like the Lee statue. “When Dr. King came here,” said Jackson, according to an account in a local paper, “he talked about peace and unity. He didn’t try to make white people feel guilty about the past.” He advised local civil rights activists to spend their time working on issues like affordable housing rather than showing up to protests. When a spontaneous prayer circle erupted, the Lee supporters held hands. Kessler opted out of hand-holding.
When the revolution comes, it will be because someone who felt he had important things to say felt wronged by the media.
At this point, activist Veronica Fitzhugh approached Kessler and Jackson with a Bible in her hand. She had been one of the people shouting at Kessler to “fucking go home” as he ate at a restaurant on the downtown mall—indeed, she was later arrested for it and charged with assault and disorderly conduct. Now she hugged Jackson, and hugged some of the Lee supporters, and said she was asking for forgiveness. Kessler was not hugging, either.
The protests ended, in the shadow of the still-standing Robert E. Lee, with Fitzhugh and Jackson engaged in an ontological debate about the constitutional scope of protected free speech. Jackson felt that screaming at Nazis in public was illegal, but Fitzhugh thought it was protected. Local police officials declined to weigh in, at least then. When Jackson and Fitzhugh called it a draw and everyone stood down, the police were dispatched to the holy work of illegal left turns. As we departed Lee Park, Kessler sat on a park bench alone, checking his phone.
The news cameras, the cellphones, and the voice recorders reported that nothing violent transpired during the sequel to the flaming torch march that tore Charlottesville apart. That was true. But last Wednesday was about more than the absence of bloodshed. A black man, running for City Council on a pro–Robert E. Lee statue platform, tried to explain to a black woman who will never, ever give an inch for a Nazi, that symbols are just symbols in the middle of a city that is tearing itself to bits over, well, symbols. What the fear and the calls for banning marches misses—what I doubted before I went to see it for myself—is that an actual conversation about speech, race, fury, and pain, happened in a city park.
I can’t help but feel, in some way, that we got away with something last Wednesday. If we did, we may not be as lucky next time.
But to guarantee an escape from conflict, from violence, requires censorship. To have free speech in this moment, when the stakes are so high, is to live with fear. This is not an easy thing to confront—or to accept. If everyone had just stayed home last Wednesday in Charlottesville, there would have been no need to be afraid. There would also have been no dialogue.
What I saw on Wednesday reaffirmed my conviction that conversation might still be our best chance of getting out of this mess. Free speech is just free speech. It takes actual humans making the effort to talk to each other to transform speech into something more vital and more valuable. Conversations don’t always work. They may sometimes go wrong—horribly, terribly wrong. But I know someone who left that park with the phone number of someone from the “opposing” side. I saw people who showed up nervous, but showed up anyhow. The First Amendment will never be able to protect us from horrible words and horrific acts. It does guarantee that we’ll keep talking.
Published June 07, 2017, 10:43 PM ETby
One of the American Left’s knights in shining armor, Greg Palast, is back with a new film. The trench coat, fedora-wearing Palast is to investigative reporting what Raymond Chandler’s private eye, Philip Marlowe, is to detective novels. In The Best Democracy Money Can Buy Palast wears out the shoe leather, pounding far flung proverbial pavements, from the Arctic Circle to way down South in the land of cotton to America’s heartland in Kansas to the Sunshine State to posh East Coast enclaves in Manhattan and the Hamptons to the West Coast (where Palast and Marlowe were both born) to the Congo, Venezuela and beyond, our man Palast is hot on the trail of the film’s subtitled Billionaires and Ballot Bandits.
The multifaceted Best Democracy Money Can Buy covers lots of ground, but its central focus is an alleged nefarious conspiracy to nullify the votes of at least 1 million mostly minority people going to the polls. This purported GOP plot is codenamed “Crosscheck” and as presented, it’s nothing less than a 21st century high tech version of nullification — the extreme pro-states’ rights legal theory that individual states have the right to invalidate federal laws a state has deemed “unconstitutional.” Best Democracy argues that the constitutional guarantee under assault by Crosscheck is nothing less than voting rights, along with the historic act passed in 1965 by Congress to ensure nonwhite citizens’ ability to cast their ballots. Palast condemns this scurrilous scheme as “lynching by laptop.”
According to press notes, this complex computerized vote stealing ploy “is controlled by a Trump henchman, Kris Kobach, Kansas Secretary of State who claims his computer program has identified 7.2 million people in 29 states who may have voted twice in the same election — a felony crime. The catch? Most of these ‘suspects’ are minorities — in other words, mainly Democratic voters. Yet the lists and the evidence remain ‘confidential’.”
Somehow, the cinematic sleuth manages to get his mitts (and I don’t mean Romney) on the top secret data and the Sherlockian Palast deduces that Crosscheck is targeting minorities because the family names it targets across state lines are disproportionately those of nonwhites, who are more likely to vote for Democrats. For instance, Jackson is a common moniker for African Americans, while Park is widespread nomenclature for people of Korean ancestry, just as Garcia is for Hispanics and so on: Elementary, my dear Palast.
Soon, as Holmes said, “the game is afoot!” and the globetrotting hardboiled dick is off on the road to the Sunflower State. There Palast manages to confront Crosscheck’s purported Professor Moriarty and mastermind, Kobach, despite the fact that the Kansan official, whom the film portrays as a Wichita lie man (my sincere apologies to Glen Campbell), had declined repeated interview requests. Nevertheless, using hidden camera technology Palast tackles the Crosschecker at an ice cream social where Greg is eventually given the old heave-ho as if he’s Uncle Ho. (In the immortal words of Judy Garland as Dorothy: “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto.”)
(This undercover newshound who hounds the rich and infamous has also been shown the proverbial door at swanky bashes he infiltrates. As Palast notes: “We take on JP [John Paulson, the foreclosure king —and now Trump’s sugar-daddy and advisor on the economy], the big dog who made $5 BILLION off the market collapse HE ENGINEERED… Loaded up with hidden cameras, one in my fedora, [Leni] Badpenny and I took our speedboat to JP’s fancy Hamptons’ soiree — and got our man — and confronted him with what he’s done to 35,000 GM workers whose jobs he shipped to China. From the Hamptons I jumped to another dinner — in a giant soup kitchen set up for JP’s unemployed workers, some homeless, some, as one told me, ‘thinking about committing suicide.’ The point? There is no such thing as a victimless billionaire.” The intrepid investigator has been tossed out of more joints than most journalists have ever even been invited into.)
During the almost two hour film, Palast (who authored 2011’s Vulture’s Picnic, In Pursuit of Petroleum Pigs, Power Pirates, and High- Finance Carnivores) also embarks on epic manhunts for so-called “vulture capitalists.” Although many may consider this term redundant, vulture capitalists per se buy up bad debts for pennies on the dollar, then deploy strong-arm tactics to force Third World debtor nations to pay up – even if it means forking over funds earmarked for lifesaving needs – or else.
According to the journalistic gumshoe, “I’d been hunting Paul ‘The Vulture’ Singer [whom Palast identifies as Paulson’s partner] for BBC TV from the Andes to the Congo to Detroit and Dayton. Now the number one donor to GOP Senate candidates, The Vulture made his billions by what the U.S. Treasury called, ‘extortion.’”
In another of the film’s vignettes, a secret tape recording of a man identified as Billy Koch exposes the crimes of the other Koch brothers. And in yet another sequence, Palast encounters Etok, a feisty Inuit leader and whale hunter in Alaska. In Best Democracy Palast seems to be reworking and revisiting the scenes of various crimes he’d previously disclosed in his books and documentaries, such as the theft of the 2000 presidential election and vote caging in 2004’s Kerry versus Bush donnybrook. What is the thread that connects all of these sins in the tapestry Palast weaves in his latest film?
Connecting the dots of his cinematic intersectionality, the shamus told me: “No one steals votes to steal elections, they steal votes for the money. Singer, JP and the Kochs don’t want to be regulated, to be jailed or to be taxed. So they back candidates that will deliver their next billion.
“It was important for me not just to show vote theft, but to show you the guys who are funding the vote thieves, and their victims (Eskimos, Congolese, Delphi auto workers, foreclosed homeowners) — who, not coincidentally, are the folks whose votes they must steal.”
To do so, Palast uses poetic license in Best Democracy, pioneering a new film form. His Etok is far from Robert Flaherty’s 1922 Nanook of the North, a classic narrative about a real life Eskimo’s Arctic culture. Nor is Best Democracy’s style the same as the Cinéma Vérité of D.A. Pennebaker, the Maysles Brothers, Frederick Wiseman or the 2016 fly-on-the-wall doc about the disgraced ex-congressman, Weiner.
This is not to say that the resourceful Palast, who co-directed Best Democracy with David Ambrose, doesn’t deploy behind the scenes techniques (it is an exposé, after all!). In terms of shooting, in addition to his fedora-cam at the Hamptons, Palast revealed: “For ‘gun and run’ scenes we used equipment best for the situation. When I tried to jump Singer in New York the second time, Rick Rowley (Academy Award nominated director/shooter with Jeremy Scahill for 2013’s Dirty Wars [and co-director of photography for Michael Moore’s 2015 Where To Invade Next]) used an iPhone 6! In undercover work, you have to keep it hidden.”
However, Palast imaginatively expands the boundaries of nonfiction film in numerous ways that are quite cinematic, inventive and witty, intended to keep a mass audience entertained, even while they are enlightened. First of all, there is that whole Philip Marlowe motion picture persona plus the casting of his chief investigator and the film’s executive producer, Leni von Eckardt-Manzoni, as the character Leni Badpenny, Palast’s partner in onscreen thought crimes who has a sort of Lotte Lenya panache. A former punk rocker in 1980s London, the Swiss-born Leni’s nom de picture is probably a cross between Badpenny’s always turning up and James Bond’s Miss Moneypenny, M’s secretary.
A number of lefty celebrities enliven the (more or less) nonfiction film. In keeping with the private eye ambiance, Ice-T and Richard Belzer (who, BTW, is a longtime conspiracy theorist) of TV’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit make repeat appearances. So do Rosario Dawson, Willie Nelson, plus various notables, such as late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, voting rights champion Robert Fitrakis and disgraced capitalist Michael Milken, who is identified in the end credits as “Billionaire, convicted bank fraudster, jailbird, asshole.” According to press notes, “Graham Nash re-recorded his Crosby, Stills & Nash blockbuster hit ‘Chicago,’ re-writing the words to reference Ohio, the most crucial swing state in the coming election.”
Palast admitted, “I did steal The Big Short’s idea of using celebrities to explain complex stuff — I got Ed Asner to put on a Santa suit to narrate a cartoon with the REAL story of JP and financial collapse” and to also play a billionaire. Regarding a scene reminiscent of the beloved 1946 Frank Capra favorite, It’s a Wonderful Life, Palast went on to say that the co-star of Oliver Stone’s Snowden:
“Shailene Woodley, in an echo of her Divergent character, takes me back to the house I was born in, 8413 Webb Ave., Sun Valley, the absolute worst end of the East Valley, L.A. She shows me what I came from — and that propels me today — the laid-off GM workers now living in their mobile homes, my Chicano neighbors surviving through pay-day loans. The dream scene flashes back to the leveled Delphi plant in Dayton. When I see the people screwed in Ohio, it’s my own people, of course. ‘If you don’t speak for them, who will?’ is Shailene’s most important line (nothing scripted, all real conversation), so I have to return to the investigation which I was ready to quit. Shailene is a voice in my head of course, telling me, like Badpenny does, to get to work” and crack those electoral and corporate crimes.
Best Democracy also makes use of special effects, such as green screen, for which Palast said, “we used top-of-the-line 4K cameras.”
Most notably, the film creatively incorporates animation by Emmy Award-winning artist Keith Tucker (Who Killed Roger Rabbit?). This enhances the film’s humorousness – from his public speaking to his books, Palast is known for his wit, which also makes it easier for auds to follow his complex work about rather dark subjects.
In addition, Palast interjects classic film clips from movies such as D.W. Griffith’s 1915 racist epic The Birth of a Nation. He quite cleverly includes a scene wherein a freed slave (probably a white actor in blackface) sneakily seeks to vote twice in a post-Civil War election. Palast brilliantly relates this to current (as opposed to Reconstruction Era) Republicans blathering about voter fraud by people trying to cast their ballots more than once. Best Democracy debunks this notion as a smokescreen to cover-up what it contends is the real vote rigging – ballot nullification via Operation Crosscheck.
What is one to make of Palast’s rather free film form? Purists may not, strictly speaking, regard it as a documentary – but it is certainly not a feature film. It is surely closer to being a nonfiction work, although not a docudrama per se. Palast, along with some other freewheeling filmmakers, are creating something of a hybrid genre. In homage to the great Soviet documentarian who made Kino Pravda (Film Truth) during the 1920s, I am tempted to call this neo-doc style “Palast Pravda.” In any case, it is telling that another exemplar of this trend in free form documentary filmmaking, Josh Fox – who was Oscar-nominated for 2010’s Gasland and directed the great new, highly cinematic How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change – is scheduled to do Q&As with Palast at 5:10 p.m. and 8:10 p.m. when Best Democracy premieres Sept. 23 in Manhattan’s Cinépolis Chelsea cinemas.
Be that as it may, this Gregorian chant of sorts was, according to press notes, “made in association with The Park Foundation, The Puffin Foundation and the Cloud Mountain Foundation, as well as over 1000 crowd-sourced donors. In a deal negotiated between Palast and Philippe Diaz, Cinema Libre Studio acquired U.S. rights and several international territories.”
In our political system of checks and balances, Palast represents the balance to Crosscheck and those who would steal our votes in 2016’s presidential race and beyond. Best Democracy is arguably the best pro-Civil Rights film made since 2014’s Selma. While Sir Galahad wielded a lance and Philip Marlowe a revolver, Palast is armed with a camera, proving – to paraphrase Chairman Mao – that “political power grows out of the barrel of a lens.”
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: A Tale of Billionaires & Ballot Bandits theatrically debuts Sept. 23 at Cinépolis Chelsea, 260 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10011 (yes – that’s right near where the recent bombing took place). See: www.cinepolisusa.com/chelsea.aspx. The film theatrically opens in Los Angeles Sept. 30. For more info about screenings, etc., see: www.gregpalast.com/.Image copyright AFP Image caption Much of Aleppo lies in ruins after a sustained bombing campaign
Russian and Syrian warplanes have suspended air strikes in the Syrian city of Aleppo ahead of a humanitarian pause on Thursday, Russia has said.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the bombing had been halted early on Tuesday.
Russia had already announced an eight-hour pause between 08:00 (05:00 GMT) and 16:00 on Thursday.
Mr Shoigu urged rebels and civilians in the besieged eastern area of the city to use humanitarian corridors to leave.
Russian warplanes pounded the rebel-held areas of Aleppo shortly before announcing Tuesday's suspension, activists say.
A couple and their three children were killed in the overnight bombing, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group.
More than 430 people have been killed in the recent bombardment of rebel areas, it says.
UN agencies have criticised the planned length of Thursday's humanitarian pause, saying at least 12 hours will be needed for people to safely leave the besieged area.
"We would welcome any pause in the fighting, but there is a need for a longer pause in order to get the aid in," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Rebel-held eastern Aleppo has been pounded by Syrian jets
Image copyright AFP Image caption Rescuers used a crane to reach this 12-year-old boy who was trapped in rubble
Russia's initial announcement came hours after 14 members of one family were reportedly killed in a strike in Aleppo.
Volunteer rescuers in Syria said eight children and two women were among the dead after heavy bombing, with "bunker-buster" munitions shaking the ground.
Russia has come under increasing criticism from Western nations for its attacks on rebel-held east Aleppo, with the US and the EU calling for a war crimes investigation.
Moscow denies the accusations. President Vladimir Putin dismissed such claims as "rhetoric" that did not take into account the realities in Syria.Meet Amber Matz, a Production Manager and Trainer at Drupalize.Me, a service of Lullabot Education. When she's not tinkering around with Arduinos, Raspberry Pis, and electronic wearables, you can find her wrangling presenters for the Portland Drupal User Group.
Coming up at DrupalCon NOLA, Amber will host a session about Drupal and IoT. If you're attending and want to learn about the intersection of open hardware, IoT, and Drupal, this session is for you. If you're not able to join us in New Orleans, Amber has some pretty cool things to share. In this interview, she tells us how she got involved with Drupal, a few of her favorite open hardware projects, and what the future holds for IoT and Drupal.
How did you get involved with the Drupal community?
Back in the day, I was working at a large nonprofit in the "webmaster's office" of the marketing department and was churning out custom PHP/MySQL forms like nobody's business. I finally got weary of that and starting hunting around the web for a better way. I found Drupal 6 and starting diving in on my own. Years later, after a career shift and a move, I discovered the Portland Drupal User Group and landed a job as a full-time Drupal developer. I continued to regularly attend the meetups in Portland, which I found to be a great source of community, friendships, and professional development. Eventually, I landed a job with Lullabot as a trainer creating content for Drupalize.Me. Now, I'm managing the Drupalize.Me content pipeline, creating Drupal 8 content, and am very much involved in the Portland Drupal community. I'm this year's coordinator, finding and scheduling speakers.
We have to know: What is Arduino prototyping, how did you discover it, and what's the coolest thing you've done with an Arduino?
Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and wearable electronics have been these terms that I've heard thrown around for years. I found Adafruit's Wearable Electronics with Becky Stern YouTube show years ago (which, up until recently, when Becky moved on, aired every Wednesday). I was fascinated by wearables and even ordered an LED sewing kit but never did anything with it. I just didn't get it. I had no background in electronics whatsoever, and while I was fascinated by the projects I was finding, I didn't see how I could ever make anything like that. It seemed so out of reach.
Finally, I found a Coursera "Internet of Things" specialization. (So trendy, right?) But I was immediately hooked! I finally got an explanation of what an Arduino was, along with all these other important terms and concepts. I ordered the recommended Arduino starter kit, which came with a getting started booklet. When I made that first LED blink, it was pure delight. I had two weeks' vacation over the holidays and after Christmas, and I did nothing but make and program Arduino circuits from the getting started booklet. It was oddly so relaxing! I enjoyed it so much.
In January, I started creating my own prototypes. When I found out I was emceeing our company retreat's lightning talks, I created a Lightning Talk Visual Timer prototype with five LEDs and an Arduino.
It was a huge hit. I also made my first wearable project, a glowing hoodie, using the Arduino IDE compatible Gemma microcontroller, a tiny round sewable component, to which I sewed using conductive thread, a conductive slider connected to a hoodie's drawstring, which controlled the colors of five NeoPixels sewn around the inside of the hood. So that's what I mean by prototyping: Making crazy projects that are fun and maybe even a little practical.
What are the biggest opportunities for Drupal and IoT?
IoT isn't that much different than the web services and decoupling Drupal trends. It's the movement of data from thing one to thing two and the rendering of that data into something useful. But how does it get there? And what do you do with it? You think there are a lot of solutions, and apps, and frameworks, and APIs out there now? With IoT, that's only going to continue to increase—exponentially. What I've found is that given any device or any "thing", there is a way to connect it to the Internet—many ways. And there are plenty of code libraries out there to help makers get their data from thing one to thing two.
So where does Drupal fit in? Web services, for one, is going to be the first obvious place. But as a maker, I don't want to spend my time coding custom modules in Drupal. I want to plug and play! So I would love to see modules emerge that connect with IoT Cloud APIs and services like ThingSpeak and Adafruit.io and IFTTT and others. I think there's an opportunity, too, for a business to build an IoT cloud service in Drupal that allows people to send and store their sensor data, visualize it charts and graphs, and build widgets that react to certain values or thresholds. Each of these IoT Cloud API services fill a slightly different niche, and there's plenty of room for others.
What are a few things you're looking forward to at DrupalCon?
I love reconnecting with Drupal friends, meeting new people, and also seeing Lullabot and Drupalize.Me co-workers (we're distributed companies)! There's so much to learn with Drupal 8 and it's been overwhelming at times to put together training materials for our customers. So, I'm looking forward to attending Drupal 8-related sessions and getting up-to-speed on the latest developments. Finally, I'm really curious about New Orleans! I haven't been there since 2004 and I'm excited to see what's changed.
Tell us about your DrupalCon talk Beyond the blink: Add Drupal to your IoT playground. Why should someone attend? What are the major takeaways?
My session title, Beyond the blink: Add Drupal to your IoT playground, in itself is so full of assumptions that first off I'm going to get everyone up to speed and on the same page. You don't need to know anything about Arduino, the Internet of Things, or even Drupal to follow along. We'll start with making an LED blink with an Arduino, and then I want to talk about what the main takeaways have been for me: Play, learn, teach, and make. I'll show examples that have inspired me and that will hopefully inspire and encourage others in the audience to give it a try. Then, it's demo time!
First, thing one. Thing one is a Build Notifier Tower Light. In this demo, I'll show how I connected the Tower Light to the Internet and how I got it to respond to data received from a Cloud API service. Next, Thing two. Thing two is a "weather watch" in the form of a steampunk iPhone case. It's got small LED matrix that displays an icon of the local-to-me weather, a barometric pressure and temperature sensor, a GPS module, and a Bluetooth LE module, all connected and controlled with an Adafruit Flora microcontroller. Thing two sends weather and location data to Adafruit.io by connecting to an app on my iPhone over Bluetooth and sends it up to the cloud using an MQTT protocol! Then, on the Drupal side, I'm pulling down that data from the cloud, updating a block with the weather, and updating a map. So folks will get a taste of what you can do with web services, maps, and blocks in Drupal 8, too.
It's been a brain-melting adventure learning and making these demo prototypes, and I hope others will come to the session and catch a little of this contagious enthusiasm I have for this intersection of technologies! I'm very excited to share what I've discovered.LONDON — David, 49, is not looking for love; he is seeking votes, especially from young Britons who are considered more likely to vote for Britain to remain inside the European Union in a coming referendum.
This David — Cameron, the prime minister of Britain — is not joining Tinder, a dating app, a Downing Street spokesman said on Tuesday, nor has he joined TheLADbible, a popular photo and video site for men 16 to 30. But the prime minister’s office did say it is exploring advertising on both services, and looking for other hip ways to get more young people to register and to vote.
Opinion polls and political analysts suggest that up to two-thirds of Britons younger than 25 prefer to remain in the European Union, and the government wants to do all it can to get them to the polls on June 23, since that age group is less likely to bother to vote than those older than 45, who tend to favor the British exit, or “Brexit.”Wayne Rooney claims that Manchester United can win the Premier League title with David de Gea proving himself to be the “best goalkeeper in the world” at Old Trafford.
United, who finished 22 points adrift of the champions Manchester City in seventh place last season, moved to within eight points of the leaders Chelsea following the 3-0 win against Liverpool on Sunday.
The victory against Brendan Rodgers’s team was in no small part due to De Gea, who produced a series of saves to deny Raheem Sterling and Mario Balotelli.
However, having recorded six successive wins in recent weeks, United have overcome a prolonged injury crisis under Louis van Gaal to consolidate third position.
Despite the unconvincing nature of some of the team’s recent victories, Rooney insisted that there was growing belief within Old Trafford that the club could mount a title challenge in the new year.
“I think we have to believe we can win the title,” Rooney said. “We are eight points behind and coming into a busy period and, if we can win our games and the others have one bad result, then there is nothing there.
“It is still early days and we are getting better and better, the results are coming and the gap to the top is only eight points with a lot of games to go. I think Christmas is going to be a very important time for us.
“We won the league two years ago and we weren’t great in a lot of those games, but we got the results and sometimes you have to do that.
“I have seen Chelsea a couple of times this season where they have not played great but have nicked results as well. We just need to try and get the performances right and, if we do that, we are confident we will win the games.”
Liverpool almost bridged the gap from finishing seventh to winning the league last season before failing to sustain a second-half surge long enough to thwart City.
While Liverpool lacked title winners within the squad, Van Gaal can still count on players who helped Sir Alex Ferguson deliver United’s 20th league championship in his final season as manager and Rooney believes that the experience at Old Trafford could prove crucial.
“We have been here before, but we have a lot of new players and this is where the experience of myself, Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher can rub off on the other players,” Rooney said.
“We have to keep winning our games, hopefully get back to the top and then you never know. We have shown great resilience. Some of the games haven’t gone the way we would like but we are winning them and that is a great quality to have.”
Although the goals of Rooney and Robin van Persie have provided the platform for United’s victories during their winning sequence, the form of De Gea has been decisive.
The Spanish goalkeeper, 24, produced match-winning contributions in wins against Stoke City and Liverpool, having been equally impressive in a 2-1 victory against Everton in October.
De Gea endured a difficult first 18 months at United having been signed to replace Edwin van der Sar in the summer of 2011. However, Rooney believed that he had now become the world’s best after emerging from his tough start in English football.
“David was the same last season and, in my eyes, he is the best keeper in the world,” Rooney said. “The performances he has shown for us have been fantastic. He came through a tough patch early on in his career here and he is starting to prove what a top keeper he is.
“To play in goal at Manchester United at 20 is difficult, especially trying to replace Edwin van der Sar who was a fantastic keeper.
“We knew it might take time with David and it did. The first six months, probably year, it was hard for him, but he worked hard on his game and it shows. He has shown great form and some of his saves are incredible, but what he has gained is that he is more vocal now. When he came, his English wasn’t great and it was difficult for him to pass messages on. Now he shouts more.”
The England captain added: “He is not as tall as some other keepers, but his spring and reach is really long. Sometimes in training, you hit a shot and turning away thinking it has gone in and he just manages to get there.
“Edwin had his best years of his career when he was with |
the review is to do just that. It takes you out of the trenches and gives you a 10,000-foot view of your work. Alternatively, use an app like RescueTime to track how you work. You'll get valuable insight into how you spend your day, and where your time goes. With that perspective, you can see how you spend your time, where it's being wasted, and get more engaged with why you're doing what you do.
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Similarly, Google employees famously used to spend 20% of their time looking for better ways to work, and 80% of their time doing their regular jobs. Google has since minimized the policy, but the idea is still sound. If you can carve out time to try new ways to work, or try passion projects that may take you in new and interesting directions, you'll get that time back when you discover better techniques or faster tools. If 20% seems aggressive, try 10%—even a few hours a week talking to your boss about ways you can streamline your work, clear your plate, or a new tool that makes everyone's job easier can make a world of difference—as long as you're open to it and looking for it. That's slow, continuous, constant improvement.
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When you do find a way to make your work more efficient, spend some time investigating it. If it meshes with your style and the type of work that you do, give it a shot and see if it saves you time. If you work on a team, be open to constructive criticism and feedback from the people you work with. You never know when someone you work with will propose a change or tweak to your current way of doing things that can save time and energy for everyone. If you're immediately defensive because "this is the way we've always done things," you may miss a valuable opportunity to do things better. Remember, start small, and take small steps. That's the essence of Kaizen.
How to Keep Kaizen In Mind When You're Busy with Work
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The practical applications of Kaizen are great, but they still involve getting time away from your work so you can think about how to do your work better. It's also important to keep the basic principles in mind while you're working—you don't want to be so absorbed in your job that you miss something important, or shy away from speaking up when you have something to offer. You don't, for example, want to be the assembly line worker who sees the half-attached bumper and wrong tires mounted to the vehicle you're working on, but let them go down the line because your job is just to attach the side-view mirrors.
One of the immediate benefits of Kaizen is a sense of ownership and the authority over your work. Ideally, everyone should feel engaged with and passionate about the work they do, from start to finish, and everyone should do what it takes to make the final product as good as it can be. Whether you work on the side mirrors or the tire mounting, you should want that vehicle to leave the line in perfect condition. It can be tough if your job tries to isolate you, or you feel disengaged and beaten down, but it's that sense of rewarding work that really keeps us motivated. If you don't have it, do what you can to get it, or look for a job where you can.
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Similarly, another principle of Kaizen is to minimize waste wherever possible. That doesn't just mean wasted time and energy doing your work, but wasted effort that's tangential to work. Spending time in meetings that don't need to happen, for example, or writing up status reports that never get read, are good examples of waste that could give you time back to work—or look for better ways to work. Sure, some meetings have to happen, and status reports can be important, but if they're not helpful, offload them, find a way to automate them, or delegate them to someone else. If managing your inbox takes up too much of your day, look for systems that will organize it for you or automate it entirely so you only see and deal with what's important. Every hour you power through because you think you don't have time to try something better is an hour wasted.
It's easy to just keep doing things the familiar way just to make it to the end of the day, but doing so stifles improvement. When you look for better ways to work, you learn new skills, accomplish goals you're proud of, make yourself more valuable to your job (or any job), make positive changes, and of course, save time and energy. It's not easy, but it's worth it.
Additional Reading
At this stage, you have the tools to start applying Kaizen to your personal productivity philosophy. We've covered the basics here, but if you want to read more on the topic, here are a few resources:
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Even at its most basic level, all you have to do is keep your eyes open for and embrace ways to improve when they appear. With just a little effort and attention to detail, Kaizen can serve as a kind of "productivity philosophy" that rests on top of everything else you do.WHAT CAUSES AIDS?
IT'S AN OPEN QUESTION
By Charles A. Thomas Jr., Kary B. Mullis, & Phillip E. Johnson
Reason June 1994
Most people believe they know what causes AIDS. For a decade, scientist, government officials, physicians, journalists, public-service ads, TV shows, and movies have told them that AIDS is caused by a retrovirus called HIV. This virus supposedly infects and kills the "T-cells" of the immune system, leading to an inevitably, fatal immune deficiency after an asymptomatic period that averages 10 years or so. Most people do not know-because there has been a visual media blackout on the subject-about a longstanding scientific controversy over the cause of AIDS. A controversy that has become increasingly heated as the official theory's predictions have turned out to be wrong. Leading biochemical scientists, including University of California at Berkeley retrovirus expert Peter Duesberg and Nobel Prize winner Walter Gilbert, have been warning for years that there is no proof that HIV causes AIDS. The warnings were met first with silence, then with ridicule and contempt. In 1990, for example, Nature published a rare response from the HIV establishment, as represented by Robin A. Weiss of the Institute of Cancer Research in London and Harold W. Jaffe of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Weiss and Jaffe compared the doubters to people who think that bad air causes malaria. "We have... been told," they wrote, "that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) originates from outer space, or as a genetically engineered virus for germ warfare which was tested in prisoners and spread from them. Peter H. Duesberg's proposition that HIV is not the cause of AIDS at all is, to our minds, equally absurd." Viewers of ABC's 1993 Day One special on the cause of AIDS-almost the only occasion on which network television has covered the controversy-saw Robert Gallo, the leading exponent of the HIV theory, stomp away from the microphone in a rage when asked to respond to the views of Gilbert and Duesberg. Such displays of rage and ridicule are familiar to those who question the HIV theory of AIDS. Ever since 1984, when Gallo announced the discovery of what the newspapers call "HIV, the virus that causes AIDS," at a government press conference, the HIV theory has been the basis of all scientific work on AIDS. If the theory is mistaken, billions of dollars have been wasted-and immense harm has been done to persons who have tested positive for antibodies to HIV and therefore have been told to expect an early and painful death. The furious reactions to the suggestion that a colossal mistake may have been made are not surprising, given that the credibility of the biomedical establishment is at stake. It is time to think about the unthinkable, however, because there are at least three reasons for doubting the official theory that HIV causes AIDS. First, after spending billions of dollars, HIV researchers are still unable to explain how HIV, a conventional retrovirus with a very simple genetic organization, damages the immune system, much less how to stop it. The present stalemate contrasts dramatically with the confidence expressed in 1984. At that time Gallo thought the virus killed cells directly by infecting them, and U.S. government officials predicted a vaccine would be available in two years. Ten years later no vaccine is in sight, and the certainty about how the virus destroys the immune system has dissolved in confusion. Second, in the absence of any agreement about how HIV causes AIDS, the only evidence that HIV does cause AIDS is correlation. The correlation is imperfect at best, however. There are many cases of persons with all the symptoms of AIDS who do not have any HIV infection. There are also many cases of persons who have been infected by HIV for more than a decade and show no signs of illness. Third, predictions based on the HIV theory have failed spectacularly. AIDS in the United States and Europe has not spread through the general population. Rather, it remains almost entirely confined to the original risk groups, mainly sexually promiscuous gay men and drug abusers. The number of HIV-infected Americans has remained constant for years instead of increasing rapidly as predicted, which suggests that HIV is an old virus that has been with us for centuries without causing an epidemic. No one disputes what happens in the early stages of HIV infection. As other viruses do, HIV multiplies rapidly, and it sometimes is accompanied by a mild, flulike illness. At this stage, while the virus is present in great quantity and causing at most mild illness in the ordinary way, it does no observable damage to the immune system. On the contrary, the immune system rallies as it is supposed to do and speedily reduces the virus to negligible levels. Once this happens, the primary infection is over. If HIV does destroy the immune system, it does so years after the immune system has virtually destroyed it. By then the virus typically infects very few of the immune system' s T-cells. Before these facts were well understood, Robert Gallo and his followers insisted that the virus does its damage by directly infecting and killing cells. In his 1991 autobiography, Gallo ridiculed HIV discoverer Luc Montagnier's view that the virus causes AIDS only in the company of as yet undiscovered "cofactors." Gallo argued that "multifactorial is multi-ignorance" and that, because being infected by HIV was "like being hit by a truck," there was no need to look for additional causes or indirect mechanisms of causation. All that has changed. As Warner C. Greene, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, explained in the September 1993 Scientific American, researchers are increasingly abandoning the direct cell-killing theory because HIV does not infect enough cells: "Even in patients in the late stages of HIV infection with very low blood T4 cell counts, the proportion of those cells that are producing HIV is tiny-about one in 40. In the early stages of chronic infection, fewer than one in 10,000 T4 cells in blood are doing so. If the virus were killing the cells just by directly infecting them, it would almost certainly have to infect a much larger fraction at any one time." Gallo himself is now among those who are desperately looking for possible co-factors and exploring indirect mechanisms of causation. Perhaps the virus somehow causes other cells of the immune system to destroy T-cells or induces the T-cells to destroy themselves. Perhaps HIV can cause immune-system collapse even when it is no long present in the body. As Gallo put it at an AIDS conference last summer: "The molecular mimicry in which HIV imitates components of the immune system sets events into motion that may be able to proceed in the absence of further whole virus." But researchers have not been able to confirm experimentally any of the increasingly exotic causal mechanisms that are being proposed, and they do not agree about which of the competing explanations is more plausible. When The New York Times interviewed the government' s head AIDS researcher, Anthony Fauci, in February, reporter Natalie Angier summarized his view as a sort of stew of all the leading possibilities: "It [HIV] overexcites some immune signaling pathways, while eluding the detection of others. And though the main target of the virus appears to be the famed helper T-cells, or CD-4 cells, which it can infiltrate and kill, the virus also ends up stimulating the response of other immune cells so inappropriately that they eventually collapse from overwork or confusion." No other virus is credited with such a dazzling repertoire of destructive skills. Perhaps it is the HIV scientists who are collapsing from overwork or confusion. The theory is getting ever more complicated, without getting any nearer to a solution. This is a classic sign of a deteriorating scientific paradigm. But as HIV scientists grow ever more confused about how the virus is supposed to be causing AIDS, their refusal to consider the possibility that it may not be the cause is as rigid as ever. On the rare occasions when they answer questions on the subject, they explain that "unassailable epidemiological evidence" has established HIV as the cause of AIDS. In short, they rely on correlation. The seemingly close correlation between AIDS and HIV is largely an artifact of the misleading definition of AIDS used by the U.S. government' s Centers for Disease Control. AIDS is a syndrome defined by the presence of one or more of 30 independent diseases-when accompanied by a positive result on a test that detects antibodies to HIV. The same disease conditions are not defined as AIDS when the antibody test is negative. Tuberculosis with a positive antibody test is AIDS; tuberculosis with a negative test is just TB. The skewed definition of AIDS makes a close correlation with HIV inevitable, regardless of the facts. This situation was briefly exposed at the International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam in 1992, when the existence of dozens of suppressed "AIDS without HIV" cases first became publicly known. Instead of considering the obvious implications of these cases for the HIV theory, the authorities at the CDC, who had known about some of the cases for years but had kept the subject under wraps, quickly buried the anomaly by inventing a new disease called ICL (Idiopathic CD4+Lympho-cytopenia)--a conveniently forgettable name that means "AIDS without HIV." There are probably thousands of cases of AIDS without HIV in the United States alone. Peter Duesberg found 4,621 cases recorded in the literature, 1,691 of them in this country. (Such cases tend to disappear from the official statistics because, once it's clear that HIV is absent, the CDC no longer counts them as AIDS.) In a 1993 article published in Bio/Technology, Duesberg documented the consistent failure of the CDC to report on the true incidence of positive HIV tests in AIDS cases. The CDC concedes that at least 40,000 "AIDS cases" were diagnosed on the basis of presumptive criteria-that is, without antibody testing, on the basis of diseases such as Kaposi's sarcoma. Yet these diseases can occur without HIV or immune deficiency. Perhaps some of the patients diagnosed as having AIDS would have tested negative, or actually did test negative, for HIV. Physicians and health departments have an incentive to diagnose patients with AIDS symptoms as AIDS cases whenever they can, because the federal government pays the medical expenses of AIDS patients under the Ryan White Act but not of persons equally sick with the same diseases who test negative for HIV antibodies. The claimed correlation between HIV and AIDS is flawed at an even more fundamental level, however. Even if the "AIDS test" were administered in every case, the tests are unreliable. Authoritative papers in both Bio/Technology (June 1993) and the Journal of the American Medical Association (November 27, 1991) have shown that the tests are not standardized and give many "false positives" because they react to substances other than HIV antibodies. Even if that were not the case, the tests at best confirm the presence of antibodies and not the virus itself, much less the virus in an active, replicating state. Antibodies typically mean that the body has fought off a viral infection, and they may persist long after the virus itself has disappeared from the body. Since it is often difficult to find live virus even in the bodies of patients who are dying of AIDS, Gallo and others have to speculate that HIV can cause AIDS even when it is no longer present and only antibodies are left. Just as there are cases of AIDS without HIV, there are cases of HIV-positive persons who remain healthy for more than a decade and who may never suffer from AIDS. According to Greene's article in Scientific American, "It is even possible that some rare strains [of HIV] are benign. Some homosexual men in the U.S. who have been infected with HIV for at least 11 years show as yet no signs of damage to their immune systems. My colleagues...and I are studying these long-term survivors to ascertain whether something unusual about their immune systems explains their response or whether they carry an avirulent strain of the virus." The faulty correlation between HIV and AIDS would not disprove the HIV theory if there were strong independent evidence that HIV causes AIDS. As we have seen, however, researchers have been unable to establish a mechanism of causation. Nor have they succeeded in confirming the HIV model by inducing AIDS in animals. Chimps have repeatedly been infected with HIV, but none of them have developed AIDS. In the absence of a mechanism or an animal model, the HIV theory is based only upon a correlation that turns out to be primarily an artifact of the theory itself. In light of the importance of the correlation argument, it is astonishing that no controlled studies have been done for three of the major risk groups: transfusion recipients, hemophiliacs, and drug abusers. Two ostensibly controlled studies involving men's groups in Vancouver and San Francisco purportedly show that AIDS developed only in the HIV-positive men and never in the "control group" of HIV negatives. These studies were designed not to test the HIV theory but to measure the rate at which HIV-positive gay men develop AIDS. They did not compare otherwise similar persons who differ only in HIV status, did not control effectively for drug use, and did not fully report the incidence of AIDS-defining diseases in the HIV-negative men. The research establishment accepted these studies uncritically because they give the HIV theory some badly needed support. But the main point they supposedly prove has already been thoroughly disproved: AIDS does occur in HIV-negative persons. According to the official theory, HIV is a virus newly introduced into the American population, which has had no opportunity to develop any immunity. It follows that viral infection should spread rapidly, moving from the original risk groups (gays, drug addicts, transfusion recipients) into the general population. This is what the government agencies confidently predicted, and AIDS advertising to this day emphasizes the theme that "everyone is at risk." The facts are otherwise. AIDS is still confined mainly to the original risk groups, and AIDS patients in the United States are still almost 90-percent male. Health-care workers, who are constantly exposed to blood and bodily fluids of AIDS patients, have no greater risk of contracting AIDS that the population at large. Among millions of health- care workers, the CDC claims only seven or eight (poorly documented) cases of AIDS supposedly developed through occupational exposure. By contrast, the CDC estimates that accidental needle sticks lead to more than 1,500 cases of hepatitis infection each year. Even prostitutes are not at risk for AIDS unless they also use drugs. Far from threatening the general heterosexual population, AIDS is confined mainly to drug users and gay men in specific urban neighborhoods. According to a 1992 report by the prestigious U.S. National Research Council, "The convergence of evidence shows that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is settling into spatially and socially isolated groups and possibly becoming endemic within them." This factual picture is so different from what the theory predicts, and so threatening to funding, that the AIDS agencies have virtually ignored the National Research Council report and have continued to preach the fiction that "AIDS does not discriminate." Not only is AIDS mostly confined to isolated groups in a few U.S. cities, but HIV infection is not increasing. Although a virus newly introduced to a susceptible population should spread rapidly, for several years the CDC has estimated that a steady 1 million Americans are HIV positive. Now it appears that the figure of 1 million is finally about to be revised-downward. According to a story by Lawrence Altman in the March 1 New York Times, new statistical studies indicate that only about 700,000 Americans are HIV positive, and the official estimate will accordingly be reduced sometime this summer. While HIV infection remains steady at this modest level in the United States, World Health Organization officials claim that the same virus is spreading rapidly in Africa and Asia, creating a vast "pandemic" that threatens to infect at least 40 million people by the year 2000, unless billions of dollars are provided for prevention to the organizations sounding the alarm. These worldwide figures, especially from Africa, are used to maintain the thesis that "everyone is at risk" in the United States. Instead of telling Americans that AIDS cases here are almost 90-percent male, authorities say that worldwide the majority of AIDS sufferers are female. With the predictions of a mass epidemic in America and Europe failing so dramatically, AIDS organizations rely on the African figures to vindicate their theory. But these African figures are extremely soft, based almost entirely on "clinical diagnoses," without even inaccurate HIV testing. What this means in practice is that Africans who die of diseases that have long been common there---especially wasting disease accompanied by diarrhea-are now classified as AIDS victims. Statistics on "African AIDS" are thus extremely manipulable, and witnesses are emerging who say that the epidemic is greatly exaggerated, if it exists at all. In October 1993, the Sunday Times of London reported on interviews with Philippe and Evelyne Krynen, heads of a 230-employee medical relief organization in the Kagera province of Tanzania. The Krynens had first reported on African AIDS in 1989 and at that time were convinced that Kagera in particular was in the grip of a vast epidemic. Subsequent years of medical work in Kagera have changed their minds. They have learned that what they had thought were "AIDS orphans" were merely children left with relatives by parents who had moved away and that HIV-positive and HIV-negative villagers suffer from the same diseases and respond equally well to treatment. Philippe Krynen's verdict: "There is no AIDS. It is something that has been invented. There are no epidemiological grounds for it; it doesn't exist for us." Krynen's remark calls attention to the fact that AIDS is not a disease. Rather, it is a syndrome defined by the presence of any of 30 separate and previously known diseases, accompanied by the actual or suspected presence of HIV. The definition has changed over time and is different for Africa (where HIV testing is rare) than for Europe and North America. The official CDC definition of AIDS in the United States was enormously broadened for 1993 in order to distribute more federal AIDS money to sick people, especially women with cervical cancer. As a direct result, AIDS cases more than doubled in 1993. Absent the HIV mystique, there would be no reason to believe that a single factor is causing cervical cancer in women, Kaposi's sarcoma in gay males, and slim disease in Africans. The HIV paradigm is failing every scientific test. Research based upon it has failed to provide not only a cure or vaccine but even a theoretical explanation for the disease-causing mechanism. Such success as medical science has had with AIDS has come not from the futile attempts to attack HIV with toxic antiviral drugs like AZT but from treating the various AIDS-associated diseases separately. Predictions based on the HIV theory have been falsified or are supported only by dubious statistics based mainly on the theory itself. Yet the HIV establishment continues to insist that nothing is wrong and to use its power to exclude dissenting voices, however eminent in science, from the debate. Like other leaders of the scientific establishment, Nature Editor John Maddox is fiercely protective of the HIV theory. He indignantly rejected a scientific paper making the same points as this article. When Duesberg first argued his case in 1989 in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, the editor promised that his paper would be answered by an article defending the orthodox viewpoint. The response never came. The editors of the leading scientific journals have refused to print even the brief statement of the Group for the Scientific Reappraisal of the HIV/AIDS Hypothesis, which has over 300 members. The statement notes simply that "many biomedical scientists now question this hypothesis" and calls for "a thorough reappraisal of the existing evidence for and against this hypothesis." Such a reappraisal would include the following elements: Genuinely controlled epidemiological studies of all the major risk groups:homosexuals, drug users, transfusion recipients, and hemophiliacs. The studies should employ an unbiased definition of AIDS. Too often we have been told that HIV always accompanies AIDS, only to learn that this is so because AIDS without HIV is named something else. The studies should be performed by persons who are committed to investigating the HIV theory rather than defending it. There is reason to suspect that properly controlled studies of transfusion recipients and hemophiliacs in particular will show that the incidence of AIDS-defining diseases is independent of HIV status. An audit of the CDC statistics to remove HIV bias and thereby allow unprejudiced testing of the critical epidemiological evidence for the theory. Every effort should be made to determine how many AIDS patients were actually tested for antibodies and the testing method that was employed. Because even the most reliable antibody test generates many false-positive results, researchers should try to validate the tests by examining random samples of AIDS patients to determine whether significant amounts of replicating HIV can be found in their bodies. Statistics have been kept as if the purpose were to protect the HIV theory rather than to learn the truth. Research focusing on the cause of particular diseases rather than the politically defined hodgepodge of diseases we now call AIDS. The cancer-like skin disease called Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is one of the best-known AIDS-defining conditions, but leading KS and HIV experts Marcus Conant and Robin Weiss now say that dozens of non-HIV KS cases are under study in the United States and that KS is becoming much less frequent in gay male AIDS patients than it formerly was. Conant, Weiss, and other AIDS researchers now frankly attribute KS to an "unknown infectious agent" rather than to HIV, but KS is nonetheless still called AIDS when it occurs in combination with HIV. Duesberg attributes KS in gay males to the use of amyl nitrates (poppers) as a sexual stimulant. His theory is eminently testable, and it ought to be given a fair chance. Another example: Hemophiliacs in the age of AIDS are living longer than they ever did in the past, but they still often die of conditions related to receipt of the blood concentrate called Factor VIII. Research published in The Lancet in February confirms earlier reports that symptoms diagnosed as AIDS are best treated by providing a highly purified form of Factor VIII. Researchers should study the role of blood-product impurities in causing disease in hemophiliacs, without the distortion that comes from arbitrarily assuming that HIV is responsible whenever an HIV-positive hemophiliac becomes ill. A critical re-examination of the statistics for AIDS and HIV in Africa and Asia. Researchers should perform new, controlled studies of representative African populations to test the relationship of confirmed HIV infection to the incidence of AIDS-defining diseases. It will not do to rely upon "presumptive diagnoses" or extrapolations from single antibody tests that are now well known to generate many false positives. The HIV establishment and its journalist allies have replied to various specific criticisms of the HIV theory without taking them seriously. They have never provided an authoritative paper that undertakes to prove that HIV really is the cause of AIDS-meaning a paper that does not start by assuming the point at issue. The HIV theory was established as fact by Robert Gallo's official press conference in 1984, before any papers were published in American journals. Thereafter, the research agenda was set in concrete, and skeptics were treated as enemies to be ignored or punished. As a result, the self-correcting processes of science have broken down, and journalists have not known how to ask the hard questions. After 10 years of failure, it is time to take a second look. * Charles A. Thomas Jr., a biochemist, is president of the Helicon Foundation in San Diego and secretary of the Group for the Scientific Reappraisal of the HIV/AIDS Hypothesis. Kary B. Mullis is the 1993 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction technique, for detecting DNA, which is used to search for fragments of HIV in AIDS patients. Phillip E. Johnson is the Jefferson E. Peyser Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. Several replies to the article have been published, as a reply by the authors.
You find them here.(Reuters) - Peregrine Financial Group’s former Chief Executive Russell Wasendorf Sr. pleaded guilty on Monday to embezzling more than $100 million from customers of his futures brokerage, lying to regulators to cover his tracks, and mail fraud.
A van carrying Peregrine Financial Group Chief Executive Russell Wasendorf Sr., leaves the U.S. Federal Courthouse for the Northern District of Iowa in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, September 17, 2012. Peregrine Financial Group Chief Executive Russell Wasendorf Sr., who confessed to bilking more than $100 million from customers of his futures brokerage, will remain in jail after prosecutors objected to a plan to release him, according to a court order. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes=
Previously expected to be set free from jail pending his sentencing, Wasendorf was told he will remain behind bars while a judge determines whether he is a flight risk.
Wasendorf, 64, agreed earlier this month to plead guilty after confessing in July to stealing from his customers for nearly 20 years.
In a small courtroom in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Magistrate Judge Jon Scoles confirmed that Wasendorf wanted to plead guilty to each of four charges.
“Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?” Scoles asked the former futures-industry executive, who was wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and shackled at the wrists and ankles.
“Yes, your honor,” Wasendorf replied.
Prosecutors said in court that Wasendorf, who faces up to 50 years in prison, should spend the rest of his life behind bars. Wasendorf’s public defender argued for a sentence of about 24 to 30 years, which could be a life sentence given his age.
A date for his sentencing was not set.
LOCKED UP
Wasendorf attempted to kill himself on July 9 near the headquarters of his Cedar Falls, Iowa, brokerage. He was arrested on July 13 and charged with 31 counts of lying to federal regulators.
The search continues for the money he stole. Former clients are still unable to access funds frozen since the firm’s bankruptcy on July 10.
Wasendorf previously was expected to be released from the Linn County Jail in Iowa, where he has been held in isolation and under suicide watch since his arrest, after he pleaded guilty on Monday.
In approving the release last week, Scoles said Wasendorf’s chances to flee were limited because he had surrendered his passport and assets to authorities.
However, prosecutors on Monday objected to the plan and Chief Judge Linda Reade of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Iowa ruled that Wasendorf “shall remain detained pending further order of the court,” according to a court filing.
A date for the next order was not released.
The public defender representing Wasendorf has declined to comment.
Prosecutors argued Wasendorf should stay behind bars because there is a “serious risk” he might flee.
“Defendant’s crime is nothing short of breathtaking,” prosecutors said in a court filing.
HIDDEN ASSETS?
The total amount Wasendorf stole is not clear.
Prosecutors said Wasendorf stole about $200 million and that they were worried he could access assets that may be hidden from authorities.
“If even the smallest portion of such a vast amount of money were hidden away, it could be all (the) incentive and means that defendant might need to flee a probable life sentence,” prosecutors said in a filing.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has filed a lawsuit against Wasendorf and his firm, saying the CEO misappropriated more than $200 million in customer funds over several years.
Wasendorf claimed he acted alone in the fraud.
However, a civil lawsuit filed on Friday by the CEO’s son, who was Peregrine’s president, said Wasendorf had help from a woman who claimed to work for U.S. Bank, which held the account from which the elder Wasendorf stole. The woman told regulators in 2011 to disregard account balances that had been supplied directly by the bank in favor of inflated figures, supplied unbeknownst to them by Wasendorf, according to the lawsuit.
U.S. Bank said the lawsuit has no merit.
Wasendorf has met with authorities working to piece together his crime and track down his assets. Prosecutors said in a filing that his cooperation was “primarily designed to bolster his argument for release.”
Slideshow (4 Images)
Wasendorf was set to move in with Linda Livingston, a pastor in Iowa who has counseled him in prison, if he was released. She attended the court hearing on Monday but did not speak to reporters.
Wasendorf has told authorities he is no longer suicidal.
Prosecutors said in a filing that “none of what defendant says can be taken at face value.”Liverpool's Morgan joins Rotherham on loan after Sturridge arrival
Liverpool striker Adam Morgan has been allowed to join League Two Rotherham United on loan following the arrival of Daniel Sturridge at Anfield.
Morgan, 18, played three times for Liverpool in the Europa League earlier this season and manager Brendan Rodgers believes his progress would benefit from regular first-team football.
He is set to make his Rotherham debut in their FA Cup third-round tie against Aldershot on Saturday.
On the move: Morgan will join League Two side Rotherham on loan
Liverpool-born Morgan has graduated through the club’s Youth Academy and won England caps at Under 17s level.
He played Hearts and Anzi for the first-team in Europe this season and has also starred in the club’s NextGen series for younger players.Peter Byrne/PA Wire/PA Images Vince Cable: Comparing May’s speech to Mein Kampf is a ‘statement of fact’.
LONDON — Vince Cable has told Business Insider that he does not regret comparing language Prime Minister Theresa May used last year to Mein Kampf, insisting that it was a “statement of fact” and a “quite reasonable” comparison to make.
This week the Liberal Democrat leadership hopeful told the New Statesman that May’s use of the phrase “citizens of nowhere” in her 2016 Conservative Party conference speech “could’ve been taken” from the autobiographical book by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler.
“I thought that particular phrase was quite evil. It could’ve been taken out of Mein Kampf. I think that’s where it came from, wasn’t it? ‘Rootless cosmopolitans’? It was out of character for her,” Cable said.
When Business Insider asked Cable if he regretted the suggestion that May and Hitler had something in common, the MP for Twickenham said:
“Well, I was simply making a statement of fact. I think the phrase ‘rootless cosmopolitans’ actually comes from that source. I did say in the following sentence that it was very out of character and that Theresa May is not extreme in that way and I made that very clear.” “Anyone who actually read what I said rather than the headlines would have realised that what I was saying was quite reasonable.”
The phrase “rootless cosmopolitan” does not actually appear in Mein Kampf, but there is a section in which Hitler describes his belief that because Jews travelled widely they were less loyal to any particular nation: “In the Old World, too, Jewry was an active ferment of cosmopolitanism and national decomposition, and was for that reason a preferred full-fledged member in the Caesarian States, the politics of which were in truth nothing but cosmopolitanism, and the folkdom of which was essentially nothing else than humanity,” the book says. Later, Josef Stalin promoted the phrase as an antisemitic slur in the 1940s to condemn critics of the Soviet Union.
Business Insider spoke to Cable following his appearance on a panel at the Business And Education Summit in central London, where Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Education Secretary Justine Greening were also speaking. The former Business Secretary criticised the Labour Party policy of scrapping higher education tuition fees, telling business and education representatives: “What the leader of the opposition is saying is popular. But it is foolish and dangerous.”
Cable — who won back his London seat in last month’s election — is set to be appointed leader of the Liberal Democrats shortly after nominations close on July 20, with no other Liberal Democrat figure expected to challenge the veteran MP. Cable will replace Tim Farron who announced his resignations following the June 8 general election.
Business Insider’s full interview with Cable will follow.
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Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.The rape of a transgender woman in the north-central province of Quang Binh has sparked a serious debate among legal professionals after judicial authorities declined to prosecute the three perpetrators.
The German Press Agency dpa quoted officials in the province as saying the victim had not reclassified her legal gender from male to female on Wednesday, August 25. Because Vietnamese law only applies to the rape of women by men, the case could not be prosecuted, they said.
"The laws don't regulate how to deal with this case, so even if the group raped her ten times, we would not be able to sentence them," Nguyen Van Thin, chief judge of the provincial People's Court, told dpa.
According to Ho Chi Minh City Law newspaper, the unidentified woman was gang-raped by the three men on April 4. She reported the crime to local police the following day. After the men were arrested, they confessed to the crime in custody.
The province ran into problems when the authorities found that all of the victim's identification documents indicated her gender as male.
She said she had undergone a sex change operation overseas four years ago and now, as a woman, she insisted the rapists be punished, the newspaper said.
Some experts said, legally speaking, the victim is still a man and the case is thus not covered under the law. They said that Vietnamese law does not recognize the grievances of transgender rape victims.
Other legal professionals did not agree. They said the law only stipulates that "those who use force, threaten to use force, or abuse the defenselessness of their victims, or use other tricks in order to have sexual intercourse with the victims against their will" are guilty of rape.
Because the regulation makes no reference to the |
itSARAH FERGUSON, PRESENTER: Ever wondered why political parties like the Motoring Enthusiast Party and Sports Party did so well at the last election? The answer is one man, the so-called "preference whisperer", Glenn Druery. He's been wheeling and dealing behind the scenes in elections, tying up preference deals with minor parties for years and will do so again at this weekend's Senate election in Western Australia.
In the wake of last year's results from the Senate election, which saw some people winning on primary votes of less than half a per cent, the Government is planning to reform election laws. But what role has Druery played and is he an honest broker?
Dylan Welch reports.
DYLAN WELCH, REPORTER: Nimbin solicitor and marijuana enthusiast James Moylan could be a senator come July.
JAMES MOYLAN, MARIJUANA ENTHUSIAST: Cannabis will be legal in Australia. Right? We have the option of doing it in a rational manner and learning from the mistakes of overseas.
DYLAN WELCH: James Moylan is standing for the HEMP Party in Saturday's Senate re-run election in WA. If he succeeds, as some election experts have predicted, it'll be on a primary vote of less than 1.5 per cent and with just one aim: to legalise marijuana use.
Moylan's campaign is being organised by the HEMP Party's registered officer, Graham Askey, and if he wins, it will be due to Askey's hard work securing preference deals with dozens of other minor parties.
GRAHAM ASKEY, NATIONAL SECRETARY, HEMP PARTY: Elect a hippie from Nimbin into the Australian Senate - that is my dearest wish.
DYLAN WELCH: Another man is also playing a key role in HEMP's rise, the so-called "preference whisperer", Glenn Druery. Druery is not your average political player. His unorthodox approach to Senate elections has won him admirers, who say he is bringing power to the people, and critics, who believe he's been gaming the system for years.
GEORGE WILLIAMS, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, ANU: I think what Glenn Druery is done is two-fold: he's recognised a weakness in the system and he's good at maths. He's realised how that system can be exploited and he's entitled to do so. The system is designed in a way that enables that to happen.
DYLAN WELCH: Druery's first real tilt at politics was in New South Wales in 1999 when he ran as the founder and lead candidate of the Republic 2001/People First Party.
GLENN DRUERY, CANDIDATE, REPUBLIC 2001/PEOPLE FIRST PARTY (1999): Look, I'm an ordinary bloke that grew up in the Western Suburbs of Sydney and I left school and I did a trade as a carpenter. I've decided to have a go at the political sphere and see what happens.... I decided to put a group together. I rang 40 to 50 small parties and we met.
DYLAN WELCH: The election included 80 parties and a ballot paper so large, it was nicknamed the "Tablecloth" ballot. What voters wrestling with the "Tablecloth" ballot didn't know was that at least 21 of those 80 parties were fronts created by Druery to harvest preferences.
GRAHAM ASKEY: A front party is a party that, um, is created with an attractive-sounding name and is actually controlled by another person. And then the idea is then that that front party will automatically give a second preference to the party that has created it.
DYLAN WELCH: In 1999, the HEMP Party's Graham Askey, himself a talented preference negotiator, have first-hand experience of Druery's machinations.
GRAHAM ASKEY: I didn't actually approve of creating front parties, but I had a sneaking admiration for his cleverness.
DYLAN WELCH: Druery failed to win a seat, but the use of fronts and preference manipulation led to reform of the state's electoral law. The changes pushed Druery towards national elections, where the law hadn't changed since the 1980s. In 2007, he joined David Leyonhjelm's Liberal Democrats.
DAVID LEYONHJELM, SENATOR-ELECT, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY: We used to describe him as a value-free zone. He wasn't - we're a libertarian party or classical liberal party. When we used to ask him, "Well, what do you actually believe in, Glenn?," the answer was very vague. He would be very hard to be pinned down.
DYLAN WELCH: David Leyonhjelm won a Senate seat for the LDP at last year's election with about 9.5 per cent of the primary vote and a complex preferencing arrangement based on skills he learnt from Druery.
DAVID LEYONHJELM: Where Glenn Druery is very skilled is in understanding how those preferences, if they are allocated, what the impact of them will be on the outcome. And if you put them in a certain order and you get them coming before another party who's knocked out, you will end up benefitting.
DYLAN WELCH: Druery's ruthless tactics have led to a series of fallings out with minor parties. He fell out with the LDP after missing out on a Senate seat in 2010, for which he blamed David Leyonhjelm.
DAVID LEYONHJELM: I don't think he's made much study of political philosophy or understanding ideology or anything like that. So it comes naturally to him that if you want to get elected, you do what it takes to get elected.
DYLAN WELCH: It was in 2013 that Druery truly burst onto the national stage with his minor party alliance, an unlikely gathering of two dozen left and right-wing groups that included the Sex Party, the Australian Christians, One Nation and WikiLeaks.
GREG BARNS, FORMER WIKILEAKS PARTY ADVISOR: What he taps into is the fact that - the drug of politics that people want to get elected. The first meeting I ever went to with him, he said something to the effect of - there were about 20 or 30 people in the room - "One of you and your party will be elected." And he had them from that moment on.
DYLAN WELCH: The WikiLeaks Party left the alliance after choosing not to preference as per Druery's advice.
GREG BARNS: Well I think he said to me, "You're finished," you know, "And I can't believe you're doing this," or words to that effect. And I said, "Well, Glenn, look, I'm sorry, but this is what the party has - the party council has indicated that I need to do." I was effectively, you know, the bearer of bad tidings. And so he was - he didn't raise his voice, but he was decidedly hostile.
DYLAN WELCH: Leyonhjelm also earned Druery's ire when the LDP chose not to preference the Shooters and Fishers Party highly last year.
DAVID LEYONHJELM: He rang and left a message on my voicemail on my mobile saying, "You're politically dead. I will make sure that you never succeed in politics. This is my life's mission, to achieve that." So, he was very serious about it.
GLENN DRUERY (2013): I think we've got to ask ourselves this question is: what type of political system do we want in this country?
DYLAN WELCH: Another issue raised by alliance members was: who was paying Druery? He declared he was being paid by the Shooters and Fishers Party, but rumours of other backers remained.
GRAHAM ASKEY: At all of the meetings in 2013, he always started by announcing that his client was the Shooters and Fishers Party. And he also started, "As far as I'm concerned, I'm extremely pragmatic. This is - to me, each of you small parties just are a number."
DYLAN WELCH: 7.30 has learned Druery was also being paid by Family First in Victoria and the Fishing and Lifestyle Party in Queensland about $5,000 a month each for up to six months.
I have been told he was also paid by Family First and by the Fishing and Lifestyle Party. Does that raise any issues for you?
GRAHAM ASKEY: No, I think that would create something of a conflict of interest, yes.
DYLAN WELCH: So what's your view then, as a member of the minor party alliance?
GRAHAM ASKEY: I don't think it's wise to try and ride more than one horse at a time.
DYLAN WELCH: Druery also offered to pay for the nomination fees of several parties associated with the LDP if they agreed to let him manage preferences.
DAVID LEYONHJELM: What we were more bothered by was how controlling it was attempting to be. That, "If you do it our way, there are benefits. If you don't do it our way, we'll hurt you."
DYLAN WELCH: A parliamentary inquiry was called last year following the election on a tiny primary vote of senators from two parties within the alliance, the Motoring Enthusiasts Party and the Sports Party. Earlier this month, the inquiry held a public hearing in Sydney.
GEORGE WILLIAMS: It does create a lottery-like effect where it's quite possible for microparties to aggregate preferences in a way that gives one of them a realistic chance of being elected, and that's happened, of course, in this last election.
DYLAN WELCH: 7.30 has been told the inquiry will recommend changes to electoral law in order to prevent the microparties using preference trading to guarantee Senate seats.
Such a move may not end Glenn Druery's involvement in national politics, with rumours he is planning to become a staffer in the office the Motoring Enthusiast Party's Ricky Muir when the Victorian moves to the Senate in July.
SARAH FERGUSON: Glenn Druery declined to answer questions or be interviewed by 7.30 for this story.
Dylan Welch with that report, produced by Nikki Tugwell.Alex Teves had been dating Amanda Lindgren for about a year, and was head over heels for her.
The two seemed a perfect couple, beaming with energy in Facebook photos — their smiles showing just how happy they were. They were 20-somethings living life and enjoying every moment of it, standing side by side through it all. They flew to Hawaii together last year. They skied with friends in Colorado earlier this year. They finished graduate school together in May.
It was clear to Teves’ family — here in New Jersey, where he was born and spent the first 13 years of his life, and in Arizona, where he graduated from high school — just how much he cared about his girlfriend.
"He was crazy about her," Barbara Slivinske, an aunt who lives in East Brunswick, told The Star-Ledger today.
So it wasn’t surprising how he reacted early Friday morning as the couple was sitting together in a dark Colorado theater, their youthful faces reflecting the glow of a movie screen as a deranged gunman opened fire.
"He protected his girlfriend," Slivinske said. "He pushed her to the ground and protected her and saved her. He's a hero."
Teves, a month into his 25th year of life, covered his girlfriend with his own body, shielding her from the onslaught of bullets sprayed at an audience frantic to escape. Like 11 others at the Aurora, Colo., multiplex, he was shot and killed that morning. Lindgren escaped.
Teves was born in New Jersey and spent his first 13 years in Verona, attending elementary school and living a very suburban life. One next-door neighbor, Jim Foran, remembers him as a quiet and nice boy.
"Always respectful, as I recall," he said.
6 Gallery: Colorado Community Mourns
As he reached his teenage years, his family moved to Phoenix, where his father was transferred for work. He graduated from high school there, and attended college locally.
He was smart, and went on to pursue a master’s degree in psychological counseling at the University of Colorado Denver. He met his girlfriend in that program. The two graduated in May, but Teves wasn’t done with school; he was planning to study physical therapy, his aunt said.
His professional interests, in a way, embodied the type of person he was — someone who always wanted to help others, she said. His personality made him a deeply beloved friend and family member.
"A wonderful person. He was very kind and caring," Slivinske said. "He was very good to everyone. Everyone loved him."
One of his friends was also at the multiplex on Friday, and spent several helpless hours not knowing whether Teves was alive or dead. The woman took to Twitter, where she is identified only as Caitlin, to update friends on what was happening.
"Yes. It was my theater. I’m outside, one of my friends is still inside. No one knows what’s going on," she tweeted not long after the shooting, later adding: "Everybody please pray for my friend Alex."
By mid-morning, she had learned of his death.
"Alex Teves was one of the best men I ever knew. The world isn’t as good a place without him," she said, then added: "Alex Teves was a Arizona basketball fan, loved Spider-Man, was an amazing therapist, and died a hero."
The family is planning to have memorial services in Phoenix and New Jersey, but a decision about when they will be held hasn’t been made yet, Slivinske said, adding that her nephew will be missed by many.
"Very considerate, kind, caring," she said. "He just had a heart of gold, as my brother says. You really couldn’t find anything wrong with him."
19 Gallery: Shooting at Colorado midnight showing of Batman movie
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• Complete coverage of the Colorado theater shootingTerrorism risks rising in Malaysia as Islamic State militants return 0 by Alexander Macleod December 18, 2017
With the demise of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and the fall of Marawi in the Philippines, how will Malaysia handle the prospect of returning fighters?
Malaysia’s Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed recently expressed concerns over the threat of returning militants from the Middle East and the Philippines. The fall of Marawi, following the deaths of the insurgency’s two most senior commanders, came days after the Syrian city of Raqqa was recaptured by a US-backed coalition of Arab and Kurdish fighters.
Several hundred Malaysians have travelled to the Islamic State since 2013. In a new development, around thirty joined forces with the pro-IS Maute group in Marawi earlier this year. This article examines Malaysia’s capacity to handle the return of some of its fighters. Although coordinated IS-led attacks remain unlikely, the government will take a tough stance in order to mitigate the threat of localised terror cells and ‘lone wolf’ violence.
Will Malaysia be targeted?
The almost simultaneous losses of Raqqa and Marawi, cities of similar size, will force IS to shift to more guerrilla-based tactics. Aside from significant loss of manpower, Raqqa’s loss will yield a mass of information about IS’ strategies and personnel. IS’ de facto capital, Raqqa had generated millions of dollars in oil revenues annually; consequently, funding for its Southeast Asian operatives will be drastically cut. There is always the possibility that wealthy Arab donors will re-inject ISIS with cash. According to one estimate, $40 million was raised this way over the past two years. If so, IS will be able to regroup, re-arm and re-strategise.
IS’ Malaysia operations suffered a heavy blow this year with the death of ‘Malaysia leader’ Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, in Syria, at the hands of a drone strike. Wanndy was a commander of Khatibah Nusantara, the joint Indonesian-Malaysian wing of IS. He had threatened to ‘wreak havoc’ in Malaysia, despite frustrating his superiors for failing to do so. Bahrun Naim, the man behind the 2016 Jakarta attack, has allegedly taken Wanndy’s place, and will be looking to fulfil Wanndy’s failed mission objective. The time to attack is ripe, given Malaysia’s approaching elections, which will provide a useful government distraction.
After the death of Filipino Isnilon Hapilon, leader of the regional militant organisation Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and IS’ apparent ‘emir’ in Southeast Asia, several Malaysians had been rumoured to assume his title. They were Mohammad Amin Baco, Muhammad Joraimee Awang Raimee and Mahmud Ahmad. Baco and Raimee are skilled in bomb-making and experienced in combat, with Baco heading one of three IS Philippines divisions, Jund al-Tawhid. Meanwhile, Ahmad, a 38-year-old former Islamic Studies lecturer from Universiti Malaya, on Malaysia’s most-wanted list since 2014, adept at fundraising and well-connected, had acted as chief recruiter for the Marawi siege.
However, evidence suggests that chauvinist attitudes are likely to prevent these Malaysians from becoming regional leader. Instead, a Filipino is preferred for the post, with ASG cell leader Furuji Indama the most likely candidate. Indama led a bloody conflict with ASG last year in the Basilan jungle; the Philippines will likely continue to provide his primary battleground. Moreover, regional militant groups like the pro-IS Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) have generally been less successful infiltrating Malaysia. Militants have poor military capability and lack of support among local people in Sabah
A new generation
Regardless of whether Malaysia is an official ‘target’, returning fighters will inspire a new wave of young and impressionable recruits and provide the foundation for a new network of terror cells. Successful returnees will be battle-hardened, with military training and deep knowledge of IS’ tactical operations.
While the known militant groups in Malaysia are now defunct, pro-IS sleeper cells remain a threat, particularly in Sabah (although past reports have been unsubstantiated). Counterterrorism units will face challenges in locating these cells. Verifying their existence is problematic given the growing problem of distinguishing between actual accounts and ‘fake news’ on social media
Fighters who slip through the security net carry the latent threat of ‘lone wolf’ and suicide attacks. For security authorities, single figures are much harder to track, thus thwart. Admittedly, lone wolves are usually frustrated amateurs who have not been able to join up with their comrades in Iraq and Syria. But last year’s grenade attack in Kuala Lumpur, organised by Muhammad Wanndy, was also relatively minimal and poorly planned. Nevertheless, one successful attack in the capital or another tourist hotspot risks mass casualties.
Malaysia’s response
Malaysian security officials will not be complacent. Along with Indonesia and the Philippines, Malaysia is already making sustained efforts to increase border security in the porous Sulu region, Malaysia’s long-time Achilles heel. Other border areas need tightening, like the Sungai Golok which separates the southern Thailand province of Narathiwat from Kelantan, north Malaysia. In the past, this area has been exploited by pro-IS weapons-smuggling groups.
Generally, there is a strong likelihood that returning fighters will be caught and detained under relevant laws, as over 260 have been since 2013. The police’s special branch anti-terrorism unit closely tracks national terror suspects, and collaborates with other regional and global agencies. Safe in this knowledge, Malaysian fighters will not likely seek to return home in vast numbers. Most will stay on and continue to fight, or join other countries struggling with Islamic insurgencies like Myanmar or Thailand. Unlike Malaysia, many other places will also provide these fighters with refuge.
In July this year, thousands of undocumented migrant workers were arrested, in one of Malaysia’s biggest crackdowns in years. That month also witnessed ‘Operation Joker’, in which 400 terror suspects were arrested and their backgrounds checked against Special Branch’s Lookup database and Interpol’s Foreign Terrorist Fighter Database. More operations on this scale, across major towns and cities, are likely in the future. Despite Malaysia’s stringent enforcement of immigrant background checks, one key weak link is the use of sophisticated fake identity cards by terrorists.
Successful security efforts – so far
Although deemed excessive by opposition and human rights groups, thus far these efforts have prevented a major attack on Malaysian soil. Since April 2014, counterterrorism units have successfully disbanded the majority of Khatibah Nusantara’s Kuala Lumpur cell. Special Branch Counterterrorism Division Head, Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, is consequently wanted dead by IS central command; an important obstacle to a successful Malaysia attack.
Measures have been taken to starve the terrorists’ funding networks, through the closure of informal remittance channels, although risks from money laundering remain. More also needs to be done on social media, which continues to undermine central intelligence efforts. Although authorities have terminated a number of pro-IS websites, digital recruitment via Twitter and Whatsapp remains a large threat. Authorities the world over have faced resistance from Whatsapp in getting past its encrypted messaging service.
Despite IS’ limited success in Malaysia and the robust capabilities of national counterterrorism forces, the country remains vulnerable to an attack. Although it remains unlikely that IS will attack Malaysia in the near future, the threats from lone wolf attacks and digital recruitment will keep counterterrorism authorities busy. Overall, despite attracting criticism, Malaysia’s efforts have achieved their purpose. But the next 6-12 months will certainly test this theory.A delay for Aberdeen’s major trauma centre has been announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
A new major trauma network across Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh was initially promised to be operational by the end of last year.
The timeline had been reinforced by Ms Sturgeon in a visit to Aberdeen ahead of May’s Holyrood elections, where she moved to quell fears Aberdeen could miss out on a major trauma centre.
Now the First Minister has admitted it will be 2020 before the centre opens.
She said: “Given the scale and complexity of the changes required to deliver the network, we should need to recognise it will take at least three years to fully implement it.
“We are allocating an extra £5 million in 2017-18 to begin to accelerate these improvements, and we will be putting further, significant investment in as we continue to build and fully establish the network over the next few years.
“It is estimated this approach could save up to 40 more lives a year, and it is a model of care which is very much in line with the aims and ambitions of our delivery plan for health and social care – published at the end of 2016.”
North-east MSP Lewis Macdonald, Labour, condemned the delay.
He said: “This is hugely disappointing for everyone who relies on the NHS in Scotland, and particularly for people in Aberdeen and the North East.
“Nicola Sturgeon intervened personally to promise that Aberdeen would have a major trauma centre when she came to the city at the very end of last year’s Holyrood election campaign.
“This will have a damaging impact on the morale of doctors and nursing staff at Foresterhill, many of whom have already worked hard to ensure plans for Aberdeen’s major trauma centre went ahead.
“Nicola Sturgeon and Health Secretary Shona Robison have some serious questions to answer about their handling of this issue from start to finish.”It’s true, I was never a proper punk: I had too much sense of historical bohemia and too little love of spitting and snarling at hippies. So I went straight to postpunk, and was soon slipping down the sidestreets of North London, apparelled like an Oliver Twist urchin, haunting the night like a wraith as cold winter thawed out into the tense, riot-breeding summers of the early 1980s. Islington and Camden were not the respectable quarters then that they are now; there were squats on almost every street, and drugs in almost every squat. In one of these squats—it was actually just off the Gray’s Inn Road, near the old Sunday Times building—I was offered my first smoke of heroin. On a bare staircase lit by a guttering candle, a figure reached toward me out of the gloom, a piece of foil in his outstretched hand, upon which snaked a long, lazy S of the golden brown drug.
I had smoked pot for some years. But there was something about the 1980s that demanded a stronger poison, something to insulate the alienated youth, of which I was an extravagantly coiffed example, from the bitter winds of Margaret Thatcher’s revolution. In those days, people were encouraged to believe that the poor deserved to be poor, that greed was good because inequality was in the nature of things. Unfortunately, as history has shown us only too often, many people don’t need much in the way of encouragement to kick those who are down, and to feel virtuous about it while they’re doing the kicking. Looking back now, there are some strange resonances between that time and the present, most importantly a new Conservative government intent on the laceration of public services and with a proud contempt for education, other than when narrowly defined as vocational training.
Anyway, I decided to take up the offer of that first smoke of heroin. It was an unforgettable experience, which I repeated occasionally, then more often, until after a year or so it became an everyday thing which I could not do without. This is not a piece of writing about the morality or dangers of heroin: everybody has heard the countless warnings already and can make up their own mind. I spent some years taking the drug; I had some times in Hell and some in Heaven. My life did eventually descend into a terrible mess, and it took a lot of time and suffering and hard work to steer myself back toward some kind of inhabitable social identity. But it can be done and I was one of those who did it.
The heroin culture that existed then was different from today’s. There were, to generalise a little, two main heroin cultures in London in the early 1980s. One was made up of the so-called ‘Skag Kids’: these were a new phenomenon, mushrooming up suddenly from the unforgiving concrete of council wastelands like the North Peckham Estate. They were tough kids from hard backgrounds, and there was not much mixing between them and the heroin subculture to which I belonged. This was made up largely of ex-students, punks and indie kids—the bohemians of the 1980s, who inherited their tradition of alienated style from previous youth cultures, and for whom drugs were partly a gesture of defiance toward straight society, partly a method of keeping the spirit warm amidst Thatcher’s Britain, which lay all around like ice on the soul.
In times of drought—which were short and did not come often—we would sometimes go to score from the skag kids. At East Street in Peckham, which was then a sort of white boys’ front line, little groups of sick boho addicts would arrive, sniffing in the freezing twilight; there seemed to be no-one around. But you just had to whistle, and a dozen or so dealers (all of them white and none looking a day over 16) would instantly appear, materializing out of the courtyards and walkways, advertising their cockle bags and ching bags (£10 and £5 respectively). They would compete with one another for your cash, squaring up and swaggering. When the transaction was made, we’d go back to Camberwell to get straightened up, finding that the deals were good considering the circumstances, and the gear quite strong.
Within a year or two of the appearance of the skag kids, their older brothers were in on the act. I knew someone who was dealing in Camberwell who was robbed at knifepoint by a bunch of them, and beaten up for serving up on their turf. Things got nasty very quickly. Prior to this, the retail heroin scene was very different to today’s; all the people who supplied were themselves users, and were part of the circles from which their customers came. This kind of supply maintained the dealer’s habit, and maybe gave him or her a bit of cash to spend; but it also provided a sort of public service, restricting supply to those who were serious users, giving credit when someone was sick, and their homes functioned as meeting places for the boho junkie community. Now the retail scene is very different: most of those involved do not use themselves but are in it purely to make money; they know little and care less about the quality of what they sell, and will casually bulk up the material with potentially dangerous additives. Many of them are teenagers, using the drug trade to provide them with the consumer goods on which they depend for their social status. They often hold their customers in contempt.
It occurs to me that this change in the structure and style of the market can be linked to what some sociologists have called ‘normalization’ of drugs; in general terms, this refers to the movement of drug use beyond the subcultures with which they were previously associated and into ordinary or mainstream youth culture. This process is disputed by some researchers, but there is no doubt that some drugs, such as cannabis, are widely used by people who don’t regard themselves as belonging to exclusive drug or youth subcultures. A similar process has occurred on the supply side, with the result that those supplying heroin no longer care about the product or the customer. It seems the drug culture too has been infested by the ideology of the market, with most dealers being motivated by pure profit and having no concern with the public service ethic that was a part, at least, of the drug culture—even at the supply level—in the 1960s and 70s.The miracle is now so commonplace that it’s invisible: we have the ability to watch video, listen to music, and read documents right in our browsers. You might get a hankering to hear some old time radio, or classic television programs, or maybe read up some classic children’s books, you’re just a couple clicks away from having them right there, in front of you. Not so with classic software. To learn and experience older programs, you have to track down the hardware and media to run it, or download and install emulators and acquire/install cartridge or floppy images as you boot up the separate emulator program, outside of the browser. Unlike films or video or audio, it was a slower, more involved process to experience software.
Until now.
JSMESS is a Javascript port of the MESS emulator, a mature and breathtakingly flexible computer and console emulator that has been in development for over a decade and a half by hundreds of volunteers. The MESS emulator runs in a large variety of platforms, but is now able to run embedded in most modern browsers, including Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Internet Explorer.
Today, the Internet Archive announces the Historical Software Archive, a collection of prominent and historically notable pieces of software, able to be run immediately in your browser. They range from pioneering applications to obscure forgotten utilities, and from peak-of-perfection designs to industry-crashing classics.
Turning computer history into a one-click experience bridges the gap between understanding these older programs and making them available in a universal fashion. Acquisition, for a library, is not enough – accessibility is where knowledge and lives change for the better. The JSMESS interface lets users get to the software in the quickest way possible.
We asked a number of people to look at the Historical Software section, and here were their comments:
“Bringing microcomputer software back from floppy drives and cassette tapes is an important task not just for nostalgia but so we can learn from the good work of tens of thousands of people in our not-so-distant past. The Internet Archive’s first steps towards bringing it up in a web browser is very encouraging and we at DigiBarn look forward to working with the Archive to bring the best of that era back again.” – Dr. Bruce Damer, Curator, DigiBarn Computer Museum “We have come a long way in digital and software preservation – far enough along that problems of discovery and access are looming on the horizon. It’s comforting to know that the Internet Archive is developing solutions for these problems, so that people can use the software we save.” – Henry Lowood, Curator for History of Science & Technology Collections, Stanford University Libraries The Internet Archive has given us a remarkable opportunity to make the past present once again through its in-browser emulation. Now enthusiasts, students, scholars, historians from all corners of the globe can quickly and easily access software that would normally require fairly sophisticated technological expertise. I expect we will soon recognize this as a crucial development in digital preservation and access.” – Lori Emerson, Media Archaeology Lab at the University of Colorado “Emulation in a browser means embedding digital history in the everyday experience of surfing the Web. Not as screenshots or scans, but as living history, dynamic and interactive, inviting and even seductive. I look forward to weird wormholes and portals into our past appearing everywhere.” – Matt Kirschenbaum, Associate Director, Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) “The team at the Internet Archive have managed not just to preserve some of the most memorable bits and bytes of the last 3 decades of personal computing, they have given us all a way to execute them in a browser. The past is now playable at a stable URL.” – Doug Reside, Digital Curator for the Performing Arts, NYPL “The Internet Archive is one of the most interesting and important new repositories for historians, curators and anyone interested in the preservation of recent culture. The emulator is an exceptional new tool that will make possible all kinds of investigations that heretofore were limited to specialists. It is a wonderful achievement.” – Deborah Douglas, Director of Collections, MIT Museum
Many, many individuals have contributed to the JSMESS project. The project makes extensive use of the Emscripten compiler project, headed by Alon Zakai at Mozilla.org. JSMESS is a non-affiliated port of the MESS emulator. MESS is the result of years of effort by hundreds of contributors, a number of them anonymous, who have continued to work daily to provide the most accurate emulation of historical machinery. JSMESS and MESS are not affiliated projects. The JSMESS team includes Justin de Vesine, John Vilk, Andre D, Justin Kerk, Vitorio Miliano, and Jason Scott; countless others have contributed documentation, testing and feedback about the functioning of the project. Integration with the Internet Archive’s internals are the result of efforts by Alex Buie, Hank Bromley, Samuel Stoller and Tracey Jaquith.
Update: The introduction of the Historical Software Collection and JSMESS has been covered in The Register, Engadget, PC World, Slashgear, and The Verge (twice!)The walker, along with the two ponies and a dog, became lost on Blair Atholl on Sunday evening and tried to call for help.
Braemar MRT
A woman has been rescued after getting stuck up a mountain trying to find a phone signal with two ponies and a dog.
The hiker was making a 210-mile charity trek between Buckie and Edinburgh when she became lost in Blair Atholl on Sunday.
In an attempt to find a phone signal and call for help, she led the animals up the 2500ft mountain in Glen Tilt.
The walker then contacted the police, who asked Braemar and Tayside mountain rescue teams to attend.
A spokesman for Braemar MRT said: “It's a unique situation to get to the top of a 770-metre hill and find a walker, two ponies and a large dog up there all needing recovered off the hill.
“The went up a hill to get phone reception as thought she was lost in Glen Tilt. A cold night with snow on the tops down to 500 metres.”
The hiker was undertaking the month-long trip to raise awareness of grass sickness, a disease which affects the nervous systems of ponies and hoses. The illness causes gut paralysis and is frequently fatal.
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Updates: Would you like STV’s latest news update in your inbox every morning? Choose from our range of regular e-newsletters here.For the show’s 15th season, Big Brother‘s live 24/7/except-when-they’re-censored feeds will be hosted on CBS web site, not on RealNetworks SuperPass, as they have been for the past 13 seasons.
Hamsterwatch broke the news on Twitter, noting that “for the 1st time since BB2, #BB15 live feeds won’t be on SuperPass.” The site didn’t provide additional details.
However, a letter sent to affiliates (web sites that receive payment when users they refer sign up for the service) from a RealNetworks representative said that this summer, “the Big Brother Live Feed will have a new home this season on CBS.com.”
The letter said that CBS “plans to continue with an affiliate marketing program,” because those at CBS Interactive “understand the critical role you play in generating the interest and subscribers for this product.” It added that affiliates’ “support has been critical to building a large and vibrant community of Big Brother Live Feeds subscribers.”
That means there will most likely still be a charge for the feeds, because it wouldn’t make sense for CBS to pay affiliates for referrals that did not result in a transaction. Last summer, ABC’s Glass House offered free live feeds on its site, but only broadcast at certain times.
Six years ago, I reported that Real had stealth blogs covering the show without acknowledging that they were Real’s sponsored blogs; that’s different than affiliate programs, which many sites use to generate revenue.
The actual content of the live feeds–including frequent blackouts and censorship for absurd |
author to be understood, which best serves to his purpose; but that truly may best be understood by any body else, which best agrees with the plain construction of the words, and arises from the obvious meaning of the place; and then with subordination and in succession, will not be best understood, in a grant of God, where he himself put them not, nor mentions any such limitation. But yet, our author has reasons, why it may best be understood so. The blessing, says he in the following words, might truly be fulfilled, if the sons, either under or after their father, enjoyed a private dominion, Observations, 211. which is to say, that a grant, whose express words give a joint title Edition: current; Page: [37] in present (for the text says, into your hands they are delivered) may best be understood with a subordination or in succession; because it is possible, that in subordination, or in succession, it may be enjoyed. Which is all one as to say, that a grant of any thing in present possession may best be understood of reversion; because it is possible one may live to enjoy it in reversion. If the grant be indeed to a father and to his sons after him, who is so kind as to let his children enjoy it presently in common with him, one may truly say, as to the event one will be as good as the other; but it can never be true, that what the express words grant in possession, and in common, may best be understood, to be in reversion. The sum of all his reasoning amounts to this: God did not give to the sons of Noah the world in common with their father, because it was possible they might enjoy it under, or after him. A very good sort of argument against an express text of scripture: but God must not be believed, though he speaks it himself, when he says he does any thing, which will not consist with Sir Robert’s hypothesis.
And that this grant spoken to Adam was made to him, and the whole species of man, is clear from our author’s own proof out of the Psalmist. The earth, faith the Psalmist, hath he given to the children of men; which shews the title comes from fatherhood. These are Sir Robert’s words in the preface before cited, and a strange inference it is he makes; God hath given the earth to the children of men, ergo the title comes from fatherhood. It is Edition: current; Page: [35] pity the propriety of the Hebrew tongue had not used fathers of men, instead of children of men, to express mankind: then indeed our author might have had the countenance of the sound of the words, to have placed the title in the fatherhood. But to conclude, that the fatherhood had the right to the earth, because God gave it to the children of men, is a way of arguing peculiar to our author: and a man must have a great mind to go contrary to the sound as well as sense of the words, before he could light on it. But the sense is yet harder, and more remote from our author’s purpose: for as it stands in his preface, it is to prove Adam’s being monarch, and his reasoning is thus, God gave the earth to the children of men, ergo Adam was monarch of the world. I defy any man to make a more pleasant conclusion than this, which cannot be excused from the most obvious absurdity, till it can be shewn, that by children of men, he who had no father, Adam alone is signified; but whatever our author does, the scripture speaks not nonsense.
But perhaps it will be said, Eve was not made till afterward: grant it so, what advantage will our author get by it? The text will be only the more directly against him, and shew that God, in this donation, gave the world to mankind in common, and not to Adam in particular. The word them in the text must include the species of man, for it is certain them can by no means signify Adam alone. In the 26th verse, where God declares his intention to give this dominion, it is plain he meant, that he would make a species of creatures, that should have dominion over the other species of this terrestrial globe: the words are, And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish, &c. They then were to have dominion. Who? even those who were to have the image of God, the individuals of that species of man, that he was going to make; for that them should signify Adam Edition: current; Page: [34] singly, exclusive of the rest that should be in the world with him, is against both scripture and all reason: and it cannot possibly be made sense, if man in the former part of the verse do not signify the same with them in the latter; only man there, as is usual, is taken for the species, and them the individuals of that species: and we have a reason in the very text. God makes him in his own image, after his own likeness; makes him an intellectual creature, and so capable of dominion: for wherein soever else the image of God consisted, the intellectual nature was certainly a part of it, and belonged to the whole species, and enabled them to have dominion over the inferior creatures; and therefore David says in the 8th Psalm above cited, Thou hast made him little lower than the angels, thou hast made him to have dominion. It is not of Adam king David speaks here, for verse 4. it is plain, it is of man, and the son of man, of the species of mankind.
2. Whatever God gave by the words of this grant, i. Gen. 28. it was not to Adam in particular, exclusive of all other men: whatever dominion he had thereby, it was not a private dominion, but a dominion in common with the rest of mankind. That this donation was not made in particular to Adam, appears evidently from the words of the text, it being made to more than one; for it was spoken in the plural number, God blessed them, and said unto them, Have dominion. God says unto Adam and Eve, Have dominion; thereby, says our author, Adam was monarch of the world: but the grant being to them, i. e. spoke to Eve also, as many Edition: current; Page: [33] interpreters think with reason, that these words were not spoken till Adam had his wife, must not she thereby be lady, as well as he lord of the world? If it be said, that Eve was subjected to Adam, it seems she was not so subjected to him, as to hinder her dominion over the creatures, or property in them: for shall we say that God ever made a joint grant to two, and one only was to have the benefit of it?
David, who might be supposed to understand the donation of God in this text, and the right of kings too, as well as our author in his comment on this place, as the learned and judicious Ainsworth calls it, in the 8th Psalm, finds here no such charter of monarchical power, his words are, Thou hast made him, i. e. man, the Son of man, a little lower than the angels; thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all Edition: current; Page: [32] things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the air, and fish of the sea, and whatsover passeth thro’ the paths of the sea. In which words, if any one can find out, that there is meant any monarchical power of one man over another, but only the dominion of the whole species of mankind, over the inferior species of creatures, he may, for aught I know, deserve to be one of Sir Robert’s monarchs in habit, for the rareness of the discovery. And by this time, I hope it is evident, that he that gave dominion over every living thing that moveth on the earth, gave Adam no monarchical power over those of his own species, which will yet appear more fully in the next thing I am to shew.
And this further appears from Gen. ix. 2. where God renewing this charter to Noah and his sons, he gives them dominion over the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea, and the terrestrial creatures, expressed by Edition: current; Page: [30] היח and שמרר wild beasts and reptils, the same words that in the text before us, i. Gen. 28. are translated every moving thing, that moveth on the earth, which by no means can comprehend man, the grant being made to Noah and his sons, all the men then living, and not to one part of men over another: which is yet more evident from the very next words, ver. 3. where God gives every שמר every moving thing, the very words used, ch. i. 28. to them for food. By all which it is plain that God’s donation to Adam, ch. i. 28. and his designation, ver. 26. and his grant again to Noah and his sons, refer to and contain in them neither more nor less than the works of the creation the 5th day, and the beginning of the 6th, as they are set down from the 20th to 26th ver. inclusively of the 1st ch. and so comprehend all the species of irrational animals of the terraqueous globe, tho’ all the words, whereby they are expressed in the history of their creation, are no where used in any of the following grants, but some of them omitted in one, and some in another. From whence I think it is past all doubt, that man cannot be comprehended in this grant, nor any dominion over those of his own species be conveyed to Adam. All the terrestrial irrational creatures are enumerated at their creation, ver. 25. under the names beasts of the earth, cattle and creeping things; but man, Edition: current; Page: [31] being not then created, was not contained under any of those names; and therefore, whether we understand the Hebrew words right or no, they cannot be supposed to comprehend man, in the very same history, and the very next verses following, especially since that Hebrew word שמר which, if any in this donation to Adam, ch. i. 28. must comprehend man, is so plainly used in contradistinction to him, as Gen. vi. 20. vii. 14, 21, 23. Gen. viii. 17, 19. And if God made all mankind slaves to Adam and his heirs by giving Adam dominion over every living thing that moveth on the earth, ch. i. 28. as our author would have it, methinks Sir Robert should have carried his monarchical power one step higher, and satisfied the world, that princes might eat their subjects too, since God gave as full power to Noah and his heirs, ch. ix. 2. to eat every living thing that moveth, as he did to Adam to have dominion over them, the Hebrew words in both places being the same.
When God had made the irrational animals of the world, divided into three kinds, from the places of their habitation, viz. fishes of the sea, fowls of the air, and living creatures of the earth, and these again into cattle, wild beasts, and reptils, he considers of making man, and the dominion he should have over the terrestrial world, ver. 26. and Edition: current; Page: [29] then he reckons up the inhabitants of these three kingdoms, but in the terrestrial leaves out the second rank היח or wild beasts: but here, ver. 28. where he actually exercises this design, and gives him this dominion, the text mentions the fishes of the sea, and fowls of the air, and the terrestrial creatures in the words that signify the wild beasts and reptils, though translated living thing that moveth, leaving out cattle. In both which places, though the word that signifies wild beasts be omitted in one, and that which signifies cattle in the other, yet, since God certainly executed in one place, what he declares he designed in the other, we cannot but understand the same in both places, and have here only an account, how the terrestrial irrational animals, which were already created and reckoned up at their creation, in three distinct ranks of cattle, wild beasts, and reptils, were here, ver. 28. actually put under the dominion of man, as they were designed, ver. 26. nor do these words contain in them the least appearance of any thing that can be wrested to signify God’s giving to one man dominion over another, to Adam over his posterity.
1. That this donation, i. Gen. 28. gave Adam no power over men, will appear if we consider the words of it: for since all positive grants convey no more than the express words they are made in will carry, let us see which of them here will comprehend mankind, or Adam’s posterity; and those, I imagine, if any, must be these, every living thing that moveth: the words in Hebrew are, השמרה היה i. e. Bestiam Reptantem, of which words the scripture itself is the best interpreter: God having created the fishes and fowls the 5th day, the beginning of the 6th, he creates the irrational inhabitants of the dry land, which, v. 24. are described in these words, let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind; cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth, after his kind, and, v. 2. and God made the beasts of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth on the earth after his kind: here, in the creation of the brute inhabitants of the earth, he first speaks of them all under one general name, of living creatures, Edition: current; Page: [28] and then afterwards divides them into three ranks, 1. Cattle, or such creatures as were or might be tame, and so be the private possession of particular men; 2. היח which, ver. 24, and 25. in our Bible, is translated beasts, and by the Septuagint θηϛία, wild beasts, and is the same word, that here in our text, ver. 28. where we have this great charter to Adam, is translated living thing, and is also the same word used, Gen. ix. 2. where this grant is renewed to Noah, and there likewise translated beast. 3. The third rank were the creeping animals, which ver. 24, and 25. are comprised under the word, השמרח, the same that is used here, ver. 28. and is translated moving, but in the former verses creeping, and by the Septuagint in all these places, ἑρπετἀ, or reptils; from whence it appears, that the words which we translate here in God’s donation, ver.28. living creatures moving, are the same, which in the history of the creation, ver. 24, 25. signify two ranks of terrestrial creatures, viz. wild beasts and reptils, and are so understood by the Septuagint.
But let us see the argument. The words of the text are these; and God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth, i. Gen. 28. from whence our author concludes, that Adam, having here dominion given him over all creatures, was thereby the monarch of the Edition: current; Page: [26] whole world: whereby must be meant, that either this grant of God gave Adam property, or as our author calls it, private dominion over the earth, and all inferior or irrational creatures, and so consequently that he was thereby monarch; or 2dly, that it gave him rule and dominion over all earthly creatures whatsoever, and thereby over his children; and so he was monarch: for, as Mr. Selden has properly worded it, Adam was made general lord of all things, one may very clearly understand him, that he means nothing to be granted to Adam here but property, and therefore he says not one word of Adam’s monarchy. But our author says, Adam was hereby monarch of the world, which, properly speaking, signifies sovereign ruler of all the men in the world; and so Adam, by this grant, must be constituted such a ruler. If our author means otherwise, he might with much clearness have said, that Adam was hereby proprietor of the whole world. But he begs your pardon in that point: clear distinct speaking not serving every where to his purpose, you must not expect it in him, as in Mr. Selden, or other such writers.
HAVING at last got through the foregoing passage, where we have been so long detained, not by the force of arguments and opposition, but the intricacy of the words, and the doubtfulness of the meaning; let us go on to his next argument, for Adam’s sovereignty. Our author tells us in the words of Mr. Selden, that Adam by donation from God, Gen. i. 28. was made the general lord of all things, not without such a private dominion to himself, as without his grant did exclude his children. This determination of Mr. Selden, says our author, is Edition: current; Page: [25] consonant to the history of the Bible, and natural reason, Observations, 210. And in his Pref. to his Observations on Aristotle, he says thus, The first government in the world was monarchical in the father of all flesh, Adam being commanded to multiply and people the earth, and to subdue it, and having dominion given him over all creatures, was thereby the monarch of the whole world: none of his posterity had any right to possess any thing, but by his grant or permission, or by succession from him: The earth, saith the Psalmist, hath he given to the children of men, which shew the title comes from fatherhood.
This I am sure: if our author will have this text to be a grant, the original grant Edition: current; Page: [55] of government, political government, he ought to have proved it by some better arguments than by barely saying, that thy desire shall be unto thy husband, was a law whereby Eve, and all that should come of her, were subjected to the absolute monarchical power of Adam and his heirs. Thy desire shall be to thy husband, is too doubtful an expression, of whose signification interpreters are not agreed, to build so confidently on, and in a matter of such moment, and so great and general concernment: but our author, according to his way of writing, having once named the text, concludes presently without any more ado, that the meaning is as he would have it. Let the words rule and subject be but found in the text or margent, and it immediately signifies the duty of a subject to his prince; the relation is changed, and though God says husband, Sir Robert will have it king; Adam has presently absolute monarchical power over Eve, and not only over Eve, but all that should come of her, though the scripture says not a word of it, nor our author a word to prove it. But Adam must for all that be an absolute monarch, and so down to the end of the chapter. And here I leave my reader to consider, whether my bare saying, without offering any reasons to evince it, that this text gave not Adam that absolute monarchical power, our author supposes, be not as sufficient to destroy that power, as his bare assertion Edition: current; Page: [56] is to establish it, since the text mentions neither prince nor people, speaks nothing of absolute or monarchical power, but the subjection of Eve to Adam, a wife to her husband. And he that would trace our author so all through, would make a short and sufficient answer to the greatest part of the grounds he proceeds on, and abundantly consute them by barely denying; it being a sufficient answer to assertions without proof, to deny them without giving a reason. And therefore should I have said nothing but barely denied, that by this text the supreme power was settled and founded by God himself, in the fatherhood, limited to monarchy, and that to Adam’s person and heirs, all which our author notably concludes from these words, as may be seen in the same page, Observations, 244. it had been a sufficient answer: should I have desired any sober man only to have read the text, and considered to whom, and on what occasion it was spoken, he would no doubt have wondered how our author found out monarchical absolute power in it, had he not had an exceeding good faculty to find it himself, where he could not shew it others. And thus we have examined the two places of scripture, all that I remember our author brings to prove Adam’s sovereignty, that supremacy, which he says, it was God’s ordinance should be unlimited in Adam, and as large as all the acts of his will, Observations, Edition: current; Page: [57] 254. viz. i. Gen. 28. and iii. Gen. 16. one whereof signifies only the subjection of the inferior ranks of creatures to mankind, and the other the subjection that is due from a wife to her husband, both far enough from that which subjects owe the governors of political societies.
But if these words here spoke to Eve must needs be understood as a law to bind her and all other women to subjection, it can be no other subjection than what every wife owes her husband; and then if this be the original grant of government and the foundation of monarchical power, there will be as many monarchs as there are husbands: if therefore these words give any power to Adam, it can be only a conjugal power, not political; the power that every husband hath to order the things of private concernment in his family, as proprietor of the goods and land there, and to have his will take place before that of his wife in all things of their common concernment; but not a political power of life and death over her, much less over any body else.
Farther it is to be noted, that these words here of iii. Gen. 16. which our author calls the original grant of government, were not spoken to Adam, neither indeed was there any grant in them made to Adam, but a punishment laid upon Eve: and if we will take them as they were directed in particular to her, or in her, as their representative, to all other women, they will at most concern the female sex only, and import no more, but that subjection they should ordinarily be Edition: current; Page: [53] in to their husbands: but there is here no more law to oblige a woman to such a subjection, if the circumstances either of her condition, or contract with her husband, should exempt her from it, than there is, that she should bring forth her children in sorrow and pain, if there could be found a remedy for it, which is also a part of the same curse upon her: for the whole verse runs thus, Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. It would, I think, have been a hard matter for any body, but our author, to have found out a grant of monarchical government to Adam in these words, which were neither spoke to, nor of him: neither will any one, I suppose, by these words, think the weaker sex, as by a law, so subjected to the curse contained in them, that it is their duty not to endeavour to avoid it. And will any one say, that Eve, or any other woman, sinned, if she were brought to bed without those multiplied pains God threatens her here with? or that either of our queens, Mary or Elizabeth, had they married any of their subjects, had been by this text put into a political subjection to him? or that he thereby should have had monarchical rule over her? God, in this text, gives not, that I see, any authority to Adam over Eve, or to men over their wives, but Edition: current; Page: [54] only foretels what should be the woman’s lot, how by his providence he would order it so, that she should be subject to her husband, as we see that generally the laws of mankind and customs of nations have ordered it so; and there is, I grant, a foundation in nature for it.
God, I believe, speaks differently from men, because he speaks with more truth, Edition: current; Page: [52] more certainty: but when he vouchsafes to speak to men, I do not think he speaks differently from them, in crossing the rules of language in use amongst them: this would not be to condescend to their capacities, when he humbles himself to speak to them, but to lose his design in speaking what, thus spoken, they could not understand. And yet thus must we think of God, if the interpretations of scripture, necessary to maintain our author’s doctrine, must be received for good: for by the ordinary rules of language, it will be very hard to understand what God says, if what he speaks here, in the singular number, to Adam, must be understood to be spoken to all mankind, and what he says in the plural number, i. Gen. 26, and 28. must be understood of Adam alone, exclusive of all others, and what he says to Noah and his sons jointly, must be understood to be meant to Noah alone, Gen. ix.
This was not a time, when Adam could expect any favours, any grant of privileges, from his offended Maker. If this be the original grant of government, as our author tells us, and Adam was now made monarch, whatever Sir Robert would have him, it is plain, God made him but a very poor monarch, such an one, as our author himself would have counted it no great privilege to be. God sets him to work for his living, and seems rather to give him a spade into his hand, to subdue the earth, than a sceptre to rule over its inhabitants. In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat thy bread, says God to him, ver. 19. This was unavoidable, may it perhaps be answered, because he was yet without subjects, and had nobody to work for him; but afterwards, living as he did above 900 years, he might have people enough, whom he might command, to work for him; no, says God, not only whilst thou art without other help, save thy wife, but as long as thou livest, shalt thou live by thy labour, In the sweat of thy face, shalt thou eat thy bread, till thou return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken, for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return, v. 19. It will perhaps be answered again in favour of our author, that these words are not spoken personally to Adam, but in him, as their representative, to all mankind, this being a curse upon mankind, because of the fall.
THE next place of scripture we find our author builds his monarchy of Adam on, is iii. Gen. 26. And thy defire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. Here we have (says he) the original grant of government, from whence he concludes, in the following part of the page, Observations, 244. That the supreme power is settled in the fatherhood, and limited to one kind of government, that is, to monarchy. For let his premises be what they will, this is always the conclusion; let rule, in any text, be but once named, and presently absolute monarchy Edition: current; Page: [50] is by divine right established. If any one will but carefully read our author’s own reasoning from these words, Observations, 244. and consider, among other things, the line and posterity of Adam, as he there brings them in, he will find some difficulty to make sense of what he says; but we will allow this at present to his peculiar way of writing, and consider the force of the text in hand. The words are the curse of God upon the woman, for having been the first and forwardest in the disobedience; and if we will consider the occasion of what God says here to our first parents, that he was denouncing judgment, and declaring his wrath against them both, for their disobedience, we cannot suppose that this was the time, wherein God was granting Adam prerogatives and privileges, investing him with dignity and authority, elevating him to dominion and monarchy: for though, as a helper in the temptation, Eve was laid below him, and so he had accidentally a superiority over her, for her greater punishment; yet he too had his share in the fall, as well as the sin, and was laid lower, as may be seen in the following verses; and it would be hard to imagine, that God, in the same breath, should make him universal monarch over all mankind, and a day-labourer for his life; turn him out of paradise to till the ground, ver. 23. and at the same time advance him to a throne, and all the privileges and ease of absolute power.
Thus this new nothing, that is to carry with it all power, authority, and government; this fatherhood, which is to design the person, and establish the throne of monarchs, whom the people are to obey, may, according to Sir Robert, come into any hands, any how, and so by his politics give to democracy royal authority, and make an usurper a lawful prince. And if it will do all these fine feats, much good do our author and all his followers with their omnipotent fatherhood, which can serve for nothing but to unsettle and destroy all the lawful governments in the world, and to establish in their room disorder, tyranny, and usurpation.
And thus what a monarchy he hath set up, let him and his disciples consider. Princes certainly will have great reason to thank him for these new politics, which set up as many absolute kings in every country as there are fathers of children. And yet who can blame our author for it, it lying unavoidably in the way of one discoursing upon our author’s principles? For having placed an absolute power in fathers by right of begetting, he could not easily resolve how much of this power belonged to a son over the children he had begotten; and so it fell out to be a very hard matter to give all the power, Edition: current; Page: [84] as he does, to Adam, and yet allow a part in his life-time to his children, when they were parents, and which he knew not well how to deny them. This makes him so doubtful in his expressions, and so uncertain where to place this absolute natural power, which he calls fatherhood. Sometimes Adam alone has it all, as p. 13. Observations, 244, 245. & Pref.
If any one will suppose, in favour of our author, that he here meant, that parents, who are in subjection themselves to the absolute authority of their father, have yet some power over their children; I confess he is something nearer the truth: but he will not at all hereby help our author: for he no where speaking of the paternal power, but as an absolute unlimited authority, cannot be supposed to understand any thing else here, unless he himself had limited it, and shewed how far it reached. And that he means here paternal authority in that large extent, is plain from the immediate following words; This subjection of children being, says he, the foundation of all regal authority, p. 12. the subjection then that in the former line, he says, every man is in to his parents, and consequently what Adam’s grand-children were in to their parents, was that which was the fountain of all regal authority, i. e. according to our author, absolute unlimitable authority. And thus Adam’s children had regal authority over their children, whilst they themselves were subjects to their father, and fellow-subjects with their children. But let him mean as he pleases, it is plain he allows Adam’s children to have paternal power, p. 12. as also all other fathers to have paternal power Edition: current; Page: [83] over their children, Observations, 156. From whence one of these two things will necessarily follow, that either Adam’s children, even in his life-time, had, and so all other fathers have, as he phrases it, p. 12. by right of fatherhood, royal authority over their children, or else, that Adam, by right of fatherhood, had not royal authority. For it cannot be but that paternal power does, or does not, give royal authority to them that have it: if it does not, then Adam could not be sovereign by this title, nor any body else; and then there is an end of all our author’s politics at once: if it does give royal authority, then every one that has paternal power has royal authority; and then, by our author’s patriarchal government, there will be as many kings as there are fathers.
But that he means here paternal power, and no other, is past doubt, from the inference he makes in these words immediately following, I see not then how the children of Adam, or of any man else, can be free from subjection to their parents. Whereby it appears that the power on one side, and the subjection on the other, our author here speaks of, is that natural power and subjection between Edition: current; Page: [81] parents and children: for that which every man’s children owed, could be no other; and that our author always affirms to be absolute and unlimited. This natural power of parents over their children, Adam had over his posterity, says our author; and this power of parents over their children, his children had over theirs in his life-time, says our author also; so that Adam, by a natural right of father, had an absolute unlimited power over all his posterity, and at the same time his children had by the same right absolute unlimited power over theirs. Here then are two absolute unlimited powers existing together, which I would have any body reconcile one to another, or to common sense. For the salvo he has put in of subordination, makes it more absurd: to have one absolute, unlimited, nay unlimitable power in subordination to another, is so manifest a contradiction, that nothing can be more. Adam is absolute prince with the unlimited authority of fatherhood over all his posterity; all his posterity are then absolutely his subjects; and, as our author says, his slaves, children, and grand-children, are equally in this state of subjection and slavery; and yet, says our author, the children of Adam have paternal, i. e. absolute unlimited power over their own children: Which in plain English is, they are slaves and absolute princes at the same time, and in the same government; and one Edition: current; Page: [82] part of the subjects have an absolute unlimited power over the other by the natural right of parentage.
But to save others the pains, were there any need, he is not sparing himself to shew, by his own contradictions, the weakness of his own doctrine. Adam’s absolute Edition: current; Page: [79] and sole dominion is that, which he is every where full of, and all along builds on, and yet he tells us, p. 12. that as Adam was lard of his children, so his children under him had a command and power over their own children. The unlimited and undivided sovereignty of Adam’s fatherhood, by our author’s computation, stood but a little while, only during the first generation, but as soon as he had grand-children, Sir Robert could give but a very ill account of it. Adam, as father of his children, faith he, hath an absolute, unlimited royal power over them, and by virtue thereof over those that they begot, and so to all generations; and yet his children, viz. Cain and Seth, have a paternal power over their children at the same time; so that they are at the same time absolute lords, and yet vassals and slaves; Adam has all the authority, as grand-father of the people, and they have a part of it as fathers of a part of them: he is absolute over them and their posterity, by having begotten them, and yet they are absolute over their children by the same title. No, says our author, Adam’s children under him had power over their own children, but still with subordination to the first parent. A good distinction that sounds well, and it is pity it signifies nothing, nor can be reconciled with our author’s words. I readily grant, that supposing Adam’s absolute power over his posterity, any of his children might have Edition: current; Page: [80] from him a delegated, and so a subordinate power over a part, or all the rest: but that cannot be the power our author speaks of here; it is not a power by grant and commission, but the natural paternal power he supposes a father to have over his children. For 1. he says, As Adam was lord of his children, so his children under him had a power over their own children: they were then lords over their own children after the same manner, and by the same title, that Adam was, i. e. by right of generation, by right of fatherhood. 2. It is plain he means the natural power of fathers, because he limits it to be only over their own children; a delegated power has no such limitation, as only over their own children, it might be over others, as well as their own children. 3. If it were a delegated power, it must appear in scripture; but there is no ground in scripture to affirm, that Adam’s children had any other power over theirs, than what they naturally had as fathers.
And thus we have at last got thro’ all, that in our author looks like an argument for |
under the terms of this agreement, it’s likely that the government “would be reluctant to mete out harsh sanctions to BP”—sanctions like banning the company from obtaining new leases in the Gulf, a measure included in the House spill bill.
“The proposed arrangement is wildly inappropriate, as it will make the government and BP virtual partners in Gulf oil production,” says Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s energy program. “It will give the government a financial incentive to become an even bigger booster of offshore oil drilling in the Gulf.”
It gets worse. The escrow fund agreement is with BP Exploration & Production Inc., a subsidiary of BP America Production that deals primarily with Gulf of Mexico production. BP America Production is a subsidiary of BP Company North America, which is a subsidiary of BP Corporation North America, which is a subsidiary of BP America Inc., which is a subsidiary of the parent company BP. In case you’re counting, that means the escrow deal is with a subsidiary five layers removed from BP PLC, the multinational oil giant. Because the deal is with a subsidiary way down the chain, it would be difficult to access additional funds from the corporate parent should the subsidiary collapse or simply not have enough funds to meet the obligation, since it’s the subsidiary, not the parent corporation, that’s legally on the hook, says Public Citizen. At the very least, says Slocum, the deal should have been negotiated with BP America Inc. to ensure access to more of the company’s resources. Slocum adds that the deal should also include provisions to ensure that BP puts more cash into the fund should $20 billion turn out to be inadequate.
Public Citizen is lobbying for the feds to renegotiate a deal that ensures that victim compensation does not come at the cost of letting BP off with a slap on the wrist rather than meaningful sanctions. Considering the fact that 11 workers died and 17 were injured in the explosion on April 20, and the resulting spill unleashed a record 4.9 million barrels of oil into the US waters and caused untold environmental and economic damage, Public Citizen believes the deal should be much harder on BP. “If you can’t negotiate a good deal with those facts in front of you, then you need to get new negotiators,” said Slocum. “I don’t know what the administration is thinking on this.”
Special Report: Check out our in-depth investigation of BP’s crimes in the Gulf, “BP’s Deep Secrets.”TOKYO (Reuters) - The death toll from a Japanese volcano eruption rose to 47 on Wednesday, the worst in 88 years, after more victims were discovered on the ash-covered mountain.
Military searchers resumed a recovery operation with helicopters early on Wednesday a day after officials called off rescue efforts because of poisonous gas and fears of another blast.
The eruption of 3,067-metre (10,062-foot) Mount Ontake, 200 km (125 miles) west of Tokyo, blanketed the summit with a deadly rain of ash and stone as it was crowded with climbers and hikers enjoying the autumn colors.
Police said earlier 48 people had been killed but later revised the toll down to 47. They did not say why they revised the toll but said more victims could still be on the mountain.
The toll exceeds the 43 people killed in a 1991 eruption in southwest Japan and becomes the deadliest volcano since a 1926 eruption on the northern island of Hokkaido, which killed 144 people, according to government data.
Japan is one of the world’s most seismically active countries. There had been no fatalities since the 1991 eruption of Mount Unzen, which caused a pyroclastic flow of superheated current of gas and rock.
Mount Ontake, Japan’s second-highest active volcano, had a minor eruption seven years ago. Its last major eruption, the first on record, was in 1979.
Hikers said there was no warning of Saturday’s eruption just before noon. Hundreds were trapped for hours before descent became possible later in the day.March 20, 1800: Volta describes the Electric Battery
In the late 18th century, scientists were fascinated with electricity. Ben Franklin had conducted his famous kite experiment, drawing electricity from lightning in 1752. Leyden jars, invented in 1746, could store charge and produce a spark of electricity. Doctors were treating patients with electric shocks for all sorts of ills. But further research on electromagnetism and any practical use of electricity would require a source of continuous current, which was not available until 1800, when Alessandro Volta invented the first electric pile, the forerunner of the modern battery.
Alessandro Volta was born in Como, Italy in 1745, to a wealthy noble family. He attended the Como Jesuit school and a local seminary. His teachers tried to persuade him to enter the priesthood, while his family wanted him to study law. But Volta, even at age 14, knew his real interest was physics. Like many scientists of the time, he was especially fascinated by electricity.
Volta dropped his formal studies, and did not attend university. Nonetheless, by age 18 he was corresponding directly with accomplished scientists, and conducting experiments in the laboratory of a family friend. In 1769 he wrote a treatise “On the forces of attraction of electric fire,” in which he put forward a theory of electric phenomena.
In 1774 Volta accepted a post as an instructor at the Como grammar school, and continued his experiments on electricity. In 1775 he devised a “perpetual electrophorus” that could transfer charge to other objects, and in the next few years he noticed the bubbling of methane in swamps and was able to isolate the gas. Volta was made a professor of physics at the University of Pavia in 1778.
Volta’s early work had already made him a well-known scientist, but his greatest contribution to science was the voltaic pile, which he invented as part of a scientific dispute with Luigi Galvani.
In 1780, Galvani, an Italian physician and anatomist, was experimenting with dissected frogs’ legs and their attached spinal cords, mounted on iron or brass hooks. In most of his experiments, the frog leg could be made to twitch when touched with a probe made of another metal. The frog legs would also jump when hanging on a metal fence in a lightning storm. These observations convinced Galvani that he had found a new form of electricity, which was being generated by the frogs’ muscles. He called the phenomenon “animal electricity.”
Volta, though initially galvanized by this work, argued that the frogs’ muscles were simply reacting to the electricity, not producing it. He set out to prove Galvani wrong, and sparked a controversy that divided the Italian scientific community.
Volta realized that the crucial feature of Galvani’s experiments was the two dissimilar metals–the iron or brass hook and the probe of some other metal. The metals were generating the current, not the frog parts. Instruments available at the time could not detect weak currents, so Volta, always a dedicated experimentalist, often tested various combinations of metals by placing them on his tongue. The saliva in his mouth, like the frogs’ tissue, conducted electricity, resulting in an unpleasant bitter sensation.
To show conclusively that the generation of an electric current did not require any animal parts, Volta put together a rather messy stack of alternating zinc and silver discs, separated by brine-soaked cloth. He built the pile, which consisted of as many as thirty disks, in imitation of the electric organ of the torpedo fish.
When a wire was connected to both ends of the pile, a steady current flowed. Volta found that different types of metal could change the amount of current produced, and that he could increase the current by adding disks to the stack.
In a letter dated March 20, 1800, addressed to Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society of London, Volta first reported the electric pile.
Volta soon traveled to Paris and demonstrated his invention, which he initially described as an “artificial electric organ,” emphasizing that animal tissue was not needed to produce the current.
The battery was a huge success. Not only did it swing the scientific community to his side in the debate with Galvani, it was immediately recognized as a useful device. In 1800 William Nicholson and Anthony Carlisle used the current generated by a battery to decompose water into hydrogen and oxygen. Sir Humphry Davy also studied the same chemical effect. In the 1830s Michael Faraday used a battery in his groundbreaking studies of electromagnetism. Other inventors made improvements on Volta’s original design, and soon it was powering telegraphs and doorbells.
Napoleon was impressed by the voltaic pile as well, and recommended many honors for Volta, including making him a count in 1810.
The invention of the battery brought him great renown, but Volta seems to have preferred a quiet life, and soon gave up most of his research and teaching. He spent his last years living in a country house, where he died on March 5, 1827, at age 82. Since his death, Volta’s portrait has appeared on currency and stamps, and his name is immortalized in the unit of electric potential, the volt.McClatchy is beginning to launch podcasts at its regional papers
When Justin Mitchell brings his podcast guests into Biloxi’s Sun Herald newsroom, they head for a small storage room crammed with metal filing cabinets. The labels on those cabinets include “1984 World’s Fair,” “Parrot Head” and “UFO Sightings.”
Mitchell, the Herald’s social media editor, opens up his laptop and starts a videoconference with Jordan-Marie Smith and Davin Coburn in Washington, D.C.
Smith and Coburn aren’t there as guests. They’re the podcast’s producers.
On Monday, McClatchy debuts its fourth podcast, “Out Here in America.” The podcast, which explores what it’s like to be gay in the Deep South, is the first of the bunch hosted in a local McClatchy newsroom.
Related Training: Podcasting for Everyone
The company’s 30 newsrooms around the U.S. have historically operated independently, said Coburn, McClatchy’s senior podcast producer. When his department launched, Coburn was looking for shows that encouraged collaboration between those newsrooms. He knew that, along with shows on politics, sports and investigative journalism, he wanted a podcast on LGBT issues.
Coburn didn’t have anything more specific than that in mind until he stumbled on a piece by Mitchell titled “I’m young, I’m gay and in Mississippi I’ll stay.”
“I thought, OK, this is the man for the job.”
This is Mitchell’s first podcast, and even though he blogs about LGBT issues, it’s not a gig he was expecting.
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Mitchell’s column about being gay in the South brought protests to the newsroom. When he wrote about a teen who made a video about being a drag queen that help him get a scholarship to Harvard, people canceled their subscriptions. So Mitchell wasn’t expecting someone to hand him a microphone.
“I was like, shut up. Literally, shut up,” he said. “When you work in a place like Mississippi, even though where I’m from it’s a little more free-flowing, it’s still really hard to live in the South.”
The podcast revolves around a central theme each week tied to the culture of the South, including the military, religion, small towns and the concept of home. Amanda McCoy, a Herald photographer, helps repurpose video equipment for the recording and works as the podcast’s audio technician.
Once the recording is done, they send the raw audio to D.C. for editing.
Coburn isn’t facing pressure to monetize the podcasts yet, he said. They will look into different ways to monetize eventually, and they’re already having preliminary conversations with potential sponsors for Mitchell’s show.
McClatchy doesn’t disclose overall listener numbers, but Coburn said listenership for each of the shows is growing.
“Looking forward, the social media feedback on just the trailer for ‘O.H.I.A.’ suggests we’ve found a topic people are eager to talk about — and we’re really excited to continue building out this podcast initiative and adding more shows soon,” Coburn said.
Based on the way Mitchell’s stories about LGBT have performed online, they have evidence these stories don’t just resonate locally, and they’re not just for one specific audience, he said. Mitchell’s column on being gay in the South got close to 10,000 pageviews, and his coverage of the teen drag queen got more than 21,000 pageviews.
“This podcast is something that everyone can listen to and learn a little bit from,” Mitchell said. “In the South, a lot of people tend to put gay people in boxes.”
Mitchell still works in that storage room for intros, outros and promos, but he’s learning that he’d rather talk to people in their own homes or places where they’re comfortable. He flew to Orlando to talk with a fellow Southerner who moved to Orlando and was at Pulse Nightclub on the night of the mass shooting there. And he drove to New Orleans to talk with comedian Tig Notaro.
Mitchell’s also using a bit more than the hour a week he told his editors he’d need for “Out Here in America.”
But, he said, “it’s totally worth it.”
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PrintAnticipation is building for the first presidential debate next week, when Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will finally face each other one-on-one.
Well-known anthropologist Jane Goodall made her expectations for the debate clear when she said Trump’s behavior will likely be similar to one of the male chimpanzees she has studied extensively throughout her career.
“In many ways the performances of Donald Trump remind me of male chimpanzees and their dominance rituals,” Goodall told The Atlantic. “In order to impress rivals, males seeking to rise in the dominance hierarchy perform spectacular displays: stamping, slapping the ground, dragging branches, throwing rocks.”
Goodall said she will be thinking of a certain misbehaving chimpanzee named “Mike” as she watches Trump debate Hillary Clinton on Sept. 26. She did not comment on the habits of silverback gorillas such as Harambe, who was shot earlier this year at the Cincinnati Zoo.
While the anthropologist was quick to point out Trump’s faults and compare him to a primate, she didn’t comment on the Democratic nominee’s behavior.
Hillary Clinton has done her share of chest bumping. She has a track record of consistently lying. She has tried to silence her husband’s sexual misconduct victims. She did nothing about the situation in Benghazi, costing American lives in 2012. She failed to secure her personal email server, putting national security interests at risk. The list goes on and on. The only animal that comes to mind for her is a shark.
Huffington Post assistant editor Chris D’Angelo weighed in on Goodall’s comments as well.
“To date, we’ve not seen Trump drag branches or throw rocks, although anything is possible,” he wrote. “Instead of physical displays, the Republican presidential nominee has stuck to verbal ones ― bragging about his penis, launching personal attacks and resorting to racist and sexist insults.”
Latest VideosAs of a few hours ago, all it takes to set up a local caching resolver in FreeBSD 10 is:
# echo local_unbound_enable=yes >>/etc/rc.conf # service local_unbound start
Yes, it really is that simple—and it works fine with DHCP, too. Hold my beer and watch this:
# pgrep -lf dhclient 1316 dhclient: vtnet0 1265 dhclient: vtnet0 [priv] # cat /etc/resolv.conf # Generated by resolvconf search example.com nameserver 192.0.2.53 # time host www.freebsd.org www.freebsd.org is an alias for wfe0.ysv.freebsd.org. wfe0.ysv.freebsd.org has address 8.8.178.110 wfe0.ysv.freebsd.org has IPv6 address 2001:1900:2254:206a::50:0 wfe0.ysv.freebsd.org mail is handled by 0. 0.02 real 0.00 user 0.01 sys
As you can see, we’re running DHCP on a VirtIO network interface. Let’s work our magic:
# echo local_unbound_enable=yes >>/etc/rc.conf # service local_unbound start Performing initial setup. Extracting forwarders from /etc/resolv.conf. /var/unbound/forward.conf created /var/unbound/unbound.conf created /etc/resolvconf.conf created original /etc/resolv.conf saved as /etc/resolv.conf.20130923.075319 Starting local_unbound.
And presto:
# pgrep -lf unbound 3799 /usr/sbin/unbound -c/var/unbound/unbound.conf # cat /var/unbound/unbound.conf # Generated by local-unbound-setup server: username: unbound directory: /var/unbound chroot: /var/unbound pidfile: /var/run/local_unbound.pid auto-trust-anchor-file: /var/unbound/root.key include: /var/unbound/forward.conf # cat /var/unbound/forward.conf # Generated by local-unbound-setup forward-zone: name:. forward-addr: 192.0.2.53 # cat /etc/resolv.conf # Generated by resolvconf search example.com # nameserver 192.0.2.53 nameserver 127.0.0.1 options edns0
We can see the cache at work; the first request takes significantly longer than before, but the second is served from cache:
# time host www.freebsd.org www.freebsd.org is an alias for wfe0.ysv.freebsd.org. wfe0.ysv.freebsd.org has address 8.8.178.110 wfe0.ysv.freebsd.org has IPv6 address 2001:1900:2254:206a::50:0 wfe0.ysv.freebsd.org mail is handled by 0. 0.07 real 0.01 user 0.00 sys # time host www.freebsd.org www.freebsd.org is an alias for wfe0.ysv.freebsd.org. wfe0.ysv.freebsd.org has address 8.8.178.110 wfe0.ysv.freebsd.org has IPv6 address 2001:1900:2254:206a::50:0 wfe0.ysv.freebsd.org mail is handled by 0. 0.01 real 0.00 user 0.00 sys
Finally, let’s see how this interacts with DHCP:
# resolvconf -u # cat /etc/resolv.conf # Generated by resolvconf search example.com nameserver 127.0.0.1 nameserver 192.0.2.53 options edns0 # cat /var/unbound/forward.conf # Generated by resolvconf forward-zone: name: "example.com" forward-addr: 192.0.2.53 forward-zone: name: "." forward-addr: 192.0.2.53
Note that resolvconf(8) re-added the 192.0.2.53 entry. It doesn’t really matter, as long as 127.0.0.1 comes first.
[ETA: it does matter—see Jakob Schlyter’s comment below and my reply.]
[ETA: see my followup about the motivation for importing Unbound.]Is there a more exciting moment in the year than the start of a new series of Doctor Who?
We’re going with no – and doubly so this time because the episode was 100% awesome, with two classic Who villains returning and some truly head-turning plot twists.
Here’s what people were getting excited about during The Magician’s Apprentice. Needless to say, this is full of spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the episode you might want to move on…
1. The creepy hands with eyes
Hands with eyes? Has someone been at the extremely strong wine? #DoctorWho — Cersei I, Champion of Wineries, Slayer of Grapes (@NiceQueenCersei) September 19, 2015
Wanna get some classic Doctor Who creepiness in there from the off? How about a small child walking through a field of hands with eyes on them? Yeah, that should do it.
2. The earliest plot twist in history
IT'S FREAKING DAVROS! — Daniel Hoffmann-Gill (@danielh_g) September 19, 2015
Wanna blow everyone’s minds? How about making the kid who’s walking through the field of eye hands one of the Doctor’s oldest enemies? How about Davros?
People were surprised to see Davros was quite a cute kid.
Puberty has not been kind to Davros. #DoctorWho — Joanna (@jennasmanning) September 19, 2015
True dat. But would the Doctor help to save the life of a child who he knew would go on to become his greatest enemy? A classic Doctor moral dilemma.
3. All of the films
That's so Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, hands with eyes. — Catrin 🐱🐝 (@Cat_Von_Bee) September 19, 2015
Space port bars and side wipes, Moffat must think he's making the new Star Wars film #doctorwho — Tim Senna (@TimSenna) September 19, 2015
From the weird spacey shoot-outs to the aforementioned hands with eyes to the Potter-esque snake servant – we think Steven Moffat may have joined a film club over the summer.
4. MISSY!!
YOU SO FINE HAHAHAH YOU BLOW MY MIND HEY MISSY #DoctorWho — Sara Lucy Powell (@Kimaleya) September 19, 2015
THE DOCTOR, THE MASTER AND DAVROS ALL IN ONE EPISODE
CAN I GET A HELL YEAH — abbie (@abbiecops) September 19, 2015
Missy is like a Villainous Mary poppins! HAHAHAHA ❤️🌂 I JUST LOVE HER!😍 #missy #drwho @bbcdoctorwho — Taylor Belle Brown. 🎀👑 (@Tbbrown742) September 19, 2015
So as if one classic Doctor Who villain wasn’t enough, who should turn up next? Only Missy! Oh, and there was something different about her…
Yeah, we love Missy. Everyone loves Missy.
5. Clara and Missy working together
Clara and missy are goals — maz (@vintagevampires) September 19, 2015
MISSYCLARA MAKES ME CRY — alicia ✨ (@whouffaldi) September 19, 2015
The pair got together to seek out the doctor and they formed an incredible double act. More of this, please.
6. Missy v Davros
"Davros is your arch enemy now? I'll scratch his eye out" #DoctorWho — ryan (@ryxnf) September 19, 2015
Missy’s pained indignation when hearing the Doctor describe Davros as his arch enemy was truly glorious.
7. Classic Doctors
When the Doctor and Davros came face to face, the creator of the Daleks took him on a bit of a trip down memory lane – and that meant a glimpse of some old friends.
8. Davros v The Doctor
"I approve of your new face, Doctor. So much more like mine" DAVROS IS SAVAGE #DoctorWho — ryan (@ryxnf) September 19, 2015
Davros brought out the zingers. We approved. Wonder what Peter Capaldi thought of that line?
9. Missy and Clara v the Daleks
missy is dead clara is dead the tardis is dead i am dead — déa (@capaldiesque) September 19, 2015
Yeah, that didn’t go so well. As Missy attempted to so pull sweet-talking moves on the Daleks, they exterminated her. And then they exterminated Clara. And then they destroyed the Tardis. So we’re chalking that one up as a win for the Daleks.
10. The Daleks in general
I'm 41 and the Daleks still terrify me #DrWho — Mark Franklin (@MarkFranklin123) September 19, 2015
Amen to that.
11. The fact that the whole episode was awesome
Oh, Lordy. That was a pretty strong opener. Well done, everyone. Totally enjoyed that. #DoctorWho — Zan Phee (@zanPHEE) September 19, 2015
I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS EPISODE SINCE FOREVER AND I LOVE IT #DrWho — Tom Harwood (@tomhfh) September 19, 2015
Went into that totally unspoiled and was amazing. Best episode in a long time! #DoctorWho Also Missy = the best — Colleen Cheetham-Gerrard (@thecolleencg) September 19, 2015
This was such a strong start to the new series. After Capaldi’s debut series, which the critics liked but audiences weren’t so sure about, will this be good enough to get the ratings going back in the right direction? Let’s hope so…The U.S. believes that the Iranian government or its proxies are holding a retired FBI agent hostage.
Robert Levinson, a 64-year-old private investigator and FBI veteran, went missing off of the Iranian island of Kish in 2007. U.S. officials previously believed that terrorists had kidnapped him, and publicly welcomed the "assistance" of the Iranian government in getting Levinson home. But the Associated Press' Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo report that U.S. intelligence officials have come to believe that Iran is behind Levinson's five-year captivity.
The photo above showing a gaunt, emaciated and heavily bearded Levinson was provided to the AP by Levinson's family. He wears an orange jumpsuit, mimicking the garb of the first wave of Guantanamo detainees, and holds a sign reading "I Am Here in Guantanamo Do You Know Where It Is?" According to the Levinson family's website, the 6'4" Levinson weighed 225 pounds when he went missing on what the website describes as a "business trip" to Kish Island.
Levinson's family received this and other photographs of him in 2011, around the time his wife and son received a proof-of-life video of a scared Levinson. Levinson looked more robust on camera then, suggesting a variance in time between the photos and the video. The former FBI agent says on camera that he was "running out of diabetes medicine" and pled to Washington for aid: "Thirty-three years of service to the United States deserves something."
Supposedly, Levinson was investigating cigarette smuggling in 2007 on the island of Kish, which is a free-trade zone in the Persian Gulf that does not require travel visas for U.S. citizens. The AP describes it as a nexus of illicit activity.
Initially, U.S. intelligence believed that a terrorist group had taken Levinson prisoner – but no ransom or demand has followed word of his capture. Clues suggested that Levinson might have been taken to south Asia. The video was traced to an Internet cafe in Pakistan in 2010, and "Pashtun wedding music" is audible in the video's background, the AP reports.
But a frustrating, years-long effort to find Levinson has led intelligence agents to a different conclusion: the Iranians or their proxies are holding him. That conclusion is inferential, rather than based on hard intelligence: "The tradecraft used to send [the photos and videos] was too good, indicating professional spies were behind them," according to Goldman and Apuzzo.
U.S. officials have said very little about Levinson's case – and what they have said has apparently been misleading, as a gambit to entice the Iranians into releasing Levinson. In March 2011, for the fourth anniversary of Levinson's disappearance, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton referred only to Levinson being held "somewhere in southwest Asia." Referring to an offer of Iranian "assistance," Clinton added, "We would appreciate the Iranian government's efforts in this matter." U.S. officials talking anonymously to the AP have concluded the Iranian government lied about conducting raids to learn Levinson's whereabouts.
Levinson's relatives spoke out to the AP because, they say, they have heard nothing further from Washington about the captive. "There needs to be a lot more public outcry," Christine Levinson told the AP. In August, the family commemorated Levinson's 2,000th day in captivity, which made him the second-longest-held hostage in U.S. history. They've rented a billboard in Times Square to call attention to his case.
But the U.S. has evidently suspected for years that Iran is behind Levinson's extended imprisonment. It isn't clear what Washington is willing to do – or can do – to free him.Last week, three members of the Israeli Knesset, Jamal Zahalka, Hanin Zoabi and Basel Ghattas, were suspended for attending a meeting with the families of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces while allegedly carrying out attacks and whose bodies were held by Israel.
The meeting was organised by a Palestinian committee aiming at retrieving the bodies and returning them to the families for burial.
All three are members of Balad, one of four political parties that form the Joint-List coalition, made up mainly - but not exclusively - of Palestinian citizens of Israel. While Zoabi and Ghattas were suspended for four months, Balad's leader Zahalka was suspended for two.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later announced that he would push forward a draft bill that allows for the suspension of Knesset members if voted for by 90 out of the parliament's 120 members, who would also decide how long the ban should be for. It would be the first bill allowing the Knesset to unseat representatives elected by the public.
Al Jazeera speaks to Jamal Zahalka, leader of the Balad party.
READ MORE: Arab MPs in Israel's Knesset suffer incitemenet and hate
Al Jazeera: Could you explain what led to your suspension from the Knesset?
Jamal Zahalka: We were invited by families whose sons were killed in confrontations with the occupation forces. Ten families from Jerusalem have been waiting for their sons' bodies to be returned for more than four months.
It's a paradox, being in the Knesset and challenging its logic. We do challenge the nature of the state. We have an alternative for that, which is a state for all its citizens.
When Israel made a previous agreement [with the Palestinian Authority] to return the bodies, East Jerusalem was not included on the basis that it is part of Israel.
At the same time, as Arab members of the Knesset, we cannot speak on behalf of East Jerusalem [residents] because we don't recognise Israel's annexation. So, 300,000 Palestinians in the West Bank don't have any sort of representation.
Those families made contact with the police through a lawyer. But they were told that this is not a security problem, it's a political problem. That's why they asked us to intervene.
Israel puts conditions over the return of the bodies, such as asking the families to bury them outside Jerusalem, or limiting the number of people allowed to attend the funeral and burying the body immediately, which doesn't allow enough time for a post mortem.
Some of the families insist on an autopsy because they say their son was killed in cold blood, not in self-defence. A post mortem would also allow for establishing how long the person had been bleeding before he died, which means he didn't get medical aid.
Some families agreed to some of the conditions, and we took their response to the Ministry of Internal Security [which oversees the police].
For us, it's a humanitarian issue. It's important to say that, as opposed to what was initially reported by the Israeli press. We only met with the families who didn't get the bodies back.
But the day after, Netanyahu gave a special speech to the nation saying that three MKs had met the families of Palestinian "terrorists" to express their solidarity with them.
READ MORE: Israel'minimising Palestinian presence' in Jerusalem
Al Jazeera: Do you see what happened as a symptom of a fundamental change in the Israeli political climate?
Zahalka: Yes, particularly since the elections that took place last March. This is the fourth term for Netanyahu. During his decade-long time in office, Netanyahu hardly mentioned Palestinian citizens of Israel. But from day one in the last elections, he has been warning that Arabs were "coming out in droves" to the polls.
Netanyahu realised that he can mobilise and dramatically affect public opinion in Israel with this not-so-new enemy. Netanyahu is a good reader of the Israeli public. He understood that he needs to compete with other leaders in the Israeli right camp, like [Avigdor] Lieberman and [Naftali] Bennett.
It's a mixture of racism and opportunism. Before it [the enemy] was Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas. Now Palestinian citizens of Israel are the ultimate enemy. Mobilising the people around an enemy has been the strategy of the right all over the world and throughout history. That enemy is usually an outsider. Here, it's the enemy from within.
In the past, the job of attacking [the Balad party] was done by marginal members of the Likud party and the far-right in Israel. Now, it's led by the prime minister himself, and that's why it's so dangerous.
It has become a strategy not just against Zoabi, or Balad. He [Netanyahu] is inciting against all our community. He banned the Islamic movement [last November]. He has been passing new laws that narrow our political rights.
Al Jazeera: Do you fear the bill that would allow the Knesset to vote on the suspension of its members might put you in an even more vulnerable position?
Zahalka: Of course it's called the "Balad law", or "chilling law", and it's being prepared very rapidly. [It aims] to "freeze", or lower the ceiling of your political activity [as a parliament member].
READ MORE: Letter from Nazareth: The forgotten Palestinians
Al Jazeera: The Zionist left opposes this particular bill, but you've argued in the past that [Israel's zionist left] is worse than the right. Do you think it's possible or desirable to see them as partners to contain the rise of the right camp?
Zahalka: The Zionist left came and occupied our villages singing, "We brought you peace". Not shouting, "Death to Arabs", like the right. But the Zionist left was the main disaster for [Palestinians]. Not because the right is better, simply because they were in power till 1977.
Our strategy has always been to make coalitions, practical coalitions, on issues that we do agree on with other parties. We do this in the Knesset, on social, economic and some human rights issues.
Al Jazeera: It has been argued that your very presence in the Knesset proves Israel's democratic character, and therefore serves to legitimise it as a "Jewish and democratic" state. If you don't believe Israel can change from within, when is it time to take the struggle elsewhere?
Zahalka: On the one hand, it's true that Israel uses the fact that there are Arab members in the Knesset to show it's a democracy. But on the other hand, what we are doing in the Knesset weighs
It's a paradox, being in the Knesset and challenging its logic. We do challenge the nature of the state. We have an alternative for that, which is a state for all its citizens.
As Palestinian citizens of Israel, we are part of the Palestinian people. But after 1948, we remained in this country. The daily life of our community depends on their relationship with the state, and we cannot ignore that. When it comes to a point that we cannot do, then we will leave.
Al Jazeera: Are we heading in that direction?
Zahalka: The situation is worsening. But with the Joint List, a coalition of the Arab parties, we made unity in the era of disunity.
What we are trying to do now is to address parliaments in Europe, the U.S., the IPU [International Parliaments Union]. We want to point out that there is a minority at risk because of Israeli policies. And because it's not the work of the extreme-right politicians alone. These are the words of Mr Netanyahu turning into actions.Former Nevada Wolf Pack guard Eric Cooper Jr., has announced that he will transfer from Nevada to Pepperdine University. Cooper made the announcement on his Instagram page on Monday evening.
Cooper's father announced on his Twitter account in April that his son was transferring from the Nevada program after a year where Cooper had an underwhelming season and saw him playing behind Lindsey Drew and DJ Fenner by the end of the season.
Despite Cooper scoring production going up from his freshman year to his sophomore year, it was not enough as Cooper would have been the fourth guard on a Wolf Pack team that will have Fenner and Drew returning along with Missouri State transfer Marcus Marshall and incoming freshman Devearl Ramsey as new additions to the team.
With the returning and new players in the back-court and the coaching staff telling Cooper Jr., that his playing time would decrease, it prompted him to move on from the Nevada program per Chris Murray of the Reno Gazette-Journal.
Cooper will have two years of eligibility left after he sits out the 2016-17 season. For Nevada, with their bumper crop of guards either returning or joining the team next season, it is clear that the Wolf Pack will have no issues replacing Cooper's production.The premise of LionHead's The Movies is simple enough to fit into one quick and simple sentence ("Take charge of your own Hollywood Studio; Build the sets, Hire the screenwriters, Cast the stars and Shoot the next potential blockbuster movie!") but advanced and different enough to surpass most of the management and tycoon games out on the market today.
The Movies is basically similar to The Sims in the way that you're managing people and their baggage (Mood, Temperament, etc.), but instead of controlling their every move in a house and constantly burning beds or couches with a fireplace (Come on, we've all done it!), you're letting them loose in a studio full of Sets, and Production Buildings that you've skillfully spent the last half hour creating. |
. This is vitally important because institution building takes too long to accomplish the most important goal before us right now — the immediate removal of Trump and his entire regime from power.
These institutions are necessary for a full social revolution that can both remove the Trump regime and the conditions that made Trump possible. A merely political revolution, however, is possible with many fewer moving parts than, say, the Arab Spring or the Ukrainian uprising demonstrated. Mass protests forced states from power. That could happen here, too.
The demonstrations during inauguration week created networks and knowledge bases that could make those sorts of rebellions more likely in the future. While we are building long-term institutions, we can also cultivate community ties and communication systems that we can activate for mass mobilization when the opportunity and demand arises.
If we do this successfully, we might not have to wait until 2020 to get rid of Trump, even if the same ruling class that he serves might still be dominant — for now.
Building independent institutions with grassroots political power, rooting these institutions in a newly organized working class, pushing these institutions past the gatekeeper nonprofit model, making them directly accountable to the communities they come from and building capacity for mass-mobilization to force the ruling regime to abandon its plans to harm us and our loved ones — this is what resistance means.
One Resistance took important steps in this direction and illuminated some of the possibilities and perils involved.
It was a good start. The turnout we saw on inauguration night — not to mention the even bigger numbers the day after and in cities across the country — prove that the capacity exists to get it done. If it doesn’t happen, it will be because we fail to do the work to make it happen, or because we get crushed along the way.
The good news is that for One Resistance at least, it was a lot of fun — and deeply rewarding. The real fun and the real reward will be when we win it all. Let’s not wait until 2020 for that pleasure.
Stay defiant.
Writing is hard. Money is short. Support this reporter. Follow Defiant on Facebook and Twitter.At least eight sailors were injured after an explosion and fire at the Naval Weapons Station Earle in Middletown, New Jersey, Tuesday morning.
Naval officials confirm that some kind of explosion happened during maintenance work on a 35-foot utility vessel in one of the buildings along the waterfront around 9 a.m.
It appears some kind of welding accident took place inside one of the buildings on the site. The blast blew a hole through the roof of the building.
Officials say one person was seriously hurt, while seven others suffered non-life threatening injuries, primarily smoke inhalation. The damage from the explosion was contained within the boathouse area, and the situation is stabilized.
Ammunition and ordnance operations at the weapons station were not affected by the accident.
"It was nowhere near any of the ordinance operations or any ammunition that was moving," base Commander John Dunne said. "There was none of that, so this was a self-contained event...I don't know the extent of what they were doing, but I would say that anytime you can walk away, you're doing well when you have a mishap like this."
The identities of the injured personnel are being withheld until family members have been notified.
According to its website, the Naval station mainside is located in Colts Neck, and the Waterfront is in the Leonardo section of Middletown. The two areas are connected by a private, federally-owned roadway. Colts Neck sits in the heart of New Jersey's horse farming region and is only 20 minutes away from the famed Jersey Shore. Leonardo is located on Sandy Hook Bay overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the New York skyline.
The cause of the explosion is under investigation.State-owned energy company Vattenfall announced on Thursday it will invest £460m in two UK projects that will supply electricity to 166,000 homes.
The £400m Pen y Cymoedd windfarm in south Wales will have a 25-year lifespan and contribute £45m to the local economy, Vattenfall said. With a total of 76 turbines creating 228 megawatts of power, the windfarm between Neath and Aberdare will be the biggest onshore project in England and Wales.
The site is expected to be completed in 2016 and will create around 300 jobs.
The project was yesterday welcomed by energy secretary Ed Davey.
“It will attract billions in investment into the UK and support hundreds of skilled green jobs while providing homes with clean energy,” he said.
“Offshore and onshore wind is an important contributor to our energy mix.
“We have provided certainty early to onshore and offshore wind investors and now see significant investment decisions being made that will benefit the UK’s economy for years to come.”
Meanwhile, contruction on Vattenfall’s Clashindarroch windfarm in Aberdeenshire has already begun, and is expected to be completed in 2015.
The Scottish site will boast 18 turbines producing 36.9 megawatts of power.
Peter Smink, head of Vattenfall’s Sustainanble Energy Projects unit, said: “The UK market for investing in onshore wind power is an attractive market for Vattenfall because the government has backed its development as a crucial part of its growth agenda.”The beautiful, life-changing experience of childbirth is actually disgusting, and if the father is not prepared, he could be very shocked and surprised with the gory details. Drew Magary enlightens us.
Back in 2006, Drew Magary chronicled his early days as a father on his blog, Father Knows Shit. For the next few weeks, we’ll be reposting some of Drew’s best posts from FKS. You will be offended by these posts. You will laugh your ass off. And maybe—well, probably not—you’ll even learn something. Enjoy.
Mrs. Drew is now four days past her due date. How’s her mental state? Picture the guy from “Alien” who has the alien coming out of his chest, only he’s been told in advance the alien was going to pop out, only then to find out the date set for it to happen was completely and utterly arbitrary. She is aggravated, to say the very least.
Anyway, since my execution has been stayed yet another day, I thought I’d enlighten you on some facts about childbirth and pregnancy you may not have known about:
It is quite common for a woman giving birth to eviscerate her bowels on the birthing table during labor. When I’m in that delivery room, I’ll have my eyes shut as tight as Indiana Jones’ when they finally opened the Ark.
Breastfeeding can cause mothers to become sexually aroused. Doctors say this is normal. Then again, doctors tell you anything is normal to make you feel better. “Oh, you drove a nail through your penis? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen that happen this week!” Seriously, the psychological ramifications of this fact are so sick and disturbing, I’d rather not think about it. Let’s move on quickly.
The umbilical cord, traditionally cut by the father, is not some simple string you cut, like at the grand opening of a deli. It’s up to half-an-inch thick, with a large artery and a large vein. Cutting it requires “chewing” through it with a pair of scissors. Some men end up not wanting to do it. I’m going through it with a butter knife.
The actual pushing out of a baby doesn’t take very long, sometimes only half-an-hour. The longer part comes beforehand, when the woman needs to have hundreds of contractions to clear enough room for the kid to come out. This part, apparently, consists of about 8 to 20 hours of total anguish. My job during that time is to eat Chex Mix and ask if her if she’s “all right” 8,000 times.
Babies born early are completely covered in a white, mucus-like substance that protects their skin and makes them look like a prop creature from the movie Ghoulies. Thank God our baby’s late.
Babies can’t drink water. Or swallow air. Pussies.
Most babies are born with their eyesight so underdeveloped, they can only see immediately what’s right in front of them. Namely, titties.
A baby’s cry can reach 115 decibels. This is louder than a car horn, a power saw, a leaf blower, a rock concert, a moving subway, a motorcycle, a power drill, or a tractor. Shoot me now.
To soothe a baby’s crying, you have to expose them to noises LOUDER than the sound of their own cries. Did you shoot me yet? Shoot me again, and finish the job this time.
Labor can start days, or even weeks before the baby is actually born. Shoot Mrs. Drew while you’re at it.
Some men experience the same weight gain their wives go through during pregnancy. This is called Sympathy Weight. I call it Pussy Flab.
Some women grow a full foot size from pregnancy. If you’re an Irish Catholic woman, that means you better start trying on clown shoes.
Pregnant women, before giving birth, have to pass something called the “mucus plug.” It’s a bloody piece of snot that corks up the woman’s uterus during pregnancy. I just tasted my own bile.
Some pregnant women get a thick, visible black vein running down the middle of their stomachs that never goes away. Mrs. Drew never got this. My deal with Satan is ironclad.
Sex apparently brings on labor. Which sounds great, until you encounter the logistical difficulties of having sex at this stage of pregnancy. I’ve had an easier time putting together furniture from Ikea.
Pregnant women cannot: drink, smoke, do drugs, or eat sushi. Which makes them all just like those creepy people who live in Utah.
They don’t tell you this crap before you decide to have children. Largely because there would be no children if they did.
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This post originally appeared here.
Drew Magary writes for Deadspin, NBC, Maxim and Kissing Suzy Kolber—a humor site dedicated to the NFL. The Postmortal, now out from Penguin, is his first novel. You can follow Drew on Twitter.
—Photo Raphael Goetter/FlickrThe GoPro of the Winter awards $20,000 to the single-best GoPro clip on the North Shore between November 1st and February 28th. The ultimate winner will be determined by an esteemed judging panel of Taylor Steele, Mike Prickett and Pete Hodgson. To view all the entries, click here. (Surfers appear in alphabetical order.)
BENJI BRAND: "The waves were barreling outside at Gas Chambers, so I borrowed my friend Dale's GoPro Hero 3. I wrapped the mount with duct tape so I could hold it in my mouth. I also had it tied on a string around my neck so I wouldn't lose it. I was paddling back out after a wave, so I was pretty late. But I saw the wave was nice and hollow, so I snuck into it. I didn't know it was going to be as good as it was. I got bounced around by the foamball and it shot me out."
STEPHEN FIGUREIRDO: "That day was my first time riding with a GoPro at Pipeline. We all know how hard it is to catch a good wave there on the good days so I chose a poor day to try it. But fortunately, I found a nice one!"
PAT MYERS: "Each wave is different, so the approach varies. I usually like to keep it simple, so when this particular set wave swung wide, I just let her come to me. The drones add a unique ability to discreetly track a wave and keep the the surfer stationary in the frame as the wave falls around them." (Surfer: Kohl Christensen)
JAMIE O'BRIEN: "My setup looked pretty funny -- everyone was laughing at me. I had no leash, either. I paddled out and within the first five minutes got a perfect POV tail mount shot. I had my board backwards and when I saw the first set coming, I turned it on. It was as easy as it's ever been for me. Plus, it was a perfect wave for it. I tried to get another one but got pounded. I was stoked I got the shot, though. I loaded it to the computer and entered it within 15 minutes of capturing it."
JAMIE STERLING: "I think it's great to capture and create my own memories of some of my best tubes at Pipe. I was between the First and Second Reef waiting in the spot I usually sit when it's eight- to 12-feet. I saw the set coming and powered on the camera. I waited for the set to approach closer then hit the record button. The camera was sitting near the nose of my 8'9" quad Pipe gun shaped by Rusty. I shot the clip in 1080/60."
EALA STEWART: "It was one of those really nice, clean, glassy mornings on the North Shore. The swell was a bit north and just a little too big for Rocky's, so there weren't many guys out. A bunch of my close friends and I paddled out and ending up switching off and exchanging waves. It was one of those memorable sessions."
ERIC STERMAN: "I couldn't have asked for a better shot to enter into GoPro of the Winter. Kelly Slater's winning wave of the 2013 Pipe Masters was exactly what I was looking for this season. Finding the right angle, height, speed and the best lighting made this shot no easy task."
ANTHONY WALSH: "This is the GoPro angle of the wave I have nominated for Wave of the Winter. They look totally different because the GoPro angle looks super mellow and perfect. But when you watch the land angle, you will find out it wasn't. It was my first barrel of the season... I'm glad I remembered to press record."
ANTHONY WALSH: "This one was on a dying swell and it wasn't too crowded at Pipe. But there were still a few people out. I was just waiting for the right one and it took me three hours to get two waves. But this one was worth the wait."
CHRIS WARD: "This was a very clean, glassy mid-morning session. There were long barrels at Rocky Rights. The beginning of the winter had a lot of clean days with no wind, and this was one of those gems."Owasso Police Lt. Michael Dwain Denton striking suspect with shotgun butt - (Dashcam screencap)
An Oklahoma cop has been charged with felony assault after beating a suspect with the butt of a shotgun while other officers held him down, Tulsa World is reporting.
Owasso Police Lt. Michael Dwain Denton, 49, has been suspended and faces assault and battery with a deadly weapon and reckless conduct with a firearm following a high speed car chase on June 14, caught on a police cruiser dash cam.
In the video, officers can be seen warily approaching a truck driven by a suspect identified as Cody Matthews.
With fellow officers aiming their weapons at the truck, one officer breaks the driver-side window using his baton. Denton can then be seen entering the picture and using the barrel of his shotgun to strike Matthews in the face before officers drag the man out of the vehicle.
As Mathews is dragged to the ground by multiple officers, Denton once again can be seen standing above the prone Mathews and using the butt end of his shotgun to repeatedly strike Mathews, as well as one of his fellow officers.
According to prosecutors, Denton demonstrated a “conscious disregard” for the safety of other law enforcement officers and created a “situation of unreasonable risk” for his fellow officers and Mathews by using the shotgun.
“Essentially, striking anybody in the head with a hard object is considered deadly force. And you can only use deadly force in a circumstance where it’s justified,” explained Kevin Buchanan, district attorney for Nowata and Washington counties.
Equally concerning to Buchanan was Denton shoving the barrel of the gun — approximately nine times –into Mathews’ truck.
“There are two things that cause me concern, and one is the shotgun barrel through the window,” Buchanan said. “He was striking the person that had been stopped with what I’ll call the business end of the shotgun, as well as one of police officers who was trying to take that man into custody.”
This is not the first time Denton has been accused of brutalizing a suspect.
In 2011 he was fired after video (seen below) showed him mocking a handcuffed suspect before repeatedly elbowing him in the face.
Denton sued for reinstatement and an appeals court ordered him reinstated with back pay totaling $366,000.
The officer is expected to surrender himself Monday morning following the Friday indictment.
Watch the car chase video below from Tulsa World:
Denton’s previous assault video via KRMG:
(H/T PINAC)WestJet and Sabre Travel Network came to an agreement Friday afternoon that will keep the airline on Expedia and Travelocity.
The Calgary-based airline was on the verge of ending its contract with the booking system that powers the popular online travel sites and other travel agencies around the world.
For more than a year, WestJet had been renegotiating its contract with the company.
Sabre provides technology that runs WestJet's reservation system and also acts as a distribution service for the travel industry. Many travel agents use its software to book flights and hotel rooms.
WestJet said in October that it would pull out of the Sabre GDS as of Jan. 26.
One of the sticking points was cost. Travel industry analysts say that Sabre charges airlines around $5 per segment of travel, including each leg of a flight, each hotel room booked or car rented.
The airline wouldn't confirm how much Sabre charges, but did say pricing was one of the sticking points in the negotiation.
WestJet’s executive vice-president of sales and marketing Bob Cummings says it has a lot to do with keeping prices down for passengers.
"The economics are pretty critical to us, in respect to the cost of sale," said Cummings.
"The industry has razor-thin margins."
Expedia is the largest online travel agency in the world.
“I can't for the life of me believe that WestJet would want to be in a situation where the competition is visible in Expedia and WestJet isn't," said air industry analyst Robert Kokonis. "But again, there's a price for everything.”
It's hard to work out exactly how many WestJet tickets are sold on Expedia.
Kokonis estimates roughly half of WestJet's sales are direct through its own website, and roughly five to seven per cent of sales comes from Expedia alone.
Travel industry raised concerns
Travel agents had been concerned about the contract ending.
Sabre’s GDS is widely used by large travel agencies that serve the corporate market.
The Association of Canadian Travel Agents sent out a plea about a week ago, both to Sabre's chief executive and to WestJet CEO Gregg Saretsky, asking them to go back to the negotiating table.
The companies began talking again recently and extended the deadline to 7 a.m. MT Monday before coming to an agreement today.Beirut, Lebanon — WPP announced today that its wholly owned operating company J. Walter Thompson (JWT), the world’s best-known marketing communications brand, agrees to acquire a majority stake in Cleartag, a leading regional full-service digital marketing agency. The digital agency will continue to trade as Cleartag.
The deal strengthens J. Walter Thompson’s digital offering in the fast-growing MENA hub, which includes Heathwallace operations in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and further augments the agency’s capabilities across cutting-edge technologies, design and content.
About Cleartag company
Cleartag was established in 2000 by current CEO and co-Founder, Tarek Dajani. A Masters of Engineering graduate from MIT, Dajani built Cleartag with his team of managing partners Omar Abou Ezzeddine, Wissam Malaeb and Nour Abou Alwan-Lagier, into one of the leading independent digital agencies in the region, with on the ground presence in Beirut and Dubai and outreach across the MENA region.
The agency offers cross-digital services including strategic consultancy, UX/UI design, social and online media management and analytics, web and mobile development, animation and motion design, and ambient media experiences. Clients include Bank Audi, ABC shopping mall, touch – the leading mobile operator in Lebanon, Dubai Tourism & Commerce Marketing, Dubai Expo 2020, and du – the Emirates integrated telecommunications company. High profile projects include Novo for Bank Audi; an offsite interactive branch that allows customers to interact with their bank faster, better and at more convenient locations and times.
Cleartag differentiates itself through its team of multi-disciplinary thinkers, its culture of innovation and experimentation and its creative and solution focused use of a diverse cutting edge technology palette.
“J. Walter Thompson is always looking at where the future is headed,“ commented Vatche Keverian, J. Walter Thompson MENA’s CEO, continuing, “which is why we have had Cleartag in our sight for some time. What made them stand out from other technology companies was our shared passion for ideas and being solutions orientated. More importantly was the human connection – the coming together of like-minded people strengthens our own future-proofing mindset. I very much look forward to developing the business across our MENA network and to some interesting innovations along the way.”
Speaking about the acquisition, Tarek Dajani said, “As our business and capabilities grew, we knew we needed to further expand our reach to match our ambitions. We found J. Walter Thompson to be a superb fit for Cleartag both commercially and culturally. Experimentation, innovation and discovery are at the heart of how we work and this deal will fulfill our team’s passion for ongoing learning as it provides us with a unique opportunity to tap into the extensive knowledge and global expertise within the J. Walter Thompson Company and the WPP group. I can’t think of a better strategic move for the agency: it is the perfect fast forward button.”
About J. Walter Thompson (JWT) company
J. Walter Thompson Company was founded in 1864 and has been making pioneering solutions that build enduring brands and business for more than 150 years. Today under the leadership of Global CEO Gustavo Martinez, the company has evolved to include several global networks including J. Walter Thompson Worldwide, Mirum and Colloquial.
In the Middle East and Africa, J. Walter Thompson is one of the leading communication agencies in the region with 27 offices in 24 markets. The MEA region is structured to deliver communication based business solutions across all channels needed to successfully deliver the marketing plan.Brott + FÖLJ
Segerdansar efter att ha länsat 95-årings konto
avSara Cosar
KRIM 5 november 2015 15:01
Två män misstänks ha lurat en 95-årig kvinna att lämna ut sitt kontokort och sin pinkod.
En av bedragarna fastnade på en övervakningsfilm när han firar uttaget på totalt 14 000 kronor.
– Vi har så pass bra bilder att jag är övertygad om att de kommer att åka fast, säger polisen.
Den 27 september i år fick den 95-åriga kvinnan ett samtal från en man som utgav sig komma från ”Postkodlotteriet”. Mannen i andra änden av luren berättade att kvinnan vunnit pengar och att hon skulle få besök för att få vinsten överlämnad.
– Men de lyckas övertala henne att de ska sätta in pengarna på hennes konto, och hon lämnar därför ut sitt kort och sin pinkod. Men männen kommer inte tillbaka, säger Jan Olsson, chef vid polisens nationella bedrägerienhet.
Tömde kontot på 14 000 kronor
I stället för att sätta in en vinst gick bedragarna till flera bankomater och tömde kvinnans konto på totalt 14 000 kronor. På övervakningsfilmen från en bankomat i Kungsängen syns en av de misstänkta männen när han får ut pengarna, där dansar han några steg innan han vänder sig mot kameran och pekar finger.
– Vi får väl se vem som dansar sist, säger Jan Olsson.
Mannen identifierades efter tips från Brottscentralens tittare. Därför är klippet borttaget.
5 november 2015 15:01The paleolithic diet is pretty popular among Americans right now. The basic idea is that humans during the Paleolithic (about 2.5 million years ago to 10,000 years ago), were healthier (and presumably skinnier) than we are now, and so if we eat what THEY ate (based on "hunter-gatherer" diets rather than our modern agriculturally based model), we might be healthier too. The diet consists of veggies, fruit, grass fed meat, and nuts, but with very little dairy or grains. And the diet is VERY heavy in FISH.
I'm not going to opine on whether or not the Paleolithic diet works. What I want to know is...is it very Paleolithic? SHOULD it be heavy in fish? Could early humans fish? And if so, how early are we talking about? Does the paleolithic diet really have room for tuna?
O'Conner et al. "Pelagic Fishing at 42,000 Years Before the Present and the Maritime Skills of Modern Humans" Science, 2011.
Modern humans mastered the art of the boat pretty quickly, around 50,000 years ago, and used it to do little piddly things like colonize Australia. But for all the evidence of boats, there is relatively little evidence of FISHING. Evidence of fishing before about 12,000 years ago (giving you only 2,000 years of a fish-centered Paleo diet) is extremely rare, and restricted mostly to shallow water species that wouldn't require boats or a lot of technology to catch.
But now there are a group of new sites around Papua New Guinea and the surrounding islands which show some evidence for, not just fishing of shallow species, but deep sea species as well.
This area had variations in sea level during human development, but was always a set of islands. On some of these islands, there are caves with evidence of human habitation, often with shells and some shallow water fish (those which can be speared, for example), but no evidence of systematic fishing of deeper water species.
But in a cave on the island of East Timor, the site called Jarimalai has something a little different. The cave holds evidence of a VERY long period of human habitation, with carbon dating showing artifacts as old as 42,000 years before present all the way to the modern period (or at least around 5,000 years ago). Among the shells, beads, stone artifacts, and bone points, are fish bones. LOADS of fish bones. The authors recovered over 38,000 fish bones, representing almost 800 species of fish. And not all of these fish were shallow water specimens. In fact, there were a lot of Scombridae specimens, the tuna group, and these specimens reached back almost to the base of the bone pile, estimated to be, at the bottom, around 42,000 years old.
And it looks like tuna was a favorite dish. In the oldest portions of the site, 50% of the fish bones are tuna, and this continues up until around 9,000 years ago. After that, the tuna percentage drops off over time to about 25%, and instead the fish bones are dominated by shallow water species like parrotfish and grouper. There was even evidence of sharks and rays.
So now we know that humans as far back as 42,000 years ago were able to reliably eat tuna, a fish which is characteristic of the deep sea rather than the shallows. The question is, how were they caught? In the oldest layers, there is no evidence of fish hooks or other direct evidence (though they did uncover what is possibly the world's oldest known fish hook, at around 16-23,000 years old). The authors hypothesize that the tuna might have been caught using nets, as tuna are in fact caught today. The tuna specimens are mostly juveniles (tuna tend to school within their own size, which means fish of the same age group will tend to go together), and the authors think that they could have been lured into shallower water using floating logs (a method known to attract tuna), and then netted. The shallower water specimens might have been speared instead, and later caught using fish hooks.
Of course this doesn't rule out something like a massive, really lucky beaching of a young tuna school, but it may mean that humans as far back as 42,000 years ago had the technology and seafaring skill to net some pretty big fish. After all, have you ever SEEN a tuna?
That's one major meal. And this could have been very important to the peoples of the region, as the islands tend to be small and don't have a lot of large animals around for the eating. Most of the land-dwelling animals found in the remains are small things like bats, lizards, and snakes, and so fishing could have been pretty important for survival. And it means that yes, your Paleolithic diet merits the inclusion of some tuna. Early humans were dining on the chicken of the sea long before we first thought.
O'Connor, S., Ono, R., & Clarkson, C. (2011). Pelagic Fishing at 42,000 Years Before the Present and the Maritime Skills of Modern Humans Science, 334 (6059), 1117-1121 DOI: 10.1126/science.1207703
Acknowledgements:
Today's post would not be possible without the help and insight of Brian Switek of Laelaps and Eric Michael Johnson of the Primate Diaries. They helped me to decipher the terms I wasn't used to and made me consider new and interesting caveats to the research. Thanks guys!Russia’s Foreign Ministry apparently enjoys the lively, dynamic and informal language of its information and press department as opposed to dry, formal press releases: the department’s former deputy director Maria Zakharova has been appointed the Ministry’s new spokeswoman and is the first woman in history to take up the post.
Recently, Russia’s Foreign Ministry was thrust into the spotlight of the international community, not only for its official press releases on burning issues, but also for its clever, informative and often ad-hoc social media posts.
© Sputnik / Grigoriy Sisoev Lavrov's Biker Look Impresses Journalists
For example, the world learned that Russia’s foreign minister, who is known to the public for his dour-looking formal attire of suits and ties, actually looks pretty good in casual clothes.
Recently he playfully told everyone to have a nice weekend.
On another occasion, the Ministry wittily struck back at the crusade of words against the so-called 'Russian threat’.
© Sputnik / Ramil Sitdikov Russia's Foreign Minister Becomes Surprise Viral Internet Star (Video)
The author of most of these posts is Maria Zakharova, the former deputy director of the Ministry’s information and press department, who has been promoted to the official post of spokeswoman for the Ministry and the director of the department. For the first time in the history of the Ministry, the position is to be held by a woman.
In the Russian blogosphere, Zakharova is often referred to as “the Russian answer to Jen Psaki”, the former spokesperson for the US Department of State and current White House Communications Director. But there is one important exception: Zakharova never makes the kinds of “slips of the tongue” with reference to world affairs which Psaki has become famous for.
Asked to comment on the comparison by the RT television network shortly following her appointment, Zakharova answered both bluntly and wryly: "My reaction to those who try to compare me [to Ms. Psaki] is obvious: you are wrong. My name is Maria —Maria Zakharova. [smiles]"
According to Burson-Marsteller, a global public relations and communications firm headquartered in New York City, “over the past years social media has become the channel of choice for digital diplomacy between world leaders, governments, foreign ministries and diplomats.”
“Social media in general and Twitter in particular is no longer just an afterthought but an essential communication tool for governments to interact and broadcast 140 character messages and six-second soundbites,” it says
“For many diplomats, Twitter has become a powerful channel for digital diplomacy and 21st century statecraft and not all Twitter exchanges are diplomatic; real world differences are playing out on Twitter, sometimes ending up in hashtag wars between embassies and foreign ministries.”
© REUTERS / Joshua Roberts Russian Foreign Ministry Says Kerry Presents Biased Media Quotes to Lavrov
According to the company’s recent study Twitplomacy 2015, How world leaders connect on Twitter, "governments which put more financial and human resources into their digital communications are often the ones who are the most effective.”
Maria and her team have successfully promoted the Russian Foreign Ministry (@MID_RF), which ranks third among the world’s foreign ministries, after the State Department (@StateDept) and the Turkish Ministry (@TC_Disisleri).
In her interview with RT, Zakharova explained that in her work, she has tried combine official information, such as press briefings and press conferences, with interesting 'behind the scenes' information "related to negotiations, practical diplomacy and foreign visits." She noted that she believes that it is both "interesting and useful for the audience to understand how it all happens —[to see] how all these official events are prepared for and take place." Ultimately, the diplomat thinks "that the combination of traditional ways of diplomacy and some innovation is the most useful."
In 2014, the information and press department of the Russian Foreign Ministry won Russia’s Runet Award prize in the category “Culture and Mass Communications”. The award was handed to Maria.
Zakharova has been working in the Ministry since 1998. From 2005 to 2008 she worked as a Press-Secretary at the Russian Representative Office at the UN headquarters in New York.Oh, yeah. We've reached this part of our wild ride.
It's weird to be drawing something so simplistic for a change, but admittedly it was refreshing - even if it still took me like a day to fully complete, lol.
Tried adding some arms and hands to the Rainbow at a few points, but they always looked weird as hell so I just stuck with the base design choices Scott made with this hellbeast.
The Magic Rainbow had been awfully patient, all things considered.
After all, she hadn't EXPECTED a fat, bumbling chicken to simply poof its way into her beautiful little realm. Neither had she expected the thing to then proceed to mindlessly try making its way through her world, setting off countless traps and dying multiple times, only to immediately pop back into existence a few meters away from their death point.
After the first twenty or so attempts, it began to get awfully boring.
Whilst she'd originally been open to encouraging the gross little thing along, she soon started growing impatient. Insults were hurled, and the Rainbow smiled to herself as they seemed to make the pudgy chicken want to complete her little trial more and more.
Of course, it still ended up getting killed over and over.
To the same trap.
Over...and over.
Could you blame a girl for growing so angry that she'd vaporise a small chicken with her eyes?
Of course you couldn't, dumbass.
Regardless, imagine her surprise when the chicken once again popped back into her world not five minutes afterwards, a frustrated look on its face.
This went on for what felt like days, until finally, eventually, the chicken completed her game.
What the chicken hadn't known, however, was that the Magic Rainbow was an exceedingly sore loser. She had designed her world as a challenge - an impossible challenge - through the use and repurposing of irrelevant animatronics' coding. She crafted a whole, intricate platform-based world, and that ugly beast had just waddled its way through it like a blind penguin!
Needless to say, she was furious.
So furious that she may have managed to find a way out of her self-made world, travelling through the Glitch World to do so, as her boiling rage made her grow stronger.
And stronger.
And stronger.
And so, when she reached Halloween World, her body brimming with power, she wasted no time in conquering its inhabitants. Settling down in a nice, rocky lair, a big purple guard dog at the ready to alert her of her challenger's arrival, the Magic Rainbow waited.
She had a feeling the chicken would come to her - and come to her, it did. Along with three other equally-annoying-looking pals.
And of course, up to the very last second whereupon she leaped from the shadows and began crushing their resistance herself, no longer needing her purple lapdog as she began sending legions upon legions of minions made in her image at their dwindling defences, had the quartet of mammalian dolts suspected a thing?
No. Of course not.
After all, what kind of stupid, idiotic moron would ever suspect a rainbow of being a villain?!19th-century Russian painter
Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin (Russian: Васи́лий Васи́льевич Вереща́гин, October 26, 1842 – April 13, 1904), was one of the most famous Russian war artists and one of the first Russian artists to be widely recognised abroad. The graphic nature of his realist scenes led to many of them never being printed or exhibited.[1]
Years of apprenticeship [ edit ]
Vereshchagin was born at Cherepovets, Novgorod Governorate, Russia, in 1842 as the middle of three brothers. His father was a landowner of noble birth, while his mother was of common origin and had Tatar roots.[3][4] When he was eight years old, he was sent to Tsarskoe Selo to enter the Alexander Cadet Corps. Three years later, he entered the Sea Cadet Corps at St Petersburg, making his first voyage in 1858.[5] He served on the frigate Kamchatka, |
Ms. Heyman, 31, is the creative force behind the Jewish lifestyle website Fabologie, which, she said, draws 75,000 to 100,000 page views a month. Many of her admirers are Orthodox women looking to assert personal style while remaining true to the tenets of tznius, or modesty. But the size of her following reflects an appeal to women of all backgrounds who are drawn to dressing with more decorum and less flash.
The blog features posts on runway trends and photographs of style icons like Miroslava Duma, a fashion writer from Russia, and the socialite Olivia Palermo, both of whom are known to often dress conservatively.
She also shares reflections on Torah portions and Jewish holidays, frequently connecting them back to fashion. Last Passover, she advocated accepting the difficulties of the past to help fuel growth in the future.New flights have brought Slovakia’s Tatras mountains – and their abudance of slopes, spas and waterparks – closer for skiers who are on a budget
Careering out of thick cloud came a large husky, tugging a skier behind him. The man flew over a bump and arced through the air, skis inches from my chest, then pelted at breakneck speed down the slopes. As the Slovak saying has it, he was “skiing like a Hungarian”.
My Slovak hosts here in the ski resort of Tatranská Lomnica were dubious when I told them what had happened. “This, no, I never saw,” said hotel manager Michal. But he had seen bears passing outside his lobby, he said, and 30 wild boar on the roadside one night.
Top 10 affordable ski chalets and lodges Read more
This wild landscape was shrouded in cloud during my visit, so I had to take much of what they told me on trust. The panaroma from the 2,364-metre Lomnický peak, a cablecar ride from the top of the ski area, is apparently dramatic on clear days. Despite the heights, the skiing here in the High Tatras (including its Starý Smokovec and Štrbské Pleso resorts) is limited, and suitable mostly for beginners and families.
But if that’s for you, organising a weekend ski trip here is easy, thanks to a new Wizz Air flight from Luton to Poprad, a 10-minute taxi ride from these slopes. And more experienced skiers can drive 40 minutes further to the Low Tatras, home to Slovakia’s biggest and best ski resort, Jasna. With 29 pistes, Jasna is smaller than many Alpine resorts, but has long runs and decent off-piste potential.
Any outdated preconceptions of old eastern European infrastructure are soon dispelled: the lifts are modern, with heated seats and bubble covers.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jasna has pistes up to about 2,000 metres. Photograph: Gwyn Topham
Being below 2,000 metres, Jasna relies on artificial snow to keep all the pistes open, and during my visit, scant January falls meant no real off-piste. But with decent snow, the designated freeride zones on the rock-free southern slopes of 2,024-metre Chopok form a broad, accessible bowl.
I encountered two rare British visitors, Katie and Mark from London, who had skied the fresh stuff under blue skies here. They were smitten by Jasna, even though their usual choice is Jackson Hole, one of America’s top resorts. They appreciated the lower costs here: a free bus serving the lifts runs along the valley road to Liptovský Mikulas, along which B&Bs can cost as little as €25 a night (visitliptov.sk). And a beer costs a magical €0.70 at the bar in Demanova village – nicknamed Club Tropicana by British visitors (“because drinks are almost free”, said Mark).
Eating on the slopes is also good value: at the pricier end, Von Roll, a converted lift station, serves mains including homemade pasta from about €10. Beside the blue run, a Slovak koliba (mountain hut) cooks the halusky (the national dish of sheep-cheese gnocchi with lardons) for €5 a portion. Ski hire and lift passes each cost around €20 a dayeach for longer stays), a hefty sum by Slovakians standards - many choose instead to hike up the pistes on touring skis. There appears to be an appetite for more strenuous physical activity here: the Spartan race, a kind of cross-country mountain slog dotted with barbed wire obstacles to climb over or crawl under, was having its first snowbound outing here, with the locals emerging victorious from an international field
.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jasna has some 46km of piste
There is an abundance of hotel spas and waterparks. Alarming posters for Tatralandia, linked on the free ski-aqua bus from Jasna, shows a scantily clad woman wearing a python, but it is very much a family place. Saunas and spa rooms give way to a wealth of pools and startlingly rapid slides.
Skiing in eastern Europe on a budget: the best resorts Read more
The High Tatras have a gentler side, with lovely Austro-Hungarian empire establishments that could double as the Grand Budapest Hotel – the sort of place where Ralph Fiennes’ concierge entertains wealthy octogenarians: all wallpaper, chandeliers and reproduced artworks In 2008, Prince Philip stayed at the Grandhotel in Stary Smokovec; Harold Wilson, who has a lounge named after him, presumably stayed, too. The Wilson bar is upstaged by the hotel’s Castro cafe, though: pictures showing Fidel stripped to the waist were taken on a 1972 visit, when he hunted chamois before an epic table tennis duel against the hotel’s boiler man.
It’s a history that smacks of surreal Wes Anderson fantasy, were it not for the photographic evidence.
• Accommodation was provided by Tatry Mountain Resorts, with nights at Jasna’s Ostredok hotel (doubles from €105 in ski season, ostredok.sk) and the Grandhotel in Stary Smokovec (doubles from €80, grandhotel.sk). Flights were provided by WizzAir, which flies from Luton to Poprad-Tatry from £47 returnClimate McCarthyism has claimed another victim. Dr Caleb Rossiter – an adjunct professor at American University, Washington DC – has been fired by a progressive think tank after publicly expressing doubt about man-made global warming.
Rossiter, a former Democratic congressional candidate, has impeccably liberal credentials. As the founder of Demilitarization for Democracy he has campaigned against US backed wars in Central America and Southern Africa, against US military support for dictators and against anti-personnel landmines. But none of this was enough to spare him the wrath of the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) when he wrote an OpEd in the Wall Street Journal describing man-made global warming as an “unproved science.”
Two days later, he was sacked by email. The IPS said: “We would like to inform you that we are terminating your position as an Associate Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies…Unfortunately, we now feel that your views on key issues, including climate science, climate justice, and many aspects of US policy to Africa, diverge so significantly from ours.”
In the WSJ OpEd entitled Sacrificing Africa for Climate Change, Rossiter argued that Africans should benefit from the same mixed energy policy as Americans rather than being denied access to fossil fuels on spurious environmental grounds by green activists. He wrote: “The left wants to stop industrialization – even if the hypothesis of catastrophic, man-made global warming is false.”
But the Institute for Policy Studies (“Ideas into Action for Peace, Justice, and the Environment”) is ideologically committed to ensuring that Africans only enjoy the benefits of expensive, intermittent, inefficient renewable energy such as wind and solar.
Rossiter told Climate Depot:Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
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With speculation swirling over Hillary Clinton’s health, comic Jackie Mason has spotted a pattern.
“I noticed that the coughing spells come at very strange times, depending on what the issue is and what the question is. When she’s ahead in the polls, the coughing never showed up. Now, all of the sudden, as she is slipping lower... the coughing is getting louder and louder,” he said on AM 970’s “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” “If it’s a very hard question, you hear a fantastic cough. The cough never stops! And when the question is a little more pleasant, there is likely less coughing.”
But in Mason’s medical opinion, “Anybody who can’t talk without lying shouldn’t see a doctor... She should see a psychiatrist.”When physicians can focus on people’s health instead of bureaucracy, they can address health needs and prioritize prevention.
From left, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speak to reporters at the Capitol as the Republican-controlled Senate is unable to fulfill its political promise to repeal and replace "Obamacare" because of opposition and wavering within the GOP ranks. (Photo: AP)
On Wednesday, July 19, at a public forum on Medicaid in Maryland, numerous individuals shared how their lives or the lives of family members were saved thanks to their access to Medicaid.
Others explained how access to medication and therapies have allowed them to re-enter the workforce and gain self-sufficiency.
Throughout the state, Marylanders have benefited from Medicaid expansion; conservative numbers state 291,000 individuals have gained coverage — and the majority live in rural areas.
Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties had some of the highest enrollment rates in the state.
I did not benefit from Medicaid expansion. In fact, under the Affordable Care Act, I pay higher premiums — and do not have quality coverage. The greatest success of the ACA was Medicaid expansion, but I do not believe the ACA can or should be fixed.
Our health care system has high administrative costs and the cost of care is set by profit motives. Insurance and pharmaceutical companies prioritize corporate profits over the health of Americans — and treat health care as a commodity.
Health care is a human right and moral issue, not a commodity. As Salisbury Mayor Jake Day stated at the forum, our goal should be to provide more and higher quality care to Americans, especially access to mental health services.
I believe that should take the form of a single-payer, Medicare-for-all system. A single-payer system will result in savings of at least $400 billion-$900 billion a year.
When physicians can focus on people’s health instead of bureaucracy or creating a plan based on a person’s ability to pay, they can address health needs and prioritize prevention.
Additionally, people will no longer declare bankruptcy because of medical bills.
Fewer people will die.
It is time for the United States to prioritize people over profits and join the rest of the world with Medicare for all.
Whitney Palmer
Berlin
MORE OPINION:Health care for all is possible
MORE OPINION:Dealing directly with insurer is hard
Read or Share this story: http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/opinion/readers/2017/07/31/single-payer-health-care/104087400/Meeting nearly daily, U.S. officials had hoped former NSA contractor Edward Snowden would slip up. He didn’t. (Vincent Kessler/Reuters)
While Edward Snowden was trapped in the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport last year, U.S. officials were confronting their own dearth of options in the White House Situation Room.
For weeks, senior officials from the FBI, the CIA, the State Department and other agencies assembled nearly every day in a desperate search for a way to apprehend the former intelligence contractor who had exposed the inner workings of American espionage then fled to Hong Kong before ending up in Moscow.
Convened by White House homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco, the meetings kept ending at the same impasse: Have everyone make yet another round of appeals to their Russian counterparts and hope that Snowden makes a misstep.
“The best play for us is him landing in a third country,” Monaco said, according to an official who met with her at the White House. The official, who like other current and former officials interviewed for this article discussed internal deliberations on the condition of anonymity, added, “We were hoping he was going to be stupid enough to get on some kind of airplane, and then have an ally say: ‘You’re in our airspace. Land.’ ”
U.S. officials thought they saw such an opening on July 2 when Bolivian President Evo Morales, who expressed support for Snowden, left Moscow aboard his presidential aircraft. The decision to divert that plane ended in embarrassment when it was searched in Vienna and Snowden was not aboard.
A year later, Snowden appears to have moved further beyond U.S. reach. His expiring asylum status in Russia is expected to be extended this summer. Negotiations between his attorneys and the Justice Department about a possible deal to secure his return have been dormant for months.
U.S. officials offer conflicting accounts of how much they know about Snowden’s situation in Russia.
“It’s an ongoing investigation,” U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said in an interview. “We have done the appropriate things at this stage of the investigation, and we know exactly where Mr. Snowden is.”
Others said the United States lacks answers to even basic questions about Snowden’s circumstances, including where he lives and — perhaps most important — the role of the Russian security service, the FSB, in his day-to-day life.
Asked whether the United States knows Snowden’s location, a U.S. official regularly briefed on the matter said, “That’s not our understanding.”
The gaps persist despite Snowden’s ability to meet with U.S. journalists in Moscow and make high-profile appearances, including during a call-in show with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Michael McFaul, who served as U.S. ambassador to Russia until February, said he never had detailed information on the American fugitive’s whereabouts. “I do not know where Mr. Snowden is living, what his relationship to the Russian government is or how he makes a living,” said McFaul, who has returned to the faculty at Stanford University.
Several U.S. officials cited a complication to gathering intelligence on Snowden that could be seen as ironic: the fact that there has been no determination that he is an “agent of a foreign power,” a legal distinction required to make an American citizen a target of espionage overseas.
If true, it means that the former CIA employee and National Security Agency contractor, who leaked thousands of classified files to expose what he considered rampant and illegal surveillance of U.S. citizens, is shielded at least to some extent from spying by his former employers.
Snowden is facing espionage-related charges, and the FBI has power to conduct wiretaps and enlist the NSA and CIA in its investigative efforts overseas. But even with such help, officials said, the bureau’s reach in Moscow is limited.
“The FBI doesn’t have any capability to operate in Moscow without the collaboration of the FSB,” said a former senior U.S. intelligence official who served in the Russian capital.
The lack of a warrant deeming Snowden a foreign agent would also cast doubt on the claims of some of his critics. U.S. officials, including Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, have speculated that Snowden had Russian help in stealing U.S. secrets and probably works with the FSB now.
Snowden has acknowledged that he was approached by Russian intelligence upon his arrival, but he has said he rejected the pitch and did not bring any classified files with him. He insisted in a recent NBC television interview that he has “no relationship” with the Russian government.
Snowden attorney Ben Wizner, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union who corresponded with his client for this article, said Snowden gets no financial support from the Russian government and does not need it.
Beyond savings from his six-figure NSA jobs, Snowden has received tens of thousands of dollars in cash awards and appearance fees from privacy organizations and other groups over the past year, Wizner said. An organization called the Courage Foundation launched a Web site to raise money for Snowden’s legal defense and listed contributions of $1,356 as of Saturday afternoon.
The apparent stability of Snowden’s situation contrasts with the uncertainty of the eight-week stretch last summer after he had publicly identified himself as the source of a trove of NSA documents but before he secured asylum in Russia — a critical but now closed window in U.S. efforts to catch him.
The burst of activity during that period — including the White House meetings, a broad diplomatic scramble and the decision to force a foreign leader’s plane to land — was far more extensive than U.S. officials acknowledged at the time.
President Obama in particular seemed to strike a dismissive pose, saying on June 27 that he was “not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker.” Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said Obama’s remark referred only to the prospect of using military assets. “The president made clear he wouldn’t,” Hayden said in recent statement the The Washington Post. “Not because we weren’t working hard to get Snowden back to the U.S.,” but because it was a law enforcement matter.
From the outset, the pursuit of Snowden was led by the FBI. Lon Snowden, the fugitive’s father, said FBI agents descended on his house within hours after a video of his son identifying himself as the source of the NSA leaks appeared on the Web site of the British news outlet the Guardian.
“I spoke to them approximately four hours on the 10th of June,” Lon Snowden said. Later, the FBI offered to send the elder Snowden to Moscow as part of an effort to deliver a scripted pitch to his son to turn himself in and return home. A former officer in the Coast Guard, Lon Snowden was initially cooperative with the bureau but became angered as his son was depicted by U.S. officials as a traitor.
“I came to know that they were not functioning in good faith” and turned down the trip, Snowden said.
By then, Monaco was convening meetings nearly every day at the White House. Among the participants were the CIA’s head of counterintelligence, FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce and McFaul, who often took part by videoconference in sessions that got underway well after midnight in Moscow.
The meetings “were not just about Edward Snowden the fugitive” and covered subjects including assessments of the damage the leaks had caused, Joyce said. But there was a constant search for ideas to recover him. “There were several things that were sort of ongoing,” Joyce said, declining to be more specific. “None of them actually panned out.”
Many of the meetings were followed by a stream of calls from U.S. officials to Moscow. Then-FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III made more than half a dozen direct appeals to his FSB counterpart, Alexander Bortnikov, officials said, all for naught.
U.S. officials said the aim was to convince Putin that turning over Snowden would bolster the U.S.-Russia relationship at a trivial cost to Moscow. But even those making the appeals regarded them as long shots.
“Key players in this were very pessimistic,” said a former U.S. intelligence official involved in the discussions. “The FBI and CIA would have put the chances of cutting some deal with the Russians to send him home at close to zero. This was just too juicy for Putin.”
Against those odds, the Obama administration focused on the prospect that Snowden — who had cited interest in finding asylum in Iceland or Latin America — would abandon his Moscow perch.
State Department and CIA officials pressured countries seen as potential destinations to turn Snowden away, reducing his options to a handful hostile toward the United States. Among them was Bolivia, whose president had signaled publicly that he would consider giving Snowden asylum.
“Why not?” Morales said during a July visit to Moscow. “Bolivia is there to welcome personalities who denounce — I don’t know if it’s espionage or control.”
In interviews, U.S. officials acknowledged that they had no specific intelligence that Snowden would be on Morales’s plane. But the Bolivian leader’s remark was enough to set in motion a plan to enlist France, Spain, Italy and Portugal to block the Bolivian president’s flight home.
“The United States did not request that any country force down President Morales’s plane,” said Hayden, the National Security Council spokeswoman. “What we did do... was communicate via diplomatic and law enforcement channels with countries through which Mr. Snowden might transit.”
Another U.S. official described the effort as a “full-court press” involving CIA station chiefs in Europe.
As it crossed Austria, the aircraft made a sudden U-turn and landed in Vienna, where authorities searched the cabin — with Morales’s permission, officials said — but saw no sign of Snowden.
The initial, official explanation that Morales was merely making a refueling stop quickly yielded to recriminations and embarrassment.
Austrian officials said they were skeptical of the plan from the outset and noted that Morales’s plane had taken off from a different airport in Moscow than where Snowden was held. “Unless the Russians had carted him across the city,” one official said, it was unlikely he was on board.
Even if Snowden had been a passenger, officials said, it is unclear how he could have been removed from a Bolivian air force jet whose cabin would ordinarily be regarded as that country’s sovereign domain — especially in Austria, a country that considers itself diplomatically neutral.
“We would have looked foolish if Snowden had been on that plane sitting there grinning,” said a senior Austrian official. “There would have been nothing we could have done.”
Diverting Morales’s plane was more than a diplomatic setback. It also probably caused Snowden to abandon any idea of leaving Russia, squandering what Monaco had described as “the best play” for the United States.
A year after his arrival in Moscow, Snowden is seeking ways to find normalcy. Wizner, his attorney, said Snowden is considering taking a position with a South African foundation that would support work on security and privacy issues.
Snowden has also fielded inquiries about book and movie projects.
“Any moment that he decides that he wants to be a wealthy person, that route is available to him,” Wizner said, although the U.S. government could also attempt to seize such proceeds.
Wizner declined to discuss where Snowden lives, or how he secured an apartment in a city where such transactions require government involvement — except to indicate that Snowden’s Russian attorney, Anatoly Kucherena, has helped with such arrangements.
Snowden’s relationship with Kucherena, who has close ties to Putin and serves on an FSB advisory board, has fueled speculation that he is working with the Russian government.
McFaul, the former ambassador, raised other questions, including how Snowden has managed to arrange interviews with prominent U.S. journalists — all requiring Russian visas that could not be obtained without FSB approval — but has yet to grant such access any Russian reporters.
“Many Russian journalists are eager to interview him and ask these questions, but so far he has refused,” McFaul said.
Snowden’s critics and supporters do occupy a thin strand of common ground. They agree that Snowden is probably under nearly constant scrutiny by the FSB and lives a life that is constrained by his dependence on the government that granted him asylum.
“When Snowden says that he has ‘no relationship’ with the Russian government, he means that he hasn’t cooperated with their intelligence services in any way and that his asylum isn’t conditioned on cooperation,” Wizner said. “Of course, the Russian government could choose to expel him at any time.”
Sari Horwitz, Ellen Nakashima and Julie Tate contributed to this article.James Jones, right, claims the Packers’ grading system motivates him to make big plays. Credit: Mark Hoffman
By of the
Green Bay — Mike Neal had his best day so far as a converted linebacker when he had six tackles, a sack and a quarterback hit against Detroit. But this is what he said after the game Sunday:
"I haven't had a losing performance since I've been playing outside linebacker."
He's not talking about the Packers' 2-2 record, or making some kind of affirmation speech in the mirror of the weight room.
He's talking about his grades.
The Green Bay Packers have developed and enhanced a grading system that they've been using for years that takes all of the guesswork out of individual performances and puts them on a chart, like a balance sheet for positive and negative contributions.
Every Monday, the Packers get their personal grade sheet, their most complete indicator of how they're doing in the eyes of their coaches. After watching every player on every play, position coaches give a plus or a minus, and those are tallied at the end, with the goal of achieving at least 80%, and hopefully 90%, positive plays.
This year the Packers have added a new offensive category — the playmaker stat — as well as a new award, the Big Dog Award.
These new indicators help break down the ultimate team sport so that no performance gets lost in the crowd.
"We have a lot of stats," said receiver James Jones. "The main thing you get out of it is mental. As a receiver, it makes you more hungry. When they show those stats in front of your teammates, you don't want it to say, '0-3 in playmaker opportunities.' You want to let them know you're out there making plays for them."
The playmaker stat is different than drops or targets or average yards per catch. It's pretty straightforward but now it is there, on a chart.
"It is basically when you have a one-on-one opportunity," said Jones. "Say Aaron Rodgers throws the ball up and it's a jump ball. It may not be the perfect pass, it may not be the perfect route, it may not be the perfect play called. But you have the opportunity to go make the play. It's either you or him."
Randall Cobb beats two Lions defenders and makes a brilliant one-handed grab for 22 yards. He gets that playmaker plus. Johnathan Franklin takes a hit right to where he's carrying the ball and loses the fumble to his quarterback. He lost that playmaking opportunity.
That information, along with explosive plays (12-14 or more yards), and stats like YAC (yards after the catch), turnovers and drops, are all recorded and tallied.
"It's really detailed," said tight end Jermichael Finley.
While Jones lost a playmaker stat when he fumbled a touchdown catch over the pylon, he got a winning grade on his touchdown in Cincinnati when he saw Rodgers scrambling, came back to the ball, beat the defensive back and made the play.
"Our receivers coach Edgar Bennett is on us about it all the time," said Jones. "'Win your playmaker opportunities.' That's how you make your name. Anybody can catch a wide-open pass; this is your opportunity to make a playmaker play. Go make it."
Now, it might seem crazy to add another stat, but a heightened awareness helps some players.
"It's a goal," said Finley. "That's the main thing they're trying to push, playmaker and yards after the catch. Get the ball and then make the first person miss. I'm a competitive guy, so if I ever get a minus, we're going to talk about it. I need to know what happened. He's got to really detail it out for me to tell me what I did wrong."
Other Packers don't really see the need to indentify something that has been ingrained in them.
"It's more for the coaches than it is for us," Cobb said. "They're here a lot, so they need something else to do, something else to grade us on." He laughed.
"Pretty much," chimed in receiver Jordy Nelson.
They were kidding, but they aren't quite sold on the need for all the data.
"We don't get caught up in it," said Nelson. "Last year, without this, I still knew when I had an opportunity to make a play and I didn't. Now, they're just keeping track of it, I guess.
"As a player, I would hope you would approach every game, and every play, the same. That's why I've never been a big fan — which we don't do it — of if you drop a ball, it's $100 drop in the jar. Well, it's pointless. I don't need to be out there, 'I better catch this ball or I'm going to be out $100.'
"I better catch this ball if I want to have a job."
A win or a loss, and the game film — that's all Nelson really needs to know. Not that he's been above campaigning to the coaches to change a grade if there are a few little minuses but an overall productive day in other areas, like blocking. Still, he's his own toughest critic.
"You might get a positive grade on a play, but when you watch it, you think to yourself, 'Man, I could have run a better route than that,'" said Nelson.
But Nelson is a veteran with a Super Bowl ring. These indicators might be best for the younger Packers as motivators or simple reminders of their goals.
The Packers have not left out the linemen, either. They don't have nearly as many stats and with the nature of the game, not nearly as much individual recognition for their achievements.
"Our stats are all purely negative," said left tackle David Bakhtiari. "The pressures we give up, how many sacks we give up — those are kind of the numbers that everyone keys on. We just basically try to be as quiet as possible. How long we can go without people talking about us — I guess that could be a stat."
So this year, the Packers also introduced a new team-only award: The Big Dog. Defensive end Mike Daniels was the first to earn it after the Washington game. The Packers even gave him a T-shirt and a football with his name on it.
It was a big deal to him. The football went in his trophy case in the basement of his home, next to the game ball he got last year for scoring a touchdown against Detroit, the gloves he wore when he made all of his sacks and pictures of some of his best plays.
"It brings some attention to the big uglies," said Daniels. "We do a lot of the dirty work up front and the team can't go without the line. A lot of times, that goes unnoticed. It's always nice to recognize the whole team."
The Big Dog Award is symbolic and it is motivating.
"That's exactly what it is," said Daniels. "Let me get some more of them. Let me fill this thing up.
"Make me have to get another trophy case."A new combination of materials can efficiently guide electricity and light along the same tiny wire, a finding that could be a step towards building computer chips capable of transporting digital information at the speed of light.
Reporting today in The Optical Society’s (OSA) high-impact journal Optica, optical and material scientists at the University of Rochester and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich describe a basic model circuit consisting of a silver nanowire and a single-layer flake of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2).
Using a laser to excite electromagnetic waves called plasmons at the surface of the wire, the researchers found that the MoS2 flake at the far end of the wire generated strong light emission. Going in the other direction, as the excited electrons relaxed, they were collected by the wire and converted back into plasmons, which emitted light of the same wavelength.
“We have found that there is pronounced nanoscale light-matter interaction between plasmons and atomically thin material that can be exploited for nanophotonic integrated circuits,” said Nick Vamivakas, assistant professor of quantum optics and quantum physics at the University of Rochester and senior author of the paper.
Typically about a third of the remaining energy would be lost for every few microns (millionths of a meter) the plasmons traveled along the wire, explained Kenneth Goodfellow, a graduate student at Rochester’s Institute of Optics and lead author of the Optica paper.
“It was surprising to see that enough energy was left after the round-trip,” said Goodfellow.
Photonic devices can be much faster than electronic ones, but they are bulkier because devices that focus light cannot be miniaturized nearly as well as electronic circuits, said Goodfellow. The new results hold promise for guiding the transmission of light, and maintaining the intensity of the signal, in very small dimensions.
Ever since the discovery of graphene, a single layer of carbon that can be extracted from graphite with adhesive tape, scientists have been rapidly exploring the world of two-dimensional materials. These materials have unique properties not seen in their bulk form.
Like graphene, MoS2 is made up of layers that are weakly bonded to each other, so they can be easily separated. In bulk MoS2, electrons and photons interact as they would in traditional semiconductors like silicon and gallium arsenide. As MoS2 is reduced to thinner and thinner layers, the transfer of energy between electrons and photons becomes more efficient.
The key to MoS2’s desirable photonic properties is in the structure of its energy band gap. As the material’s layer count decreases, it transitions from an indirect to direct band gap, which allows electrons to easily move between energy bands by releasing photons. Graphene is inefficient at light emission because it has no band gap.
Combining electronics and photonics on the same integrated circuits could drastically improve the performance and efficiency of mobile technology. The researchers say the next step is to demonstrate their primitive circuit with light emitting diodes.
Paper: K. Goodfellow, R. Beams, C. Chakraborty, L. Novotny, A.N. Vamivakas “Integrated nanophotonics based on nanowire plasmons and atomically-thin material” Optica Vol. 1, Issue 3, pp.149-152 (2014).
Category: Science & TechnologyWomen who fail to orgasm during sex may be genetically programmed to weed out unreliable men who are a flop between the sheets, according to new research.
Scientists who have studied the ability of thousands of women to climax say it is largely written in their genes - the most compelling evidence so far that the female orgasm has a biological role.
The findings suggest the failure of some women to orgasm regularly is not a dysfunction, but a sophisticated mate-selection strategy that evolved during prehistoric times.
Tim Spector of St Thomas's hospital in London, who led the research, said: "The theory is that the orgasm is an evolutionary way of seeing if men can prove themselves to be likely good providers or dependable, patient and caring enough to look after the kids."
Women who orgasm very easily may be more likely to be satisfied with poor quality men.
"Perhaps women who had orgasms too easily weren't very good selectors," Professor Spector said. "It paid women to be more fussy and this is one way of doing it. The simple fact is that it takes women on average 12 minutes and men two and a half minutes to reach orgasm. Adjusting to that imbalance is a test."
His team used a national register of twins to ask 4,037 women, aged 19 to 83, about their sex lives and to compare their DNA. About half were identical twins, who share all their genes. The others were non-identical twins, who do not. Assuming twins are brought up in similar environments allows scientists to tease out the differences that are down to genes.
Thirty-two per cent of the women said they never or infrequently experienced an orgasm during sex, and 21% during masturbation. Only 14% said they always had an orgasm during sex.
Genetic comparisons showed that 34% of the variation during intercourse was inherited. In the case of masturbation, 45% of the difference was down to genes. The findings appear today in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.
Prof Spector said these were low estimates because they were based on answers to intimate questions. In reality, genes are probably the greatest single factor involved in whether women have an orgasm or not.
The genes could work on a physical level, perhaps causing variations in the G-spot, the angle of the vagina, or the clitoris. They could work psychologically, to alter a woman's confidence or mood, or they might vary the activity of enzymes or hormones.
"It's likely to come from the mother's side but we can't say that it doesn't come from the father, if, for example, it's a psychological state rather than purely anatomical," he said.
The research opens the door to further studies to identify the relevant genes and perhaps develop treatments to help more women reach orgasm. "If the motivation and funding were there you could find a number of the genes involved within a few years. Each of those would show you a new mechanism that, in theory, you could make drugs to interact with. But there's so little research, it's really a taboo area."
The genetic control over how easily women experience an orgasm during sex shows it is subject to evolutionary pressure, which means it must confer a biological advantage.
One theory is that orgasms promote fertility. Studies have shown that women are slightly more likely to have an orgasm when they are ovulating. There is also evidence that the uptake of sperm is increased when a woman climaxes. But if this were the only explanation, all women would have orgasms.
"The theory I prefer is the mate selection theory," Prof Spector said. "If a man is considered powerful enough, strong enough, or thoughtful enough in bed or in the cave, then he's likely to hang around as a long-term partner and be a better bet for bringing up children."This week in Erlang — Jul 9
Sasan “Gootik” Hezarkhani Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jul 14, 2017
Having recently looked at how the Rust community is shaping up and how they are trying to make Rust more popular, it gave me an idea. I started using Erlang only a few years ago, and I was in love the second I started learning all the little cool things about the VM. I would love to attract more talent towards this great language, so I thought I’ll keep a blog of cool things I see around each week (modeled after “This Week in Rust” series):
New articles and blog posts
PropEr Testing by Fred Hebert : http://propertesting.com/
: http://propertesting.com/ Erlang Shell Vizualization By Vladimir Gordeev: http://vladimir-vg.me/erlang-shell-visualization-demo/
http://vladimir-vg.me/erlang-shell-visualization-demo/ Pierre Fenoll ’s Supercompiler parse transform looks really interesting, have a look! https://github.com/fenollp/erlscp
’s Supercompiler parse transform looks really interesting, have a look! https://github.com/fenollp |
a game fail to meet expectations, with developers subsequently choosing to abandon the project rather than start from scratch. The commercial failure of a released game may also result in any prospective sequels being delayed or cancelled.[7]
Examples [ edit ]
Films [ edit ]
Music [ edit ]
Video games [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]Every time Sensei Hannity goes on a stampy-footed rager, an angel gets its wings.
With election day now less than two weeks away and Trump taking time off to attend to his main concern – his hotels – his favorite gimp is straining against the ball gag.
In his impotent rage, Hannity lashed out at the Never Trump crowd, as if somehow, his being a jackass will suddenly endear his gilded master to them.
Sean Hannity has become a punch line to a long, national joke. Other than Trump himself, who recognizes a useful idiot when he has one on a short leash, nobody takes Hannity seriously.
“All this garbage from you Never Trumper jerks out there,” Hannity shouted. “I’ve had it. By the way, that’s more unfinished business. November 9th, I have a lot to say about all of you.”
Yeah. We don’t care. It’s just going to be more pointing and laughing at you, actually.
I suspect there are pools running in newsrooms and blogger groups nationwide, all placing their bets on how soon the total, emotional meltdown of Sean Hannity will be.
At one point, Hannity apparently had the dump button hit on him after he said Donald Trump isn’t “freaking perfect.” Following up the delay, he yelled, “I’m pissed!”
Yeah. Still don’t care.
Hannity has gone so far around the bend, that he’s taken to bragging about his martial arts prowess on the air, suggesting that he will turn into a roving ninja warrior, albeit, one with a brown belt, if his liege doesn’t win.
His ridiculous tirade didn’t stop there. He’s apparently seen the polls out of Utah, that have Independent conservative, Evan McMullin ahead of both Trump and Hillary. The idea that someone would step forward and challenge what he feels is owed to Trump is almost too much for him to bear.
“Who’s this idiot that’s running third party that’s killing Trump out in Utah,” the Fox News star exclaimed. “Who put him up? What was it? The Bush people? The Romney people?” “What a disaster that would be for the country,” Hannity said in regards to McMullin possibly getting Hillary Clinton elected.
Or McMullin could possibly block either from reaching 270 electoral votes, forcing it to the House.
If Hannity were capable of rational thought and fair analysis of the situation, he’d see that there’s a reason for McMullin’s rise. Not everyone is as enamored of Trump’s wealth and celebrity status as he is, and it is our right to support anyone we want, regardless of what he thinks.
November 9 is going to be interesting, no matter who wins.Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information from police to clarify the apparent motivation for the attack.
Three men in Ypsilanti Township Monday assaulted a woman who was able to marry her partner during the brief repeal of Michigan’s gay marriage ban.
Courtesy of WCSO
Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office deputies reported the 28-year-old woman got off the bus about 6 p.m. Monday in the area of the
in Ypsilanti Township. The woman told investigators she got off the bus in the area and was walking home through an apartment parking lot. Three men approached her, with one of them using a homophobic slur, calling her a derogatory name for a woman and asking her if she had recently been on the news. A man then punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground and causing her to lose consciousness. When she woke up, one of the men was kicking her in the torso. The men then fled from the area on foot. One of the men is described as white, 5-feet-10 inches to 5-feet-11 inches tall, heavy set and with a low or husky voice. The other two men could not be identified. Investigators said the woman has recently been in the news because she was able to marry her partner in Washtenaw County. A federal court decision struck down Michigan’s ban on gay marriage in late March, with couples able to get married
. Anyone with information on this incident is encouraged to call the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office anonymous tip line at 734-973-7711 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK UP (773-2587).
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for The Ann Arbor News. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@mlive.com or you can follow him on Twitter. Find all Washtenaw County crime stories here.On Media Blog Archives Select Date… December, 2015 November, 2015 October, 2015 September, 2015 August, 2015 July, 2015 June, 2015 May, 2015 April, 2015 March, 2015 February, 2015 January, 2015
Trump team goes dark on press pack for Obama meeting
In a sign of potentially tense times to come, confusion reigned for the press over who and how they were covering President Barack Obama's meeting on Thursday with President-Elect Donald Trump.
According to the White House and pool reports, there will be a "pool spray" toward the end of the meeting. But it's because of the White House, not Trump, that Trump's traveling pool will also be invited in to watch.
Trump did not allow his traveling press to travel with him on Thursday and entered the White House via the South Lawn, meaning no reporters could watch his arrival.
"We are not being provided any information or access by the Trump transition - they are not even responding to emails from me - so I will forward information that the White House is providing that is of interest," wrote Thursday's pooler (and POLITICO White House correspondent) Edward-Isaac Dovere. "However, we will via the WHCA efforts and the White House get access to the Oval meeting, and I will provide a separate pool report for that and anything additional I can."
Trump never allowed media to travel with him during the campaign, breaking years of tradition. He regularly blacklisted outlets for months at a time and would often call out specific reporters during his rallies, leading to some of them needing protection from police, Secret Service and personal bodyguards hired by their companies.
In an email to White House correspondents and the Trump traveling press pool on Wednesday evening, White House Correspondents' Association president Jeff Mason said the White House had not been getting "a lot of communicaiton back" about press coverage arrangements of Trump and Obama's meeting.
"If Trump advisers are telling their poolers there will be no coverage, that is not correct," Mason wrote. "The transition pool is invited to cover the meeting at 11:30 in the Oval Office with the White House pool. There may some limits on TV and still photographers that overlap, but otherwise both pools will be allowed in."
The Trump campaign is also not sending "read-outs" – the short summaries of Trump's conversations with foreign leaders, another tradition Trump is breaking. Reporters are instead getting those read-outs from the foreign governments themselves.
The Trump campaign has not responded to repeated emails seeking an answer on whether there will be a protective press pool once Trump takes power.WASHINGTON, DC—A team of leading historians and psychiatrists issued a report Wednesday claiming that the United States was likely the victim of abuse by its founding fathers and motherland when it was a young colony.
"In its adulthood, the U.S. displays all the classic tendencies of a nation that was repeatedly mistreated in its infancy—difficulty forming lasting foreign relationships, viewing everyone as a potential enemy, and employing a pattern of assault and intimidation to assert its power," said Dr. Howard Drexel, the report's lead author. "Because of trust issues stemming from the abuse, America has become withdrawn, has not made an ally in years, and often resents the few nations that are willing to lend support—most countries outgrow this kind of behavior after 230 years."
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According to Drexel, nations that act out in selfish, self-destructive ways in statehood were usually granted too much independence at an early age, especially if the motherland had other newly annexed lands to care for.
According to Yale University psychology professor John Bauffman, while some rebellious behavior in a nation's adolescence is common, and sometimes healthy, America's historically stormy relationship with mother country Great Britain points to a deep need for acceptance.
"The U.S. is characteristic of an abused nation in that, even decades after noisily pushing away from Britain, it still maintained close contact with the motherland, took care of it, even giving it financial aid—all the while fearing disapproval even though the parent country is now old, decrepit, and powerless," said Bauffman, a prominent contributor to the fourth edition of the Democratic Symptoms Of Maltreatment handbook, or DSM-IV. "On the other hand, Canada, which was raised in the very same continent by the same mother country, only exercised small-scale resistance, remaining loyal well into its maturity. Though some see Canada as cold and remote, it has, unlike the U.S., managed to lead a peaceful, reasonably healthy existence."
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Bauffman pointed to another telltale sign of abuse in the U.S.'s tendency to bully, torture, and persecute less powerful, vulnerable creatures, such as buffalo, passenger pigeons, forests, and Native Americans.
Although the American nation appeared to be on the road to recovery by the early 1990s, watershed events such as the open discussion of sexual issues, a protracted custody battle in the closing months of 2000, and a series of threats and physical attacks from enemy nations triggered centuries of repressed memories and set off a recurring pattern of violent outbursts and emotional volatility.
"America compensated for early mistreatment by taking out this pent-up aggression on other nations—getting involved in aggressive conflicts seemingly just for the thrill of it, starting arguments and wars that can't be won, suspecting that everyone is out to get them," Drexel said. "This nation needs help, but by its very nature, refuses to accept it."
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Drexel defended the study's findings amid claims that America's current condition can be attributed to a much wider variety of factors.
"Granted, part of America's problems may stem from the fact that it was burdened with a false sense of responsibility at a young age because of the unrealistic expectations of the country's forefathers, and there is certainly something to be said about America having been part of a broken homeland for a four-year period in the mid-19th century," Drexel said. "Even though the U.S. is over 200 years old, emotionally it's younger than Lithuania."
Added Drexel: "But we must remember that the country also idealized the forefathers in a classic victim–abuser relationship."
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The report recommended that the United Nations Security Council once again renew its efforts to organize an international intervention to help the U.S. get the counseling it needs. Prior attempts have failed to move beyond the planning stage, however, with many countries saying they are afraid that the U.S. may lash out.Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lashed out at "hypocrisy" over Iran as he unveiled a shipment of arms allegedly dispatched by Tehran to Gaza.
Netanyahu on Monday toured a display of rockets intercepted by navy commandos on the Red Sea last week, and accused the international community of ignoring Iranian support for armed groups while falling victim to an outreach campaign by the new leadership in Tehran.
Iran has not abandoned its deep involvement in terrorism and its ambition to destroy the state of Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu,
Israeli prime minister
“Iran has not abandoned its deep involvement in terrorism and its ambition to destroy the state of Israel.” Netanyahu said.
“What is new is not Iran’s deeds or its lies, but the desire of many in the international community to bury their heads in the sand.”
The Israeli navy captured the arms shipment on board the Panamanian-flagged Klos-C last week, which the military said had taken a 8,000km route starting from Syria, then to Iran and Iraq before heading towards Sudan and overland to Gaza.
The Israelis said the shipment included 40 M-302 surface-to-surface rockets manufactured in Syria with a range of 160km, capable of striking most of Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Along with the missiles, about 180 mortar shells and 400,000 rifle rounds were displayed on metal stands in the southern port of Eilat.
During the last major offensive on Gaza in 2012 between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian movement fired M75 rockets, which have a range of 75km, which hit areas around Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Israel says Hamas’ capabilities could have been extended significantly had the ship not been intercepted.
Iran and Gaza's rulers both rejected Israel’s findings as fabrications.
Israel has said it has “solid and incriminating evidence” that Iran planned and executed the weapons shipment, but so far it has not made such evidence public.
“The ship was organised by Iran, dispatched by Iran, financed by Iran. The missiles were loaded by Iran, in Iran and as usual Iran denies these facts” Netanyahu said.
Iranian deception
Netanyahu also urged the West not to be fooled by Tehran's diplomacy on its nuclear programme.
World powers are currently engaged in talks with Iran to roll back its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
"Just as Iran hid its deadly missiles in the belly of this ship, Iran is hiding its actions and its intentions in many of its key installations for developing nuclear weapons," he said.
"[The world] wants to delude themselves that Iran has changed its intention to obtain nuclear weapons,"
Iran and six world powers, represented by European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, struck a deal on November 24 under which Tehran curbed some sensitive nuclear activities for six months in return for limited relief from sanctions.
Iran has repeatedly rejected allegations that it is seeking nuclear weapons and insists its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful.
Israel, widely believed to have the Middle East's sole nuclear arsenal, says a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a mortal threat to its existence.HDHomeRun DVR
Watch and record live TV. Your way.
It’s our mission to simplify and change the way we watch and record live television. SiliconDust is readying the ultimate live television viewing and recording software tool called HDHomeRun DVR. It enables the viewing and recording of your full over-the-air and cable TV lineup using your home network.
Our concept is that Live and recorded content can be watched from media devices with our brand new and innovative interface. And yes, it even works with protected content. HDHomeRun DVR doesn’t require an always-on PC (or media center software) - it works with network attached storage devices including the popular WD My Cloud products.
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In 2007 Nick Kelsey and Ted Head brought the HDHomeRun Network Attached TV tuner to the consumer marketplace. They enabled freedom of watching and recording your favorite TV shows on multiple PCs throughout your home, expanding as your family needs grow.
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HDHomeRun products have been ranked highly by consumers through every new generation of HDHomeRun product. Silicondust spends the time to put out quality hardware that just work. This is consistent in current products in the Global Marketplace including the HDHomeRun CONNECT, EXTEND, and PRIME. The CONNECT and EXTEND are over-the-air antenna devices, PRIME is a premium cable TV device with full CableCARD* conditional access support.
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We looked at the current media-PC way to record TV. It requires a fair bit of technical know how, high powered media PCs that need to stay on, and often pages of complicated setup.
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So how does HDHomeRun DVR work?
You need a HDHomeRun TV tuner, something with the disk space for recordings, and something with a screen to watch on.
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How will HDHomeRun DVR be supported?
We are making the player app available for:
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WD My Cloud NAS products
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with plans to support more of Europe over time.
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The DVR records. You can search for any show by name or bring up a list of the most popular shows and hit Record Series. The DVR records the latest season, or every episode if you tell it to.
Multiple HDHomeRun tuners are supported including mixing multiple sources (for example ATSC and CableCARD). The recording engine will try all tuners capable of receiving the show, trying favorite channels first, then HD channels, then SD channels.
Padding of start and end times work. For back-to-back recordings on the same channel the recording engine shares the same tuner for both recordings.
Auto recovery from an interrupted recording works. The recording engine will find another tuner and keep recording.
The recording engine has been verified on Windows, Mac, Linux-x86, Linux-ARM, and Linux-PowerPC. We have the range of WD My Cloud models recording 24/7 as well as QNAP and Synology models under test.
There are some key things to do. In particular recording protected content and preventing duplicates from recording.
Where we are at today – Playback:
HDHomeRun VIEW for Windows, Mac, and Android play live TV. Internal builds of HDHomeRun VIEW support the DVR user-interface and playing recordings.
This is our area of focus. We have a plan to improve Windows and Android playback performance, support playing protected content, improve seek control, and other planned UI improvements.
We would love to add Kodi and iOS support – these will be the stretch goals if we get enough feedback and Kickstarter support.
Reward tiers
Read what others have to say about our hardware before you invest in our software...
We have been featured and reviewed on many notable websites and publications such as:
Here's what our customers think about our current products
Don't just take our word for it, our products are well received by customers and reviewers alike. Go take a look for yourself on sites such as Amazon where we have nearly 900 reviews with an average rating of 4.3 / 5 stars. We set high standards for everything we produce which is why we want to raise the bar by re-imagining the DVR to further enhance your viewing experience.
* CableCARD conditional access is a trade mark of Cable Television Laboratories Inc.
$150,000 stretch goal - HDHomeRun DVR add-on for Kodi (XBMC):
The HDHomeRun Live TV add-on for Kodi proved what a great platform Kodi is to work with. Our promise in return for your support - if we hit $150,000 we will make the HDHomeRun DVR work with Kodi as the client for copy-freely recordings.
$250,000 stretch goal - Plex support:
Silicondust will work with the Plex team to integrate HDHomeRun DVR recordings into Plex. You will be able to schedule recordings through the HDHomeRun Channel on Plex and playback recordings on your favorite Plex clients.
If you are new to Plex, Plex is a powerful and easy to use media server application for music, photos and videos. Plex works with just about every platform, including Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Android TV, Roku, Chromecast, Windows Phone, Amazon Fire TV, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, XBox 360, XBox One, as well as many Smart TVs, such as LG, Sony, Vizio, Samsung, Toshiba, and more. Chances are, you already have several devices that work with Plex.
Kickstarter-only offer (by popular request)... support us now with a longer subscription and get each additional year for $25. With the HDHomeRun DVR you can use multiple units - your extended subscription follows your account, not your hardware.
For example, add $100 to your pledge amount over your chosen reward level and get 5 years of everything DVR (applies to reward levels $30 and higher).
Silicondust has teamed up with WD® to offer 4TB to 24TB of NAS based DVR storage when paired with HDHomeRun tuners.
The WD® My Cloud functions both as an advanced media NAS and the DVR storage for your home. Your favorite TV shows record to the NAS automatically. No PC required.
Upgrade to the ultimate DVR with the My Cloud EX4100 or DL4100 - four 6TB hard drives for 18TB of RAID5 storage or 24TB of direct storage.
NEW - we have upgraded the 24TB pledge level to the top DL4100 model with integrated Intel® Atom® dual-core processor!The Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann, a Social Democrat, is backing the centre-right EPP candidate Jean-Claude Juncker to be the next Commission President, the Austrian press reports today, as EU leaders meet in Brussels to discuss the aftermath of the EU elections.
The European People’s Party won the European election, with 213 MEPs, against 190, for the Socialists and Democrats.
Faymann is quoted as saying that the result of the EU elections should be taken seriously and therefore Juncker should get the top job. He also reportedly said that the leading candidate of the Socialists and Democrats, Martin Schulz, could continue to play an important role in Europe.
Austria and Luxembourg have a long-standing tradition on cooperating on issues such as bank secrecy. Both countries have made efforts to accommodate to EU law without sacrificing their national interest.
This development is a reminder of when the Spanish Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero backed the centre-right candidate José Manuel Barroso for a second term in office. The move had paralysed EU centre-left leaders, who could not propose an alternative candidate.
The leaders of the Party of European Socialists are meeting today for a pre-summit meeting, just hours before the EU summit which will be held as a dinner. In theory, centre-left leaders should unite behind their candidate, Martin Schulz.
But according to rumours, Schulz, as well as the liberal leading candidate Guy Verhofstadt, cannot obtain the qualified majority among the EU leaders. Juncker cannot obtain unanimity, because the UK Prime Minister David Cameron and the Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán have expressed reservations regarding his appointment. However, at least in theory, Juncker could obtain the qualified majority of at least 55% of the member states, representing at least 65% of the EU’s population.
In the event Juncker is elected by EU leaders, stakes are high that Schulz would get the second most important post in the Commission, that of Vice President for Economic and Monetary Affairs.
However, Juncker’s election is far from being decided. Sources told EURACTIV that EU leaders are unlikely to make a decision at this summit, and will most probably decide at the 26-27 June regular EU Council.- Advertisement -
Like 69 million other Americans, I watched the second presidential debate from Hofstra University last night. And I must confess I was pleased to see President Obama "win." This was the Obama so notably absent from the first debate. He came out swinging, was feisty, incisive and smart. He clearly won, and was the more able of the two debaters. That made me feel better -- but only because President Obama is the lesser of two evils and only because the parameters of debate were so narrowly set.
My point is that there were only two candidates on stage. As a result, there was a remarkable convergence of assumptions and positions between the two. That convergence might have been avoided had other candidates been allowed onstage with the two corporate spokespersons now posturing before us as candidates presenting us with "stark differences."
Amy Goodman's "Democracy Now" has tried to remedy the situation in a series of debates she calls "Breaking the Sound Barrier" ( http://www.democracynow.org/ ). The title's reference is to her show's inclusion of opinion beyond that endorsed by the corporate interests that shape public debate -- that set the "limits of perception" more effectively than blinders on horses.
So this morning on Ms. Goodman's program, she added three other candidates' voices to the debate mix: Jill Stein of the Green Party, Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party, and Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party. The three took part just as if Candy Crowley's questions had been presented not only to Messrs Obama and Romney, but to them as well. Each candidate was given two minutes to answer. And by the way, Ms. Goodman was far more successful at imposing time limits than Jim Lehrer, Martha Radatz or Candy Crowley.
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The upshot of breaking the system-imposed "sound barrier" was to remarkably soften the differences between candidates Romney and Obama.
For instance, both candidates sparred with each other over who was more the champion of dirty energy, drilling, and pipe lines. Yes, they mentioned "green technologies." But with both Romney and Obama it always seemed an afterthought. Mr. Romney evoked "drill, baby, drill" memories with his emphasis on more drilling and on the XL Pipeline. Apparently, Mr. Obama was afraid to even mention that while reserving his decision on the XL Pipeline till after the elections, he's very quietly allowed construction of the U.S. portion to actually begin.
Had Ms. Stein been admitted to the Hofstra debate, Americans would have been reminded of the impact of fossil fuel consumption not only on prices at the gas pump, but on the environment and global warming. (In fact, the notion of climate change received not a single mention in last night's contest. And this even though it certainly represents the greatest threat to not only U.S. national security, but to life as we know it.) Ms. Stein's presence would have made Obama and Romney define their positions on the topic, as she would have had the chance to make her case for a "Green New Deal" which draws connections between the consumption of fossil fuel and environmental deterioration, oil wars, and healthcare.
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Rocky Anderson's presence on stage would have brought front and center the concerns of his Justice Party. Without him the words "poverty" and "poor" crossed no one's lips, even though poverty rates in the United States are at their highest rate since 1965. Similarly, Mr. Anderson would have raised questions of breaking up the "too big to fail" banks and the prosecution of fraudulent bankers not one of whom has yet been brought to trial.
Mr. Anderson would also have made the Republicans, Democrats and public at large reframe the "jobs debate." Without him, both Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney could avoid facing the fact that the digital revolution of the last twenty-five years has rendered obsolete conventional ways of thinking about work. Robots have displaced people. As a result, it's imperative to reframe questions of employment. Available jobs must be shared; it's as simple as that. Work days, weeks, months, and years need shortening. Vacations need extensions. And the wealth the new technology is currently concentrating in the 1% needs redistribution.
Perhaps no question in last night's debate more highlighted the need for "breaking the sound barrier" than the one about the differences between Mr. Romney, Mr. Obama, and George W. Bush. In his answer, candidate Romney talked about differences in personality and context, championing small businesses, and cracking down on China. Mercifully for him, Mr. Obama did not have to answer the question.
Neither Ms. Stein nor Mr. Anderson would have allowed such question dodging to pass. The fact is, both Stein and Anderson agree, there is very little important difference between either the Romney or Obama positions or that of former President Bush. In fact under Obama, Bush policies have been exacerbated, and they promise to get even worse under Romney. The list of policy similarities is long: use of torture, promotion of free trade agreements, spying on U.S. citizens, detention of "terrorist" suspects with charge or trial, extra-judicial (drone) executions, championing dirty energy, off-shoring of jobs, misleading agreement that Social Security and Medicare are in crisis, refusal to prosecute Bush era war crimes....
Yes, Mr. Obama rose to the occasion last night. And I'm happy that he won. I'll vote for him in November. But my vote is only a stop-gap measure. During the next four years I'm going to devote my political energies to working for the Justice and Green Parties so that in 2014 they won't be excluded from presidential debates.
Even if their winning the presidency might remain a remote possibility, their inclusion in the debates will serve us all. Thanks, Amy Goodman!
- Advertisement -YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NY - 28 Feb 2012: Scientists at IBM Research (NYSE: Scientists at IBM Research (NYSE: IBM )/ (#ibmresearch) have achieved major advances in quantum computing device performance that may accelerate the realization of a practical, full-scale quantum computer. For specific applications, quantum computing, which exploits the underlying quantum mechanical behavior of matter, has the potential to deliver computational power that is unrivaled by any supercomputer today.
Using a variety of techniques in the IBM labs, scientists have established three new records for reducing errors in elementary computations and retaining the integrity of quantum mechanical properties in quantum bits (qubits) – the basic units that carry information within quantum computing. IBM has chosen to employ superconducting qubits, which use established microfabrication techniques developed for silicon technology, providing the potential to one day scale up to and manufacture thousands or millions of qubits.
IBM researchers will be presenting their latest results today at the annual American Physical Society meeting taking place February 27-March 2, 2012 in Boston, Mass.
The Possibilities of Quantum Computing
The special properties of qubits will allow quantum computers to work on millions of computations at once, while desktop PCs can typically handle minimal simultaneous computations. For example, a single 250-qubit state contains more bits of information than there are atoms in the universe.
These properties will have wide-spread implications foremost for the field of data encryption where quantum computers could factor very large numbers like those used to decode and encode sensitive information.
"The quantum computing work we are doing shows it is no longer just a brute force physics experiment. It's time to start creating systems based on this science that will take computing to a new frontier," says IBM scientist Matthias Steffen, manager of the IBM Research team that's focused on developing quantum computing systems to a point where it can be applied to real-world problems.
Other potential applications for quantum computing may include searching databases of unstructured information, performing a range of optimization tasks and solving previously unsolvable mathematical problems.
How Quantum Computing Works
The most basic piece of information that a typical computer understands is a bit. Much like a light that can be switched on or off, a bit can have only one of two values: "1" or "0". For qubits, they can hold a value of “1” or “0” as well as both values at the same time. Described as superposition, this is what allows quantum computers to perform millions of calculations at once.
One of the great challenges for scientists seeking to harness the power of quantum computing is controlling or removing quantum decoherence – the creation of errors in calculations caused by interference from factors such as heat, electromagnetic radiation, and materials defects. To deal with this problem, scientists have been experimenting for years to discover ways of reducing the number of errors and of lengthening the time periods over which the qubits retain their quantum mechanical properties. When this time is sufficiently long, error correction schemes become effective making it possible to perform long and complex calculations.
There are many viable systems that can potentially lead to a functional quantum computer. IBM is focusing on using superconducting qubits that will allow a more facile transition to scale up and manufacturing.
IBM has recently been experimenting with a unique “three dimensional” superconducting qubit (3D qubit), an approach that was initiated at Yale University. Among the results, the IBM team has used a 3D qubit to extend the amount of time that the qubits retain their quantum states up to 100 microseconds – an improvement of 2 to 4 times upon previously reported records. This value reaches just past the minimum threshold to enable effective error correction schemes and suggests that scientists can begin to focus on broader engineering aspects for scalability.
A picture of IBM’s “3D” superconducting qubit device where a qubit (about 1mm in length) is suspended in the center of the cavity on a small Sapphire chip. The cavity is formed by closing the two halves, and measurements are done by passing microwave signals to the connectors. Despite the apparent large feature size (the cavity is about 1.5 inches wide) for this single qubit demonstration, the team believes it is possible to scale such a system to hundreds or thousands of qubits.
In separate experiments, the group at IBM also demonstrated a more traditional “two-dimensional” qubit (2D qubit) device and implemented a two-qubit logic operation – a controlled-NOT (CNOT) operation, which is a fundamental building block of a larger quantum computing system. Their operation showed a 95 percent success rate, enabled in part due to the long coherence time of nearly 10 microseconds. These numbers are on the cusp of effective error correction schemes and greatly facilitate future multi-qubit experiments.
A picture of the Silicon chip housing a total of three qubits. The chip is back-mounted on a PC board and connects to I/O coaxial lines via wire bonds (scale: 8mm x 4mm). A larger assembly of such qubits and resonators are envisioned to be used for a scalable architecture.
IBM and Quantum Computing Leadership
The implementation of a practical quantum computer poses tremendous scientific and technological challenges, but all results taken together paint an optimistic picture of rapid progress in that direction.
Core device technology and performance metrics at IBM have undergone a series of amazing advancements by a factor of 100 to 1,000 times since the middle of 2009, culminating in the recent results that are very close to the minimum requirements for a full-scale quantum computing system as determined by the world-wide research community. In these advances, IBM stresses the importance and value of the ongoing exchange of information and learning with the quantum computing research community as well as direct university and industrial collaborations.
“The superconducting qubit research led by the IBM team has been progressing in a very focused way on the road to a reliable, scalable quantum computer. The device performance that they have now reported brings them nearly to the tipping point; we can now see the building blocks that will be used to prove that error correction can be effective, and that reliable logical qubits can be realized,” observes David DiVincenzo, professor at the Institute of Quantum Information, Aachen University and Forschungszentrum Juelich.
Based on this progress, optimism about superconducting qubits and the possibilities for a future quantum computer are rapidly growing. While most of the work in the field to date has focused on improvements in device performance, efforts in the community now must now include systems integration aspects, such as assessing the classical information processing demands for error correction, I/O issues, feasibility, and costs with scaling.
IBM envisions a practical quantum computing system as including a classical system intimately connected to the quantum computing hardware. Expertise in communications and packaging technology will be essential at and beyond the level presently practiced in the development of today’s most sophisticated digital computers.
In this latest progress in device performance for quantum computing IBM acknowledges support from IARPA through the Army Research Office contract W911NF-10-1-0324.
Registered journalists and bloggers can download video about IBM quantum computing at The NewsMarket.
To join the conversation:
Keep in touch on Facebook
Follow IBM Research on Twitter, #ibmresearch
Read the IBM Research blog / A Smarter Planet blog
IBM Research on YouTube
See photos on FlickrThere’s little left to be unsure about when it comes to how much Chinese drinkers love wine. Uncertainty be damned, China has risen to the fifth largest wine market in the world, and they have swirled, sniffed, sipped, and guzzled their way to becoming the biggest consumer of red wine, surpassing mainstays France and Italy. In fact, they uncorked 1.9 billion bottles last year alone according to a report by Vinexpo and The International Wine and Spirits Research. Not surprisingly, there |
, a.k.a VCAP5-CID.
Having sat 4 other VCAP exams, including 3 design exams (DCD4,DCD5 & DTD5) I was confident on what to expect in regards to the exam format, the visio style design tool and the fact that time management has always been key.
So the exam is (as per the blueprint which can be found here)
115 Questions including a mix of multiple-choice, drag-and-drop items and specialized design items
195 Minutes
So lets break this down a bit, 195 mins divide 115 questions is 1.6 mins (or 100 seconds) per question, that’s not a lot when you have 6 x visio style designs to create which can take 5-10 mins each.
So this brings me straight to the first Tip.
Tip # 1 – Time Management
As of yesterday you still cannot go back and review previous questions/answers, so you must move through the exam to be able get to & answer the valuable visio style design and also the drag/drop questions.
Allow for 5-10 mins per Visio style question (These count big on the score, DO NOT RUSH THEM!!)
Allow for 2-5 mins per Drag and Drop style question (maybe 10 in the exam)
Multiple Choice questions you should spent between 20-45 seconds on maximum – If you don’t know the answer, have an educated guess and move on, its not the end of the world if you get some multiple choice questions wrong.
I must say I always like getting visio questions early on, as these are well known to make up a significant part of the score (~50%) and I don’t like being in a position where I have to rush something I know is important.
In this case, my visio style questions where spread evenly throughout the exam, and the last of the 6 was in the last 10 questions, so make sure you manage your time so you can get to, and hopefully answer correctly ALL the visio style questions.
Tip # 2 – Know the Blueprint (properly!)
I found quite a few things I glossed over in the blueprint were covered fairly well in the exam so be prepared to be tested on a wide range of vCloud related topics.
So while you may have good experience in designing vCloud Environments, if you don’t for example work for a service provider, you may have not had much (or any) experience with Chargeback, but this is a part of a vCloud solution and is rightly covered on the exam.
These types of things may catch you off guard, at the depth of some of the questions, but hey, this is a VCAP level exam, not VCP level, so its no meant to be easy.
Tip # 3 – Create a Study Group
I’ll be honest, I felt I had a pretty good preparation for the exam, albeit with some significant distractions in my personal life, and this was because I worked in a study group with two great guys (@Grantorchard & @wheatcloud), who have years of industry experience which made for excellent debates throughout the study process.
Working in a study group is what I credit at least some of my being able to successfully achieve VCDX on the first attempt. In this case, it helped me identify my own weaknesses (yes even VCDXs have weaknesses!) so I could brush up on those areas.
So get a group of people together and work towards VCAP-CID over weeks or months depending on your groups level of experience.
Tip # 4 – Whiteboard vCloud Solutions
I would recommend for anyone taking the VCAP-CID (or in fact the VCAP-DCD or VCAP-DTD) spend some time on a whiteboard, drawing things like
1. vApp / OrgVDC and External Networking
2. Highly available Chargeback solutions
3. vSphere to Provider VDC to OrgVDC solutions
Get the study group take turns to pose scenarios for one group member to whiteboard a possible solution and discuss what is drawn and the pros/cons and if the solution meets the requirements or not. This will help you practice turning scenarios into diagrams, which you need to be able to do quickly in the exam or you risk running out of time.
General Comments
Overall I would say the VCAP-CID was the least refined VMware exam I have sat, and in fairness this is probably due to the exam being quite new, and im sure a much lower number of participants than other VCAP exams like DCD and DCA.
I spoke with the team who develop the exam and they were very pleased to get feedback on the exam, and much to there credit, acknowledged that most of my feedback was at least in part justified. I hope my feedback will help make the VCAP-CID a better exam, like the rest of the VCAPs.
I found the visio style design tool in at least one case, could not do what I was trying to due which may be a bug with the tool or similar, but this I believe prevented me from completing the question & potentially scoring higher.
I found quite a number of questions (both visio style, drag/drop and multiple choice) appeared (and I say appeared as you don’t have time to re-read every question 5 times to clarify the question) not to have sufficient information to choose between say Option A and Option B – which led to my having to make an assumption, or simply guess.
I think as more and more people sit the exam, as long as feedback is captured by as many participants as possible, the exam could quickly be brought up to the high standard of the other VCAP exams.
While this exam was not the best exam experience I’ve had, I would still recommend anyone who is involved with architecture of vCloud solutions to challenge yourself, prepare for and sit this exam.
vCloud will be around for many years to come, and over time vCAC will creep into the exam, or maybe have its own exam, but there is plenty of value testing your skills and certifying your advanced level knowledge of a major VMware product.
If you are up for the challenge, Best of luck with your VCAP-CID preparations and exam!Did Mars ever have life? Does it still? A meteorite from Mars has reignited the old debate. An international team that includes scientists from EPFL has published a paper in Meteoritics and Planetary Sciences, showing that Martian life is more probable than previously thought.
“So far, there is no other theory that we find more compelling,” says Philippe Gillet, director of EPFL’s Earth and Planetary Sciences Laboratory. He and his colleagues from China, Japan and Germany performed a detailed analysis of organic carbon traces from a Martian meteorite, and have concluded that they have a very probable biological origin. The scientists argue that carbon could have been deposited into the fissures of the rock when it was still on Mars by the infiltration of fluid that was rich in organic matter.
Ejected from Mars after an asteroid crashed on its surface, the meteorite, named Tissint, fell on the Moroccan desert on July 18, 2011, in view of several eyewitnesses. Upon examination, the alien rock was found to have small fissures that were filled with carbon-containing matter. Several research teams have already shown that this component is organic in nature. But they are still debating where the carbon came from.
Maybe biological, but not from our planet
Chemical, microscopic and isotope analysis of the carbon material led the researchers to several possible explanations of its origin. They established characteristics that unequivocally excluded a terrestrial origin, and showed that the carbon content were deposited in the Tissint’s fissures before it left Mars.
The researchers challenged previously described views (Steele et al., Science, 2012) proposing that the carbon traces originated through the high-temperature crystallization of magma. According to the new study, a more likely explanation is that liquids containing organic compounds of biological origin infiltrated Tissint’s “mother” rock at low temperatures, near the Martian surface.
These conclusions are supported by several intrinsic properties of the meteorite’s carbon, e.g. its ratio of carbon-13 to carbon-12. This was found to be significantly lower than the ratio of carbon-13 in the CO 2 of Mars’s atmosphere, previously measured by the Phoenix and Curiosity rovers. Moreover, the difference between these ratios corresponds perfectly with what is observed on Earth between a piece of coal—which is biological in origin—and the carbon in the atmosphere. The researchers note that this organic matter could also have been brought to Mars when very primitive meteorites—carbonated chondrites—fell on it. However, they consider this scenario unlikely because such meteorites contain very low concentrations of organic matter.
“Insisting on certainty is unwise, particularly on such a sensitive topic,” warns Gillet. “I’m completely open to the possibility that other studies might contradict our findings. However, our conclusions are such that they will rekindle the debate as to the possible existence of biological activity on Mars—at least in the past.”
Source: EPFLIn a FinFET structure, gates enclose the protruding drain and source to effectively block current leakage. In a planar structure, the gate is attached to the transistor on only one surface, whereas in a FinFET structure, the gate is attached on three sides of the channel, allowing better control of the current leakage than planar. Electrons move from the source to the drain through a surface under the gate in a planar structure, whereas in a FinFET structure, electrons move across the three surfaces of the fin-shaped 3D structure. Furthermore, shorter gate length means electrons move a shorter distance for the path from source to drain, enabling transistors to switch on/off very quickly. For simplicity, if the channel is a road, more channels means more road lanes but at shorter length due to the advanced process node. With more paths that are shorter in length, more electrons can move faster through the channel resulting in enhanced performance.Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said that his government would seek a Constitution amendment to ensure 70% reservation for the SC/ST communities in education and public sector services.
Reservation would be sought on the lines of Tamil Nadu model, he said.
He was addressing a dispersed gathering during the Valmiki Jayanti celebrations in Vidhana Soudha, which was disrupted following heavy rains.
Siddaramaiah said that the Supreme Court had directed that reservation should not exceed 50%, and had thereby put a cap on it. The Tamil Nadu reservation was however in contrast to this, as it had fixed reservation for these communities at 69%.
Siddaramaiah said that his government would strive towards making this a reality, as the said communities lacked adequate representation in all spheres.
"I am not doing this for the sake of votes. I am doing this to ensure social justice to the disadvantaged communities," he said adding that his government had earmarked Rs 7,000 crore for the welfare of the SC/STs for the present financial year.
Siddaramaiah also said that his government would organise a massive SC rally in Ballari in the first week of December.
Earlier, Siddaramaiah unveiled a 12 ft Valmiki statue and a garden, which have been installed between Vidhana Soudha and Legislators Home.
MLC VS Ugrappa said that the government would name one of the Metro stations and a varsity after Valmiki.MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has advised his son Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte to attend the Senate investigation into drug smuggling, but to invoke his right to remain silent once he is questioned by his critic, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.
Duterte claimed over the weekend that the Senate inquiry has been “degraded” and has become a tool for harassment.
“For what purpose? For harassment…The problem is the processes of the Senate have been degraded. It seems that it looks cheap now,” the President said.
“So once they send a subpoena, I will tell them, ‘S***. What’s the purpose? To investigate?’ If they summon you, all you have to do is to say, ‘No. We will not answer you. I will not answer you. I will (invoke) the right to remain silent.’ Period.”
“My advice to all? If you are called to the Senate... sign it. if you are cited for contempt, then you go to court. And you will say, ‘I have the right to remain silent. I will go there, but that’s it,’” Duterte added.
Duterte said he was ready to provide assistance to those who would be threatened with contempt.
“Do not be afraid of being cited for contempt in the Senate. That’s nothing. If you are summoned, as help from me as President, I will help you. I will send lawyers. I have to say that I represent the person cited to appear, and my answer to him is, ‘Shut up.’ That’s it,” Duterte said.
“So henceforth, the Senate will get nothing. I said that because they have cheapened the image of the Senate as an oppressor – not all but that’s the way it is. Do not be afraid of being questioned.”
Duterte said he would give the same advice to his son Paolo, whose name has been dragged into the entry of P6.4 billion worth of shabu from China.
“My advice to Pulong? Go there, then once he (Trillanes) questions you, tell him ‘I will not answer you, I’m invoking my right of silence,” the President said, referring to his son by his nickname.
Duterte said his son could not incriminate himself and that since the elections last year, Trillanes had already been hitting them. Days before the 2016 election, Trillanes accused Duterte of not declaring billions in his bank accounts, an accusation that the President called “garbage.”
“So what’s the point in answering you?” the President said, referring to Trillanes.
Last month, Customs broker Mark Taguba told a Senate hearing that a group with alleged ties to Paolo had asked him to pay P5 million so that his shipments could enter without scrutiny.
Taguba claimed a certain “Tita Nanie” had told him that the bribe would go to a Davao group led by the vice mayor.
The broker later apologized to Paolo and his brother-in-law Manases Carpio for mentioning them in the probe and cleared them of involvement in drug smuggling.
Duterte previously vowed to step down if it is proven that any of his children is involved in irregularities.
Duterte mocked Trillanes and asked him to refrain from using other people’s statements to fish evidence.
“So if you want evidence, Mr. Trililing (Trillanes), do not get it from the mouth of other people. Go somewhere else…You are not a lawyer. You do not know that,” he added.
Duterte said Trillanes is famous for fabricating stories and there is such a crime as subornation of perjury.
“Then you ask people to execute an affidavit, which is a lie. Ganun ’yan,” Duterte further said.
The President also has the same advice to his son-in-law, Manases, a lawyer, and who happened to represent cigarette firm Mighty King Corp. – which was why he was seen at the Bureau of Customs.
The President said Manases, who is also the nephew of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, could also opt not to answer any questions during the Senate hearing especially from Trillanes.
The President said there are four circumstances wherein one cannot testify against another person and one such area is between lawyer and client.
The other circumstances, Duterte said, are between husband and wife, between doctor and patient as well as between priest and laity in confession.
Duterte said Trillanes has been on a fishing expedition and that is all there is to it.
“If you want to find out something, don’t elicit it from my own mouth. You are foolish. Find out everywhere,” he said.– with Edith RegaladoThe toughest places to live in America Almost every county in the U.S. has its share of haves and have-nots. But there are some regions where it's just plain harder for Americans to thrive, places where the poor far outnumber those living in middle-class comfort. Ten counties in America stand out as the most challenging places to live, based on a survey of six criteria including median household income, disability rate and life expectancy, according to an analysis by The New York Times. The county with the dubious distinction of being the worst of all is Clay County, Kentucky, where residents can expect to die six years earlier than the average American.
The other four counties ranked at the bottom of the survey include four counties in the rural south: Humphreys County, Mississippi; East Carroll Parish, Louisiana; Jefferson County, Georgia; and Lee County, Arkansas. The findings highlight an often overlooked issue in the debate about income inequality -- the stubbornness of rural poverty. In the U.S., the number of poor rural residents outnumber those in the cities, with 14 percent of rural Americans living below the poverty line, compared with 12 percent in urban areas, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development's Rural Poverty Portal.
Of course, Appalachia and the South aren't the only parts of the country where people struggle, The Times' study found. Pockets of economic and social hardship extend from Maine to Alaska.
Why the South is the worst place to live in the U.S. — in 10 charts By Roberto A. Ferdman Meanwhile, there are a number of states — all of them in the South — you might want to avoid. Mississippi, which scored lower than any other state, barely broke 50. Arkansas and Alabama, which tied for second to last, each scored 51.3. West Virginia, which was fourth to last, scored 52.2. And Tennessee, which was fifth to last, scored 52.9. The South, which performed the worst of any region in the country, is home to eight of the poorest performing states. Only Virginia was in the top 25. And just barely — it placed 22nd.
Of course you'd never get an inkling of any of this from watching Fox Noise. The right's hired boobs like to characterize America's urban areas as teeming with desperately poor people.The average person's life is harder in the South and in Appalachia. The economic safety net in these states is bare bones and have gaping gaps that let many their citizens fall through into the economic margins. The South's and Appalachia's craven political leaderships that grovel before wealthy interests are the main reason why the region consistently lags behind the other states across a range of measures.But nothing, as they say, focuses the mind quite like the sight of the nuclear gallows.
So it stands to reason that for the first time since 1976, the committee on Tuesday held a hearing on the president’s authority to launch a nuclear attack. The hearing comes amid Democrats’ bubbling anxiety over President Donald Trump’s Twitter feud with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and fixation on America’s military might. Corker, for his part, said the confab, of course, had nothing to do with Trump, insisting that members of Congress have long wanted to discuss the issue.
The committee’s chair, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., meanwhile, has gone on record referring to the White House as an “adult day care center,” where aides do their best to minimize the day-to-day damage that can be done by the man-child in their care.
At his town hall meetings, Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, despite being the highest-ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, typically gets questions that are close to home. But lately, the question on people’s minds has turned more existential, perhaps the closest to home of all. People want to know, he said at a hearing on Tuesday, “Can the president really order a nuclear attack without any controls?”
My first order as President was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before….
The president has the sole authority to decide whether to use nuclear weapons, an arsenal consisting of 4,571 warheads as of September 2015. There are no legal or political restraints on the president’s power to order a nuclear strike: The president is not required to consult with anyone beforehand, and the Defense Department, Congress, and the judicial branch have no way of blocking an order once it happens.
Other countries with nuclear capabilities have adopted models that don’t give the executive unilateral authority. India and Pakistan have both established councils to authorize the use of nuclear weapons, and Russia gives the president, defense minister, and chief of general staff access to the nuclear codes, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
The senators questioned retired Air Force Gen. C. Robert Kehler, Duke University professor Peter Feaver, and former Acting Under Secretary for Policy at the Department of Defense Brian McKeon about the process by which a president can order a nuclear attack. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed concerns about the president’s unilateral authority to launch an attack, although Republicans refrained from referencing Trump by name.
Democratic lawmakers have been voicing concerns over Trump’s authority to wage nuclear war and his incessant Twitter fights, saying he doesn’t understand the consequences of a preemptive strike on North Korea.
“We are concerned that the president of the United States is so unstable, is so volatile, has a decision-making process that is so quixotic, that he might order a nuclear weapons strike that is wildly out of step with U.S. national security interests,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said at the hearing.
Similarly, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said if the United States were ever threatened and the president had to act, she would want Trump “to act in a way that acknowledges input from a lot of experts, and not to act based on a Twitter post.” Trump’s behavior “contributes to the concern about whether we’re in a situation where we need to look at, in Congress, a first-nuclear strike policy and banning that,” she added.
These concerns are not new. In January, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., introduced S.200 and H.R. 669, the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017, to prohibit the president from launching a nuclear strike without a declaration of war by Congress.
Kehler, the former head of U.S. Strategic Command, on Tuesday said the U.S. military is “obligated” to prevent Trump from launching a nuclear strike against North Korea if it deems the order to be illegal.
But Kehler admitted it’s unclear how the military would determine if an order is illegal. If he were in a position in which he had questions about the legality of an order from the president, he would say “I have a question about this” and “I’m not ready to proceed,” he told the senators.
The public’s concern, Cardin said, has been fueled by Trump’s comments on North Korea. Trump threatened in August to unleash “fire and fury like the world has never seen” against North Korea, when he spoke to reporters at his golf club in New Jersey.
“Now, many interpret that to mean that the president is actively considering the use of nuclear weapons in order to deal with the threat of North Korea,” Cardin said. “That is frightening.”
On Sunday, Trump again lashed out against the North Korean leader, who issued a statement referring to Trump as a “dotard,” which means “very old person.”
“Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me “old,” when I would NEVER call him “short and fat?” Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend – and maybe someday that will happen!” Trump tweeted in response.A member of the Secret Service uniformed division stands guard outside the White House’s (presumably now locked?) front door. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Our irrepressible colleague Carol Leonnig’s stunning account of how deep inside the White House the recent fence jumper got before he was tackled has resulted in mixed reactions of horror and shock — and, of course, a Twitter meme.
It was previously known that the intruder, Omar Gonzalez, scaled the fence, sprinted across the lawn and entered through the unlocked (!) front door. But Leonnig reports that he then evaded a Secret Service officer and ran past the stairway to the first family’s living quarters into the East Room before being caught.
With new details like these, and the Secret Service’s lack of candor, journalists on Twitter pondered what else Gonzalez might have had time to do:
John Tabin, American Spectator: “White House fence jumper makes it to Situation Room, serves as highly influential foreign policy advisor for six months before being caught.”
Simon Maloy, Salon: “The intruder signed 3 bills and paused for a brief photo with the president of Burundi before he was apprehended.”
John Schwartz, New York Times: “After a refeshing nap in the Lincoln bedroom, the fence jumper took Bo for a walk.”
Ben White, Politico: “WH intruder made himself a sandwich, watched 3 eps of Everybody Loves Raymond and took a nap before getting caught.”
Bob Hardt, NY1: “White House jumper also apparently made several recess appointments before being apprehended.”
David Waldman, Daily Kos: “White House intruder actually live-tweeted entire event, also vacuumed steps, began baking cookies.”
Al Kamen, The Washington Post: “White House intruder gets to the East Room, speaks to the nation on dangers of climate change.”
To boldly go on a field trip
Lest there be any confusion, going to the movies during the workday — even if the plot is tangentially related to work — does not count as billable hours.
In May 2013, a supervisor at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R Series — which monitors, among other things, space weather — organized a “team-building” activity in the middle of the day: lunch, then a 2 p.m. showing of “Star Trek Into Darkness.”
Many who attended assumed that since it was a work-organized event, they could charge the time as work hours. But the Commerce Department inspector general said in a report released this week that, no, going to the movies is not work.
“Unlike training events, which are designed to develop professional skills and therefore may be counted as work hours, watching a Star Trek movie offered no professional development opportunities,” the report said. “Therefore, even if such an event resulted in greater unity or cohesion, the hours spent at the event should not have been billed to the government.”
The event was planned to boost morale, and 21 people, including government workers and private-sector federal contractors, attended. Thirteen of them, including six federal employees (three at NASA, two at NOAA and one from the Commerce Department general counsel’s office), failed to deduct the time from their timecards, and seven federal contractors billed the hours spent at lunch and the movie to the government.
A whistleblower alerted the inspector general to the event, saying it “created the appearance of disregard for tax dollars.” Once the inspector general began investigating, the employees’ timecards were adjusted to reflect the non-work hours. And the contractors who worked for Noblis, Booz Allen Hamilton and Aerospace Corp. eventually all credited the money back to the government.
The inspector general concluded that the supervisor should have been clearer about timekeeping but added that the report was not intended to discourage team-building activities.
“However, events like the matinee viewing of the latest Star Trek movie... should not be conducted at the expense of taxpayers,” the IG wrote.
The art lives on
Much has been written about former nine-term congressman James Traficant of Ohio, who died Saturday after a tractor accident.
The media called him flamboyant, colorful and eccentric (that’s code for “crazy”). They talked about his great hair — talk that naturally segued into noting that it was a toupee — and dredged up the former Mahoning County, Ohio, sheriff’s unfortunate eight years in prison after his 2002 bribery conviction. They referred to his signature “Star Trek” phrase, “Beam me up.”
But Loop fans recall Traficant fondly as a budding prison artist, painting mostly horses and barns while serving his sentence. He sold the acrylic and watercolor works on a Web site run by a fan for hundreds of dollars apiece — until prison officials apparently shut down the business.
Of course, critics might say that a modestly talented 7-year-old could do better, but would the kid’s stuff be on eBay?
And given that an artist’s work usually increases in value after he’s no longer with us...
Following the money
We’ve written several times about how and where the wealthiest Americans direct their political contributions. But generally only a small sliver of the U.S. population gives money to campaigns, and that includes folks living in the country’s richest places.
Our friends at OpenSecrets.org determined how much political money flowed from the wealthiest locales in each state. Not a whole lot, it turns out.
Sure, there are some spots with plenty of generous political donors. At the top? Washington’s affluent neighbor, Chevy Chase, Md., where residents gave a combined $11.1 million over the last two campaign cycles.
Also giving millions to political campaigns are people living in the New York City suburbs of Scarsdale, N.Y., and Darien, Conn.; another D.C. suburb, Great Falls, Va.; and Paradise Valley, Ariz., a popular spot for celebrities, and home of former vice president Dan Quayle.
In 14 states, the richest places have yielded no campaign contributions this time around. That includes states with critical Senate races, such as Louisiana, Alaska and New Hampshire.
Just imagine all the untapped resources.
— With Colby Itkowitz
Twitter: @KamenInTheLoop, @ColbyItkowitz“They weren’t … they didn’t appear to be … Manning-like.” —Chris Berman, NFL Draft Day 2004
I.
Remember that whole drama? April 24, 2004: San Diego makes Eli Manning the first pick in the NFL draft, only Eli, who’s coming off a Maxwell Award–winning senior season at Ole Miss during which he also finished third in the Heisman voting, has already announced he doesn’t want to play for the Chargers and won’t sign a contract if they take him. He’s been backed up in this by his father, ex–Pro Bowl quarterback Archie Manning, who’s also, of course, the dad of reigning NFL MVP Peyton Manning, leading to a lot of dark murmuring about how the “First Family of Football” — this is a phrase that’s constantly thrown around during draft week — is trying to cheat the system. The Mannings won’t share their reasons, but their reasons aren’t hard to guess. San Diego, fresh off a 4-12 season, has fielded sub-.500 teams every year since 1996, and there’s not a lot of optimism that the team’s 80-year-old owner, Alex Spanos, is serious about turning things around. The First Family wants its baby playing in Super Bowls. Arguing about whether this is classy or classless behavior keeps ESPN talking heads in throat lozenges all week.
Previously on Grantland The Dad-Rock Prometheus A portrait of Peyton Manning at 37 “At this stage in his late career, really for the whole season-plus he’s been with Denver, Manning makes being a midlevel IT manager look like a form of ruthless conquest. It’s as if he wrote a script to install automatic PC updates, and somehow it made him the god-emperor of hell. This is how he plays football: He goes out every week with a graphing calculator and a stack of forms, and he just audits teams to death.” — Brian Phillips, Oct. 3
It makes fascinating viewing, watching the draft-day pundits try to reconcile those two big concepts, the Mannings and something wrong; it’s like there’s no verb to connect the parts of that sentence. The crowd at Madison Square Garden boos every mention of Eli’s name, but you can’t really come out as anti-Manning if you’re one of the boys in big suits. It’s not the done thing. Chris Berman at one point, and this is by way of firing off a criticism, just starts listing different categories of respect: “The Manning family. The first family. I mean, respect of the game. Respect of the people. Absolutely.” But then he hits on the conceptual solution he’s been grasping for, one that lets him question the family’s actions while still praising its essential nature. If the Mannings are synonymous with respect and honor, as they must be, but their manipulation of the draft isn’t respectful or honorable, as it maybe hasn’t been, then look: They’ve merely behaved in a way that has caused them not to resemble themselves. They’re not bad people. They’re just, in the moment, un-Manning-like.
And I don’t know about you, but watching this old draft footage now, watching Eli sheepishly blink down at Suzy Kolber during about 150 pre- and post-selection interviews, what runs through my head is, Why didn’t Peyton have to go through this? If you’re Peyton, everything just falls into place: You work hard, you binge-watch game film, a well-run Colts team happens to land the first draft pick, click. It’s as if fate shares your focus. Eli is more Archie’s natural heir than Peyton will ever be — like Eli, his dad was a fun and scrambly quarterback, more a seat-of-the-pants adventurer than the lucid math-compulsive then playing in Indiana — but because Peyton came along first, the definition of Manningness has somehow shifted in a way that includes Eli out. “Being here with my family these past few days has been really great,” he tells Kolber afterward. But something has been settled over this draft week: Eli is the un-Manning. He is the Manning who makes mistakes, and thus, as a Manning, he is unlike himself.
II.
But then, what is he like? There has always been, with Eli, something curiously vague, something that stops your impression of him from ever quite forming all the way. As well as you may know him — and any quarterback who’s won two Super Bowl MVPs is someone you can’t help but know well — you never get past that strange, encircling blank. There’s a moment in The Book of Manning, the recent ESPN Films documentary about the family, when the camera settles on an old photo of Eli in his high school jersey and you hear Archie saying, “None of us had a clue what Eli’s dreams were.” At another moment, there’s some home-movie footage of what looks like Eli’s eighth or ninth birthday party, and Cooper Manning, the oldest brother, is saying, “Eli … had a lot of friends. Everybody liked to be around Eli. But it was almost like — Eli didn’t even know their names.” And somewhere in there you catch a glimpse of him. He’s fun. He’s polite. He’s got an aw-heck good-ol’-boy affect. And maybe it’s that he’s a little daffy, or maybe he’s just abstract, but there’s a buffer around him that not much gets through.
The way I keep thinking about it is this: Eli is inaccessible in the same way that history is inaccessible. Think about, I don’t know, old Oscar races. You can still get mad that Pulp Fiction lost to Forrest Gump in 1995, because even though 1995 is almost 20 years ago now, it’s still right there. It’s legible. But think back to, say, 1945, when Billy Wilder’s great Double Indemnity lost to a cornball Bing Crosby musical called Going My Way. Even if you love Double Indemnity, it’s hard to feel the same kind of outrage, because 1945 isn’t immediate in the same way. You can know every historical fact about it, you can parse all its trends and motives, but its climate of feeling can only be entered with a supreme effort of imagination, and even then, you can never be sure you have it right. 1945 doesn’t know your name. It’s just … another place.
I know someone who knows someone who claims to know “the secret of Eli Manning.” The way he says it, you believe him. But when you ask him what it is, this guy clams up; he won’t say.
III.
If everything about a person is surprising, then nothing about that person is surprising. When Eli does something incredible, like, say, complete maybe the greatest play in Super Bowl history en route to stunning the 18-0 Patriots, it makes sense, because, sure, Eli Manning is the kind of player who does that. When he does something terrible, like, say, throw three interceptions in the fourth quarter en route to a home loss that drops his Giants team to 0-5, it also makes sense, because, sure, Eli Manning is the kind of player who does that. There may be no player in NFL history who seems more like a winner and more like a loser at the same time.
At the moment, Eli is in the middle of what’s pretty clearly the darkest stretch of his career. His team is 0-6, its worst start in 37 years. He’s thrown a league-worst 15 interceptions, matching his total from all of last season. He’s personally committed more turnovers than any other NFL team. His fourth-quarter pick against Dallas cost the Giants a comeback win in Week 1; the same thing happened against the Bears on Thursday night, when Eli skimmed a ball over tight end Brandon Myers and into the arms of Chicago’s Tim Jennings. He’s spawned a million mad-face GIFs. He’s been taunted in public by a mayoral candidate in the city of Hoboken. His Giants were blown out by Peyton’s Broncos, 41-23. Peyton is still undefeated for the season, Eli still winless — because of course Peyton would uncork some of the best football of his career at the precise moment Eli went into free fall. We could keep doing this.
What’s been amazing about watching him lose this season is that, for all that the Giants’ struggles aren’t solely or even mostly his fault, this year’s team seems no more or less a projection of his personality than last year’s team, or than the 2011 team that won the Super Bowl after a 9-7 regular season, or than any team he’s led, really. He has seemed frustrated, but he hasn’t seemed less himself, because how could he? Nothing is less Manning-like than playing quarterback poorly. But when you’re already on the margins of Manning-ness, everything becomes possible, even failure.
IV.
One useful role dynastic families often play is to clarify the values of their cultures. Picture the Kennedys — the first family of touch football — romping on the lawn at Hyannisport, the |
, I’m a doctor.’”J.J. Watt took the step from presenter last year to host the CMT Awards this year. That means J.J. has to turn on the acting chops just a little bit.
Watt appears in the opening of the skit with members of Florida Georgia Line as valets. Then he is sexually harassed by Kelly Pickler, who calls him “B.J. Watt.”
Then second-year host Erin Andrews has to deal with some incompetent office employees in Luke Bryan and Thomas Rhett before J.J. takes a call from Ashton Kutcher on skype that has some technical difficulties. A few other music stars and actresses try to persuade J.J. and Erin to be on the show before the stars really have to get ready.
Finally, J.J. takes a football to the face before looking for the “glam squad” to get him ready for the show, mullet and all.Another 8,000 oil jobs are about to evaporate, a major oil-tool supplier said Thursday, deepening the industry's wounds even as U.S. crude has regained some ground from its steep price slump.
Weatherford International's 15 percent job cut brings the tally of layoffs by the world's four biggest oil field services companies to 25,000 in recent weeks - a bigger number in a shorter time than in oil downturns of the past. More are expected if oil remains cheap at $50 a barrel.
Weatherford CEO Bernard Duroc-Danner promised investors that the company, incorporated in Ireland with its main U.S. offices in Houston, will cut a dollar of costs for every dollar of revenue it loses to the downturn. More than half of the firm's planned layoffs, expected to be complete in the first half of the year, will be from operations in the United States.
"We're now confronted with an unusually severe market contraction," Duroc-Danner said on a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter financial results. The biggest problems will arise in North America, where oil companies are reducing tool orders and haggling for lower prices, he said.
Weatherford spokeswoman Kelley Hughes declined to provide further details on where layoffs might occur. The company employed about 3,800 in the Houston-area at the time of a Houston Chronicle survey last year.
After a $4.60-a-barrel plunge the day before, U.S. oil resumed an upward trend Thursday that has brought a 15 percent price bounce since it hit a six-year trough a week ago. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.03 to $50.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday. Brent, the international benchmark, increased $2.41 to $56.57 a barrel in European trading.
Both were above $100 as recently as late July.
No one knows if oil prices are finished falling, but the level where the price ends up will make a huge difference for the fortunes of Houston, the nation's oil capital.
The city would just barely skirt an economic recession if oil settled around $50 a barrel. At $10 lower, Houston would sink into recession, along with West Texas oil hubs Midland and Odessa, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.
Oil-industry layoffs will mean reduced income and spending in Houston, affecting major economic drivers including retail, housing and manufacturing.
"Everyone is going to feel this in one form or another because of the loss of income created by all those oil industry jobs," Zandi said. But he noted Houston has diversified since the 1980s, when an oil bust mowed down thousands of oil-related jobs and businesses in Texas.
"If Houston had this price decline years ago it would have already been in full-blown recession," Zandi said. The economy's new diversity "has a real impact that's helping the city, but it's not immune from what's happening in the energy sector."
More Information Layoff tally Job cuts announced by the top four oil field services companies: 1. Schlumberger, 9,000 2. Halliburton, 1,000 3. Baker Hughes, 7,000 4. Weatherford International, 8,000
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More than 21,300 jobs were lost to plunging oil prices last month, Chicago outplacement firm Challenger, Grey & Christmas estimates. And Texas - an economic bright spot during the recovery from the global downturn in the previous decade - led the nation in January job cuts, according to the firm.
Two competing views – the bearish and the bullish – are vying for control over global oil markets.
Optimists see the free-falling number of active U.S. land drilling rigs – oil companies have idled 380 of the machines since late last year – as a sign the nation's crude output will slow, squeezing supplies and sending prices up.
But doubters see an anchor on prices in the winter-spring refinery maintenance season, which reduces those plants' oil consumption, and tepid demand worldwide, said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston.
The layoffs, he said, will help keep costs down for oil producers as the services companies like Weatherford that supply them cut their own costs so they can charge less - allowing both sectors to survive longer on cheap oil.
But cheaper services costs may not help producers for long, said Bill Herbert, an analyst at Simmons & Co. in Houston.
"It'll only be so long before demand for oil field service equipment rises," Herbert said. "These are cyclical fluctuation."
In the early 1980s - during the slow, steady first half of the decade's oil downturn before a steep drop began in 1986 - oil companies kept most of their employees for two or three years.
"The catchphrase was, 'Stay alive till '85,'" said Rusty Cloutier, CEO of Lafayette, Louisiana-based MidSouth Bank, which has 22 percent of its loans tied up in oil field services companies. "In '86, everybody got killed. They're reacting much faster now."
In the ongoing downturn, the banker said, he has heard hotel operators complain that oil-company contracts aren't being renewed, that oil workers are trimming travel and entertainment expenses and that their employers are cutting wages as much as 60 percent.
Oil field services firms are axing more employees at faster rates than they did in the oil collapse of late 2008 and 2009, which corresponded with the broader economic crisis then, said Rob Desai, an analyst at Edward Jones.
"They're trying to get ahead of it, to get into a better position for when the pendulum swings the other way," Desai said.
The services industry's preparations for a demand swing are evidenced in the way they are targeting back-office employees for layoffs more than operational workers, he said.
In the conference call, Weatherford executives said the ratio of support staff to operational workers was 59 percent at the start of 2014, but that the company aims to whittle that to less than 40 percent by the end of the year – and in the long-term, less than 30 percent.
Part of the reason oil field service companies have been so quick to cut jobs is that it is much easier to draw down operations in U.S. shale plays – which weren't active before 2007 – than in older, conventional regions, said Emily Yang, a management consultant at the North Highland Co. in Houston.
"The shale exploration industry has a lot more agility to change output compared to the traditional ways," Yang said.
As fast as the layoffs have occurred, Zandi, the Moody's economist, and other analysts said they believe the oil industry is reaching the apex of its job cuts over the next eight to 12 weeks. The reduction in drilling rigs may push oil prices higher over the next few months, analysts say.
That would be welcome news to U.S. oil workers and their employers. When employees fear losing their jobs, they tend also to lose morale and focus in their jobs, which affects companies' bottom lines, said Karla Saia, another management consultant at the North Highland Co. in Houston.
A workforce engaged in a company's mission, she said, correlates to fewer safety incidents, fewer quality defects and lower turnover.Sen. Jeff Flake Jeffrey (Jeff) Lane FlakeBrexit and exit: A transatlantic comparison Poll: 33% of Kentucky voters approve of McConnell Trump suggests Heller lost reelection bid because he was 'hostile' during 2016 presidential campaign MORE (R-Ariz.) is firing back in his growing war of words with Donald Trump Donald John TrumpHouse committee believes it has evidence Trump requested putting ally in charge of Cohen probe: report Vietnamese airline takes steps to open flights to US on sidelines of Trump-Kim summit Manafort's attorneys say he should get less than 10 years in prison MORE after the GOP presidential nominee called him "weak" and "ineffective" over Twitter.
"What Trump has been willing to do is say terrible things about women, mock the disabled, disparage minorities, impugn the character of POWs, and go after the Gold Star parents of a fallen U.S. soldier," Flake said in a statement to The Hill.China and Russia intend to develop cooperation in a range of spheres, including in various fields of technology and space exploration, a joint communique on the 21st Regular Meeting between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday.
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BEIJING (Sputnik)According to the communique published on the official website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the parties intend to continue making concerted efforts, determine the potential for bilateral cooperation, trigger ongoing development of the trade and economic cooperation.
"Based on this, the parties have agreed to promote real business cooperation in the fields of biotechnologies, information technologies, software technologies, aerospace technologies, satellite navigation technologies and ‘green’ technologies," the communique said.
The communique added, that the parties agreed to broaden long-term space cooperation through implementing the Russian-Chinese space cooperation program for 2013-2017.
Besides, China and Russia agreed to foster infrastructure construction at the border checkpoints and to expand their capacity.
Medvedev and Li met on Monday in St. Petersburg to discuss trade and investment ties, as well as cooperation in oil, gas and nuclear industries.A domestic dispute turned violent yesterday, and both parties suffered from stab wounds.
On Sept. 24 just before 5 p.m., Amarillo police officers were dispatched to a home in the 2000 block of Magnolia on a reported family fight.
Responding officers found blood on the front porch of the home and discovered that the front door was unlocked.
There was no one in the home. Officers found blood on the floor in one room.
While officers were at the home, the resident, 36, She had a stab wound on her wrist. She told officers that she was home with her boyfriend, 24, when a dispute started and he began hitting her with his fist.
She told officers that she defended herself by stabbing him with a pair of scissors, but then the man got control of the scissors and stabbed her in the wrist.
She fled to a neighbor's house to call the police.
The man followed her, but was not allowed into the home. He walked to a nearby convenience store and asked two men in a pickup for a ride. When they realized he was injured, they took him to the hospital. The man had a stab wound in his upper left chest.
He told officers at the hospital that he had been in a dispute with the female and she stabbed him with the scissors.
Officers found that the man was under a protective order that directed him to have no contact with the female. He was admitted for treatment of the non-life threatening injury. When he is released, he will be booked for violating the protective order and may be charged with assault.
His name cannot be released until he is booked or formally charged. The woman was treated at the scene, but declined transport to the hospital.Original Airdate: September 6, 2010
Written & Storyboarded by: Pendleton Ward
People often turn to Rainy Day Daydream when considering good starter episodes for those looking to begin watching AT. I concur with this notion and believe that this episode, along with The Enchiridion, really define and introduce the overall goofy and adventurous aspects of the series. Rainy Day Daydream, written and storyboarded by creator Pendleton Ward, may be the Pen Ward-iest episode of them all. It’s reeking with his creativity and silliness, it’s an overall charming depiction of the characters he created and holds so dear to him.
There are loads of creative concepts in this one. From knife storms to Conversation Parade video games, the episode is oozing with creativity in its very first minute. Throughout the years watching it, I’ve always had mixed emotions about the imagination aspect in this episode. On one hand, it’s an impressive feat that the episode manages to throw so many creative monsters and obstacles in without ever actually showing them, but on the other hand, it would’ve been cool to see the actual designs of some of these creatures and traps. It’d be a bit more interesting if the episode was half nothing happening, half Finn and Jake’s point of view.
But what we got was still tons of fun, and I really love Pen Ward’s influence on his characters. This is the only episode to be solo written and boarded by Pendleton Ward, so it’s interesting to get to see his vision of an AT episode completely on his own. The way he writes Finn and Jake is so likable and charming, and why shouldn’t it be? These are his characters, and Ward knows them better than anyone. I also really like how he allows F&J to have moments to just shoot the shit for a bit and hang out; there’s a scene where the boys flee to the attic and Jake finds some banana candy and juice and shares it with his brother. It takes up a good thirty seconds and is completely unrelated to the rest of the episode, but it’s just so enjoyably random and laid back that I really don’t mind. I like that Finn and Jake are two characters that can just sit back and enjoy life, yet still be entertaining to watch.
And this episode does its damnedest to highlight all the likability of each character: Finn’s enthusiasm and love for anything thrilling and adventurous, and Jake’s “bombastic personality” and love for thinking outside the box. Most importantly though, it highlights Finn and Jake’s terrifically crafted relationship, and the heartwarming and fun aspects of it. The more I think about it really, the more I realize how the show managed to make an amusing and exciting adventurous episode without even leaving the tree fort. It takes two strong main characters to carry that out, and I’m glad this show has Finn and Jake to turn their boredom into something very enjoyable for us.
“Good dog.”
AdvertisementsIt was just a few days ago that we received some new information regarding the iOS release of classic RPG Secret of Mana from the Square Enix Facebook page. While hearing any news about the game’s progress is always encouraging, it was little more than a tease as they still hadn’t announced a concrete release date or pricing for the highly anticipated title. Well it looks like they didn’t want to keep us in suspense for too long, as Secret of Mana has finally released in the New Zealand App Store.
As with all set release dates, Secret of Mana has appeared in the NZ App Store first where the calendar has already turned to December 21st, the game’s official release date. This means the game will slowly become available throughout other countries’ App Stores as the world spins on its axis and other time zones can catch up. Secret of Mana should finally hit the US App Store tonight at 11pm EST, at an expected price of $8.99. Early discussion of the title is already filtering into our forums, and we’ll take a closer look at Secret of Mana once we get our grubby American paws on it later tonight.In the past five or six years, I have known several people who have left Reformed Christianity for Eastern Orthodoxy. Their reasons for making that decision varied. Some were mesmerized by the beauty of the Divine Liturgy. Others found Eastern Orthodoxy (hereafter EO) to offer a greater appreciation for mystery and religious experience than what they had known as a Protestant. All of them, however, were attracted by and eventually convinced of EO’s claim to be the original church founded by Christ.
While I do not agree with their decision to depart the confessional Reformed churches of which they were members, I sympathize with their desire to be part of the historic Christian church, one that stretches back to the days of the early fathers. Many Protestants and evangelicals attest to feeling disconnected with the ancient church, and desire greater certainty that the church they attend has not been drastically changed by the world over the passing centuries. I remember feeling that way when, as a young Christian, I left Calvary Chapel (a movement that began in Southern California during the 1960s) to join a Reformed church that confessed the ancient creeds and Three Forms of Unity.
These are legitimate concerns, ones to which leaders in Reformed churches should listen with charity and pastoral sensitivity. Then, having listened, how should we respond? What does the Protestant Reformation have to say about EO’s claim to antiquity? Does Reformed Christianity have anything to offer the believer in search of the historic Christian church? How can we do a better job of showing the Reformed church’s continuity with the ancient church?
I do not pretend to have all the answers to those questions. But I believe there are good reasons for Reformed Christians to be confident that they belong to the historic Christian church. What follows is a brief survey and Reformed critique of some of EO’s claims to be the church unchanged since the days of the apostles. Rather than make exegetical arguments for the Reformation doctrines of justification by faith alone or the authority of Scripture (as necessary and worthy as those arguments are), I want to explore the allure of EO’s claim to antiquity with a view to showing what the Reformed tradition has to offer, as well as how we might improve.[1]
The Quest for the Ancient Church
If you listen to the testimonies from Protestant and evangelical converts to EO, you will inevitably learn of their deep sense of dissatisfaction with the modern evangelical church. As they retell their stories in books, blogs, and Youtube videos, people who have made this journey describe how they found their evangelical or, in some cases, Reformed church to be shallow and unfulfilling, partially because of its apparent severance from the ancient church.
For many of these people, this frustration involves more than feelings of nostalgia. Some express a genuine desire to know what happened in Christian history before their particular tradition emerged, and how their tradition connects to that history. Some complain that the Protestant narrative of church history makes an illegitimate jump from the era of the apostles to the Reformation, as if the Christian church barely existed during the centuries in between. As one convert explains, “I grew up in a fundamentalist ‘Bible church’ that loved God and had a clear desire to serve him, but I questioned why my church was so isolated from other Christians. By the time I graduated from high school I found something in the more historical faith of Reformed Presbyterianism but still wondered what exactly transpired between the first century A.D. and 1517.”[2]
Three areas where many people long for this sense of connectivity to the historic church are worship, doctrine, and church government.
Concerning the first of these three areas (worship), many converts to EO explain how they desired to worship God in the way of the early church, and that modern Protestant worship did not satisfy those desires. Burned out with worship services that reflect far more of popular culture than the liturgical practices of the historic church, many find the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church attractive. Even some who have attended Reformed churches see its appeal:
During my first year of college, I attended a Reformed Church on Sunday mornings and a Roman Catholic Church on Sunday evenings. My theology was still Reformed, but I longed for rich, liturgical worship saturated in Scripture. I encountered Eastern Orthodoxy and knew immediately that this was where I belonged. General dissatisfaction with evangelicalism led me to search for the historic church of liturgy and sacraments. And while Reformed Christianity sometimes has these elements, I found the fullness of them only within the Orthodox Church.[3]
A second area where many Christians complain of feeling an historic void in their faith is doctrine. Just as they want to be confident that they are worshiping God the same way the apostles and early church did, they also want to be sure that the teachings and beliefs of the church they attend conform to that history as well. Many former Protestants describe how their church seemed to have little to no continuity with the beliefs of the past, at least not further back than the Protestant Reformation: “Evangelicals essentially told me that the Christian church fell into heresy right away and did not recover until years later when Martin Luther rescued the faith from the hands of Roman Catholicism. Reformed thinking is more generous to the early church, but still takes significant pause at what transpired between Jerusalem and Geneva.”[4]
A third area of disconnection to the ancient church is ecclesiastical government. Given the plethora of different practices of worship and standards of beliefs among the thousands of different Christian churches and denominations today, some wonder how biblical worship and doctrine can be preserved in every generation apart from some form of apostolic succession in its ecclesiastical government. Many turn to EO for this very reason.
The Church Unchanged: Eastern Orthodoxy’s Claims
Concerning these three areas of disconnection from the ancient church (worship, doctrine, and government), EO makes claims which many troubled souls find comforting. In the first place, EO contends that its worship has not changed since the days of the apostles. They claim that the Divine Liturgy “was in practice right after the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Disciples of Christ on the 50th day after His Resurrection.”[5] While they admit that the Divine Liturgy saw subsequent development and did not take its final form until the fourth century, they maintain that the basic structure of their worship has not changed since the early church. As one Orthodox monk put it, “You have to understand, the words we are saying in today’s liturgy are the same words that Christ was saying, the same words that saints from the first century, the second century, the third century, the fourth century [were saying].”[6] Unlike American evangelicalism that undergoes constant updates and changes in its musical and liturgical styles, the Divine Liturgy appears to remain untouched by the passing fads and whims of popular culture.
The two essential components of the Divine Liturgy are the Liturgy of the Catechumens (or Word) and the Liturgy of the Faithful. The Liturgy of the Word consists of Scripture readings, preaching, and a series of chanted litanies, prayers, and verses from Psalms and hymns. The Liturgy of the Faithful is another series of litanies, prayers (including the Lord’s Prayer), and songs, but instead of Scripture reading and the homily, includes the recitation of the Nicene Creed and the celebration of Holy Communion. EO’s representatives are apt to point out that it was the practice of the early church to receive the Lord’s Supper every Lord’s Day, often citing New Testament passages such as Acts 2.42 and 20.7, as well as first- and second-century sources as the Didache and Justin Martyr.
Incorporated into EO’s worship is the veneration of icons (images depicting Christ, Mary, saints and angels) and the observance of twelve special feast days that honor key events in the life of our Lord and his mother Mary. These practices have a long pedigree and play a prominent role in the life of the Orthodox Church.
Secondly, while EO describes itself more as a way of life than a system of belief, it nevertheless claims to represent the unbroken succession of apostolic Christianity in its doctrine, which is summarized in the seven Ecumenical Councils (Nicea [325], Constantinople [381], Ephesus [431], Chalcedon [451], Constantinople [553], Constantinople II [681], and Nicea II [787]) and their respective creeds and canons.[7] For the Orthodox Church, these Ecumenical Councils constitute its confession:
The Orthodox Church of Christ is the Body of Christ, a spiritual organism whose Head is Christ. It has a single spirit, a single common faith, a single common and catholic consciousness, guided by the Holy Spirit; and its reasonings are based on the concrete, definite foundations of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Apostolic Tradition. This catholic consciousness is always with the Church, but, in a more definite fashion, this consciousness is expressed in the Ecumenical Councils of the Church…Such Ecumenical Councils the Church recognizes as seven in number. The Ecumenical Councils formulated precisely and confirmed a number of the fundamental truths of the Orthodox Christian Faith, defending the ancient teaching of the Church against the distortions of heretics. The Ecumenical Councils likewise formulated numerous laws and rules governing public and private Christian church life, which are called Church canons, and required the universal and uniform observance of them. Finally, the Ecumenical Councils confirmed the dogmatic decrees of a number of local councils, and also the dogmatic statements composed by certain Fathers of the Church…In this way, the decrees of the councils concerning faith express the harmony of Sacred Scripture and the catholic Tradition of the Church. For this reason these decrees became themselves, in their turn, an authentic, inviolable, authoritative, Ecumenical and Sacred Tradition of the Church, founded upon the facts of Sacred Scripture and Apostolic Tradition.[8]
In addition to the seven Ecumenical Councils, EO recognizes as authoritative the writings of the early church fathers. This is “for guidance in questions of faith, for the correct understanding of Sacred Scripture, and in order to distinguish the authentic Tradition of the Church from false teachings.”[9]
EO claims that, unlike western Christianity, it has experienced doctrinal unity and harmony over the past two millennia. According to one of EO’s bishops and leading theologians, Kallistos (Timothy) Ware, Orthodox Christians “have known no Middle Ages (in the western sense) and have undergone no Reformations or Counter-Reformations; they have only been affected in an oblique way by the cultural and religious upheaval which transformed western Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.”[10] Through the eyes of Orthodox Christians, the Protestant Reformation was merely a schism within the Roman Catholic Church, which itself departed from the historic church (the Orthodox Church) by exalting their bishop (the pope) over all other bishops, and unilaterally altering the words of the Nicene Creed by adding the Filioque clause. These acts led to the Great Schism of 1054.
Finally, EO offers connectivity to the ancient church in its government through its claim of an unbroken succession from the apostles to the current bishops of the Orthodox Church. EO has three tiers of church hierarchy in its government: bishops, presbyters, and deacons. These offices, EO claims, have direct lineage to the apostles, that is, the men who serve in these offices today were ordained by men who were ordained by men (and so on) all the way back to the apostles. Without this apostolic succession, says Orthodoxy, a church is not a true church: “The succession from the Apostles and the uninterruptedness of the episcopacy comprise one of the essential sides of the Church. And, on the contrary: the absence of the succession of the episcopacy in one or another Christian denomination deprives it of an attribute of the true Church, even if in it there is present an undistorted dogmatic teaching.”[11] In defense of this claim, they appeal to several ancient sources, namely, Irenaeus (c.130 – 202), and Tertullian (c.155 – c.240), and Eusebius of Caesarea (c.260 – c.340).[12]
A Critique of Orthodoxy’s Historical Claims
Is it true that EO represents the unbroken chain of apostolic Christianity in its worship, doctrine, and government? How should Reformed Christians respond to these claims?
With regard to worship, it is true that the Divine Liturgy of EO enjoys a rich and impressively lengthy pedigree. Millions of people today worship according to the traditions that can be traced back to the liturgical practices of the Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire (330-1453). However, regarding EO’s claim to unbroken succession in its worship, I make two observations. First, the notion that the Divine Liturgy has been in place since the days of the apostles is misleading and grossly oversimplified. While it is true that certain components of the Divine Liturgy were present in the liturgies of the ancient church (i.e. Scripture reading, weekly communion, the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and creeds, etc.), there is no evidence that the basic form of the Divine Liturgy was used by the apostles or universally practiced by churches in the first few centuries. The nearest example in the New Testament of an apostolic liturgy is found in Acts 2.42: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” But this, of course, is not a liturgy; rather, it describes the four main elements present in the weekly worship of the apostolic church: Word, fellowship, sacraments, and the prayers (which includes the singing of Psalms and hymns).
Likewise, the most reliable documents from the post-apostolic early church, such as the Didache (c. 2nd century) and Justin Martyr’s First Apology (c.155-157), provide us with evidence that worship in the ancient church consisted of Scripture reading, preaching, singing, the Lord’s Prayer, and weekly communion. These, however, show no signs of looking identical to the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church. In fact, the oldest surviving liturgy in use by EO today is the “Liturgy of St. James,” which dates no earlier than the 4th century. EO’s claim that its liturgy has remained unchanged since the days of the apostles is unsubstantiated and overstated.
My second observation regarding EO’s claim to historic continuity in worship concerns their use of icons. Like the Divine Liturgy, the icons of the Orthodox Church boast an impressive historicity, dating back to at least the 4th century. There is ample evidence, however, that images of Christ were not tolerated in the early church and viewed as a form of idolatry. For example, Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyon in the 2nd century, spoke against making images of Christ and honoring them “after the same manner of the Gentiles.”[13] From the 4th century, we have the Thirty-Sixth Canon of the Synod of Elvira (c.305-306), which says in part, “There should be no pictures in church, lest what is reverenced and adored be painted on walls.”[14] Also from the 4th century (394) is the letter from Epiphanus, the bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, to John, the bishop of Jerusalem, in which he tells his colleague about his shock in finding a curtain with a painted image of Christ hanging in a church. Ephiphanus tore it down and rebuked the elders of that church, explaining that such images are contrary to Christianity and “shall not be hung up in any church of Christ.”[15]
The Reformed interpretation of the Second Commandment – both in its regulatory principle of worship and its prohibition of manmade images of our Lord – is not an idiosyncratic view unique to the Calvinistic tradition of the Reformation. The historical evidence shows that EO’s Divine Liturgy and the use of icons were not used in the worship of the early Christian church, at least not before the 4th century. Throughout the Middle Ages, icons (as well as crucifixes and statues in the west) became fashionable. In fact, one is hard pressed to find any sort of image of Jesus – for use in worship or otherwise – before the time of Constantine.
Turning to EO’s claim to represent the unbroken chain of apostolic doctrine, I (again) make two brief observations. First, EO’s claim only works if one accepts the Orthodox notion of the church’s infallibility, and, specifically, that the canons and decrees of the Ecumenical Councils are infallible.[16] If the canons and decrees of the Ecumenical Councils are infallible, as EO claims, then they possess the same weight and authority as Scripture. On the other hand, if the church and its various councils are fallible, then it is possible that the church has erred in its rulings from time to time since the days of the apostles. We believe, as the Westminster Confession of Faith states, that “all synods or councils, since the Apostles’ times, whether general or particular, may err; and many have erred. Therefore they are not to be made the rule of faith or practice; but to be used as a help in both.”[17]
Second, it is important to understand that essential Christian doctrine is not limited to the seven Ecumenical Councils of the ancient church. While it is true that there exists a “catholic consciousness” in the ancient creeds, confirming “a number of the fundamental truths” of Christianity, we must also recognize that the history of the Christian church continued after the 8th century, giving rise to crucial questions and debates that required more clarity than the canons and decrees of the Ecumenical Councils provide.
The 16th century disputes over matters of authority and justification are good examples. These became matters of essential Christian doctrine as evidenced in the confessions of the Reformed churches as well as Rome’s canons and decrees of the Council of Trent. What a Christian believes about the authority of Scripture and how a sinner is made right with God matters. Yet, Orthodox theologians typically dismiss these discussions as idiosyncratic to the Western Church, a church they see as schismatic from the true historic church. As Timothy Ware notes, “Christians in the west, both Roman and Reformed, generally start by asking the same questions, although they may disagree about the answers. In Orthodoxy, however, it is not merely the answers that are different – the questions themselves are not the same as in the west.”[18] However, the debates surrounding the doctrines of authority and justification are hardly western in their origin. These in fact were the debates “at the heart of Jesus’ controversy with the Pharisees, of Paul’s controversy with the Galatians, and of the writer of the book of Hebrews’ controversy with the Judaizers who wanted to return to the shadows of Jewish temple ritual.”[19]
Thus, it is difficult not to find EO’s claim to uninterrupted continuity in its doctrine to be superficial as they possess no unifying confession on matters of essential Christian doctrine beyond the seven Ecumenical Councils. It is unsatisfactory and unfair to ignore debates on important biblical teaching simply because those debates arose in the west after the 8th century.
Finally, a brief response to EO’s claim to apostolic succession in its government, that is, that their current bishops have a direct lineage to the apostles. While such a claim is in itself dubious, even if it could be proven it is no ground for the believer’s confidence that EO has preserved the truth over the past two millennia.[20] As Michael Horton has stated, “Orthodoxy’s appeal to a direct line to the apostles is surely no greater ground for confidence than that which the Galatian churches could have claimed. Yet they were wrong. It is on the basis of the apostle’s own rebukes that we know they were wrong, and that their lofty place in the history of the church could not save them from the apostle’s anathema.”[21]
In other words, if the apostolic church itself was fraught with problems and sometimes deviated from the truth, how does EO’s claim to apostolic succession of its bishops give us confidence that the truth has been preserved pristinely over the centuries? The true apostolic succession is not one of men, but of apostolic ministry – ministry of the Word of God, which alone is the final authority for the Christian’s faith and life. “The treasure that the church carries in earthen vessels is the gospel – the announcement that God has done for us in Christ that which we could never do for ourselves, even with his help. This is all we have at the end of the day, and without it our ancient pedigree and customs, liturgies and rites, ecclesiastical offices and powers, are worthless.”[22] It is not upon an apostolic succession of men that Christ has built his church, but upon the gospel that the apostles proclaimed.
“I Will Build My Church:” The Catholicity of Reformed Christianity
What does Reformed Christianity have to offer the person in search of the historic Christian church? How should we respond to the weary pilgrim who desires continuity with ancient Christianity in areas of worship, doctrine, and church government?
Concerning worship, it is commendable for modern day Christians to desire worship services that conform to the practices of the apostolic and early church. I sympathize with believers who find themselves dissatisfied with the trends of contemporary worship, which are often shallow, worldly, and irreverent. In view of this, I can understand why some have found the rich history of the Divine Liturgy attractive. But Reformed worship offers an alternative that is not only more biblical than EO, it also maintains great continuity with the worship of the early Christian church. In fact, maintaining such continuity was a great concern of Calvin and other early Reformers, such as Bucer, Knox, Oecolampadius, Capito, Le Fevre, and Musculus. They had no desire to be innovative in worship by starting new traditions or practices, but sought to recover the simplicity of Word and sacrament that was central in the early church. As they made reforms to the worship of the western medieval church in the 16th century, they drew upon their knowledge of the early Father and their liturgies.[23]
It is for this reason that Calvin wrote into the title of the Genevan Psalter of 1542 that the Reformed liturgy was “according to the custom of the ancient church,” and produced a simple liturgy of Word, sacrament, and prayers, which ran as follows:
Call to Worship
Invocation
Confession of Sins
Prayer for Pardon
Absolution
Singing of First Table of Ten Commandments
Prayer of Commitment
Singing of Second Table of Ten Commandments
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Lesson
Sermon
Prayer of Intercession (concluding with the Lord’s Prayer)
Singing of the Apostles |
in," she told DW.
"This is because IS announced that it would send attackers to the continent through the route which refugees were taking. At the time, politicians denied this," she added, referring to over 1 million refugees from Syria and Iraq, who landed in Europe last year. The situation in European countries like Germany, which took in over 840,000 refugees in 2015, was difficult. Border controls had to be given up and many of those coming in could not be registered by authorities properly, compounding the problem, Schröter said.
The steady flow of refugees at the time also unleashed a sequence of violent attacks against asylum seekers, especially in the states of former East Germany. "Our leaders thought, if we now admit that there could be terrorists among refugees, then it would serve as fodder for right-wing populists and lead to more anti-migrant feelings. So they played it down, but ultimately that was not the right thing to do," the analyst said.
Asylum seekers have 'different backgrounds'
Bataclan was not the last target on the list of attacks in Europe. A major attack on Brussels' main airport and an underground station on March 22 this year killed 32 people and wounded many others. Smaller knife attacks and a suicide explosion in the southern German town of Ansbach shook the country and Europe. Most of these attackers were refugees themselves or had contacts with asylum seekers, highlighting the fact that the newcomers were especially vulnerable to terrorist recruiters. "There are different kinds of people who come in as refugees. They have different political backgrounds and there are some who are close to IS, and some who have fled from IS," said Schröter.
Most of the asylum seekers who come to Europe are young men, who are disillusioned when they land in Europe, because smugglers have promised them something completely different, like more money, a house and a car, Schröter said. The long registration and waiting process until they finally know what is going to happen to them, adds to the discontent, she explained. Many people simply leave refugee homes and never return, and terror groups and Islamic fundamentalist organizations, like Salafists, use this to their advantage and recruit young people to stage attacks.
Preventing possible strikes
One option to prevent potential terror attacks is to have a more precise registration process, Schröter said, adding that the state will have to monitor people more closely. The possibility of terror attacks and cyber invasions has now prompted the German spy agency BND and the domestic intelligence organization, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, to plan a 73 million euro ($78 million) project for supervising internet and telecom messaging services.
The agencies have not revealed exact plans, but according to a combined report by the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" daily, and public broadcasters WDR and NDR, the BND wants to react faster to messages sent on mobile services like "WhatsApp." The agencies justify the project, called "Panos," by saying that the "security of Germany and its citizens can no longer be taken for granted.
It is likely that the heightened supervision of communication channels will affect normal citizens and refugees not involved in terrorism. But, as Schröter says, "considering the present situation, there could be nothing worse than a big terror strike, not only because of the possible victims, but also because of the effect it will have. And that is why everything needs to be done so that there is no big attack."The foundation of being a moral person has always been about believing in God and following the teachings of the church. If you don’t follow the path Jesus walked, you are likely a heathen or a pagan or the unworthy of Heaven. Or, if you don’t follow Jesus and the teachings of the Bible, you are just lost and possibly weird, on the fringes of society and destined to be an outcast.
Heaven has always been the goal that we strive for in life. Be a good person, doing things in the name of Jesus and you will achieve your rewards in Heaven. We are told in order to go to Heaven you must be a good person. In order to be a good person, you must follow Jesus.
What if you don’t believe Heaven is the ultimate goal any longer? Can you still be a good person? Can you teach your children to be good citizens of society without using Heaven as the end goal? Can people be moral and decent human beings without getting anything in return?
I believe you can be a good person without the foundation of religion. However, as a woman who has grown up with the church and the teachings of the Christian religion, it is something that is hard to rectify in my brain. It has been so ingrained in my heart and soul that you can only be a good person if you follow Jesus. If you do what Jesus and God decree as correct and proper.
I have spent the last 29 years of my life thinking that God was the only way. That Heaven was the end goal. The only other option is eternal damnation. If you aren’t following God, you aren’t a good person, so you can’t go to Heaven, and therefore, you will burn in Hell.
Hell certainly doesn’t sound like a nice place to end up. When you look at the descriptions of Heaven and Hell in the teachings of the church, who doesn’t want to say they believe in God and hope that they will get to go to Heaven. By taking the belief of Jesus and Christianity on faith alone, it is supposed to safeguard them from the eternal damnation of Hell. Who wouldn’t want to do that?
Let’s not forget that Heaven is also a better alternative to ceasing to exist. When you die, you just are no more. I never really liked the idea of that happening either. So, what was the purpose of life? What was the goal? The end game? Ceasing to exist seems exponentially as harsh a fate as Hell.
So to alleviate either ‘negative’ outcomes at death, if we believe in God and the teachings of the church or death will end much more pleasantly. I am sure I am not alone in this thought process. I am beginning to think this is how people get caught up in the beliefs and the church.
Looking back at this, the description of Heaven and Hell is more propaganda and fear tactics. If you don’t do what we tell you to do, you will be punished. If you do exactly what we tell you to do, you will be rewarded. Don’t question or you go to Hell. Don’t miss church or you go to Hell. Don’t forget to pray at supper or you might go to Hell. Don’t support gay people or you will go to Hell. Don’t be friends with Pagans or they will bring you straight to Hell with them.
A lot of fear goes into the foundation of religion. A lot of fear and ultimatums. Fear and ultimatums lead to guilt. Guilt about doing things just right. Making sure you are following the faith perfectly. What if you slip up? You can be forgiven, but the people of the church may look down on you. You will be given a big heaping spoonful of guilt.
Like my previous post about Cults and Churches, the fear and the ultimatums and ultimately the guilt is what keeps a member of a church or a cult in line. It keeps the person feeling like they are a bad person if they don’t go along, if they don’t follow. The guilt can be enough to hold a person under the church or cult’s thumb for years and it is a form of brainwashing.
I came across this blog post recently and it made me think. The points are valid. How come our particular religion can be believed on faith, but someone else’s religion is clearly not correct. It’s not right and thus a fairy tale. All the creation tales in each different religion are similar yet, once you latch on to the one you like, it’s the only one. It’s the one that is supreme.
You can deny all others as false and ‘fairy tale’ but the one that you follow may sound similar, but it’s the only true one. You have reasons and rationale why. The brain has made connections on this that will allow you to believe that it is real. Why do you have all these answers? Because the fear and ultimatums and the guilt that goes with the teachings have given you all the answers you need to make sure you are properly educated in what to say and think. IE. Brainwashing.
Then comes a time when you doubt it. What if you doubt what you have always been told? What if you take a logical look at the things you have always believed and you put rational thought behind it? The guilt settles in.
What if I’m wrong? I am a terrible person for not believing. I should just have faith. God calls me to believe in the face of doubt. I cannot trust my own flawed judgment. I just need to put my faith in Him. Just follow the leaders of the church, they are the ones who have more knowledge than I do. I have to teach my child to believe as I have; otherwise she will go to Hell. Hell is a bad place. What if Hell does in fact exist? If you don’t teach your child about God, they will never be saved and you have condemned your child to a fate worse than death. If you don’t get your kid baptized, they will be eternally lost in the pits of Hell.
These are the thoughts that I still grapple with. I am beginning to realize that I am in fact an Atheist. I have tried to cling to the label of the lesser evil in society of Agnostic, that of someone who is spiritual and who is not sure what they believe. But, I do know what I believe. In my heart of hearts, I know that there is no such thing – there is no validity to the stories I have grown up with. I know in my rational mind that I don’t want to be putting my kid through the same fear and guilt that I am currently trying to dig myself out of.
I hold tight to the lesser label, a label that doesn’t really bring me peace of mind either, because it is less harsh than the reality. The finality of the whole concept. It lessens my guilt. It lessens the doubt in my doubt and the uncertainty. I am coming to terms with the fact that I was in fact brainwashed and I was conditioned with fear tactics and guilt to believe in something that can’t possibly be real.
It makes no sense to me now. I am trying to figure out why the concept of God and Jesus made sense to me before. A flowery story about a man who died for me and forgives me of all my sins. A story of redemption and of love and kindness. It made sense because it was about the good in people. It was about the rewards for being a good person. It was about being a part of something.
How come we can’t teach our kids to forgive our fellow human beings for their misgivings and their shortcomings. Can’t we teach our kids to be kind and loving to all those they come in contact with? Why does the basis of morals and the difference between right and wrong have to be set in the foundation of a religion?
Instead of guilt, I hope to give the facts. I hope to give the theories and the stories. As I learn more of the different stories and the different culture theories of how the world came to be, I hope I can pass on the questioning nature I have grown to possess and leave the guilt out of my daughter’s heart.San Antonio tries to halt mix of guns, domestic violence
SAN ANTONIO - In the days before Cynthia Jean Goodrum's slaying on Dec. 27, her husband purchased several firearms, an ominous sign in a relationship that had long been tumultuous.
The devoted mother and nurse had filed to divorce Narada Goodrum. The looming threat from her husband was laid out in her court petition: Narada began to amass an arsenal after Cynthia, 34, asked for a divorce.
Bexar County deputies investigated a disturbance between the Goodrums a week earlier. No one was arrested, but deputies did remove a handgun that was in plain view.
"She was very scared, and she wanted to know what to do," said Mark Thompson, Cynthia Goodrum's lawyer.
This deadly mix of guns and domestic violence is all too common, and was part of at least 10 of the city's 88 homicides last year. Courts have long recognized the peril, and assailants who are convicted of domestic assault are prohibited by federal law from possessing or purchasing a firearm.
Recent strategy
Now San Antonio courts are confiscating guns fin domestic violence incidents - a strategy adopted last year to confront the problem.
Cynthia Goodrum, pregnant at the time, had sought a restraining order against her husband. But before the papers could be served, the 33-year-old dragged her by the hair into the kitchen of their house in Bexar County and shot her to death.
Last week, on the run in Las Vegas, Goodrum took his own life.
National and local experts say that if an abuser has access to a firearm or weapon, the chance of them killing someone increases dramatically. So far, Bexar County Magistrate Judge Michael Ugarte said he's signed about 10 of those orders.
Case-by-case basis
"We use it on a case-by-case basis," Ugarte said. "Sometimes, family violence situations get out of hand and people get injured. If you remove the instrument that can escalate it, it may not get worse than it already is."
Cynthia Goodrum's lawyer said removing firearms from a potentially violent person makes sense, though clearly not a in every case. Narada Goodrum had yet to be arrested, so the courts wouldn't have stepped in under the new policy.
"If someone's ready to kill his pregnant wife, then he's going to do it no matter what," said Thompson. "Maybe not having weapons would slow him down, but I've even seen a case of a man killing a woman by setting her on fire."
PEACE Initiative executive director and cofounder Patricia Castillo said the affects of the firearms surrender order have yet to be determined.
"The fact that we're even pursuing it, to me, is groundbreaking," said Castillo, whose local nonprofit is dedicated to fighting domestic violence. "Domestic violence and weapons is a deadly combination."You will have to build the rear camera mount to match your camera, both in terms of length and height -- the vertical distance from the base of the camera to the center of the lens should be designed so the lens will line-up with the center of the small (and large) mirrors. In this case, I used a 1 1/2" wide piece of 1/2" thick material that is glued to the bottom of the base plate and extends 5 1/2" beyond the rear edge of the base. I put a slotted hole in mine so I could fool around with the camera to mirror distance. For the EOS 7D, a 1" elevation block brought the center of the lens up to the center of the mirrors. This does not have to be anything fancy, but it is very important that the camera end up level from left to right -- the eyes have an amazing ability to converge on the horizontal plane, but they don't do very well when there is a vertical miss-match between the left and right.
Ideally, you will want to be able to slightly swing the large mirrors on their single mounting screws to make the two images converge correctly for the distance to the selected elements of your photo. This is what your eyes do naturally at all times so that your left and right images converge properly, and of course, proper convergence is a key element of professional 3-D shooting.Belgian police missed multiple chances to unmask the ISIS terror cell before they carried out massacres in Paris and Brussels, a secret report has claimed.
Jihadists butchered 130 people in the French capital on November 2015 before extremists killed 32 in attacks on Brussels airport and Metro the following March.
A confidential report has revealed that police in Belgium had numerous opportunities to expose the terror network before they went on the rampage in the two capital cities.
Jihadists butchered 130 people in the French capital in November 2015 before extremists killed 32 in attacks on Brussels airport and Metro the following March
Officers are said to have stopped a vehicle driven by one of the Paris attackers, Brahim Abdeslam (right)- whose brother Salah (left) was later captured - in 2015, and found him with a booklet about 'parental consent for the Jihad'
The Wall Street Journal says it has seen a report by the Comite P watchdog agency which is looking into the work of Belgian police since the two massacres.
In one example, officers are said to have stopped a vehicle driven by one of the Paris attackers, Brahim Abdeslam - whose brother Salah was later captured - in 2015, and found him with a booklet about 'parental consent for the Jihad'.
He was arrested for drug possession but, despite being on the terror watch list, was released after a short questioning.
Officers also failed to examine a USB drive concealed behind the car radio, the report claims, adding that an email address the suspect supplied s_orry@hotmail.com, was fake - another detail that went unnoticed.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the report also reveals that the Abdeslam brothers were linked to other suspects while police did not follow up when Salah used a picture of the ISIS flag as his social media profile picture.
On March 22, ISIS-linked attackers struck Brussels airport and the metro killing 32 people
It comes just days after it was revealed that Belgium had prevented six attacks over the past two years, with the country still a prominent target for jihadist assaults.
In January 2015, Belgian police dismantled a cell in Verviers in the east of the country which was later seen as the rough beginnings of the jihadist group that attacked Paris in November that year.
That team of extremists used machine guns and suicide bombs to murder revellers at the Bataclan music venue, at bars and restaurants and outside the Stade de France stadium.
And on March 22, ISIS-linked attackers struck Brussels airport and the metro killing 32 people, despite the arrest in the Belgian capital only four days earlier of the last surviving jihadist from the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam.
Since that attack, Belgian police and intelligence services have seen a major increase in information, 'up to 600 tips daily', Jacobs said.A Queensland man will have to pay Nintendo $1.5 million in damages after illegally copying and uploading one of its new games to the internet ahead of its release, the gaming giant says.
James Burt, 24, of Sinnamon Park in Queensland will pay Nintendo $1.5 million after an out-of-court settlement was struck to compensate the company for the loss of sales revenue.
Nintendo said the loss was caused when Burt made for the Wii gaming console available for illegal download a week ahead of its official Australian release in November last year.
Under Australian law, copying and distributing games without the permission of the copyright holder is a breach of the Copyright Act.
Nintendo applied and was granted a search order by the Federal Court forcing Burt to disclose the whereabouts of all his computers, disks and electronic storage devices in November.01:21 The Truth About Tornadoes and Big Cities The Weather Channel's Dave Malkoff says big cities are no stranger to tornadoes.
Residents across Florida are recovering from severe thunderstorms, including three confirmed tornadoes, that struck Florida early Sunday morning, killing at least two people, injuring several others and knocking out power to 100,000 homes statewide, authorities said.
Manatee County Sheriff Brad Steube said two people, a man and a woman, were killed and four children have been hospitalized after their mobile home was destroyed in Duette by an EF-2 tornado. The two deaths are the first tornado-related fatalities in the state since 2012, during Tropical Storm Debby.
<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/flvictims.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/flvictims.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/flvictims.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > Authorities have identified the two people killed by severe weather in Duette, Florida, Sunday morning as Steven and Kate Wilson. ((Twitter/@lynblake) ) ((Twitter/@lynblake) ) The deceased were identified as Steven Wilson and Kelli Wilson, reports NBC. Steven was pronounced dead at the scene and Kelli was pronounced dead at the hospital. A third adult in the mobile home at the time, Steven M. Wilson, and the four children were hospitalized with what are believed to be non-life threatening injuries.
The tornado ripped a 300-foot-wide swath of destruction along a nine-mile stretch of the county, the National Weather Service said.
“I’m amazed to see anybody got out of this alive,” Steube told the Associated Press.
Two GoFundMe accounts have been established for the family, the Tampa Tribune reports. To donate, access gofundme.com and search “Duette Tornado Victim’s Family” or “Duette Tornado Victims Dad and Kids.”
A second EF2 tornado touched down in Seista Key in Sarasota County with winds estimated to have reached 70 mph, according to the NWS. Fire crews were going door to door to check on residents. Photos posted to social media after the storms show significant damage to homes.
Several condominiums were damaged and the second floor of a home collapsed in Siesta Key, causing two injuries, NWS also reports.
Two people had to be rescued in Sarasota after their home was wiped out by early morning storms, reports ABC Action News. They suffered minor injuries.
"I've lived on this block since 1976," neighbor Don Garvey told WTVT. "I saw that whole street develop, and I didn't ever think that I'd see the whole street destroyed," said Don Garvey.
Florida Power and Light reported there were 17,000 homes without power in Sarasota County. The county government said that less than 45 homes in the area suffered damage and estimated the damage at less than $3 million total, but has opened a multi-agency resource center at the Edson Keith Mansion at Phillippi Estate Park to assist residents whose properties have been impacted by Sunday's storms, WTSP reports.
Farther south, a line of severe thunderstorms swept through the Naples area with wind gusts topping 80 mph.
"The wind was getting stronger and stronger and then it sounded like a freight train," resident Mary Felix told WZVN.
A storm spotter reported transformers blown out and trees and power lines down in the Naples pier area.
<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/plane_28.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/plane_28.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/plane_28.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > Naples resident Judith "Judge Judy" Sheindlin's plane was damaged after severe weather swept through the area over the weekend. (Ivan Wolin) ( Naples resident Judith "Judge Judy" Sheindlin's plane was upended by the storms that blew through the area. (Ivan Wolin)) ( Naples resident Judith "Judge Judy" Sheindlin's plane was upended by the storms that blew through the area. (Ivan Wolin)) Wind speeds were strong enough to move planes at the Naples airport. Photos show a jet belonging to Judith "Judge Judy" Sheindlin resting on its tail, with its front landing gear dangling in the air.
An EF1 tornado was reported near Hobe Sound Sunday, according to NWS. It touched down near U.S. 1 before moving rapidly northeast and weakening to an EF0. Several large trees were snapped at the trunk or uprooted and tere was damage to roofs and cars.
Monday the Sarasota County Government will open a resource center to aid residents whose properties were damaged by the storms, according to the Herald Tribune. Residents will be able to meet with county building officials, utilities staff, American Red Cross representatives, Florida Power & Light, and the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.
PHOTOS: Florida Severe Storm Damage SundayQuebec City's Muslim community was unsettled by acts of intolerance long before six men were gunned down in one of the city's largest mosques during Sunday night prayers.
Members of the mosque where the shooting occurred, the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec, had found intolerance written on their building's walls in the form of swastikas.
In June, they found intolerance delivered to their doorstep during Ramadan as a gift-wrapped pig's head with a note that read, "bon appétit."
A few weeks later, a pamphlet was circulated in the neighbourhood that alleged the mosque was linked to terrorism.
The pig's head was found by a regular at the mosque during the holy month of Ramadan. (Radio-Canada)
So the mosque installed security cameras both inside and outside the building.
But it wasn't enough to prevent the unthinkable: a brazen shooting Sunday night that left six members dead and five others seriously injured.
"Security at our mosque was our major, major concern," said Mohamed Labidi, the facility's vice-president. "But we were caught off-guard."
Montrealers held a vigil Monday night for victims of the mosque shooting. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)
Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, was charged Monday with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder. He was remanded in custody until his next court appearance Feb. 21.
Bissonnette appears to have earned a reputation as an online troll at Laval University, where he studied anthropology and political science.
In a Facebook post, a refugee support group said Bissonnette is "known to several activists in Quebec City for his pro-Le Pen and anti-feminist positions."
Marine Le Pen, leader of France's National Front party, is considered one of the leading voices of the anti-immigrant far-right movement in Europe.
Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, is charged with six counts of first-degree murder. (Facebook)
Precautions taken
Quebec City police don't believe there's a link between the graffiti and the pig's head and Sunday's shooting.
But it's difficult for the leaders of the mosque to ignore the context in which the attack occurred — one they say includes increasing hostility towards Quebec City's Muslim community.
"For two or three years now there have been individuals who appear in society and insult others because they are not like them," said Boufeldja Benabdallah, the mosque's co-founder.
"We don't live in a climate of fear, but we do take precautions."
Far-right groups
Quebec City has a particularly active community of far-right groups compared to other Canadian cities.
The neo-fascist Atalante Québec conducts food drives for poor white families and even held a recruiting campaign at Laval University last week.
A Quebec chapter of Soldiers of Odin, an anti-immigrant group with origins in Finland, recently said it wants to "patrol" areas of Quebec City with large Muslim populations.
The activities of such groups are likely to come under greater scrutiny in the days to come, even though it doesn't appear Bissonnette had a formal relationship with any of them.
(The leaders of La Meute, a Facebook group critical of multiculturalism that claims to have 43,000 members, said Bissonnette was never a member. A former leader of Soldiers of Odin-Quebec, Dave Tregget, said he'd never heard of the accused.)
The biggest far-right groups in the province, including Atalante, have released statements condemning the attack. Some appeared concerned it could damage their efforts to appeal to larger audiences.
Sylvain Maikan, a spokesman for La Meute, said he was worried his group would be linked to violent and racist elements of the far right.
"That's completely false and frustrates me to the highest degree," he told CBC in a Facebook exchange Monday night.
'Should not be complacent'
Premier Philippe Couillard said Sunday's shooting doesn't change the fact Quebec is an open and tolerant society, but he did acknowledge the presence of the "devils" of xenophobia and racism.
"We should not be complacent in our society," he said.
Previous Next
For the moment, Quebec's political class is making a show of unity and putting controversial political questions of identity and immigration aside.
At a candlelight vigil Monday night, politicians from all parties and all levels of government joined with thousands of others to express their dismay about the shooting.
Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume told the crowd: "Let's hope that one of the consequences of this will be rejecting those who feed off hate."(Adds Oppenheimer statement, paragraph 8)
June 8 (Reuters) - Oppenheimer & Co agreed to pay nearly $3 million in fines and restitution to settle U.S. regulatory charges that it improperly sold risky exchange-traded funds to risk-averse elderly customers and other retail investors.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said on Wednesday the Oppenheimer Holdings Inc unit will pay a $2.25 million fine and reimburse $716,832 to roughly 150 customers.
Oppenheimer did not admit or deny wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
FINRA said that from August 2009 to September 2013, New York-based Oppenheimer sold leveraged, inverse and inverse-leveraged ETFs that were unsuitable for clients based on their ages, investment objectives and finances, and lacked proper supervision to ensure that such sales were not made.
The clients included an 89-year-old "conservative customer" making $50,000 a year and who lost $51,847 investing in ETFs, and a 91-year-old "conservative customer" making $30,000 a year who lost $11,161 in ETFs, the brokerage regulator said.
Oppenheimer conducted roughly 30,740 non-traditional ETF transactions totaling $1.7 billion in retail brokerage accounts during the four-year period, FINRA said.
ETFs trade on exchanges and typically track indexes or other securities. Inverse ETFs are designed to move in the opposite direction of what they track, and leveraged ETFs are designed to magnify the returns of what they track. Many brokerages no longer sell non-traditional ETFs.
In a statement, Oppenheimer said it was happy to settle, and "has for several years put in effective enhanced procedures and controls surrounding the sale of leveraged ETFs." (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by W Simon, Bernard Orr)There are 12 clubs without players because of international call-ups in January
Africa Cup of Nations 2015 Host: Equatorial Guinea. Dates: 17 January - 8 February. Coverage: Live text commentary and reports on every game, plus all the latest news from the tournament, on the BBC Sport website.
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure is the highest-profile name among 19 players departing the Premier League this month to compete in the Africa Cup of Nations or Asian Cup.
If Ivory Coast go all the way to the Africa Cup of Nations final on 8 February, Toure would be absent for at least five matches, including the top-of-the-table game against Chelsea on 31 January.
However, the 31-year-old could return for the trip to Stamford Bridge - having missed three matches - if the Elephants fail to reach the knockout stage.
Champions City are not the only side ruing the loss of key men to this month's two international tournaments.
Twelve Premier League clubs are without players who will be at Afcon - which takes place between 17 January and 8 February - and the three-week long Asia Cup, which begins on Friday. A total of 16 players are in Equatorial Guinea and three in Australia.
Champions League-chasing Southampton and relegation-threatened Crystal Palace are the hardest hit, having each lost three players who have played first-team football for them this season.
Palace will continue their battle against the drop without influential duo Yannick Bolasie and Mile Jedinak, both of whom have played more than 1,600 minutes of top-flight football this season.
As well as crucial league matches, there is also a risk that top-flight clubs could be depleted for vital FA Cup and League Cup ties - although the length of a player's absence depends on how far their nation progresses.
Club-by-club - Premier League players set to miss games while at Afcon & Asian Cup Club Players Key stats (eg goals, chances created, minutes played) * 2014-15 Premier League stats correct on 8 January Crystal Palace Yannick Bolasie (DR Congo) 1,688 mins; 26 chances Adlene Guedioura (Algeria) 45 mins; 38 passes Mile Jedinak (Australia) 1,617 mins; 5 goals Kwesi Appiah (Ghana) Has been on loan at Cambridge Everton Christian Atsu (Ghana) 70 mins; 41 passes Leicester City Riyad Mahrez (Algeria) 1,216 mins; 23 chances Liverpool Kolo Toure (Ivory Coast) 551 mins; 16 tackles Manchester City Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast) 1,523 mins; 7 goals Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast) 1,302 mins; 9 goals Newcastle United Papiss Cisse (Senegal) 633 mins; 9 goals Cheick Tiote (Ivory Coast) 898 mins; 34 tackles Southampton Sadio Mane (Senegal) 934 mins; 7 goals Emmanuel Mayuka (Zambia) 49 mins; 14 passes Maya Yoshida (Japan) 772 mins; 401 passes Stoke City Mame Biram Diouf (Senegal) 1,354 mins; 5 goals Swansea City Ki Sung-yueng (South Korea) 1,728 mins; 16 chances Tottenham Hotspur Nabil Bentaleb (Algeria) 848 mins; 635 passes West Ham United Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal) 1,328 mins; 45 tackles West Bromwich Albion Youssouf Mulumbu (DR Congo) 724 mins; 503 passes
The'medical joker'
Teams competing in the Africa Cup of Nations had to finalise their 23-man squads on Wednesday - but there is room for manoeuvre.
Senegal boss Alain Giresse is still monitoring the fitness of Southampton midfielder Sadio Mane, despite Saints boss Ronald Koeman ruling the player out of the tournament with a calf injury.
Former France midfielder Giresse revealed he may use a "medical joker" - a provision that allows him to call up a player up to 48 hours before the country's first game (against Ghana on 19 January) - in order to give the 22-year-old the greatest chance of recovering in time.
Late withdrawals
There might have been significantly more Premier League involvement in the Cup of Nations but injury forced the late withdrawal of several players.
Diafra Sakho has scored eight league goals for West Ham this season and Senegal wanted to include him in their squad but the 25-year-old suffered a recurrence of a back injury playing against West Brom on 1 January and has not been included.
The Hammers might also have lost the influential Alex Song but after an on-off saga of whether he would play for Cameroon, the 27-year-old announced his retirement from international football.
Versatile Jeffrey Schlupp, with three league goals for Leicester, has pulled out of the Ghana squad through injury, although Kwesi Appiah, who has been on loan at Cambridge from Crystal Palace, has been included.
Newcastle midfielder Mehdi Abeid also misses out, withdrawing from the Algeria squad with a toe injury.
Some notable absentees from the Championship include Bournemouth's Tokelo Rantie (South Africa), Cardiff's Bruno Ecuele Manga (Gabon), Charlton's Frederic Bulot (Gabon), Sheffield Wednesday's Kamil Zayatte (Guinea), Wolves' Bakary Sako (Mali) and Middlesbrough's Emilio Nsue (Equatorial Guinea).
League One players away on international duty include Doncaster's Dean Furman (South Africa), Peterborough's Gabriel Zakuani (DR Congo), Swindon's Massimo Luongo (Australia) and Yaser Kasim (Iraq).January 24
This patch contains a new save game system, performance optimizations, crash fixes, fixes for progression blockers, fixes for gameplay bugs, and localization fixes.• Reworked save system and menu. You now have access to significantly more saves and save slots than before.• Performance improvements.• Crash fixes.• Fix for audio corruption issue that could occur after extended periods of play.• Many localization fixes.• Many stuck spots fixed and missing collision added.• Added missing names to the credits.• Fixed issue where, rarely, the game could return to the main menu after loading occurs.• Save games will no longer rarely get stuck in a state where no input is accepted, including the Esc key.• Loading videos will no longer use the default 'Happy is the Country with no Past' if the user is playing in a language other than English• Subtitles no longer keep playing when pausing a cinematic.• Dying now loads the most recent save state, rather than the last autosave.• Emitted lights will no longer sometimes fail to render when entering an area for the first time.• Save/Load no longer causes (Unconscious) NPCs to be tagged as (Deceased) when loading back in. Don’t worry - they were never really dead, just mislabelled.• Alternating the quality game settings no longer causes the weapons equipped on characters to disappear from view.• Train station flashback audio should now always play during their related cutscene.• Running too fast can no longer cause visual/collision issues.• Systemic NPCs and those who should be on patrol in encounters should no longer occasionally stand in place motionless until suspicion is triggered.• Large amounts of corpses or NPCs no longer cause game |
Refugees and human rights organisations react with anger as minister says saving people encourages others to risk voyage
Britain will not support any future search and rescue operations to prevent migrants and refugees drowning in the Mediterranean, claiming they simply encourage more people to attempt the dangerous sea crossing, Foreign Office ministers have quietly announced.
Refugee and human rights organisations reacted with anger to the official British refusal to support a sustained European search and rescue operation to prevent further mass migrant drownings, saying it would contribute to more people dying needlessly on Europe’s doorstep.
The British refusal comes as the official Italian sea and rescue operation, Mare Nostrum, is due to end this week after contributing over the past 12 months to the rescue of an estimated 150,000 people since the Lampedusa tragedies in which 500 migrants died in October 2013.
The Italian operation will now end without a similar European search and rescue operation to replace it. The Italian authorities have said their operation, which involves a significant part of the Italian navy, is unsustainable. Despite its best efforts, more than 2,500 people are known to have drowned or gone missing in the Mediterranean since the start of the year.
Instead of the Italian operation, a limited joint EU “border protection” operation, codenamed Triton and managed by Frontex, the European border agency, is to be launched on 1 November. Crucially, it will not include search and rescue operations across the Mediterranean, just patrols within 30 miles of the Italian coast.
Human rights organisations have raised fears that more migrants and refugees will die in their attempt to reach Europe from the north African coast. The hard-pressed Italian navy will be left to mount what search and rescue operations it can. The new European operation will have only a third of the resources of the Italian operation that is being phased out.
British policy was quietly spelled out in a recent House of Lords written answer by the new Foreign Office minister, Lady Anelay: “We do not support planned search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean,” she said, adding that the government believed there was “an unintended ‘pull factor’, encouraging more migrants to attempt the dangerous sea crossing and thereby leading to more tragic and unnecessary deaths”.
Anelay said: “The government believes the most effective way to prevent refugees and migrants attempting this dangerous crossing is to focus our attention on countries of origin and transit, as well as taking steps to fight the people smugglers who wilfully put lives at risk by packing migrants into unseaworthy boats.”
The Home Office told the Guardian the government was not taking part in Operation Triton at present beyond providing one “debriefer” – a single immigration officer – to gather intelligence about the migrants who continue to make the dangerous journey to Italy.
Other EU countries have responded to the call for help with two fixed-wing aircraft and three patrol vessels.
It is understood that Britain does not rule out providing further support later for an operation it says will be limited to “border management”. As it does not involve search and rescue missions it will not be covered by British government policy which regards the rescue of desperate migrants as only encouraging others to make the hazardous journey.
The home secretary, Theresa May, was among justice and home affairs ministers who agreed earlier this month to the ending of the Italian search and rescue operation and to deploying Operation Triton without delay in order to “reinforce border surveillance in the waters close to the Italian shores”.
European interior ministers acknowledged that the situation in the Mediterranean was of the greatest concern “as there are indications that the current trend will continue and the situation even risks deteriorating further”.
As well as deploying “Task Force Mediterranean”, which includes two fixed-wing surveillance aircraft and three patrol vessels in Operation Triton, ministers agreed a series of North African measures including finding ways of curtailing the supply of vessels from Tunisia and Egypt used by people smugglers.
May told the Commons the meeting had agreed “the prompt withdrawal of the Mare Nostrum operation … and for all member states to comply fully with their obligations under EU migration and asylum [policies].”
Admiral Filippo Maria Foffi, the commander in charge of the Italian naval squadron involved in Mare Nostrum, is expected to spell out on Tuesday the impact of its cancellation.
The British Refugee Council chief executive, Maurice Wren, responding to the Foreign Office refusal to take part in future search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean said: “The British government seems oblivious to the fact that the world is in the grip of the greatest refugee crisis since the second world war.
“People fleeing atrocities will not stop coming if we stop throwing them life-rings; boarding a rickety boat in Libya will remain a seemingly rational decision if you’re running for your life and your country is in flames. The only outcome of withdrawing help will be to witness more people needlessly and shamefully dying on Europe’s doorstep.
“The answer isn’t to build the walls of fortress Europe higher, it’s to provide more safe and legal channels for people to access protection.”
Tony Bunyan, director of Statewatch, which documents European justice and home affairs policies, added: “The government’s justification for not participating in Triton is cynical and an abdication of responsibility by saying that not helping to rescue people fleeing from war, persecution and poverty who are likely to perish is an acceptable way to discourage immigration.”
Amnesty International wrote to the home secretary last month criticising the woeful response from European countries to the unacceptable scale of the loss of life from the influx of refugees and migrants on boats across the Mediterranean.One of the many miracles of "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" is the way the movie transforms a blustering, pigheaded caricature into one of the most loved of all movie characters. Colonel Blimp began life in a series of famous British cartoons by David Low, who represented him as an overstuffed blowhard. The movie looks past the fat, bald military man with the walrus moustache, and sees inside, to an idealist and a romantic. To know him is to love him.
Made in 1942 at the height of the Nazi threat to Great Britain, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's work is an uncommonly civilized film about war and soldiers--and rarer still, a film that defends the old against the young. Its hero is a blustering old windbag Clive Wynne-Candy, a war-horse of the Army since the Boer War, now twice retired from regular duty and relegated to leading the Home Guard.
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As the film opens, the general has ordered military training exercises and announced, "War starts at midnight." A gung-ho young lieutenant decides that modern warfare doesn't play by the rules, and jumps the gun, leading his men into the General's London club and arresting him in the steam room. When Wynne-Candy bellows, "You bloody young fool--war starts at midnight!" the lieutenant observes that the Nazis do not observe gentleman's agreements, and insults the old man's belly and mustache.
Wynne-Candy is outraged. "You laugh at my big belly but you don't know how I got it! You laugh at my mustache but you don't know why I grew it!" He punches the young lieutenant, wrestles him into a swimming pool--and then, in a flashback of grace and wit, the camera pans along the surface of the water until, at the other end, young Clive Candy emerges. He is thin and without a mustache, and it is 1902.
"The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" has four story threads. It mourns the passing of a time when professional soldiers observed a code of honor. It argues to the young that the old were young once, too, and contain within them all that the young know, and more. It marks the General's lonely romantic passage through life, in which he seeks the double of the first woman he loved. And it records a friendship between a British officer and a German officer, which spans the crucial years from 1902 to 1942.
This is an audacious enough story idea to begin with, but even more daring in 1942, when London was bombed nightly and the Nazis seemed to be winning the war. Powell at first wanted Laurence Olivier to play his title role, but the screenplay ran into fierce opposition from Winston Churchill, and the Ministry of War refused to release Olivier from military duty. Then Powell cast Roger Livesay, a young actor who had worked for him before, and as the German officer, an emigre Austrian actor named Anton Walbrook.
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That led to an encounter between Churchill and Walbrook, recounted by the British film critic Derek Malcolm: "Churchill's reaction was furious. He is said to have stormed into Walbrook's dressing room when he was appearing in a West End play demanding: 'What's this film supposed to mean? I suppose you regard it as good propaganda for Britain.' Anton's reply was quite telling, he said 'No people in the world other than the English would have had the courage, in the midst of war, to tell the people such unvarnished truth'."
Ah, but he praised his adopted homeland too soon. Churchill continued to resist. Powell could not borrow gear and trucks from the Army, "so we stole them." The film was at first banned, then reluctantly released in a shorter version, and in the U.S. it lost 50 minutes of its 163-minute running time; the entire flashback structure was replaced by a chronological story line. Only in 1983 was the film finally restored, and hailed as a masterpiece. "It stands," wrote the critic Dave Kehr, "as very possibly the finest film ever made in Britain."
"The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" is a film of balance and insight--a civilized film, which even in a time of war celebrates civilized values. What it regrets is the loss, in two World Wars, of a sense of decency and fair play that had governed the European military classes. Near the film's end, the German refugee corrects the sentimentalism of the old general, telling him from first-hand experience that Nazism is the greatest evil the world has ever known, and saying there is no point in playing fair when the enemy plays foul, if that means you lose, and evil wins.
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Despite this sober undercurrent, "Colonel Blimp" is above all a comedy of manners, and Powell and his writing and producing partner Pressburger conduct it with style and humor. Jolly music underlines an opening sequence in which motorcycle messengers distribute news of the war games, and there is wit in the movie's ingenious flashbacks and flash-forwards. Photographed by Georges Perinal with help from Jack Cardiff, the movie is one of the best-looking Technicolor productions ever made, its palate controlled to make wise use of bright contrasts in a world of subdued harmony.
Several scenes surprise us by how they pay off. Note the early duel between the British and German officers (they do not even know one another; the German was drawn by lot to respond to an insult to the German army). A high-angle shot refuses to take sides, the Swedish referee scuttles back and forth like a crab--and then, just when we expect to see the outcome, the camera cranes up to an exterior shot of the Army gymnasium (a model), with snow falling on Berlin. The message is made visually: The season of traditional values is ending, and these soldiers will not again play so fair.
In hospital, Clive Candy and his opponent, Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff, are visited by Candy's British friend, Edith Hunter (Deborah Kerr). The German falls in love with her and proposes marriage. Candy is at first delighted, but as he returns home he realizes he loved her, too, and begins a lifelong search for a substitute. Fifteen years later, in a World War One hospital, he sees a young nurse who is Edith's spitting image, and arranges a dance for war nurses just to meet her again. This is Barbara Wynne, again played by Deborah Kerr. Note the dinner scene when Candy explains his motive for seeking her out, and the subtle chill with which Barbara says she quite understands. The marriage fades out like the duel did, as if there is nothing else worth saying.
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Kerr appears a third time as a working-class girl named Angela Cannon, who is Wynne-Candy's driver during the Second World War. It is a remarkable performance by the 20-year-old newcomer, playing three roles; Wendy Hiller was originally cast, but became pregnant, and Powell cast Kerr both because he thought "she would be a star one day," and because he was falling in love with her.
The friendship between Clive and Theo is traced for 40 years. They meet again at a German prisoner's camp in England, after World War One; Theo ignores Clive and stalks away, but the next day calls to apologize, and is a guest at a dinner of British establishment types at which, gentlemen all, they assure him his homeland will be rebuilt: "Europe needs a healthy Germany!" When the two men meet again, it is after the German has fled his homeland in 1939. In a long speech all done in one take, the explains why he has chosen England over his birthplace. Walbrook's acting here is sublime with its mastery of tone and mood, and this speech, more than any other, explains why Churchill was wrong to oppose the film.
The most poignant passages involve the general growing older. He looks like a caricature to younger officers--with his beefy face, pink complexion, mustache (grown to hide the dueling scar) and raspy voice. But in his heart he is still young, still in love, still idealistic. At the end of the movie he looks at a water pool in the basement of his bombed-out house, and is reminded of a lake across which he once pledged love. And he insists to himself that it is the same lake, and he is the same man. Rarely does a film give us such a nuanced view of the whole span of a man's life. Is is said that the child is father to the man. "Colonel Blimp" makes poetry out of what the old know but the young do not guess: The man contains both the father, and the child.— Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani had quite the gaffe while speaking before Donald Trump’s foreign policy speech in Ohio on Monday.
COMPLETE CAMPAIGN 2016 COVERAGE
Giuliani, who was the mayor during the 9/11 terror attacks, said that there were no successful terrorist attacks in the United States in the eight years before President Barack Obama came into office.
Rudy Giuliani on Pence, 9/11 and no successful radical Islamic terrorist attacks in the U.S. before President Obama.https://t.co/mCT15iRsq9 — CSPAN (@cspan) August 15, 2016
“By the way, under those eight years before Obama came along, we didn’t have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attacks in the United States. They all started when Clinton and Obama got into office,” Giuliani said.
Obama took the oath of office in 2009.
However, right before the gaffe, Giuliani was talking about the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
“Remember, we didn’t start this war, they did. We don’t want this war, they do. And they didn’t start it even in 2001, they attacked the World Trade Center in 1993 and they attacked it under the ideology of radical Islamic extremism to create a caliphate, to destroy the infidels – Christians, Jews, non-believing Muslims from their point of view and other people,” the former mayor said.
Giuliani even described Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence visiting Ground Zero while he was a member of Congress.
“Mike Pence understands this, from his time both on the Foreign Affairs Committee, from his very, very timely visit which I remember to Ground Zero when we were in desperate need of help, he was there, and from his work on the Judiciary Committee in helping to fashion the Patriot Act,” he said.
Twitter to Giuliani to task for the slight.
here's a photo of a memorial in the middle of manhattan that according to giuliani apparently exists for no reason pic.twitter.com/Uncb1jvwEx — Oliver Willis (@owillis) August 15, 2016
2008 giuliani: we must never forget 9/11
2016 giuliani: nine what — Johnny GD Roosevelt (@footstepsfaIco) August 15, 2016
Giuliani, not thinking about 9/11 for the first time in 15 years https://t.co/lU4KfqgWNf — Luke O'Neil (@lukeoneil47) August 15, 2016
For a time millions of us admired Giuliani for his handling of 9/11 on that horrible day. How far he has fallen! https://t.co/ub6NmwTdPB — (((sfpelosi))) (@sfpelosi) August 15, 2016
Has anyone in American political history ever squandered more good will than Rudy Giuliani? — Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) August 15, 2016
https://t.co/kYNUqrQyhy RT @jessicaschulb: Giuliani: Before Obama, we didnt have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attacks inside US" — Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) August 15, 2016
Hmm… Rudy Giuliani is trending. Let's see what he says…. *checks* pic.twitter.com/iXaBwuvQBf — Matt Maybray (@MattMaybray) August 15, 2016
I don't know why everyone's mad at Rudy Giuliani. The terrorists attacked on 9/11 because they knew Obama would be the next president. — Cassandra Nicholson (@WriterWarrior) August 15, 2016
Rudy Giuliani was born the same year as me. Hate to see such remarkable memory loss in someone my age. — Oh_opa (@opabinia_seabug) August 15, 2016
Giuliani forgetting about 9/11 is like your mom calling to ask when your birthday is. — LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) August 15, 2016
More than 3,000 people died in the Sept. 11 terror attacks.Donations may be made directly to Church Headquarters. These donations are often made to maintain privacy or because donors want to ensure the security of large donations. Donations may be made by check, by wire, or as donations in kind.
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Donations made directly to the Church are held in the strictest confidence. They are processed directly by Church headquarters, and do not show up on any ward records in MLS. If any of the funds are directed to the Ward Missionary or Fast Offering categories, they will show up on the Unit Financial Statement with a 4-digit reference number. For all other categories, details regarding dollar amounts are not available.
Donations by check
To send in a check for a donation make the check payable to Corporation of the President.
Mail all donations to:
Corporation of the President 50 E North Temple, Room 1521 Salt Lake City, UT 84150
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If you have further questions, please call 801-240-2554 or 1-800-453-3860 ext 2-2554 or email donations@ldschurch.org
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To wire transfer donations to Church Headquarters:
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Donations in kind
Main article: Donations in kind
Donations in kind are donations of stock, real estate, or other assets directly to the Church. These donations are often made to reduce or eliminate the amount of tax that needs to be paid on appreciated assets. Such donations are always made directly to the Church, as they have special procedures that require the donor to interact with the Donations-in-Kind office.
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References
The information in the sections above Donations by Check and Donations by Wire came directly from the Church Donations Department.We ask Kenyan FM Amina Mohamed, and speak to Ingrid Betancourt, a former FARC captive, about the derailed peace deal.
In this week's UpFront, we ask Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed about her country's progress in the war against al-Shabab. We also discuss her government's successes and Kenya's experience with the International Criminal Court.
In the Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan looks into the French concept of "laicite" - separation of church and state - and some of the double standards it seems to have when it comes to Islam.
And in a special interview, former Colombian presidential contender Ingrid Betancourt - who spent more than six years in FARC captivity - weighs in on the latest referendum that rejected a peace deal between the government and rebels.
Headliner: Kenyan FM on human rights, refugees and al-Shabab
The armed group al-Shabab continues to sow chaos in Somalia and Kenya, as evidenced by the latest attack that left six dead just a kilometre from the Somali border.
Five years on since Kenya first crossed the Somali border to root out al-Shabab fighters, attacks have seemingly increased.
In this week's Headliner, Mehdi Hasan asks Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed about her country's achievements against the armed group and if the intervention has backfired.
Amina Mohamed also discusses accusations about the treatment of ethnic Somalis and refugees in the country. Kenya, which has taken more than half a million refugees, hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world.
We also discuss her government's successes and Kenya's experience with the International Criminal Court.
Editor's note: This interview was recorded before the latest al-Shabab attack in Kenya on October 6, 2016.
Reality Check: Islam and the myth of French secularism
From a recently proposed ban on Muslim women wearing burkinis to banning face veils in public, France has cracked down on Islamic practices in the public sphere.
The French government points to the concept of "laicite", the strict French secular separation of church and state, to justify such measures, but a look at France's practice of laicite proves there may be a double standard when it comes to Islam.
In this week's Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan highlights some of the myths of French secularism.
Why did Colombians reject the FARC peace deal?
This week, Colombians shocked the world by narrowly rejecting a peace accord with FARC, a deal that was four years in the making.
While President Juan Manuel Santos, who received the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to end the conflict, accepted the vote, he vowed to continue to seek peace with the rebel group despite the ceasefire ending at the end of the month.
In a special interview, former presidential contender and FARC captive Ingrid Betancourt weighs in on why there was so much opposition to the peace accords.
"When you see a map of the regions that voted 'yes', you see those are the regions that are really suffering from the war," Betancourt says. "So what it tells us is that for people who haven't been affected by the war, the issue of the referendum was abstract."
Editor's note: This interview was recorded prior to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Follow UpFront on Twitter @AJUpFront and Facebook.
Source: Al Jazeera NewsSen. John McCain (R-AZ) said Saturday that he will will push back against President-elect Donald Trump if he tries to implement waterboarding or torture.
Speaking at the Halifax International Security Forum, McCain said that he and others in the Senate will push back against anyone who wants to go back to waterboarding, noting that it is illegal.
“I don’t give a damn what the president wants to do,” he said. “We will not waterboard. We will not torture people.”
McCain went even further to say that anyone who brought back waterboarding would be in court in a “New York minute.”
“If they started waterboarding, I swear to you that we’d have them in court in a New York minute,” McCain said.
McCain, who served as a Navy pilot during the Vietnam War and was held more than five years as a prisoner of war, has a contentious relationship with Trump, who notably said that he likes people who “don’t get captured” in reference to McCain. Trump has said in the past that he would like to bring back waterboarding and “worse” to fight terrorists.
The moderator asked McCain if he had spoken to Trump since he was elected and he said it had and that it went “fine.” He also played coy on whether Trump offered him a job.
“Did he offer you a job?” the moderator asked.
“Missed that,” McCain said.
Watch the entire panel below:You have until Monday, March 31 at noon ET to vote for the Best Public Garden. Pictured here is the Denver Botanic Gardens. (Photo: Denver Botanic Gardens)
As voting draws close to its conclusion, the 20 public gardens across America which are vying for the title of Best Public Garden in our 10Best Readers' Choice contest are pulling out all the stops for votes.
Garden lovers from Vancouver to Miami are rallying fans, friends and patrons to vote for their favorite, as are the gardens themselves.
Garden expert Cindy Brockway (a renowned landscape designer, lecturer, instructor and author) chose the 20 nominees in contention for the title. Vote for your favorite by noon on Monday, March 31 at 10best.com/awards/travel/best-public-garden/.
The 20 nominees are:
Bloedel Reserve - Bainbridge Island, Wash.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden - Brooklyn, N.Y.
Butchart Gardens - Victoria, B.C.
Callaway Gardens - Pine Mountain, Ga.
Cheekwood Botanical Garden - Nashville
Chicago Botanic Garden - Chicago
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens - Boothbay, Maine
Denver Botanic Gardens - Denver
Desert Botanical Garden - Phoenix
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden - Miami
Franklin Park Conservatory - Columbus, Ohio
Huntington Botanical Gardens - Los Angeles
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden - Richmond, Va.
Longwood Gardens - Kennett Square, Pa.
Missouri Botanical Garden - St. Louis
National Tropical Botanical Garden - Hawaii
Portland Japanese Garden - Portland, Ore.
Ruth Bancroft Garden - Walnut Creek, Calif.
United States Botanic Garden - Washington, D.C.
Wave Hill - Bronx, N.Y.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1f1WqhnFor 300 producer Gianni Nunnari, the decision to sue former longtime employer Vittorio Cecchi Gori for getting axed in 2008 has so far proven as ill-advised as sending 300 Spartans to hold off the entire Persian army at Thermopylae.
A rather stunning legal judgment was rendered last week by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Amy D. Hogue. Not only did she not embrace Nunnari’s assertion that he’d been wronged to the tune of $2.5 million when Cecchi Gori showed up unannounced in his L.A. offices and cleaned house., closing the Cecchi Gori Pictures outpost and firing the staff. In a tentative decision, the judge put Nunnari on the hook for nearly $14 million, for breaching his fiduciary duties as the head of VCG’s Hollywood operations, and funneling choice film projects and fees to his own Hollywood Gang Productions shingle. The judge’s award to CGP amounts to the fees earned on several recent films: $8.6 million for 300, $3.26 million for Silence (the film Martin Scorsese has been tied to for over a decade), $1.35 million on Everybody’s Fine, and $700,000 for Immortals, the Tarsem Singh-directed Greek gods saga which gets released in November. Cecchi Gori also gets interest of 7% and the court ordered the construction of a trust that will disperse future revenues.
A spokesman for Nunnari stressed this was an interim decision, and indicated that an appeal is inevitable. Still, how did two former close friends fall out so sensationally? Well, Judge Hogue was kind enough to lay it out in spectacularly detailed 44-page decision that someone should option for a miniseries. Two up and coming Italian executives, Cecchi Gori and Nunnari, grew up alongside one another working for Italian film mogul Mario Cecchi Gori (Vittorio’s father, who promised Nunnari’s own dying father he’d take care of his son). Vittorio Cecchi Gori stayed in Italy to build an empire as a supplier of films and TV shows, owning a network and a soccer team. Nunnari taught himself English and headed to America to run a Hollywood outpost for CGP, to acquire Italian rights for Hollywood films, and develop American films. Through his Hollywood Gang Productions, Nunnari has become well established as a producer of some of Hollywood’s biggest projects, including 300 and The Immortals.
Their relationship frayed over more than two decades together and crashed in April, 2008, when Cecchi Gori visited the company’s L.A. office unannounced, determined that Nunnari was using his resources to generate film properties and fees for his own Hollywood Gang holding company. Cecchi Gori shut the office down and fired most of the employees. Nunnari sued. Surprisingly, the judge was moved most by Cecchi Gori’s cross-complaint and testimony which played out in court from May 24 to July 2. Among other things, the judge saw merit to Cecchi Gori’s claim that because he didn’t speak English and trusted his L.A.-based executive, Nunnari was able to have film titles CGP developed (some under Cecchi Gori’s 1990s partnership with current Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi) to be transferred to Hollywood Gang. “VCG does not speak English and his trust in Nunnari was so unquestioning that, at Nunnari’s request, he apparently signed his name on agreements and memoranda without translating or understanding them,” Judge Hogue wrote. “VCG’s employees in Rome were similarly trusting of Nunnari. Over the years, they promptly paid and rarely questioned Nunnari’s requests for reimbursement of expenses for travel and entertainment on the assumption that they were incurred for legitimate CGP…expenses.”
On the surface, it seems incredible that Cecchi Gori couldn’t see Nunnari flourishing in his side job. The office wasn’t shuttered until 2008, while and 300 was released and became a smash in 2006 (Cecchi Gori even sent Nunnari a congratulatory telegram). Nunnari’s argument seems plausible that the film properties weren’t important to Cecchi Gori, who abandoned his costly film production and financing program in the 1990s because there was more money to be made distributing TV programs in Italy. Still, the judge noted that when Nunnari made a Disney deal for one property, Ferrari, he included a side deal for Hollywood Gang that was more lucrative than the one for rights owner CGP. The judge also singled out Silence as evidence that the best properties ended up with Nunnari. CGP acquired the Shusaku Endo novel in 1998 with Scorsese attached, but somehow the title transferred to Nunnari in 2001, in an 18-month option deal that cost $5000 against a purchase price of $786,000. When Scorsese reneged on a promise to direct Silence as his next project after Kundun, Nunnari sued for breach of contract. The director took over the obligation to pay CGP the $786,000 purchase price, and paid Nunnari an extra $1 million. Later, when Scorsese again balked on directing Silence, Nunnari got millions more, and producing credit on the Oscar-winning The Departed as well as Shutter Island. “Nunnari turned a $5000 ‘investment’…into a return of $1,786,000 two years later plus a commitment, from Scorsese, to direct Silence after Aviator and the right to producer fees and other compensation when Silence was ultimately produced,” wrote Judge Hogue. “CGP receive nothing for its employees’ work developing the project (or their efforts on HGP’s behalf). [Cecchi Gori] only managed to recoup $786,000—the amount of its investment in the project without interest.”
The judge mentions several times how Cecchi Gori’s own company has struggled. But the overriding factor, wrote the judge, is that CGP proved that Nunnari “breached fiduciary duties, and engaged in concealment and constructive fraud,” because he operated in dual roles as the officer of CGP and as a creative producer under his Hollywood Gang Productions banner. Even when, in the case of 300, Nunnari sent Cecchi Gori a copy of the Frank Miller graphic novel and told him he would shop it, the judge felt Nunnari owed more than what he shared with his former pal.
Each side has until September 15 to argue the findings, or make proposals for a settlement. If they don’t, the judgment becomes permanent the following day. I suspect we haven’t heard the last out of Nunnari’s side.The students, all of whom were ten to eleven years old, received gardening kits and gloves and jars of honey from the White House beehives. Before the First Lady arrived, the National Park Service (NPS), which maintains the White House grounds, provided a tutorial on how to harvest and plant.
The First Lady spoke briefly to the children gathered in the garden, encouraging them to keep a healthy diet and eat fresh foods, then invited them to join her in picking and washing vegetables.
“Healthy, nurturing, and positive environments are instrumental in enhancing the well-being and mindfulness of all children,” Mrs. Trump said. “They learn so much through their surroundings and the White House Kitchen Garden is a prime example of how children can enjoy the outdoors and learn about healthy eating and living, while also gaining an understanding of the White House and its rich history. I was so happy to be able to celebrate healthy living through fun activities with these special children today, and I look forward to future events in the garden.”Senate Democrats are demanding that President Trump’s nominee to serve on a federal safety board clarify his position regarding flight safety rules.
A group of lawmakers, lead by Minority Leader Charles Schumer Charles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerBrennan fires back at'selfish' Trump over Harry Reid criticism Trump rips Harry Reid for 'failed career' after ex-Dem leader slams him in interview Harry Reid: 'I don't see anything' Trump is doing right MORE (D-N.Y.), have asked Bruce Landsberg to explain a string of critical statements that he made regarding the 1,500-hour training requirement for commercial airline pilots.
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Landsberg, who Trump nominated to be a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member, is scheduled to testify in front of the Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday.
At issue is a law that requires co-pilots to have 1,500 hours of flight training experience under their belt before they can get a license to fly commercial passenger airliners. Congress implemented the rule after a deadly 2009 Colgan Air crash in New York, in which pilot error was to blame.
But regional airlines have long been pushing back against the tougher training standards, which they say are fueling a pilot shortage. There has also been an effort in the Senate to ease the training requirements in a long-term aviation bill.
Landsberg, who worked for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, wrote an article in 2012 suggesting that there are “better ways” to address the Colgan crash. He also called the flight training requirements a “non-issue.”
Senate Democrats are now asking him to clarify his position on the law. Lawmakers also want to know whether Landsberg is committed to upholding the training standards, if he is confirmed.
“These comments are particularly concerning to us because they seem to suggest that you do not support the current law," the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Landsberg. "The United States traveling public deserve the highest integrity and objectivity when NTSB determines an accident’s probable cause and then issues safety judgments and recommendations.”
“We plan to continue to hold NTSB accountable for delivering on this responsibility,” they added.
Supporters of the flight-training rule have been increasingly worried that the requirements could get scaled back under the Trump administration.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee approved a report in September recommending that the Trump administration roll back or ease dozens of safety rules, including the 1,500-hour rule.
Sen. John Thune John Randolph ThunePolls: Hiking estate tax less popular than taxing mega wealth, income Will Trump sign the border deal? Here's what we know Key GOP senator pitches Trump: Funding deal a 'down payment' on wall MORE (R-S.D.), chairman of the Transportation Committee, also included language in an FAA bill this year to allow pilots to receive training credit through alternative means, such as academic training as opposed to flight hours, as long as the FAA deemed it to be safe.
The bill was approved by committee, but has not yet been scheduled for a floor vote.
Lawmakers including Schumer have vowed to block the bill if it contains Thune’s pilot training provision.
Thune promised to work on compromise language with Democrats. So far, however, no deal has been made.New Delhi: The much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle |
English generic name of the drug and its INN and BAN, while ketamine hydrochloride is its USAN, USP, BANM, and JAN.[159][160][6] Its generic name in Spanish and Italian and its DCIT are ketamina, in French and its DCF are kétamine, in German is Ketamin, and in Latin is ketaminum.[160]
The S(+) stereoisomer of ketamine is known as esketamine, and this is its BAN while esketamine hydrochloride is its BANM.[161]
Brand names [ edit ]
Ketamine is primarily sold throughout the world under the brand name Ketalar.[160][6] It is also marketed under a variety of other brand names, including Calypsol, Ketamin, Ketamina, Ketamine, Ketaminol, Ketanest, Ketaset, Tekam, and Vetalar among others.[160][6]
Esketamine is sold mainly under the brand names Ketanest and Ketanest-S.[161]
Clinics [ edit ]
After the publication of the NIH-run antidepressant clinical trial, clinics began opening in which the medication is given.[162] This practice is an off label use of ketamine in the United States.[162] As of 2015 there were about 60 such clinics in the US; the procedure was not covered by insurance, and people paid between $400 and $1700 out of pocket for a treatment.[163] A chain of such clinics in Australia run by Aura Medical Corporation was closed down by regulatory authorities in 2015, because the clinics' marketing was not supported by scientific research and because the clinic sent people home with ketamine and needles to administer infusions to themselves.[164]
Legal status [ edit ]
While ketamine is legally marketed in many countries worldwide,[160] it is also a controlled substance in many countries.[4]
Australia [ edit ]
In Australia Ketamine is listed as a schedule 8 controlled drug under the Poisons Standard (October 2015).[165] A schedule 8 drug is outlined in the Poisons Act 1964 as "Substances which should be available for use but require restriction of manufacture, supply, distribution, possession and use to reduce abuse, misuse and physical or psychological dependence." [166]
Canada [ edit ]
In Canada, ketamine is classified as a Schedule I narcotic, since 2005.[167]
Hong Kong [ edit ]
In Hong Kong, as of 2000, ketamine is regulated under Schedule 1 of Hong Kong Chapter 134 Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. It can only be used legally by health professionals, for university research purposes, or with a physician's prescription.[168][169]
Taiwan [ edit ]
By 2002, ketamine was classified as class III in Taiwan; given the recent rise in prevalence in East Asia, however, rescheduling into class I or II is being considered.[139][170]
India [ edit ]
In December 2013, the government of India, in response to rising recreational use and the use of ketamine as a date rape drug, has added it to Schedule X of the Drug and Cosmetics Act requiring a special license for sale and maintenance of records of all sales for two years.[171][172]
United Kingdom [ edit ]
In the United Kingdom, it became labeled a Class C drug on 1 January 2006.[139][173] On 10 December 2013 the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) recommended that the government reclassify ketamine to become a Class B drug,[174] and on 12 February 2014 the Home Office announced they would follow this advice "in light of the evidence of chronic harms associated with ketamine use, including chronic bladder and other urinary tract damage".[175][176]
The UK Minister of State for Crime Prevention, Norman Baker, responding to the ACMD's advice, said the issue of its recheduling for medical and veterinary use would be addressed "separately to allow for a period of consultation".[175]
United States [ edit ]
The increase in recreational use prompted ketamine's placement in Schedule III of the United States Controlled Substance Act in August 1999.[177]
Recreational use [ edit ]
Ketamine poured onto glass and left to dry.
Recreational use of ketamine was documented in the early 1970s in underground literature (e.g., The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers).[178] It was used in psychiatric and other academic research through the 1970s, culminating in 1978 with the publishing of psychonaut John Lilly's The Scientist, and Marcia Moore and Howard Alltounian's Journeys into the Bright World, which documented the unusual phenomenology of ketamine intoxication.[179] The incidence of non-medical ketamine use increased through the end of the century, especially in the context of raves and other parties.[180][181][182][183][156] Its emergence as a club drug differs from other club drugs (e.g., MDMA), however, due to its anesthetic properties (e.g., slurred speech, immobilization) at higher doses;[156] in addition, reports of ketamine being sold as "ecstasy" are common.[184] In the 1993 book E for Ecstasy[185] (about the uses of the street drug Ecstasy in the UK), the writer, activist, and Ecstasy advocate Nicholas Saunders highlighted test results showing that certain consignments of the drug also contained ketamine. Consignments of Ecstasy known as "Strawberry" contained what Saunders described as a "potentially dangerous combination of ketamine, ephedrine, and selegiline", as did a consignment of "Sitting Duck" Ecstasy tablets.[186]
The use of ketamine as part of a "post-clubbing experience" has also been documented.[187] Ketamine's rise in the dance culture was most rapid in Hong Kong by the end of the 1990s.[156]
Ketamine use as a recreational drug has been implicated in deaths globally, with more than 90 deaths in England and Wales in the years of 2005–2013.[188] They include accidental poisonings, drownings, traffic accidents, and suicides.[188] The majority of deaths were among young people.[189] This has led to increased regulation (e.g., upgrading ketamine from a Class C to a Class B banned substance in the U.K.).[190]
Unlike the other well-known dissociatives phencyclidine (PCP) and dextromethorphan (DXM), ketamine is very short-acting. It takes effect within about 10 minutes,[191] while its hallucinogenic effects last 60 minutes when insufflated or injected and up to two hours when ingested orally.[192]
At subanesthetic doses – under-dosaged from a medical point of view – ketamine produces a dissociative state, characterised by a sense of detachment from one's physical body and the external world which is known as depersonalization and derealization.[193] At sufficiently high doses, users may experience what is called the "K-hole", a state of extreme dissociation with visual and auditory hallucinations.[194] John C. Lilly, Marcia Moore and D. M. Turner (amongst others) have written extensively about their own entheogenic use of, and psychonautic experiences with ketamine.[195] Turner died prematurely due to drowning during presumed unsupervised ketamine use.[196]
Because of its ability to cause confusion and amnesia, ketamine has been used for date rape.[191][152]
Slang terms [ edit ]
Production for recreational use has been traced to 1967, when it was referred to as "mean green" and "rockmesc".[197] Recreational names for ketamine include "Special K",[198] "K",[199][198] "Kitty", "Kallie Ziltz", "Kartáč", "Ket",[200] "K2",[199] "Vitamin K",[198][200] "Super K",[198] "Honey oil",[198][201] "Jet",[198][202] "Super acid",[198] "Mauve",[198] "Special LA coke",[198] "Purple",[198] "Cat Valium",[202] "Knod-off", "Skittles", "Blind Squid",[203] "Keller",[203] "Kelly's Day",[203] "New ecstasy",[204] "Psychedelic heroin",[204] "bump",[201] "Majestic".[205] A mixture of ketamine with cocaine is called "Calvin Klein" or "CK1".[206] In Hong Kong, where illicit use of the drug is popular, ketamine is colloquially referred to as "kai-jai".[156]
Usage [ edit ]
North America [ edit ]
According to the ongoing Monitoring the Future study conducted by University of Michigan, prevalence rates of recreational ketamine use among American secondary school students (grades 8, 10, and 12) have varied between 0.8–2.5% since 1999, with recent rates at the lower end of this range.[207] The 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reports a rate of 0.1% for persons ages 12 or older with the highest rate (0.2%) in those ages 18–25.[208] Further, 203,000 people are estimated to have used ketamine in 2006, and an estimated 2.3 million people used ketamine at least once in their life.[208] A total of 529 emergency department visits in 2009 were ketamine-related.[209]
In 2003, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration conducted Operation TKO, a probe into the quality of ketamine being imported from Mexico.[210] As a result of operation TKO, U.S. and Mexican authorities shut down the Mexico City company Laboratorios Ttokkyo, which was the biggest producer of ketamine in Mexico. According to the DEA, over 80% of ketamine seized in the United States is of Mexican origin. As of 2011, it was mostly shipped from places like India as cheap as $5/gram.[210] The World Health Organization Expert Committee on Drug Dependence, in its thirty-third report (2003),[211] recommended research into its recreational use due to growing concerns about its rising popularity in Europe, Asia, and North America.
While most of Canada sees ketamine use roughly on par with other Western nations, the Toronto region has been known as an epicentre for ketamine use in the West.[citation needed] This unusual badge was enough to attract the attention of National Geographic filmmakers for their "Drugs, Inc." television series.[citation needed]
Europe [ edit ]
Cases of illicit ketamine use in club venues have been observed in the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Hungary, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom.[212] Additional reports of use and dependence have been reported in Poland and Portugal.[213][214]
Australia [ edit ]
Australia's 2010 National Drug Strategy Household Survey report shows a prevalence of recent ketamine use of 0.3% in 2004 and 0.2% in 2007 and 2010 in persons aged 14 or older.[215]
Asia [ edit ]
In China, the small village of Boshe in eastern Guangdong was confirmed as a main production centre when it was raided in 2013.[216]
Established by the Hong Kong Narcotics Division of the Security Bureau, the Central Registry of Drug Abuse (CRDA) maintains a database of all the illicit drug users who have come into contact with law enforcement, treatment, health care, and social organizations. The compiled data are confidential under The Dangerous Drugs Ordinance of Hong Kong, and statistics are made freely available online on a quarterly basis.[217][218] Statistics from the CRDA show that the number of ketamine users (all ages) in Hong Kong has increased from 1605 (9.8% of total drug users) in 2000 to 5212 (37.6%) in 2009.[219] Increasing trends of ketamine use among illicit drug users under the age of 21 were also reported, rising from 36.9% of young drug users in 2000 to 84.3% in 2009.[219]
A survey conducted among school-attending Taiwanese adolescents reported prevalence rates of 0.15% in 2004, 0.18% in 2005, and 0.15% in 2006 in middle-school (grades 7 and 9) students; in Taiwanese high-school (grades 10 and 12) students, prevalence was 1.13% in 2004, 0.66% in 2005, and 0.44% in 2006.[220] From the same survey, a large portion (42.8%) of those who reported ecstasy use also reported ketamine use.[220] Ketamine was the second most used illicit drug (behind ecstasy) in absconding Taiwanese adolescents as reported by a multi-city street outreach survey.[221] In a study comparing the reporting rates between web questionnaires and paper-and-pencil questionnaires, ketamine use was reported a higher rate in the web version.[222] Urine sampling at a club in Taipei, Taiwan showed high rates of ketamine use at 47.0%; this prevalence was compared with that of detainees suspected of recreational drug use in the general public, of which 2.0% of the samples tested positive for ketamine use.[223]
Research [ edit ]
Russian doctor Evgeny Krupitsky has claimed to have encouraging results by using ketamine as part of a treatment for alcohol addiction which combines psychedelic and aversive techniques.[224][225] Krupitsky and Kolp summarized their work to date in 2007.[226]
Veterinary medicine [ edit ]
In veterinary anesthesia, ketamine is often used for its anesthetic and analgesic effects on cats,[227] dogs,[228] rabbits, rats, and other small animals.[229][230] It is highly used in induction and anesthetic maintenance in horses. It is an important part of the "rodent cocktail", a mixture of drugs used for anesthetizing rodents.[231] Veterinarians often use ketamine with sedative drugs to produce balanced anesthesia and analgesia, and as a constant-rate infusion to help prevent pain wind-up. Ketamine is used to manage pain among large animals, though it has less effect on bovines.[citation needed] It is the primary intravenous anesthetic agent used in equine surgery, often in conjunction with detomidine and thiopental, or sometimes guaifenesin.Mr Khelil said Opec would re-assess the situation at the end of the year Brent crude has fallen back below $100 a barrel as signs of weaker global oil demand has offset Opec's surprise decision to reduce output levels. Despite initially rising following Opec's announcement, Brent lost $1.37 to $98.87 a barrel. US crude also ended lower, falling 68 cents to settle at $102.58. After talks in Vienna, Opec's member states decided to cut daily production levels by 520,000 barrels, starting within 40 days. 'Changing lifestyles' While the news initially saw oil prices rise, they then fell back, helped by the International Energy Agency (IEA) cutting its estimate for global oil demand this year and next. Opec appear genuinely concerned that the bottom is falling out of global demand
Energy analyst Antoine Halff The IEA - which had asked Opec to keep its output unchanged - said consumers in industrial nations were changing their lifestyles in response to high prices. Oil's fall from the record prices seen in July has helped the US dollar, which hit an 13-month high against the euro on Tuesday. The price of crude has since fallen by nearly 30% as a global economic slowdown has reduced demand for oil. Opec members will re-assess production levels when the meet again at the end of the year. The 13-nation group, whose members include Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, has around two-thirds of the world's known oil reserves. Hurricane background Energy analyst Antoine Halff said Opec was worried about falling global oil demand. "The ministers appear genuinely concerned that the bottom is falling out of global demand," he said. "Their panic is a testament to how soft the market has become. It is likely to grow even softer." Another factor oil traders are having to consider is the latest hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Ike has strengthened to a category two story and is on target to hit the Texas coast on Saturday. Some oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico have been evacuated as a precaution.
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StumbleUpon What are these?SAN JOSE, Calif. – Feb. 3, 2016 – Since 2000, when the first camera phone was introduced, the number of mobile users has quintupled. By 2020, there will be 5.5 billion mobile users, representing 70 percent of the global population[1], according to today’s release of the Cisco Visual Networking Index™ (VNI) Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast (2015 to 2020). The adoption of mobile devices, increased mobile coverage, and demand for mobile content are driving user growth two times faster than the global population over the next five years. This surge of mobile users, smart devices, mobile video and 4G networks will increase mobile data traffic eight-fold over the next five years.
Smart mobile devices and connections[2] are projected to represent 72 percent of total mobile devices and connections by 2020—up from 36 percent in 2015. Smart devices are forecasted to generate 98 percent of mobile data traffic by 2020. From an individual device perspective, smartphones are dominating mobile traffic. They will account for 81 percent of total mobile traffic by 2020—up from 76 percent in 2015. The proliferation of mobile phones, including “phablets” (a hybrid blend of smartphone and tablet features), is increasing so rapidly that more people will have mobile phones (5.4 billion) than electricity (5.3 billion), running water (3.5 billion) and cars (2.8 billion) by 2020.
Mobile video will have the highest growth rate of any mobile application. Consumer and business users’ demand for higher video resolution, more bandwidth, and processing speed will increase the use of 4G connected devices. 4G connectivity share is projected to surpass 2G by 2018 and 3G by 2020. 4G will represent more than 70 percent of all mobile traffic, and 4G connections will generate nearly six times more traffic per month than non-4G connections by 2020.
“With the ever-increasing billions of people and things that are being connected, mobility is the predominant medium that’s enabling today’s global digitization transformation,” said Doug Webster, vice president of service provider marketing, Cisco. “Future mobile innovations in cellular, such as 5G, and Wi-Fi solutions will be needed to further address new scale requirements, security concerns, and user demands. IoT advancements will continue to fuel tangible benefits for people, businesses, and societies.”
Mobile Data Traffic Projections and Trends:
Global Mobile Data Traffic Shows No Signs of Slowing Down
· By 2020:
o Global mobile data traffic will reach 30.6 exabytes per month—up from 3.7 exabytes in 2015.
o Annual global mobile data traffic will reach 366.8 exabytes—up from 44.2 exabytes in 2015.
· The forecast annual run rate of 366.8 exabytes of mobile data traffic for 2020 is equivalent to:
o 120X more than all global mobile traffic generated just 10 years ago in 2010.
o 81 trillion images (e.g., MMS or Instagram)—28 daily images per person on earth for a year.
o 7 trillion video clips (e.g., YouTube)—more than 2.5 daily video clips per person on earth for a year.
· From 2015 to 2020, global mobile data traffic will grow two times faster than global fixed IP traffic.
· In 2015, 51 percent of total mobile data traffic was offloaded; by 2020, 55 percent of total mobile data traffic will be offloaded.
· By 2020, over 75 percent of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video.
Mobile Devices and Connections Are Getting Smarter
· There will be 11.6 billion mobile-ready devices/connections—including 8.5 billion personal mobile devices and 3.1 billion M2M connections –up from 7.9 billion total mobile-ready devices and M2M connections in 2015.
· Globally, 67 percent of mobile devices/connections will be'smart' by 2020—up from 36 percent in 2015.
· Globally, 98 percent of mobile data traffic will come from'smart' devices/connections by 2020—up from 89 percent in 2015.
· Smartphones, laptops, and tablets will drive about 92 percent of global mobile data traffic by 2020—down from 94 percent in 2015. M2M traffic will represent 7 percent of global mobile data traffic by 2020—up from 3 percent in 2015; while basic handsets will account for 1 percent of global mobile data traffic by 2020—down from 3 percent in 2015.
· By 2020:
o 66 percent of mobile devices/connections will be IPv6-capable—up from 36 percent in 2015.
o IPv6 traffic will be 54 percent of total mobile data traffic—up from 13 percent in 2015.
Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Connections and Wearable Devices Continue to Rise
M2M refers to applications that enable wireless and wired systems to communicate with other devices of the same ability (e.g., GPS/navigation, asset tracking, utility meters, security/surveillance video, healthcare monitoring, et al.). Wearable devices can be worn (e.g., smart watches and health monitors) and communicate to the network either directly via embedded cellular connectivity or through another device (primarily a smartphone) via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc. Wearable devices are a subset of the M2M category in the forecast.
· By 2020, M2M connections will represent 26.4 percent of mobile-connected devices—up from 7.7 percent in 2015.
· By 2020, M2M connections will generate 6.7 percent of total mobile traffic—up from 2.7 percent in 2015.
· Global wearables will grow six-fold from 2015 to 2020.
· By 2020, there will be more than 600 million wearable devices in use, up from nearly 97 million in 2015.
Mobile Network Speeds and 4G Connection Growth
· Average global mobile network speeds will increase 3.2 fold from 2015 (2.0 Mbps) to 2020 (6.5 Mbps). Global 4G adoption is the primary catalyst for mobile speed improvements.
· By 2020:
o 4G connections will account for 40.5 percent of all mobile connections–up from 13.7 percent in 2015).
o 3G connections will account for 38.7 percent of all mobile connections—up from 33.7 percent in 2015.
o 2G connections will account for 13.5 percent all mobile connections—down from 52.3 percent in 2015.
· 4G traffic will grow 13-fold from 2015 to 2020.
· By 2020, 4G connections will account for 72 percent of total mobile data traffic—up from 47 percent of total mobile data traffic in 2015.
Wi-Fi Hotspots Are Growing
· Globally, total Wi-Fi hotspots, including home spots, will grow 7X from 2015 (64 million) to 2020 (432 million). Globally, home spots will grow from 57 million (2015) to 423 million (2020).
· In 2015, monthly Wi-Fi offload traffic (3.9 exabytes) exceeded monthly mobile/cellular traffic (3.7 exabytes) for the first time.
· By 2020, 38.1 exabytes Wi-Fi offload traffic will be generated each month, continuing to exceed projected monthly mobile/cellular traffic (30.6 exabytes).
Voice-over-Wi-Fi (VoWi-Fi) Primed for Growth
Given the growth and mobile networking role of Wi-Fi technologies, this year’s study again compares VoWi-Fi to other mobile voice services. Previous VoWi-Fi offerings had limitations that affected adoption and end-user experiences. Today’s carrier-grade VoWi-Fi services can be delivered to non-SIM devices, such as Wi-Fi-only tablets.
· By 2016, VoWi-Fi will exceed VoLTE in the number of minutes used per year.
· By 2018, VoWi-Fi will exceed VoIP in the number of minutes of used per year.
· By 2020, VoWi-Fi minutes of use will account for half – 53 percent – of all mobile IP voice traffic.
· By 2020, the number of Wi-Fi-capable tablets and PCs (1.7 billion) will be more than three times the number of cellular-capable tablets and PCs (548 million).
Regional Mobile Data Traffic Growth Rates (2015–2020)
1. The Middle East and Africa (15-fold growth)
2. Asia-Pacific (9-fold growth)
3. Central and Eastern Europe (8-fold growth)
4. Latin America (8-fold growth)
5. Western Europe (6-fold growth)
6. North America (6-fold growth)
Cisco Mobile VNI Forecast Methodology
The Cisco® VNI Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast (2015‑2020) relies upon independent analyst forecasts and real-world mobile data usage studies. Upon this foundation are layered Cisco's own estimates for mobile application adoption, minutes of use and transmission speeds. Key enablers such as mobile broadband speed and device computing power are also factored into Cisco mobile VNI projections and findings. A detailed methodology description is included in the complete report (see link below).
Editor's Notes
Cisco also welcomes press, analysts, bloggers, service providers, regulators and other interested parties to use and reference our research with proper attribution, such as "Source: Cisco Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2015‑2020."
Cisco defines the following terms:
• Cellular Traffic: comes from a cellular or radio network connection—2G, 3G and 4G.
• Wi-Fi Offload Traffic: refers to traffic from dual mode devices (supports cell and Wi-Fi connectivity, excluding laptops) over Wi-Fi/small cell networks. Offloading occurs at the user/device level when one switches from a cellular connection to Wi-Fi/small cell access.
• Fixed/Wi-Fi Traffic: comes from a wireless connection enabled by some fixed network source, such as a residential Wi-Fi router or public hotspot.
Images and Video
• 2G, 3G, and 4G Mobile Network Shifts (2015-2020).
• Infographic: Cisco Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update (2015-2020)
Additional Supporting Resources
• Cisco Visual Networking Index home page
• Cisco Visual Networking Index Mobile Data Traffic blog post: "Major Mobile Milestones – The Last 15 Years, and the Next Five"
• Read the complete Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2015–2020 white paper.
• Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Q&A, 2015–2020
• Learn more about the free Cisco Visual Networking Index resources
• See the latest Cisco Data Meter results worldwide: http://ciscovni.com/data-meter/index.html
• Follow us on our LinkedIn page for targeted updates and announcements
• For more information about Cisco's service provider news and activities visit the SP360 Blog or follow us on Twitter @CiscoVNI.
• Cisco Service Provider SlideShare presentations
• Cisco Service Provider Mobility Community
• Subscribe to Cisco's SP360 feed
See how the rapid evolution of mobile services to a virtualized cloud environment creates more than $500B in new opportunity by 2019. You can find out more using our Monetization and Optimization Index (MOI). And you can use it to forecast your specific market in cloud, mobile or video services.
Cisco VNI Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update Webcast
Cisco invites press, analysts and bloggers to attend a webcast featuring Cisco executives talking about the global impact of mobile data traffic growth for service providers, organizations and consumers. The webcast begins at 8:00 a.m. (PST) on February 23 and can be accessed by registering at Cisco VNI Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update (2015-2020).
About Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.
Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.Environmentalists praised New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo last December when he moved to settle the longstanding debate over hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in his state and issued an all-out ban on the controversial gas-extraction method.
In New York’s Southern Tier, however, the ban was seen not as a cause for celebration but rather as the final straw, dashing hopes that the rural region's resource-rich land might be the golden ticket to a revitalized economy. As a result, a number of towns in this long-struggling rural region are contemplating whether they should make a break for it.
According to WBNG in Binghampton, 15 towns are interested in seceding to neighboring Pennsylvania. An organization called the Upstate New York Towns Association is looking into whether secession is even possible and, if so, whether it makes economic sense.
Fracking is legal in Pennsylvania, where thousands of wells are currently drilling into that state’s portion of the Marcellus Shale, the same gas-filled formation of sedimentary rock that sits below New York. For a region wrestling with steep state property taxes and dwindling industry, from manufacturing to farming, the fracking revenue their neighbors in Pennsylvania appear to be reaping is nothing short of enviable.
“Everybody over the border has new cars, new four-wheelers, new snowmobiles,” James Finch, a Republican supervisor for the small town of Conklin told Capital New York. “They have new roofs, new siding.”
Finch, clearly a vocal advocate for the secession movement, also spoke to WBNG, which first reported the unrest. Finch told the local news station that “the Southern Tier is desolate. We have no jobs and no income. The richest resource we have is in the ground.”
In lieu of fracking, Cuomo’s administration has pledged to invest $50 million in the Southern Tier, to fund things such as farming grants and a clean-energy plan in the region. Town leaders like Finch and others have dismissed the pledge as insufficient.
“They’re good ideas, but can they bring in the revenue? Can they bring in the jobs this area needs?” Carolyn Price, a Windsor town supervisor and secession supporter, said to Capital New York.
While Pennsylvania’s property taxes are also seen as part of the appeal for business owners, some proprietors are concerned about whether their existing enterprises would survive the secession. For a liquor store owner like Conklin’s Francis Larkin, the fact that Pennsylvania’s government has full control over all alcohol sales within the state is something to think about.
“From my standpoint, owning a liquor store, if we were part of Pennsylvania, it would be hard,” Larkin told WBNG.
This is hardly the first time parts of New York have threatened to secede, but no movement has been successful since the creation of Vermont during the Revolutionary War. That doesn’t seem to discourage this new wave of secessionists. One state senator has already mailed out a survey to gauge his constituents’ interest in seceding, and the Upstate New York Towns Association promises to keep the local media abreast of its findings as it weighs the pros and cons of leaving old New York.
The Southern Tier couldn’t simply run away, of course. The rest of the state’s lawmakers would have to agree to let those cities go, and even then, who knows if Pennsylvania would want to acquire them? To those desperate for a change, however, it might seem worth the long shot.Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump can't -- or won't -- keep his eye on the prize.
Trump has always used chaos as a tool to disorientate his rivals but now risks wounding himself with his disruptive behavior, as a critical moment looms for his presidency with a generational tax reform bill on the Senate launchpad.
A traditional White House would ensure every comment, tweet, event and public message right now is geared toward the cause of passing a measure that is likely to be critical to the Republican Party's electoral fate next year.
Yet Trump is, as ever, getting pulled into sideshows away from the main event.
But Trump will make a fresh bid to concentrate the White House's political firepower while on Capitol Hill for lunch Tuesday, trying to inject steel into Republican senators' spines amid worries about the content and impact of the bill.
"It's going to be a tremendous tax cut -- the biggest in the history of our country," Trump said at the White House on Monday in a preview of his message to senators. "I think we're going to have great receptivity."
His optimism may be a little premature, since a number of Republican senators have yet to sign on to the bill, which Senate leadership hopes to jam through as early as this week.
Facing critics
The President's appearance before a caucus in which he has many vehement critics will be a test of whether his political capital -- and focus -- can survive yet another extraordinary set of controversies battering his administration.
In some ways, such staggering convention-busting behavior has become routine in Trump's 10 months in office.
It's the kind of theater that Trump's supporters outside Washington say is irrelevant to their affection for the President. They often fault the media for taking the daily circus so seriously.
Yet the fact that the unprecedented has become the norm in 2017 doesn't mean the cascade of stunning events is not worth noting, or that it will not eventually have a long-term and damaging impact on the Trump presidency.
Most immediately, the new tumult raging around Trump cannot make it any easier to pass tax reform -- the President's last chance to record a significant political victory in an otherwise legislatively barren first year in power. Senators who will be asked to cast a tough vote are about to again be besieged by questions about the President's behavior. Multiple distractions surrounding the President also raise the question of his capacity to sell the plan to the public.
"I think it creates a huge distraction to these members of Congress, and I think they quickly want to move on to something more substantive," Republican strategist Kevin Madden said on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" when asked about Trump's comments on Warren.
"They are just sick and tired of having to deal with these type of distractions."
The controversy swirling around the White House also plays into consistent and profound themes that repeatedly arise in this presidency and may make it difficult for Trump to enact his agenda and have a successful administration.
His comment at an event Monday honoring Navajo code talkers about Pocahontas, his nickname for Warren, was not just in poor taste. It also renewed debate over the President's inner thoughts about race and his apparent obliviousness to the standards of decorum and propriety expected of a head of state as he stands in the Oval Office.
Amazingly, the event took place under an Oval Office portrait of 19th-century President Andrew Jackson, who permitted white farmers to drive Native Americans out of tribal lands.
"One of the big problems is that the President thinks in a way of a stream of consciousness and/or just his inner monologue," said Madden. "Ninety-nine percent of Americans would never say something like that, and he actually blurts it out at an event like this."
Agency chaos
The power struggle over who should run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, meanwhile -- budget chief Mick Mulvaney or outgoing director and Obama appointee Richard Cordray's designated successor, Leandra English -- opens a window into the nature of Trumpism itself.
Mulvaney's warning that the agency, tasked with protecting consumers from abuses by the banking industry and credit card firms, had "frightening" and unaccountable powers suggested a rollback of regulatory authority along the lines of a project that former Trump political guru Steve Bannon called the "deconstruction of the administrative state."
Mulvaney showed up at the CFPB Monday with doughnuts in an effort to win over staff. He made clear he was going nowhere, at least unless he was ordered to leave by a judge who is now overseeing the case.
"Since my name is on the door, I want to be here," said Mulvaney.
The fight over the future of the CFPB at least is an example of the kinds of ideological duels that unfold when one administration hands over to another of a different party. Trump's assaults on the press are another matter.
At the weekend, the President fired off an unprovoked attack on CNN International on Twitter, decrying the work of reporters and camera crews who risk their lives around the world as "fake."
We should have a contest as to which of the Networks, plus CNN and not including Fox, is the most dishonest, corrupt and/or distorted in its political coverage of your favorite President (me). They are all bad. Winner to receive the FAKE NEWS TROPHY! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2017
He tweeted on Monday that he would award a "fake news trophy" to the organization that produces the "most dishonest, corrupt and/or distorted" coverage of "your favorite President (me)."
Trump has repeatedly indicated that he has little respect for the free press during his presidency, prompting critics to warn he has little respect for the Constitution that enshrines those freedoms.
"This kind of language contributes to heightened risk against (journalists)" Frank Smyth of Global Journalist Security, which trains reporters for hostile war zones, told CNN. "It gives a green light to despotic regimes around the world, as well as their supporters, to take actions against these journalists."
The New York Times report that Trump was |
25, 36]
You could do the same thing with a set comprehension:
>>> { x * x for x in numbers } {1, 4, 36, 9, 16, 25}
Or a dict comprehension:
>>> { x : x * x for x in numbers } {1: 1, 2: 4, 3: 9, 4: 16, 5: 25, 6: 36}
But you can also use a generator expression (note: this is not a tuple comprehension):
>>> lazy_squares = ( x * x for x in numbers ) >>> lazy_squares <generator object <genexpr> at 0x10d1f5510> >>> next ( lazy_squares ) 1 >>> list ( lazy_squares ) [4, 9, 16, 25, 36]
Note that, because we read the first value from lazy_sqaures with next(), it's state is now at the "second" item, so when we consume it entirely by calling list(), that will only return the partial list of sqaures. (This is just to show the lazy behaviour.) This is as much a generator (and thus, an iterator) as the other examples above.
Generators are an incredible powerful programming construct. They allow you to write streaming code with fewer intermediate variables and data structures. Besides that, they are more memory and CPU efficient. Finally, they tend to require fewer lines of code, too.
Tip to get started with generators: find places in your code where you do the following:
def something (): result = [] for... in... : result. append ( x ) return result
And replace it by:
def iter_something (): for... in... : yield x # def something(): # Only if you really need a list structure # return list(iter_something())
Other posts on this blogIt was the famous clinical psychologist and celebrity researcher Jim Houran who once said that "powerful people tend to gravitate toward other powerful people." When it comes to celebrity couples, one plus one equals millions – $283 million, to be precise, the estimated combined sum earned by The World’s Highest-Paid Celebrity Couples between May 2010 and May 2011, according to data from the latest Celebrity 100 list.
Coming first on our ranking is the powerful duo formed by supermodel Gisele Bundchen and NFL superstar Tom Brady. Thanks to a monster year filled with fashion and endorsement deals, not to mention a few business ventures that could put her on the road to becoming the world's first billionaire supermodel, Bundchen pocketed a massive $45 million over the 12-month period. Not to be overshadowed by his more famous wife, Brady – who signed a four-year, $72 million contract extension in September with the New England Patriots, NFL’s richest deal on an annual basis – brought home another $31 million, putting the couple’s combined annual earnings at $76 million.
Music’s most powerful couple, Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z hauled in some $72 million over the past year, making them No. 2 on our list. The Houston-born R&B diva pulled in $35 million, thanks mostly to business-focused deals such as a clothing line with Dereon and endorsement deals with L’Oreal, DirecTV, General Mills and others. As for Jay-Z, his earnings come from the 10-year $150 million Live Nation deal that he signed in 2008 and the cash he collects as a shareholder in New Jersey Nets, 40/40 Club chain and ad firm Translation.
Hollywood royalty Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt came in third place on our list, with a combined $50 million annual income. The highest-paid actress in the world is the only woman making bank for playing action heroes in Tinseltown these days: Salt, which was originally written for Tom Cruise, earned $300 million at the box office. Her other movie from last year, The Tourist, made another $280 million worldwide. As a result, Jolie folded about $30 million last year, while her husband, Brad Pitt, cashed in some $20 million. With his Plan B production company, Pitt has become as active a producer as he is an actor. But don’t write him off the big screen just yet, as his latest movie appearance (on Terrence Malick's The Tree Of Life) is already generating Oscar buzz.
Apart from the fact that he is yet to popularize soccer in America, David Beckham, along with his former Spice Girl wife Victoria, are the world’s fourth Highest-Paid Celebrity couple, with combined earnings of $45 million between May 2010 and May 2011. Beckham’s pitch prowess has declined in recent years as the 36-year-old’s career winds down, but he still collects big endorsement checks from companies like Adidas and, more recently, Samsung, for which he will be the global brand ambassador during the 2012 Olympic Games in London. His pay check last year: $40 million. Victoria, which is better known on this side of the Atlantic by her nickname Posh, responds for the other $5 million from the couple’s annual income, thanks to the percentage of sales that she collects from her fashion lines of wool dresses and $3,000 purses.
Coming last, but not least, is Twilight’s Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, who have both earned $20 million last year thanks to the franchise's global success, making their combined annual salary $40 million. With the end of the Twilight franchise in sight, they both are preparing for a post-vampire career. Pattinson has taken the lead in more “serious” projects, like Remember Me, which earned $56 million on a budget of $16 million. In the meantime, Stewart’s non-Twilight career hasn’t been as promising as her co-star and real-life boyfriend's so far. Her 2010 film The Runaways grossed only $4.6 million at the box office. But there’s still hope for Stewart: next year she will be seen in cinemas playing the leading role in the film Snow White and the Huntsman.According to a recent report from Forbes, the Philadelphia Eagles are one of the top 50 most valuable sports teams in the world. At a value of $1.314 billion the Eagles rank 17th overall.
Only five NFL teams are worth more than Philadelphia's franchise. Among those teams are the Houston Texans (12th - $1.45 billion), the New York Giants (10th - $1.55 billion), the Washington Redskins (9th - $1.7 billion), the New England Patriots (8th - $1.8 billion), and the Dallas Cowboys (5th - $2.3 billion). As you can see, the Eagles are actually the least valuable NFC East team despite their relative success in past years. The most valuable sports team in the world is the Real Madrid Club de Fútbol valued at $3.44 billion overall.
A few months ago Bleeding Green Nation took a look at the value of the Eagles on the scale that the Los Angeles Clippers sold for. The Clippers sale may have been an outlier but it's still interesting to think what the Eagles would sell for compared to their estimated value. Using the Clippers scale, the Eagles could sell for up to $4.573 billion. Compare that to the $195 million that current Eagles Chairman and CEO spent to acquire the franchise. Something tells me Lurie isn't complaining.PHILADELPHIA -- A white officer who fatally shot a black man in the back during a traffic stop will be fired, Philadelphia's police commissioner said Thursday.
Commissioner Richard Ross said Officer Ryan Pownall has been suspended and will lose his job next month because the 12-year police veteran used poor judgment when he fired on 30-year-old David Jones on June 8, CBS Philadelphia reports.
"As a leader, it's always difficult to take someone's livelihood," Ross said. "In this case, there were serious policy violations committed on video. I saw it, the shooting investigators saw it. That's where it starts and stops."
Surveillance video shows Jones running away as he's shot. He was stopped for riding a dirt bike on city streets and police say he reached for a weapon during a scuffle.
According to CBS Philadelphia, police said a struggle ensued as Pownall felt a gun in Jones' waistband, then Jones reportedly resisted and started running.
Ross said Pownall's first attempt to shoot at Jones was justified under department policy, because it happened right after the struggle with a weapon.
Pownall's gun jammed, and as he fixed it, Jones dropped his gun and fled. He was at least 10 feet away and had his back turned to Pownall when he was shot, Ross said.
"Because Jones never looked back at Pownall and had nothing in his hands, he posed no imminent threat to Pownall," Ross said, though acknowledging the officer believed Jones was still armed. "Jones also used poor judgment as well when he carried a gun illegally, rode a motorcycle that is illegal to operate on a city street and refused to comply with Pownall's orders."
The shooting led to protests, including a Black Lives Matter protest outside Pownall's home, and activists calling for Pownall's firing and arrest.
"What is our city coming to? We're allowing officers that are supposed to protect us, hurt us," said Doretha Crosby, the victim's mother. "[It's been] a living nightmare. I wake up every morning missing my child. I can't get him back. He was a good young man. All he tried to do was get his life right. He worked, just bought a house, just got married."
"We want the officer charged with murder and we want him convicted and thrown in jail. What you're seeing is a cold-blooded murder and a man who should never have been on the force ever and someone who should've been fired the first time he shot a black man in the back," added Asa Khalif of Black Lives Matter.
The city's police union president John McNesby came under fire for labeling the protesters outside the officer's home a "pack of rabid animals" in remarks last week at a rally in support of police officers.
David Jones, 30, was killed during an officer-involved shooting on June 8. CBS Philadelphia
Mayor Jim Kenney said this week the heated rhetoric doesn't help.
"Referring to black people as animals has a long, painful history in this country. Fighting divisive words with divisive words gets us nowhere," he told Philadelphia Magazine.
McNesby responded that he never referred to black people in his remarks, and had no idea if protesters were black, white or Asian.
Ross said some of the protests outside the officer's home were "out of bounds."
This was not the first time Pownall has shot a civilian. In 2010, he shot a man who was also running away at the time, according to the police department. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Pownall and other officers fired at Carnell Williams-Carney, who ran from police after being stopped with an illegal gun. Williams-Carney was struck in the back by a bullet that Pownall later said he fired.
Williams-Carney was paralyzed from his injuries. Pownall and the other officers remained on the job. In a federal civil suit filed by Williams-Carney, a jury ruled in 2013 that the officers were justified in opening fire.Leave some for the rest of us!
Hey, you can only buy 15 of these.
Get it?!
It's basic math: add things together.
What happens when you take a famous author and you suck all the love out of him? You create someone new, someone altogether different than before. And since it was you who took all the love, you can call this new author (he definitely is still an author, since you left the craft) your own creation. You could point to him and say, "Mine."
That's what's happening here. Not just some visual author-video game mashup.
Oh wait, just got word: it's actually just some visual author-video game mashup. My bad.
Wear this shirt: to Martin's Beach.
Don't wear this shirt: swimming in The Miskatonic River.
This shirt tells the world: "I watch the Cthultide log on TV."
We call this color: Kelly Green was the first to beat Minecraft. That's a thing you can do, right? Beat Minecraft?
Back to topThe annals of confusing news stories about observational studies showing an association between coffee and…fill in the blank…have a new entry.
Do a Google search for “coffee and melanoma” and you’ll get thousands of returns.
Many of these stories inappropriately used causal language – suggesting that a cause-and-effect had been proven, when it hadn’t.
TIME, for example, headlined it, “This Drink Could Protect You From Skin Cancer.” Yes, it could. But perhaps it would not. And you need to evaluate the evidence, which was observational and could only point to a statistical association, not causation. So “could protect” is misleading in our view. So is “may help thwart…may also be doing your skin a favor…coffee can protect against melanoma” – other phrases used in the story. “Association” was mentioned once, but without explanation or discussion of limitations about drawing causal conclusions from this kind of research. This ending section is more confusing than helpful:
“The group says that their results need to be repeated and confirmed, and that it’s too early yet to change your coffee habits to protect yourself from skin cancer. But the findings support the idea that there might be more you can do to protect yourself from the sun’s harmful rays than only slathering your body in sunscreen.”
CBSNews.com stated that “protective benefits of coffee increased the more a person drank.” It is simply inaccurate to discuss protective benefits when you have not proven cause-and-effect. It’s interesting to note some of the wisdom of the crowds – this user comment left online in particular:
“I don’t think they can draw such conclusions (cause and effect). Coffee drinkers may simply be working more (indoors, less UV) at a job whereas those who work less may be outdoors more and have no need for coffee. Not saying this is true, but their conclusions aren’t necessarily either.”
FoxNews.com repeatedly used the word “protection.” We need to be protected from such misleading language.
HealthDay gets high marks for succinctly stating: “The study only uncovered an association between coffee consumption and melanoma risk; it didn’t prove a cause-and-effect relationship.” One sentence…20 words…made all the difference.
If you really want to learn from an in-depth (and I don’t think you’d find it too academic) explanation of the limitations of the research, see Dr. Perry Wilson’s video on MedPage Today. Excerpt:
“But if we dig a bit deeper, we might not be ready to dig for the extra cup just yet.”
He discusses confounding factors and multiple looks at the same dataset, something he explains very well. Listen and learn.
Coffee is the poster child for abused translation of observational research. If you search for “coffee” on this blog, you come up with dozens of examples of the wrong language used to describe “coffee and xyz” research through the years.
To try to help, we offer a primer, “Does The Language Fit The Evidence? – Association Versus Causation.”
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and on Facebook.That’s probably how I’d write this afternoon’s antics up if I were one of those NEJM guys.
So I was hanging out with Felicity and one of our friends, T-Res. T-Res had showed up with a little container of Cherry Pie “and some hash”. T-Res is a very, very calm guy, the kind who’s seen serious shit go down and just raises an eyebrow. He said, “Get your vape” so we loaded some of his stuff on top of some of my stuff. I’m pretty sure I had indica in there, since the last time I had used it was the night before, and I always vape some strong indica at night so I will sleep and not toss and turn all night wondering about stuff.
We sat there all talking and vaping (except Felicity) for quite some time. At one point I was glad I stopped, because I was just on the verge of too high for comfort, but then I felt good again. We talked some more and he picked up my MFLB because there was plenty left and noticed the batteries were dead.
“So, let’s get the bong,” some fool (me) said.
I dug out my Bottaro bong and dumped the contents of the trench into the bowl. My only saving graces here were (a) indica and (b) I let him hit the bong first.
He hit it big-time, and even coughed a bit, which he never does. Luckily he got most of the goodies, but I took quite a bit hit for someone who never smokes.
A Slice of Cherry Pie and Reality
That Cherry Pie (plus, I guess, the hash…) is pretty amazing stuff, and it’s a noticeable difference when you get all the cannabinoids from a big hit of burning weed all at once. Very soon I was going past the moon, the double digits, and my physical comfort zone. Felicity knew the signs and watched as I stood up and started laying down on the floor. This is an old trick I try to teach people to do when they feel dizzy from smoking too much or too fast (and usually both), as it is moderately difficult to fall off the floor.
From plenty of past experience with greenouts, I wanted to avoid passing out, but mostly to avoid paranoia and panic. That’s what’s actually more dangerous for me than passing out, because I can easily work myself up into a serious health emergency that way. Luckily, as I mentioned above, this stuff was all indica, or I likely would have been freaking out good and proper. But it’s still scary to be laying on the ground and knowing some people who care about you are sitting there worrying.
I knew that this was just smoking and there’s a characteristic time/highness curve, so this peak would only last about half an hour. Of course, as we all know, THC gives you massive time distortion, so it just seemed like 2 hours before I finally felt better. At one point I was seeing flaming words with my eyes closed (something about earthworms and spaghetti). But all was well, I never actually passed out or felt really bad, and I lived to toke another day.If you followed the timeline of Linux, you know that ever since Tux, a penguin, has been chosen as the mascot of Linux project, it hasn’t been changed since then. It is often also termed as the Linux logo despite the fact that it’s the mascot of Linux.
Over the years, penguins are so associated with Linux that for a Linux lover like me, penguins have almost become synonymous to Linux.
More than 20 years have passed and we have the same logo of Linux, the cheerful penguin named Tux. But design trends change over the time and if you look at the original Tux logo, you’ll find it stale, outdated.
For years, people have been asking if it is the time for a new Linux logo. Proposals have been made to make the original Tux to look more flat keeping the material design trend in mind.
Looks like finally, the Linux management people paid attention to this request. Linus Torvalds accidently revealed the new Linux mascot today and guess what, Tux is no longer the face of Linux.
I managed to obtain the new Linux mascot before it was deleted from the discussion thread. It is of low quality but if you click on it, you can see it clearly.
How do you like the new mascot of Linux?Caricature by DonkeyHotey flic.kr/p/Ct4G4K https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
The Hill, for a distributor of leftwing agitprop as its main line of business, has done one helluva job of committing journalism this past week. See:
Bill Clinton sought State’s permission to meet with Russian nuclear official during Obama uranium decision
Senate seeks to interview FBI informant in Russian nuclear bribery case
FBI informant blocked from telling Congress about Russia nuclear corruption case, lawyer says
Senate Judiciary opens probe into Obama-era Russian nuclear bribery case
Obama’s DOJ slow-walked probe despite national security concerns
FBI uncovered Russian bribery plot before Obama administration approved controversial nuclear deal with Moscow
As the titles hint, there are a lot of questions about how Hillary Clinton was able to approve a deal selling rights to a substantial portion of US uranium mining while the Clinton Foundation was getting money from the guy befitting from the decision. Read the stories. There is a lot of really interesting stuff in there and it is made all the more interesting by the fact that Robert Mueller, Rod Rosenstein, and Andrew McCabe were intimately involved in making sure the federal charges never touched Team Clinton.
Now they’ve published another story detailing how the Russians nearly planted someone in Clinton’s inner circle and unanswered questions about Bill Clinton’s speaking engagements.
A female Russian spy posing as an American accountant, for instance, used a false identity to burrow her way into the employ of a major Democratic donor in hopes of gaining intelligence on Hillary Clinton’s department, records show. The spy was arrested and deported as she moved closer to getting inside the secretary’s department, agents said. Other activities were perfectly legal and sitting in plain view, such as when a subsidiary of Russia’s state-controlled nuclear energy company hired a Washington firm to lobby the Obama administration. At the time it was hired, the firm was providing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in pro bono support to Bill Clinton’s global charitable initiative, and it legally helped the Russian company secure federal decisions that led to billions in new U.S. commercial nuclear business, records show. Agents were surprised by the timing and size of a $500,000 check that a Kremlin-linked bank provided Bill Clinton with for a single speech in the summer of 2010. The payday came just weeks after Hillary Clinton helped arrange for American executives to travel to Moscow to support Putin’s efforts to build his own country’s version of Silicon Valley, agents said. There is no evidence in any of the public records that the FBI believed that the Clintons or anyone close to them did anything illegal. But there’s definitive evidence the Russians were seeking their influence with a specific eye on the State Department.
The Russian spy was not skin mag star and Putin mistress, Anna Chapman but a woman going under the alias of Cynthia Murphy.
And there is ample evidence of the folly of relying upon anonymous sources:
“There is not one shred of doubt from the evidence that we had that the Russians had set their sights on Hillary Clinton’s circle, because she was the quarterback of the Obama-Russian reset strategy and the assumed successor to Obama as president,” said a source familiar with the FBI’s evidence at the time, speaking only on condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to speak to the news media. That source pointed to an October 2009 communication intercepted by the FBI in which Russian handlers instructed two of their spies specifically to gather nonpublic information on the State Department.
This story reveals that assessment was false, it was probably leaked by someone trying to protect Hillary Clinton, and it covered up the fact that the FBI was working very hard to stamp out Russian influence in Hillary Clinton’s State Department while keeping the root cause, Hillary Clinton’s greed and absence of boundaries, off limits.
But this gives us an interesting glimpse into how the FBI reacts in cases where it fears foreign intelligence services are trying to work their way into the circle of American officials, even, as in this case, someone one step removed from Hillary Clinton and not actually in government. They don’t sit back and wait. They act. And it brings this question from Charles Grassley into sharper focus: GOP senator questions whether FBI warned Trump about Russia during campaign. And all indications are that, no, the FBI did not warn Trump about any potential danger posed by Paul Manafort or Mike Flynn or Carter Page. As two of these men were under FISA surveillance, one has to wonder why the FBI elected not to warn him. Did they think Trump didn’t have a chance and decided to not warn him because they didn’t want to divulge the investigation? Or did they know there was no there there and decided to not warn Trump because they didn’t want to reveal they had FISA warrants? Or, always my favorite, were they just stupid and lackadaisical?The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland (German: Christlichdemokratische Volkspartei der Schweiz, CVP; French: Parti Démocrate-Chrétien, PDC; Italian: Partito Popolare Democratico, PPD; Romansh: (help·info), PCD) is a Christian-democratic[8] political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 28 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 13 seats. It has one seat, that of Viola Amherd, on the Swiss Federal Council.
The party was founded as the Catholic Conservative Party in 1912. The party peaked in the 1950s, having three members of the Federal Council (1954–58) before agreeing to the Magic formula. It adopted its current name in 1970. From 1979 to 2003, the party's vote declined, mostly in the favour of the Swiss People's Party, and the party was reduced to one Federal Councillor at the 2003 election.
The party sits in the centre to centre-right of the political spectrum, advocating Christian democracy, the social market economy, and moderate social conservatism. The party is strongest in Catholic rural areas, particularly Central Switzerland and Valais.
History [ edit ]
In 1912 the Catholic-Conservative Party of Switzerland (German: Katholisch-Konservative Partei der Schweiz) was founded. From 1919 on, the party occupied two out of the seven seats in the cabinet. Aided by the political climate of the postwar period, the party experienced its peak in the 1950s: It was represented by the biggest parliamentary delegation in the national assembly, and from 1954 to 1958 the party occupied three out of seven seats in the cabinet. Nonetheless, the party had to relinquish the third seat in favor of the 'Magic formula', which was introduced to the cabinet in 1959. In 1957 it changed its name to the Conservative-Christian-Social People's Party (German: Konservativ-Christlichsoziale Volkspartei) and to its current name in 1970. In the ensuing decades, the Catholic voter base dissolved somewhat. The reduction of the voter base, in addition to less cohesion among politicians in the party, led to six successive losses in federal elections after 1980.
Beginning in the 1990s, conservative voters from former strongholds of the CVP switched to vote for the right-wing populist Swiss People's Party. Due to that voter switch and the resultant 2003 national elections to the national assembly, the party lost their second seat in the governing Federal Council, retaining only one of the seven seats.
Party platform [ edit ]
In its party platform, the CVP describes itself as a centrist party. The CVP fosters a social market economy in which a balance is struck between economic liberalism and social justice. The expansion of the party in the Protestant-dominated cantons, in which the CVP upholds rather centrist policies, stands in contrast to the traditional role of the CVP as the leading party in rather Catholic-dominated cantons of central Switzerland, and the cantons of Valais. There, the electorate is mostly socially conservative.
The CVP has three main policies in the political centre:[citation needed]
The CVP upholds the social market economy. It supports exporting industries, more spending on education, research and development. It also aims at combating the black market and tax evasion. In order to increase efficiency and incentives, the CVP calls for the reduction and streamlining of bureaucratic procedures and government agencies, low taxation for family enterprises and those who offer vocational education and internships. The CVP calls for equal wages and job opportunities for both men and women.
The CVP calls for flexible working times, childcare, and affordable housing.
The CVP aims at ensuring social security. The CVP calls for reforms of the social security system, by raising taxes on demerit goods (e.g. tobacco taxes) to generate more revenues for the pension funds. The retirement age of 65 should also be upheld. The public health care system shall be streamlined by a reduction of waiting times of medical procedures, in order to ensure equitable services. The CVP also promotes workfare as the primary means to combat unemployment.
Popular support [ edit ]
Percentages of the CVP at district level in 2011
The Christian Democrats are the largest party in Catholic southern and central Switzerland, and are the largest party in seven cantonal legislatures (coloured orange above).
[9] The CVP's positions in the Swiss political spectrum (2007). Positions of voters and of party elites (elected officials) are shown separately. Data from the 2007 general election.
Following continuing losses in the federal parliamentary elections until 2003, in December 2003, the party lost one of its two seats in the four-party coalition government, the Swiss Federal Council, to the Swiss People's Party. The CVP holds roughly 12% of the popular vote.
After the national election in late 2003, it held 28 seats (out of 200) in the Swiss National Council (first chamber of the Swiss parliament); 15 (out of 46) in the Council of States (second chamber, and the largest party in this chamber) and 1 out of 7 seats in the Swiss Federal Council (executive body).
In 2005, it held 20.7% of the seats in the Swiss Cantonal governments and 16.7% in the Swiss Cantonal parliaments (index "BADAC", weighted with the population and number of seats). At the last legislative national elections, 22 October 2007, the party won 14.6% of the popular vote and 31 out of 200 seats in the National Council lower house.[10] This was a gain of 3 seats, ending the long-term decline of the party and it was the only one of the four largest parties besides the Swiss People's Party to gain votes and seats.
In the Federal Assembly, the CVP formerly sat in a bloc in the Christian Democrats/EPP/glp Group, along with the Evangelical People's Party and Green Liberal Party.[11]
Election results [ edit ]
National Council Year Votes % Seats +/- 1914 71,668 21.1 37 / 189 1917 84,784 16.4 42 / 189 5 1919 156,702 21.0 41 / 189 1 1922 153,836 20.9 44 / 198 3 1925 155,467 20.9 42 / 198 2 1928 172,516 21.4 46 / 198 4 1931 184,602 21.4 44 / 187 2 1935 185,052 20.3 42 / 187 2 1939 105,018 17.0 43 / 187 1 1943 182,916 20.8 43 / 194 1947 203,202 21.2 44 / 194 1 1951 216,616 22.5 48 / 196 4 1955 226,122 23.2 47 / 196 1 1959 229,088 23.3 47 / 196 1963 225,160 23.4 48 / 200 1 1967 219,184 22.1 45 / 200 3 1971 407,225 20.4 44 / 200 1 1975 407,286 21.1 46 / 200 2 1979 390,281 21.3 44 / 200 2 1983 396,281 20.2 42 / 200 2 1987 378,822 19.6 42 / 200 1991 367,928 18.0 35 / 200 7 1995 319,972 16.8 34 / 200 1 1999 309,118 15.8 35 / 200 1 2003 301,652 14.4 28 / 200 7 2007 335,623 14.5 31 / 200 3 2011 300,544 12.3 28 / 200 3 2015 293,653 11.6 27 / 200 1
Party strength over time [ edit ]
Canton 1971 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 Percentage of the total vote for Christian Democratic People's Party in Federal Elections 1971-2015[12] Switzerland 20.3 21.1 21.3 20.2 19.6 18.0 16.8 15.9 14.4 14.5 12.3 11.6 Zürich 9.5 9.4 9.7 9.1 7.1 5.9 4.9 5.1 5.4 7.6 5.0 4.2 Bern 5.3 5.3 2.5 2.1 2.4 2.6 1.8 2.4 2.3 4.7 2.1 1.8 Luzern 48.8 50.1 50.4 49.6 47.0 48.6 37.3 33.8 29.5 30.2 27.1 23.9 Uri * 18.6 * * * * * * * * * 26.8 Schwyz 38.5 46.4 49.4 46.6 36.9 32.8 27.4 27.3 23.4 20.1 20.6 19.5 Obwalden 67.0 97.1 95.7 91.0 51.7 95.3 94.2 * 66.4 32.5 * * Nidwalden 97.2 97.6 49.5 97.2 96.9 97.7 32.1 * * * * * Glarus * * * * * * * * * * * * Zug * 39.4 34.1 39.9 34.2 34.2 27.1 26.4 22.9 23.3 24.3 26.4 Fribourg 41.5 46.9 39.9 37.9 37.7 36.8 36.0 33.7 25.4 24.8 20.3 22.7 Solothurn 27.7 26.0 27.6 26.7 25.1 22.2 21.5 21.4 21.0 20.4 17.9 14.8 Basel-Stadt 11.2 12.1 13.9 9.9 10.0 10.4 9.7 8.6 6.6 7.4 6.5 6.4 Basel-Landschaft 13.3 13.3 11.5 10.8 12.3 11.6 11.7 12.0 10.0 11.4 8.2 9.1 Schaffhausen 8.0 * * 6.3 * * * * 2.7 * 5.2 * Appenzell A.Rh. * 14.1 * 14.5 * 16.7 9.5 * * * 10.6 * Appenzell I.Rh. 96.1 98.3 97.2 95.6 91.8 98.7 85.4 73.5 69.2 84.6 76.1 76.3 St. Gallen 44.0 43.3 44.1 40.8 39.4 35.8 31.0 26.2 22.2 21.4 20.3 16.6 Graubünden 37.3 35.9 35.5 33.3 28.5 25.6 26.9 25.6 23.7 20.3 16.6 16.8 Aargau 20.0 20.6 22.5 21.5 18.9 14.5 14.2 16.3 15.6 13.5 10.6 8.6 Thurgau 23.4 22.3 24.6 21.6 20.4 16.5 13.0 15.7 16.5 15.2 14.4 13.1 Ticino 34.8 35.7 34.1 34.0 38.2 26.9 28.4 25.9 24.6 24.1 20.0 20.1 Vaud 5.3 4.6 5.1 4.5 4.1 3.6 5.6 4.5 4.4 5.6 4.6 4.1 Valais 61.5 59.7 58.8 57.5 58.7 54.3 54.8 51.4 47.9 44.9 39.9 39.8 Neuchâtel * * * * * * * * * 3.3 3.5 3.6 Genève 13.8 14.7 14.0 12.3 14.6 14.5 13.4 14.1 11.8 9.7 9.8 12.1 Jura 37 |
idea with very little effort. Instead of focusing on the technical implementation, they can instead focus on the specific needs of their users and build strong network effects for their markets.
I expect that after reaching this point their will be a huge explosion of creative and novel decentralized marketplaces that will all be deeply connected to d0xInfra.High in the atmosphere, water collects on dust and smoke particles in clouds. Raindrops start to form in a roughly spherical structure due to the surface tension of water. This surface tension is the "skin" of a body of water that makes the molecules stick together. The cause is the weak hydrogen bonds that occur between water molecules. On smaller raindrops, the surface tension is stronger than in larger drops. The reason is the flow of air around the drop.
As the raindrop falls, it lose that rounded shape. The raindrop becomes more like the top half of a hamburger bun. Flattened on the bottom and with a curved dome top, raindrops are anything but the classic tear shape. The reason is due to their speed falling through the atmosphere.
Air flow on the bottom of the water drop is greater than the airflow at the top. At the top, small air circulation disturbances create less air pressure. The surface tension at the top allows the raindrop to remain more spherical while the bottom gets more flattened out.
Even as a raindrop is falling, it will often collide with other raindrops and increase in size. Once the size of a raindrop gets too large, it will eventually break apart in the atmosphere back into smaller drops. This time, the surface tension loses and the large raindrop ceases to exist. Instead it pulls apart when it grows to around 4 millimeters or more.
The Scientific Formula
The slope of β e f f such that the same relation between K dp /N w and D o is preserved on average. Gorgucci et al. (2001a,b) developed algorithms for retrieving rain rate (R) as well as D o, N w and m using β e f f in combination with the measurement pair (Z h, Z dr ).
Equilibrium drop shapes for drop diameters of 1-6mm. Equilibrium drop shapes for drop diameters of 1-6mm.
Thus Z dr is a direct measure of mass weighted median diameter. The functional relationship between Z dr and D o is developed from the underlying microphysical relation between the mean axis ratio of raindrops and their size. This shape size relation can potentially be perturbed in the presence of raindrop oscillations. Grogucci et al. (2002) developed a technique that watches the self-consistency between Z h, Z dr and specific differential phase K dp, to account for the perturbation in oscillation, in retrieving D o from dual-polarization radar measurements.Pub owner says pub reached agreement with landlord
The owners and employees at Conor O'Neill's Traditional Irish Pub & Restaurant are scrambling to reopen on Friday — just days after they thought they were closed for good.
The popular watering hole just off the Pearl Street Mall closed Sunday — after 17 years in business — after failing to reach an agreement with their landlord, W.W. Reynolds Companies, on the rent.
Owner Colm O'Neill said Wednesday that he continued to talk with W.W. Reynolds over the weekend and early this week and found common ground.
"We want to stay for the foreseeable future," he said. "They were very game to keep working to find a solution. We're hopeful it's going to work."
Chris Addison, center, plays the guitar and sings with Matt Johnson, right, and Bill Huston, left, at Conor O'Neill's Irish Pub in Boulder on Sept. 25. (Autumn Parry/Staff Photographer)
Those at the restaurant, located at 1922 13th St., said the back room and patio were closed for 18 months to accommodate building a three-story office building on the parking lot next door.
During construction, the building's owner, W.W. Reynolds Companies, gave a discount on the rent. But once the restaurant was fully reopened, sales were slower to rebound than they had hoped.
"It's been hard getting the business back," O'Neill said.
So they asked W.W. Reynolds Companies to lower the rent to give the restaurant more time to increase sales. Along with slower sales, they said, the restaurant also was hit with a property tax and rent increase.
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Conor O'Neill's opened in 1999, taking over the 13th Street location from 20-year mainstay The James Pub and Grill. The restaurant also took over hosting the annual World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade — which had started as a Boulder pub crawl — in 2000.
Now that they're reopening, O'Neill said, they need to replenish supplies and replace some decorations that were stolen during closing.
"We were so busy the last two weeks, we ran out of everything," he said. "We even had people leaving with stuff under their jackets."
But otherwise, O'Neill said, it shouldn't take much to reopen.
Though a "for lease" sign is posted in the window and Google maps notes the restaurant is "permanently closed," they hadn't yet started clearing out.
All the furniture and equipment is still there, and most of the staff members agreed to come back to work. The menu is even still displayed out front.
"We're putting stuff back up that we though we had taken down," he said. "My head is spinning."
While the plan is to reopen the restaurant on Friday, they're also looking at a more official grand reopening the next weekend, he said.
"All we need now is support, for people to come in," he said.
Amy Bounds: 303-473-1341, boundsa@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/boundsaPublisher software publisher association
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Reviewer: mandrakes - favorite favorite favorite - July 6, 2008
Subject: "1992"?! I thought this was a mid-eighties film at the latest. - July 6, 2008"1992"?!
Reviewer: mr_loophead - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - October 1, 2007
Subject: Hah - brilliant! Takes me back a few years, in such a fun way. What about copying data cassettes, though? I used to all the time. Precious Commodore programs!! - October 1, 2007Hah - brilliant!
Reviewer: plumloopy - favorite favorite favorite favorite - August 29, 2006
Subject: Neverwinter Nights Kind of funny that the game the software designers were talking about was essentially re-released in an updated version in ~2003. Neverwinter Nights was a sequel to the Baldur's Gate series.
Had people copied that NN floppy, I never would have got to play! Thanks MC Double-D CP PP, or whatever. Wait - did I download that?
Pause it at ~1:10 on the video - the MC has NO PANTS ON! - August 29, 2006Neverwinter Nights
Reviewer: Dr_Dan - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - April 27, 2006
Subject: Funnest thing ever i saw the movie for the second time today and i couldnt stop laughing throughout the whole thing but im still going to download stuff - April 27, 2006Funnest thing ever
Reviewer: hoshinokodomo - favorite favorite favorite - April 7, 2006
Subject: creepy..... creepy - April 7, 2006creepy
Reviewer: nephildevil - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - December 5, 2005
Subject: hilarious!! it is!
LOL!! - December 5, 2005hilarious!!
Reviewer: Philthephreak - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - October 6, 2005
Subject: Hilarity ensues This caused a laugh riot in the torrent tracker irc rooms, but we learned the error of our ways, everyone promised not to copy any more floppies. - October 6, 2005Hilarity ensues
Reviewer: Assam - favorite favorite favorite - March 25, 2005
Subject: rappin for the man Pity the poor guy that took this gig.
In this polemic, the software industry holds itself ransom, threatening to kill themselves if they don't make enough money.
So, do the right thing, kids, not for their sake of course but for yours: No games unless you put up the cash. - March 25, 2005rappin for the man
Reviewer: Assam - favorite favorite favorite - March 25, 2005
Subject: rappin for the man Pity the poor guy that took this gig.
In this polemic, the software industry holds itself ransom, threatening to kill themselves if they don't make enough money.
So, do the right thing, kids, not for their sake of course but for yours: No games unless you put up the cash. - March 25, 2005rappin for the man
Reviewer: Leshaun Fossett - favorite favorite - November 21, 2004
Subject: Jeez... I remember being show this video in our BASIC class in high school, because we used the computers to pirate software. Once, Norton counted over 1300 different viruses on our LAN.
So it's apparent that we didn't learn a thing from this video, because we continued to pirate stuff in the lab. - November 21, 2004Jeez...By Lisa Desjardins, CNN
Follow on Twitter: @LisaDCNN
Editor's Note: Listen to the full story in our player above, and join the conversation in our comments section below.
Capitol Hill (CNN) – A CNN analysis of thousands of pages of Congressional expense reports shows that in the months leading up to the fiscal cliff (and potential, sharp budget cuts), nearly a quarter of the lawmakers in the House of Representatives gave their own office staff bonuses.
Click here to see the list of how much each member of Congress spent and which lawmakers gave their staff what appear to be bonuses.
That money is itemized as “Other Compensation” in the more than 2000-page report.
Only a handful of members of Congress gave us statements defending the bonuses last quarter.
Rep. Mike Thompson, D-CA, wrote, “have a hard working, dedicated team… and I want to pay a salary that reflects their service.”
He said he only gives bonuses if there is “money left over” at the end of the year.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-FL, responded, "We have not had raises or bonuses in several years. The small compensation reflects an increased workload each person had to take on after our staff was downsized because of budgetary cuts."
Similarly, Rep. Dennis Ross, R-FL insisted that the bonuses allowed him to save money. “I believe performance-based pay is an important incentive in the workplace… Also, in the past year we’ve reduced our staff… The bonuses are to reward those remaining for taking on additional duties,” he said.
We went outside Congress to sort out whether the bonuses could be appropriate or not, whether it is something a business might do.
[2:33] “I’m not a big fan of anyone getting bonuses, when things aren’t going well…if we can’t balance a budget, we can’t even pass a budget, I don’t believe in people getting bonuses until things are right,” says Buck Hartzell, head of Investor Learning at Motley Fool.
At the Motley Fool, an investing and media company in Alexandria, Virginia, bonuses are part of the culture. Each employee can get several different bonuses depending on how they, their work group and the entire staff perform.
But Hartzell points out, that is only in successful times. At one point during the recession, there were no bonuses.
Listen to our story to hear how one small business owner looks at the Congressional bonuses and how she would handle a tight budget year.THE three finalists for our Alternate Guernsey competition have been confirmed, now it's time to vote for your favourite.
Courtney, 22, from Pakenham has delivered two designs that have made the final and the design student was thrilled that an opportunity like this presented itself.
"I follow the mighty Hawks religiously, if I could win it would make my career and I would be honoured to be a part of Hawks history," she said.
"I took inspiration from the Hawks of old with a 'V' influence, a clean sharp simple design that many Hawks fans love, Courtney said with her submission.
Cody, 16, from Morwell is our other finalist, the youngster is a huge football fan and loves designing team jumpers.
"I really enjoy making football jumpers and I love design work," Cody said.
"My design is a retro clash jumper which features the old Hawks monogram on it, with a powerful brown V," he said.
Over to you - cast your vote below to have your say on the next alternate design guernset to be worn by the Hawks in 2017.
Voting closes next Tuesday 29 March at 5pm with the winning design to be announced at the end of April.
Please note, you will only be able to vote once.At least one student at Harvard University is expressing outrage over the name of “Incest-Fest,” a hook-up dance to be held at the university’s famous Kirkland House dormitory this winter.
The event, described in the Kirkland House Wikipedia entry, is an annual “debaucherous dance open only to [male and female] members of the house.”
Harvard’s official student newspaper, The Crimson, also mentions the event in it campus life guide.
“You’ll spend all of Secret Santa week watching underclad men gyrating in the dining hall and figuring out who you’ll hook up with at Incest Fest,” it reads. “[H]ouse life is incredibly close-knit, bordering on downright incestuous.
“But there’s more to Kirkland than raunchy dining hall skits and regrettable hook-ups,” the paper continues.
Junior Samantha Berstler, who is a resident in the Kirkland House however, argued in an op-ed in the The Crimson, that the party’s name is “offensive and insensitive” because incest is no joking matter.
“The name ‘Incest-Fest’ is not sexy or cute or clever,” wrote Berstle.
Other students commenting responded to Bestle’s criticism, however, suggesting she should lighten up.
“Don’t go and let other people have a sick time getting laid,” wrote an apparent student, Marcus Bunny.
A spokesperson for Harvard University did not provide comment to Campus Reform, despite multiple inquiries via phone and e-mail.
Famous former residents of the Kirkland dorm include Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Follow the author of this article: @oliverdarcy
H/T: The College FixThis article originally appeared in PC Gamer UK issue 251.
Abandoned and resurrected at least once, The Iconoclasts is an indie platformer project of such lengthy gestation that it's achieved mythic status in dev circles. A heavily truncated alpha has been knocking around for years, but its sole developer, Joakim 'Konjak' Sandberg, still declines to put a year to the game's release. This would bode ill, were it not for the arrival of an expansive new build for the Independent Games Festival, revealing a lush Metroidvania-style world of ambitious scale, snappily acrobatic combat, sporadic puzzling, and a surprisingly involving, funny and philosophical plot.
You play Robin, 17-year-old orphan and secret mechanic: the very idea of tampering with machinery is likely to get you executed by the pseudo-religious militaristic regime, the One Concern. To say much more about its setting would spoil the way the backstory slowly percolates through the witty conversations with Robin's neighbours, and those she meets as she is chased out of her home by the One Concern's supernaturally powerful agents.
Beneath the glib jokes are some surprisingly well-enunciated philosophies and a cast of caricatures that are more fully realised and intriguing than those of most RPGs. There's Mina – impetuous, passionate and rebellious, but haunted by past mistakes and her responsibility to her overbearing invalid mother. Later you find yourself tangled up with Royal – a son of the aristocracy, suffocated by his own place within the regime and more interested in botany than power. But does his loyalty to the status quo prove deeper than it first appears? Alongside these are a dozen colourfully drawn characters, from the big talking Cab Calloway lookalike who props up Settlement 17's bar, to the jovially callous sea captain or the cowboy-hatted, scripture-spouting General Chrome.
"Its cast of caricatures are more fully realised and intriguing than those of most RPGs."
It may be this that really sets The Iconoclasts apart from its platformer peers, but it's no slouch when it comes to the fundamentals of movement and combat. Robin moves with precision, dispatching foes with a flurry of laser fire before using her wrench to swing from a suspended bolt, cling to a ledge and then vault from that to another. The environmental puzzles that halt your progress are a varied bunch – timing puzzles, flip-switch puzzles, sequence puzzles – while the many lurid boss-battles often require lateral thinking and experimentation.
The six or so hours of this build leave the plot tantalisingly incomplete, but feel in a close-to-final state by themselves, awaiting just a small number of tweaks to comb out the less intuitive solutions and occasional grammatical oddities. Will we see its release in 2013? It's not a sure bet – but, on this evidence, it will be worth the wait.Later down the line, Roll20 will have a marketplace set up. From there, one will have the ability to purchase pre-made campaigns/modules and/or art assets like dungeon tiles, maps, tokens and etc. This being the beta, you'll unfortunately have to put something together yourself until we have a marketplace established where you can import someone's campaign. So long as your players don't mind a pretty basic setup, you can wing a lot of it in roll20. The d20 systems don't need much setup in roll20 since there isn't much in the way to play a game beyond a battle map, tokens, and dice. If you don't already have a campaign that you're currently playing, a lot of the big games sell little module books (in pdf form too!) that you can play. You can take the battle maps from that module book and plop them into Roll20, you can take the drawing tool and scribble the map out that way or you can just find some tiles in the art library and build the map up that way. Smash up some tokens using the art library in the program and that's honestly all you need to get started if you and your players don't mind sticking with paper character sheets and paper GM notes.We need to make changes so that there can be a Dead Rising 5, 6 and 7 Capcom Vancouver discuss fan fury, Black Friday consumerism and why triple-A studios should support indies
Christopher Dring Publisher Tuesday 29th November 2016 Share this article Share
It is quite easy to underestimate Dead Rising.
After all, this is a series that prides itself on its simplicity. It is a game designed entirely to satisfy that urge that lurks within us all to build nonsense weapons and then decimate thousands of undead.
So when Joe Nickolls, studio head at developer Capcom Vancouver, started talking to us about the social horror of Black Friday, the impact of consumerism and the desire to represent and discuss that in the upcoming Dead Rising 4, we were taken somewhat by surprise.
"We had three writers on this project, and that's three times as many as we've ever had before," he tells us whilst showing us the game at a recreated living room in London.
"We're talking proper video game writers that knew exactly how to weave the story. Our lead writer worked on the most recent Deus Ex.
"I don't want to speak ill of anyone, but the writer we've had in the past was someone who had done some creative writing, was working at Capcom and wrote us a story. This time we got a proper video game designer/writer. Anyone, theoretically, can write a story, but writing a story that makes sense and that you can play, that's a real skill. Right down to getting behind why these characters are doing this, why would that guy snap and wear that stupid costume? Those are the sorts of questions we're asking. 90 percent of the consumers who play this game, they don't think as much as we do about these things, but for the 10 percent that do want that depth, we've got it."
"The message behind the game is around consumerism and Black Friday, and we're asking: who is the monster? The zombies running around or is it what caused everyone to fight each other and demand these products and services? I often say this is not the thinking man's game, but there are some messages in there that might make you think a little bit more than usual."
Three years ago, the TV series South Park told a similar story, where a zombie-like crowd of shoppers rip each other apart to get their hands on the new Xbox One and PS4 over Black Friday. Having made their statement on the evils of consumerism, the South Park writers wryly end the story by promoting their upcoming consumer product, the video game South Park: The Stick of Truth. I had to ask if Capcom Vancouver is embracing that same deliberate, comical hypocrisy, on one hand condemning how Christmas has become about buying things, whilst simultaneously making a game for people to buy that comes out just before Christmas.
Nickolls hesitates: "Well, the game is based on that message but... you're the first reporter to ask me that. From a business sense, this is a good time to release a game. It just happened to coincide with the fact that the game is ready. It just so happens to also be a game about consumerism and Black Friday. We didn't set out to do that.
"I think a lot of people will miss the whole consumerism thing. They'll say: "It's a Christmas game with zombies" and they won't go that deep."
The writing is just one of many things that Capcom Vancouver has changed for Dead Rising 4. There are new zombies, the time limit has been (mostly) stripped out of the main game, there are new customisations options and the control scheme has been tweaked, too. The core gameplay of killing zombies remains the same, and with its festive theme, that now includes Candy Cane crossbows and exploding Christmas ornaments.
"Sometimes we need to take some risks. That means some people will be upset with what you did, but the only way to truly tell if we made the right choices is to play the game." Bryce Cochrane, Capcom Vancouver
Yet not all of these changes have gone down well with certain sections of the fans.
"Video games is a tough business. It is a tough crowd," says Nickolls. "The internet has allowed everyone to become a critic, and everyone is equal on the internet. I think the way that Capcom, and our studio in particular, wins is by talking to them.
" The timer... some people don't care about the timer, some people hate the fact that it's not in the game, some people hated the timer and love the fact we've got rid of it. So what do we do? Well, we put the timer in multiplayer, and then put it back in towards the end of the game, where we think it matters."
Executive producer Bryce Cochrane jumps in: "One of our goals is to really make a product that means we can make Dead Rising 5, 6, 7. That involves expanding and changing the franchise, and therefore sometimes we need to take risks. That means some people will be upset with what you did. The only way to truly tell if we made the right choices is to play the game."
Nickolls again: "Bryce and I have been doing this for such a long time that we remember the very first time that a second analogue stick came out. I remember working at EA and they were making NHL, which was the first sports game to use the right stick. And people were like: "I hate it. I'm not using it." Now everyone uses it.
"Steve Jobs said it best when he said: "A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them"."
That Steve Jobs quote was missing the first line, the bit where Jobs says it is hard to design products by focus groups. But Nickolls actually found focus testing useful when it came to implementing changes into a franchise that has such a dedicated group of fans.
"To toot Microsoft's horn for a minute, they have like 40,000 people ready to come in and test your game, I've seen the list. They get dozens and dozens of people to come in, sit in a little living room, with cameras that record every button press, and we watch them. Some of the feedback we had was on the food system, people were asking why they had to keep dicking around to find the food in the menus. So we decided to make it easier to use, just by pressing down on the d-pad. Some people didn't like that, they said it took things away from the original game. But everyone asked for it, it tested really well... we don't just do it and hope for the best."
"Often, the people that are the most vocal are the ones that have something negative to say." Joe Nickolls, Capcom Vancouver
He continues: "Often, the people that are the most vocal are the ones that have something negative to say. It is always the way. We had some feedback from Microsoft where people thought Dead Rising 3 had a lot of sexual overtones, which they didn't really dig. They didn't want all that sex and off-colour stuff, and they challenged us as to why we painted that transgender person in a bad light. So we decided not to go that way with this game."
Cochrane adds: "It can also be a little heartbreaking. You think you have the perfect idea, but then you discover it didn't work. So we have to evolve and change. We even did this right from when we were starting the game and pitching the idea of Christmas, [returning lead character] Frank, what the story is... we focus tested that. As soon as we had versions of Frank up and ready to go, we focus tested that. We wanted to innovate and that will always mean some change, and sometimes that can be uncomfortable, but it can also lead to great things."
This extensive testing didn't just involve Microsoft, Capcom sought feedback itself, too. But there is a risk of over focus-testing your products, and stripping out great ideas or moments just because a small group of players didn't appreciate it.
"That's why you have to go with your gut a little bit, too," says Cochrane. "You have to be committed to the franchise, and you have to listen. But you also have to push through when you think something is right. So even if it doesn't test well to begin with, as you keep pushing and revising it, you get somewhere."
Capcom Vancouver has been known as the Dead Rising studio. It was handed the franchise following the success of the first game - which was made by Capcom's Japanese team. That game became a hit in the West for its weird, campy-style, which was something the development team wasn't actually aiming for. So it decided it would be best to let a Western studio handle the series from then on in.
Since then Capcom Vancouver has built six games in the franchise, and with Cochrane discussing the prospect of Dead Rising 5, 6 and 7, it looks like zombies will feature in that studio's future for years to come. But Nickolls insists that it's not all sequel making that goes on behind-the-scenes at the studio. The team does experiment with new game types, and even works with local indie studios.
"Gamers don't care how much we spend, they don't care how hard we worked, or how much overtime we've put in." Joe Nickolls, Capcom Vancouver
"We do game jams all the time," he begins. "And we try to encourage indie guys to hang out a bit with us. There was a company that approached us a couple of weeks ago, and they are a studio of about eight people who are making a viking game. They called up and asked: "Can we do a viking raid on your studio?" We asked what that meant, and they said: "Can we set up in your lobby and show people our cool new viking game?" And we replied: "Absolutely". So they raided us and some of our staff went to play with them, and gave them suggestions.
"I think triple-A video game studios sometimes need to get over themselves. It's still a business, sure, but we are also just a bunch of guys making video games and we want to be part of that community and we want to support each other."
Cochrane adds: "We make games in Vancouver, Canada, and there are a lot of games studios there, but we are a tight-knit community. Joe and I worked at Electronic Arts together a long time ago, then we went our separate ways and worked at different companies before coming back together again. There's only ever like two points of separation between you and everyone else."
Nickolls once more: "It is really important that the video game community stays tight, because consumers are changing. They have different expectations of what a game could be. They don't care how much we spend, they don't care how hard we worked, or how much overtime we've put in.
"We are good buddies with all the guys at [Gears of War developer] The Coalition, they're really close to where we are. Between Bryce and I, we have worked with almost all of them in the past. It is a small industry. And they have been our biggest supporters. We need them to be, because video games are expensive and they're hard. People often ask us: "Who do you compete against?" I compete against everybody. This game needs to compete against Call of Duty, and it also has to compete against South Park. If someone has $60 in their pockets, they're not debating over which zombie game they might spend it on, they might not spend it on a zombie game. It could be a different game. Or a trip to the cinema. Or a book. It is our job to make sure our game is the one that they want."Time is passing at a speed of light. Every year comes and goes very fast. In our busy schedules we don’t have much time to appreciate the memories whether happy or sad. So here we have tried to put some major incidental events of 2013 together.
As far as events are concerned, 2013 was one of the most eventful year. We witnessed many bright and shiny mornings and delightful evenings in the whole year but at the same time we also witnessed many unbelievable moments in this year. Here we take a brief glance and review the top 10 major incidents of 2013.
1. Typhoon Haiyan, Philippines
Typhoon Haiyan “Yolanda”, one of the strongest tropical cyclones on record. It was an exceptionally powerful tropical cyclone that devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, in early November 2013. It is the deadliest Philippine typhoon on record, killing at least 6,166 people in that country alone. Haiyan is also the strongest storm recorded at landfall, and unofficially the strongest typhoon ever recorded in terms of wind speed.
2. North Korea Underground Nuclear Test
On 12 February 2013, North Korea conducted its third underground nuclear test. After that, it also faced the consequences the whole world condemned that act and the international community tightened the economic sanctions.
3. Flood in Indian States (June 14th – 30th)
India witnessed a very deadly flood that caused massive destruction in the states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. This deadly flood claimed lives of more than 5700 people and trapped about 20,000 people. >> Top 10 Major Disasters Of The World.
4. Chelyabinsk Meteor: A Meteor Explodes Over Russia
On Feb, 15, a meteor explodes over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, injuring 1,491 people and damaging over 4,300 buildings. It is the most powerful meteor to strike Earth’s atmosphere in over a century. The incident, along with a coincidental flyby of a larger asteroid, prompts international concern regarding the vulnerability of the planet to meteor strikes.
5. Boston Marathon Blast
Another very gloomy day in Boston was the 16th April. In the attack, two pressure cooker bombs were exploded almost 13 seconds or 210 yard apart from finishing line. This incident claimed the lives of 3 people and injured 238 people.
6. China Earthquake
That was a very massive earthquake that claimed lives of about 196 people and 24 were missing. At least 11,826 people were injured out of them 968 were seriously injured. The magnitude of the earthquake was recorded 7.0. This was one of the major disaster and among the top 10 major incidents of 2013. >> 10 Strongest Earthquakes in History.
7. Rana Plaza Collapse in Savar, Bangladesh
On April 24, an eight-story commercial building collapses in Savar Upazila near the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, leaving 1,129 dead and 2,500 injured. The accident is the deadliest non-terrorist structural collapse in modern times and the third-worst industrial disaster in history.
8. Iran Nuclear Deal
On 24 November 2013, the Geneva interim agreement, officially titled the Joint Plan of Action was a pact signed between Iran and the P5+1 countries in Geneva, Switzerland. It consisted of a short-term freeze of portions of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions on Iran, as the countries work towards a long-term agreement. The deal represents the first formal agreement between the United States and Iran in 34 years. This can be counted among the top 10 major incidents of 2013.
9. Death of Nelson Mandela
On 5 December 2013, Nelson Mandela, the first President of South Africa and one of the most prominent personalities to have ever been born, died at the age of 95 after suffering from a prolonged respiratory infection. He died at his home in Houghton, Johannesburg, South Africa. His death was announced by President Jacob Zuma with immediate and worldwide reactions from governments, high-end personalities and international organizations. The reaction gained worldwide media coverage.
South Africa announced a mourning period of 10 days all over the country. Numerous memorials were conducted across the country and the world in his honor. The official memorial service took place on 10th December at the FNB Stadium, Johannesburg. A state funeral was held on 15 December 2013. In the Eastern Cape province, his body was buried. >> Top 10 Notable Deaths of 2013.
10. Syria Chemical Attack Allegation
These chemical attacks occurred on 21 August 2013. The United Nations (UN) took charge and investigated several attack sites. These sites were mere kilometers from the temporary quarters of United Nations inspectors who had arrived at the Syrian government’s invitation to look into the matter of previous use of chemical weapons. About three weeks after the incident, the UN completed its investigation. They reported and confirmed that the use of sarin in the Ghouta attack. The Syrian government and opposition started blaming each other for the attack. Many government individuals and governments of the world, primarily in the Western and Arab worlds claimed that the attack was carried out by forces of Syrian President.
These were some of the events the top 10 major incidents of 2013. At the end one has to say that life is like that, and it goes on. The important thing is the will that pushes a person forward in spite of all the obstacles. So here is a new year in front of all of us with the opportunity to make a better world for everyone.Berlin has reportedly banned a total of 33 symbols used by Kurdish political and military groups, including the flag of a US ally in Syria, YPG militia, and a portrait of an outlawed Kurdish party leader. The move comes amid Germany’s tensions with Turkey.
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In a letter, seen by German Spiegel newspaper on Friday, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere allegedly ordered a wide range of symbols associated with Kurdish politics to be banned from public display in Germany. The five-page document with respective instructions and the attached list of prohibited images was forwarded by the minister to regional authorities and federal law enforcement on March 2, according to the outlet.
Among the images is the portrait of Kurdistan’s Workers’ Party (PKK) founder Abdullah Öcalan who is serving a life sentence for forming an armed organization in Turkey. Justifying the necessity of the move, De Maiziere allegedly argued that banners with Öcalan’s portraits against yellow and yellow-green background have “a significant emotional impact” and therefore should be forbidden as they are “especially suited to promote cohesion of PKK which is banned in Germany.”
The yellow banners featuring Öcalan’s image been become a frequent sight at the rallies staged by German PKK supporters who are demanding the release of their incarcerated leader.
It is most beautiful to see Kurdish people & friends march everywhere for freedom for Öcalan. This is Germany: pic.twitter.com/PepGkX2xFo — Rojava (@AzadiRojava) 13 февраля 2017 г.
During an Alawite rally in Germany, PKK/YPG and Öcalan (PKK leader) flags were everywhere. Thus, ending a long term suspicion. #Aleviten PKK pic.twitter.com/szjTNa3P62 — Vox Türki (@VoxTurki) 12 ноября 2016 г.
Demonstration today in Stuttgart, Germany, demanding the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan. pic.twitter.com/tD9pI6koYv — Hamza (@SOSYALlST) 2 февраля 2017 г.
Although PKK has been outlawed in Germany since 1993, meaning its insignia has also been banned, this has not prevented those who stay loyal to the party from brandishing the yellow flags at multiple Kurdish rallies across Germany held through the years since its introduction.
Apart from Öcalan’s portrait, the Interior Ministry has reportedly also blacklisted the banner of People’s Protection Units (YPG), a military wing of the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is viewed by the Turkish government as an affiliate of PKK and thus a terrorist organization. But the Kurdish-led YPG is also the main force behind the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an ally |
the order if necessary. The commission will recommend adjustments at least once a year.
“It’s something no one has ever really done before” in Virginia, Coy said. “If there are things we need to fix, we will fix them.”
The order, which fulfills a promise McAuliffe made during his campaign, is one of four the governor signed on his first day in office.THE freshly minted presidency of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has got off to an embarrassing start. The turnout for the poll on May 26th-27th that was supposed to provide civilian camouflage for a military dictatorship was lower even than expected—so low, indeed, that polling stations were kept open for a third day in the hope that more Egyptians could be enticed into them. The election has thus failed to provide the former general with the stamp of legitimacy that he was hoping for.
Mr Sisi’s true popularity is hard to measure. Most Egyptians, exhausted by three-and-a-half years of turbulence since Hosni Mubarak was overthrown after 30 years of stultifyingly repressive rule, still probably wish him well. But a strongman’s allure can fade fast. And unless he changes direction, Egypt could slide back to where it was in 2011, with a populace just as angrily frustrated and as ready to oppose a dictator, should they come to see him as malevolent.
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Goose-stepping down the wrong road
Mr Sisi must loosen up both politics and the economy. So far he has shown scant readiness to do either. He has been viciously intolerant of dissent expressed not just by those suspected of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood of the former president, Muhammad Morsi, but also by the secular-minded young liberals who were the first to stir up the revolt against Mr Mubarak three years ago. At least 16,000 people—some say more than twice as many—have been put behind bars since Mr Morsi was overthrown, and at least a thousand killed. The courts have sentenced hundreds of protesters to death, though the sentences are unlikely to be carried out.
Most of Egypt’s media have become cravenly sycophantic and xenophobic, and independent voices have been muzzled. There is at present no parliament to check the powers of the president. Mr Sisi should call an early general election, seek to include non-violent Islamists in politics and allow a freer debate. If he does not, the opposition is likely to go underground. Parts of it are already resorting to terrorism.
Mr Sisi’s plans for the economy, which has gone from bad to nearly catastrophic since the fall of Mr Mubarak, are equally worrying. Unless Egyptians are given a chance to prosper, there is likely to be another popular explosion. But Mr Sisi sounds hostile to market economics. He has praised the kind of military-led state intervention that proved wasteful in the past, promising the familiar grandiose schemes in the desert rather than bold, simple moves to fix the problems of the 90% of Egyptians still squeezed into the Nile Valley.
Mr Sisi should embark swiftly on a targeted reduction of fuel and food subsidies that gobble up a quarter of the budget, cut the country’s bloated, 7m-strong civil service, and sell an array of decrepit state behemoths—not, as Mr Mubarak did, to his cronies but in an open auction, allowing Egypt to benefit from an injection of foreign capital and technology. The country is being kept afloat by the Gulf monarchies, from which it has received around $20 billion since Mr Sisi stepped in. That is not sustainable. With 85m people, Egypt is the biggest country in the Arab world. The generals may help get the trains to run on time, but that is not enough. Egypt needs foreign investment, a decent legal system and an open society.
Perhaps Mr Sisi, now more firmly ensconced in power, will surprise his doubters with a surge of common sense and courage on all these fronts. But the early omens are grim.00:29 Beach Day Turns Tragic on Lake Superior Two people died at Lake Superior after they were swept away by rip currents.
Two bodies have been recovered from Lake Superior near Upper Michigan's Little Presque Isle, hours after people were seen struggling in the water over the weekend, officials said.
The Marquette County Sheriff's Office was called to the scene where three people were allegedly spotted fighting to stay afloat at about 3:10 p.m. local time Saturday, according to UpperMichigansSource.com. Temperatures were near 80 degrees at that time, but strong wind gusts as high as 30 mph were also present, according to weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce.
The victims were identified as one man and one 22-year-old woman, ABC 10 News reported. It's believed that the man, 24, swam out to assist in the rescue, but was overtaken by the water and drowned, Marquette Public Radio said.
(MORE: EF3 Tornado Leaves Injuries, Damage in Montana Town )
A third person, a 22-year-old woman, was rescued when bystanders swam out to assist her, ABC 10 News said. The two women were swimming to a rock when a strong current kept one of them from getting there, UpperMichigansSource.com also reported. At least two other bystanders assisted in the rescue effort, the report added.
Officers from the Marquette County Sheriff's Department and Marquette City Police Department discovered the bodies in the water a few hours after they disappeared, Marquette Public Radio also said. They were assisted by boats and a helicopter from the U.S. Coast Guard while they searched, the report added.
Authorities have not yet released the names of the victims, ABC 10 News also said.
MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Northern MichiganQ When the price of gas is high, people come out of the woodwork claiming a “big oil” conspiracy, and politicians like Barbara Boxer jump onto the soapbox, promising to investigate the evildoers. Now that crude oil has hit a 12-year low, do you hear much from the conspiracy theorists?
I suspect not. I read in The Wall Street Journal that North American oil and gas producers are losing nearly $2 billion every week at current prices. But I am sure conspiracy theorists suspect that’s all a tax dodge.
Tim Sparks
Saratoga
A Normally, you would be right on target. But the fact that Californians are paying nearly a buck more a gallon than the rest of the country — $2.80 here compared with $1.93 across the United States as of Friday — has many crying foul.
Q When President Obama took office in 2009, there was a fall from $147 to $32 a barrel for crude oil in six months. The price for a gallon of gas in California at this lowest point was about $1.50 a gallon. I remember paying that, or a few cents more. I wondered then if gas was going to go down to $1 a gallon like it did in 1999, but it did not.
I would understand a slight increase because of our special fuel blends, but now we are paying prices like oil is in the $75- to $90-a-barrel price range.
Oil companies are making huge profits off California consumers. We are again getting screwed, plain and simple.
Errol Emrich
San Jose
A And …
Q What is up with our $2.80 average gas prices? With the price of a barrel of oil dropping to a many-year low of $31.11, why would our prices still be above $2.50 per gallon? Do you know the price of our gas the last time barrels of oil were in the $31 range, being that it was years ago?
Thomas Gazdayka
Mountain View
A That would have been November 2008. The state average was $1.85 a gallon.
Nationally, analysts say, prices will go lower in 2016 for the fourth straight year to the $2.28 range while states like us with reformulated gas will hover around $2.80 on average, with $3 likely around Memorial Day.
Prices have been falling a couple of cents a day for the past week after jumping 25 cents a gallon the three previous weeks. Here are a few reasons why:
Gasbuddy.com reports that California refining issues have mostly been resolved. The refinery utilization percentage for West Coast states got to as low as 82.1 percent during Christmas. Last week, it improved to 88.2 percent.
Imports hit 100,000 barrels of gas a day two weeks ago, a huge jump from 39,000 barrels per day in December. Gasbuddy.com expects more imports to arrive in California this week by ship, keeping the downward pressure on prices.E! today at its upfront presentation unveiled a slate of new unscripted series, specials and projects in development. Newly greenlighted shows include Total Divas, about the women behind the WWE Divas; Love And Other Contact Sports: Eric And Jessie, chronicling the pending nuptials of singer Jessie James and Denver Broncos wide receiver Eric Decker; and Hello Ross, an interactive talk show hosted by Chelsea Lately‘s Ross Mathews and produced by Chelsea Handler’s production company. Hello Ross stems from a development deal E! signed with Mathews two years ago. Additionally, E! officially announced a June 2 premiere date for The Wanted Life, its new half-hour unscripted series about the personal and professional lives of pop group The Wanted, which is executive produced by Ryan Seacrest under his production deal with E!. The Wanted Life debut will follow the eighth-season premiere of E!’s top-rated series, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, also exec produced by Seacrest. To further hype his new show, Seacrest also will do a special with The Wanted to air a few days before the premiere.
E!’s unscripted development slate include The Soup Investigates, a spinoff series of E!’s The Soup, a pop culture-themed spoof of the investigative TV genre featuring The Soup host Joel McHale and a team of reporters. E! also has put in development a sketch comedy show starring comedian James Davis and produced by Funny Or Die, a comedic show exploring pop culture stereotypes produced by Jack Osbourne, and Vin Di Bona and a parlor game-style game show from Shine America. E!’s new slate comes a month after E! president Suzanne Kolb tapped Jeff Olde as head of programming. Here are details about all E! unscripted new series and specials as well as projects in development:
NEW SERIES
“The Wanted Life” – Sunday, June 2 at 10:30pmET/PT (moves to regular timeslot starting Sunday, June 9 at 10:00pmET/PT)
This new half-hour series will chronicle the personal and professional lives of the edgy pop music powerhouse, The Wanted, who has already taken the world by storm. Viewers will see an unfiltered look inside the world of the chart-topping UK pop band as they head to sunny California to record their third album, gear up for their new US & Europe tour later in 2013 and solidify their top ranking on American pop music charts, along with their surprising dynamics and interpersonal relationships. Produced by Ryan Seacrest Productions, Scooter Braun Projects and Global Talent TV.
“Total Divas” – Sunday, July 28 at 10:00pm ET/PT
Revealing the real women behind the WWE Divas for the first time, this new one-hour series proves that the drama is even bigger when the sexy superstars step outside the ring. “Total Divas” goes inside the personal lives of these glitzy, glamorous celebrities who entertain sold-out crowds in arenas around the world and are adored by millions of fans. “Total Divas” is produced by WWE and Bunim-Murray Productions. Jon Murray, Gil Goldshein, Jeff Jenkins and Russell Jay are Executive Producers for Bunim-Murray Productions.
“Pop Innovators” – July 2013
This new series showcases the most influential names in pop culture in their own words. We love them for what they bring to our world, and how they have helped define pop culture and captured the collective zeitgeist. These are the people who, as leaders in their respective fields, have taken their fame and gone in new directions to become influencers across a wide range of topics, and who inspire others to do the same. The first episode of “Pop Innovators” will offer an in-depth look at the life and career of Will.i.am from his point of view and will also feature interviews with other celebrities that he’s influenced most.
“Love and Other Contact Sports: Eric and Jessie” – Late summer 2013
From Khloé & Lamar to Kendra & Hank, E! has followed the romantic celebrity relationships of popular athletes and their gorgeous companions for years. The new “Love and Other Contact Sports” franchise will take viewers inside the confines of even more celebrity/athlete romances starting with country/pop singer Jessie James and her fiancé, Denver Broncos wide receiver Eric Decker whose wedding is quickly approaching. The series will chronicle the sexy young couple’s road to the altar as they juggle careers, relationships, family and more. Currently residing in their Denver dream home, they share an ambition to succeed, a charmingly fun and unfiltered outlook on life, and most of all, a red hot attraction for each other. Produced by Shed Media U.S.
“Hello Ross” (working title) – Fall 2013
As the ultimate pop culture fan forum, this new interactive talk show is hosted by the super fan himself, Ross Mathews. Fans will have the unique opportunity to share their opinion on all the latest in pop culture, debate the most buzzworthy topics and come face to face with their favorite celebrities. From Borderline Amazing Productions.
“The Trend” – Fall 2013
This news series will feature a team of experts and celebrity contributors discussing all things fashion, beauty and design.
NEW SPECIALS
“Blinging Up Baby” – Thursday, May 2 at 10:00pmET/PT
There is nothing more buzzworthy in Hollywood these days than celeb parents and their star tots who fill the pages of weekly magazines. In this one-hour special hosted by Melissa Rycroft, E! explores how the stars are heralding stork visits, from preparing luxurious nurseries, to exotic and ultra-pricey “babymoons,” to dazzling “push presents,” outrageous celebrity baby and toddler gifts, and more. If it is hot in the world of celebrity mommyhood, you’ll find out about it here. From Comcast Entertainment Studios.
“Nick Cannon’s Big Surprise” – Thursday, May 9 at 10:00pmET/PT
Sexy actor, singer and TV personality Nick Cannon has a big surprise. Grateful to his grandparents who helped raise him, Cannon shows his appreciation with a surprise home makeover. Through the process, the star will share childhood memories, photos and videos as the audience gets an intimate look back at his life. But will his highly opinionated grandmother, actually like what he does with her place? There’s only one way to find out. Produced by Entertainment One.
“Holly Has A Baby” – May 12 at 9:00pmET/PT
Holly Madison just took on the biggest role of her life when she became a mommy to a baby girl she named Rainbow Aurora Rotella. In this one-hour Mother’s Day special, viewers will follow Holly to the hospital for the big event, and share in all she did to prepare for her new arrival with boyfriend Pasquale Rotella. Then, we’re invited home with the trio as they share with us exactly what the future holds for Holly and her new family, including the possibility of wedding bells. From Comcast Entertainment Studios.
“The Untold Story: Jason Derulo” – Tuesday, May 14 at 10:00pmET/PT
Simon Cowell said he would be huge, Lady Gaga said he’s “a freakin’ superstar,” and Jordin Sparks calls him, boyfriend. He was well on his way to the top when an injury sidelined his career, and could have nearly ended his life. This half-hour special is a turbulent ride with Derulo as he battles his way back from injury. With never-before-seen footage and exclusive behind-the-scenes access, we’ll uncover the real man behind the persona of music royalty’s newest member. From Comcast Entertainment Studios.
“Ryan Seacrest with The Wanted: An E! Special” – Monday, May 27 at 10:30pmET/PT
Days before the premiere of their highly anticipated new E! series, Seacrest is sitting down with the bad boys of pop, and no topic is off limits. Discussing their music, rock star lifestyles and their much-buzzed-about personal lives, The Wanted open up to Seacrest in this new one-hour special.
“Bigger, Badder Celebrity Feuds” – Tuesday, May 28 at 10:00pm
The Hatfields and McCoys had nothing on some of Hollywood’s biggest and most explosive feuds, and this one-hour special pulls out all the stops to reveal the gritty details of what went down between Chris Brown and Frank Ocean, Halle Berry’s ex and her current squeeze, Kelsey and Camille, and many, many more. From Comcast Entertainment Studios.
“E! Special: Brooke Burke” – June 2013
Giuliana Rancic is sitting down with the sexy actress and TV personality who has helped make Dancing With the Stars one of today’s biggest television sensations. Opening up about her career, family and personal life, Burke shares her ups, downs and everything in between with Giuliana from her home in Los Angeles.
“Secret Societies of Hollywood” – Late Summer 2013
Beyond the red carpet and behind the security gates lies a forbidden Hollywood that only the rich and famous know about …until now. “Secret Societies of Hollywood” is a two-hour documentary that will expose the cults, cabals and underground clubs that exist in today’s entertainment industry. From Prometheus Entertainment.
“50 Hours with 50 Cent” – Fall 2013
What is it like to be 50 Cent? One lucky super fan gets to find out. This special captures 50 hours with 50 Cent as one of his biggest fans gets to spend exactly that amount of time with him. Viewers will experience over two full days with this iconic rapper, entrepreneur and businessman as he enters global promotional mode leading up to the release of his newest album.
“Inner Circle” – Fall 2013
A new experiment in storytelling from Executive Producer Ashley Tisdale, these specials will feature celebrities picking a member of their inner circle (a trusted friend, family member or close confidant) to tell their real story and to ask the questions. More conversation than interview, it’s an emotionally charged journey where the celebrities let their guards down, open up and have fun with someone from their “inner circle.” From Blondie Girl Productions and Relativity Television.
NEW UNSCRIPTED PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT (working titles):
“Young Sonoma”
This series chronicles the personal and professional lives of premier families at the top of their game in world renowned wine country, Sonoma Valley. Featuring Envolve Winery’s Ben Flajnik (“The Bachelor”), Mike and Kate Benziger, Danny and Collette Fay, and B.R. Cohn Winery’s Vallerie and Tasha Cohn, the series goes inside the day-to-day drama that comes from living in a small town, working with friends and family, as well as being local and national celebrities. From Mandt Bros Productions.
“Queens Are Wild”
Docu-soap that goes inside the high-stakes world of gambling and follows four of the top female poker players as they live together, travel the world and compete to win millions. From Tollin Productions, Inc.
“Palazzo Riggi”
Through the eyes of the outrageous family who lives there and the staff that run it, this new docusoap takes viewers inside a unique, luxurious world filled with eccentric personalities and gives viewers a glimpse into a jaw dropping, elaborate 24,000-square-foot family estate in upstate New York that boasts an authentic English pub, Balinese wellness spa and perfectly heated lawn that is designed to keep the paws of the family’s 35 dogs warm year-round. From AEP Media and Machete.
“Flash”
This self-contained competition elimination series pits up-and-coming photographers against one another. In each episode, the photographers are given a real world challenge with real clients from the world of pop culture, who expect an amazing photo to sell their brand, talent or idea. Each week the winning photographer will get the exposure that could help launch their career. From Super Delicious.
“Sex & Real Estate”
Set in Miami, this new docusoap follows the personal and professional lives of a group of hot, successful real estate agents at the top of their game as they juggle a world where business always mixes with pleasure. From FremantleMedia North America and Purveyors of Pop.
“The Soup Investigates”
“The Soup Investigates” is a new spin-off series of E!’s popular comedy franchise “The Soup” that will answer all the questions that pop culture fans never thought to ask, and then some. How DOES that rose get from the grower’s field to The Bachelor’s hand just in time for the all important rose ceremony? What is life like inside the fascinating world of the “Mother Duckers,” the families who make their living creating duck callers who WEREN’T cast in “Duck Dynasty”? Host Joel McHale and our investigative reporters will be working around the clock to get to the truth, or at least a very plausible facsimile thereof.
NEW TOPICAL / COMEDY PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT (working titles):
“James Davis Show”
Sketch comedy show parodying a wide range of pop culture subjects and personalities starring actor/comic/writer, James Davis. From Funny or Die Media, Inc.
“White People Can’t Dance”
From Executive Producer Jack Osbourne and Vin Di Bona, this tongue-and-cheek format show features a team of experts who analyze some of the more outrageous stereotypes perpetuated by pop culture. Each episode our team will put multiple stereotypes to the test to determine which are fact and which are fiction. From FishBowl Worldwide Media and Schweet Entertainment.
“Secrets & Lies”
Secrets & Lies is the game show, based on the classic parlor game three truths and a lie, that tests pop culture fans’ knowledge of their favorite celebrities while revealing shocking secrets about the stars we THINK we know and love. From Shine America’s format label Ardaban.In Largo did Abe Pollin
A stately pleasure-dome decree;
It was a miracle of rare device,
A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!
—Tom Dowling, The Washington Star. July 2, 1972.
The late Abe Pollin was a builder, a graduate of George Washington University who stuck around the District of Columbia to make his mark. Construction was the family business, so he raised apartment complexes around the beltway, from low-income units in southeast D.C. to a chic, 17-story building in suburban Maryland, named for his wife, Irene, who still resides in the area today.
Pollin’s investment group bought the NBA’s Baltimore Bullets in 1964, and four years later he assumed sole ownership. It wasn’t long until he started itching to bring pro hockey to the area, too. And so, on June 8, 1972, nine days before burglars broke into the Watergate Hotel, as war raged overseas in Vietnam, locals forked over 10 cents for a copy of the Evening Star and read the triumphant news splashed across the front page: D.C. GETS NHL FRANCHISE.
It was the result of a bidding race that saw Pollin marshal support from 17 U.S. Senators and 42 representatives in the House, who wrote to the league’s board of governors over the weeks leading to its expansion vote. The 11th-hour push paid off: Washington and Kansas City outlasted eight other groups from six different cities and would begin play in the 1974-75 season. The entrance fee cost Pollin $6 million. (Pittance compared to the $500 million due from Las Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley before his team debuts next fall.) Another $16 million from his pockets went into erecting the Capital Centre, a 17,962-seat arena in Landover, Md., which touted its revolutionary Telscreen, replete with “dramatic full-color closeups and instant replays.” This all made Pollin a lauded man in the D.C. sports scene. OUR NEW HERO, another Star headline called him.
B Bennett/Getty Images
The franchise took shape over the next two years. Milt Schmidt, the Hall of Fame center on the Bruins’ famed “Kraut Line,” and more recently an executive and coach for Boston, was brought aboard as general manager. “Why inherit someone else’s problems when I can start something for myself?” Schmidt said at his introductory press conference, promising a “highly competitive” team within three years.
For other key positions, Schmidt sought familiarity. His right-hand man in Boston, Lefty McFadden, was tabbed as assistant GM. Red Sullivan, his chief talent scout, would fill the same job in Washington. Jim Anderson, the Bruins’ former minor-league bench boss, became head coach. Some 12,000 fans entered a contest to name the team; common submissions included the Domes, Cyclones, Streaks, Pandas, and most popularly, the Comets. Abe, however, chose one he felt “fit in just fantastic.”
What followed was instead, by many measures, the worst NHL season ever. To date, no team has played at least 70 games while posting fewer points (21), wins (8) or road wins (1) than the 1974-75 Capitals. Nor has any mustered a lower points percentage (.131), allowed more total goals (446), or dropped more contests consecutively (17).
The wreckage featured four losses by double digits, and 10 in which Washington scored no goals. It saw backup goalie Michel Belhumeur make 35 appearances and record zero wins. It got Anderson fired by mid-February, and then sent Sullivan, his hasty replacement, into the hospital with stomach issues after five weeks on the job. It took until March 28 to win on the road. It reshaped careers and recolored legacies.
Yes, 8–67–5 record is a miserable sight, even four-plus decades later. But the season remains a memorable experience for those most intimately involved, the players who understood, like Pollin, that building something means finding folks to dirty their hands and lay the first bricks.
“You knew sooner or later that market was going to take off,” says Jack Lynch, a defenseman on the original team. “We just weren’t the ones who were going to enjoy that prosperity.”
This is their story, in their words.
“WE WERE HIGH AS KITES”
The Washington Capitals hockey team was born yesterday in the crowded Grand Salon of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. The baby stood 136 feet tall, weighed 4,920 pounds and cost its papa, Abe Pollin, $6 million … The skeptics howled. “Won’t win a half dozen games,” one said. “A crime,” said another. “Nixon will certainly desert Washington now. This and Watergate will be too much.”
—Washington Post, June 12, 1974.
Bill Mikkelson in 1975 at the Nassau Coliseum. B Bennett/Getty Images
Bill Mikkelson, D: A lot of us were taken in the expansion draft. That’s how we ended up there.
Jack Lynch, D: If you look back at the protected list and who they could pick, it was pretty pathetic. You were getting the 17th, 18th-best player on the roster to build a franchise around.
Mikkelson: I think we were all fortunate to be there, the players on that team, at that time in our careers. I don’t want to make it sound derogatory. A lot of us were fourth-liners or whatever on NHL teams, struggling to get ice time.
Murray Anderson, D: We had a really, really, really good American Hockey League team. I was just a small cog in a very small wheel, because it was just too many small cogs to make a big wheel. Does that analogy make sense?
Two weeks before the mid-June expansion draft, Washington had won the first-overall pick in the amateur draft (over Kansas City in a coin toss). The Capitals selected Regina Pats defenseman Greg Joly. Handsome, bilingual, smart and the eventual owner of a sleek white Thunderbird and a five-year, $400,000 contract, Joly had led the Pats to the Memorial Cup and was named MVP.
GM Milt Schmidt (to the Post): Joly can do a lot of the same incredible things that [Bobby] Orr does. He skates extremely well, is intelligent and can either pass or carry the puck out of danger. He’s shown signs that he can score like Orr, too.
Ron Low, G: He was going to be the messiah. And he was a hell of a hockey player. There was just way too much pressure on him.
Mike Bloom, F: He got a lot of money for the time. Even guys on the other teams would go after him, physically go after him, because they were jealous.
Anderson: They were throwing this kid to the bloody lions.
Nelson Pyatt, F: Gregger used to always say, “Nelly, circle the wagons, here they come again.”
Bloom: But just we were all average. We didn’t really have a supporting cast. We just didn’t have the talent.
The roster that assembled at training camp in London, Ont., certainly did not project success. “It’s disgraceful that owner Abe Pollin… can’t appeal to the Better Business Bureau,” wrote Russ White of the Post. Of the 54 attending players, none had scored 10 goals in the NHL the previous season. Among the more decorated reports was Tommy Williams, an Olympic gold medalist with the United States in 1960 at Squaw Valley.
Ron Lalonde, F: We used to joke about his flight patterns. Nobody knew what he was going to do. We called him ‘The Bomber.’ He was on these flight patterns of skating around, and hopefully someone found him with the puck.
Jack Egers, F: Loved to party, loved to play hockey.
Yvon Labre, D: He had a big belly on him, so you can’t tell me he was in shape.
Pyatt: Those older guys, they were just playing out their cards.
Low: We were definitely outmatched muscle-wise most nights in any barn. Yvon Labre took way too many beatings for his teammates with guys he had no business fighting.
The captaincy was awarded to Doug Mohns, whose contract had been purchased from Atlanta, was a veteran of 1,315 NHL games, almost as many as the rest of the roster combined. He entered camp at 40 years old; no one else was older than 26.
Bill Lesuk, F: I had a lot of respect for Doug.
Anderson: He was Grandfather Time.
Egers: The senior man, the calming influence when we’d get frustrated.
Pyatt: When I got into the league, I wasn’t much of a guy with fashion. I had one suit, an old corduroy suit, and the guys would say it was my marrying-and-burying suit. Dougie pulled me aside and said, “You’re in the big leagues, you’ve got to dress accordingly.” He knew a tailor in Montreal, and sure enough we went out, he made me three designed suits. He was a mentor-type guy you looked up to.
Another experienced forward was Steve Atkinson, a one-time 20-goal scorer with Buffalo. The dour preseason predictions left him steamed: “We don’t get a damn bit of respect,” he said. “People claim that we won’t win 10 games. It’s baloney.”
Five days later, Atkinson was eating steak at lunch before the exhibition opener, choked on a piece, and wound up in the hospital. (He missed the game but was fine.) That night against Buffalo, the lineup card listed the team as the Washington Generals, the Globetrotters’ punching bags.
In other words, the fertile hockey ground was ripe for comedy.
Lalonde: It was almost like a traveling circus. You didn’t know what was going to be happening at the other end.
Low: There were a lot of really good people on the team. Otherwise we would’ve all gone insane, I think. I’m not too sure we didn’t anyway.
Egers: At training camp Stan Gilbertson and I got suspended for keeping beer in the tub of our hotel room. We had two workouts a day, so guys would come in after the second practice. Uncle Milty, he didn’t like that too much.
Lalonde: The practice facility in Tysons Corner (Va.), they had these gas-powered heaters, but the fumes from them almost made us pass out before we got out on the ice.
Lynch: The Cap Center was a beautiful rink, state-of-the-art, arguably one of the finer buildings in the league at the time. We shared training facilities with the Bullets, so when they put the benches in the locker room, they put them at the same height as what the basketball players wanted. We had 5’ 8”, 5’ 9” guys with their legs dangling, trying to put their skates on.
Lalonde: Even the color of the sweaters, they were still experimenting with. We had three sets of pants: Red, blue, and they started off with white, which I don't think there was any other team in the history of the NHL that had white pants.
Lynch: When I was in Detroit, before I got traded to Washington, the joke was that the Caps never had to worry about getting those pants dirty because they never went in the corners.
Lalonde: The problem with that was, in one of the exhibition games, Mike Marson, a black player, didn’t wear long underwear. When these white pants got wet, it was like he had nothing on. That put an end to the white pants.
Bill Mikkelson: We had to laugh at ourselves. I think we all knew our stature as far as caliber of players in the league go.
In the beginning, though, there was hope. A hat trick from Marson, a 19-year-old rookie who went in the second round of the amateur draft to become the NHL’s second black player ever, propelled the Caps to their first preseason victory, 6-4, over Detroit on Oct. 3. They then swept expansion brethren Kansas City, rolling into the regular season on a three-game winning streak.
Bloom: I had played two years in the Bruins system, so I remember going to training camp and knowing most of the guys. I’d played against them or with them. We didn’t think we’d be as bad as we turned out to be. I thought we did okay in the exhibition games.
Labre: We tied Montreal, 4–4, at the Cap Centre.
Mikkelson: There were legends and Hall of Famers in that Montreal lineup.
Labre: Boy, we were high as kites before the season started.
Egers: We all went into it bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Labre: Then we just faltered. Winning snowballs? Well, it seemed that losing can also snowball, and it did.
“THERE WAS NO MERCY”
The Capitals dropped their regular-season debut, 6–3, against a Rangers team that outshot them 19-1 in the third period. One week later they earned their first standings point, a 1–1 tie with Los Angeles. Then they hosted Chicago. It was Oct. 17. The Blackhawks had arrived in town after 4 a.m., bleary-eyed on a back-to-back, and their fatigue showed on the ice. Twice the Caps scored when pucks deflected off Chicago players, but they were in no position to be choosy. They celebrated the franchise’s first-ever win, 4–3, with Egers notching the decisive goal.
Egers: I got a pass, went up the wing, took the shot and scored. That’s my claim to fame. Good trivia question for you to remember. I’m sure we got some headlines in the paper. Maybe someone even said things were turning around. They were wrong.
Bloom: I remember thinking, “We’re going to be okay. We’re not going to be that good, but we’ll be okay.” Then we lost about 20 in a row.
(For accuracy’s sake it was 10, including three shutouts and an 11–1 pasting to the Canadiens.)
Bloom: Denis Dupéré is from somewhere around Montreal. We’re on the plane coming back, and Dupéré says, “I come into the dressing room, my mother’s crying, my sister’s crying, everybody’s crying,” Because we got clobbered so much.
Low: It was hard getting up for games, going into buildings like Buffalo, where the French Connection line was likely going to run up 10. You go into Boston, and you’re probably going to get the crap beaten out of you because they had Phil Esposito and Ken Hodge and Bobby Orr.
Egers: Just a very long season when you’re getting pummeled.
Lynch: You knew you were going to lose. It was just how much you were going to lose by.
On the rare occasion, though, sympathy prevailed. Egers remembers one big loss against Boston, when he and linemate Dupéré sprang free on an odd-man rush, bearing down on goalie Gerry Cheevers with only a backchecking Orr in their way.
Egers: Orr keeps backing up going, “Shoot, Duper, shoot.” He wants Dupy to get a goal, right? Orr’s right on Cheevers’ pads almost, and Dupy snaps it top corner. As I’m skating by the net, Cheevers says to Orr, “You can be such a prick.” I got an assist, Dupy got a goal, we were happy. That’s how bad it was. We were happy we got two goals in Boston.
Low: One night we were in Buffalo, and it was a beautiful, warm spring day, like 54 outside. They’ve got the shot clock up beside the temperature gauge. Yvon Labre came by and said, “Jesus Christ, Ronnie, if we give them one more it’ll be higher than the temperature outside.”
TV broadcaster Hal Kelly (to the Evening Star): It’s like being a singer and instead of having a philharmonic orchestra behind you, there’s a piano player. A bad piano player |
by the outcome.
“We always want to take someone alive so we can find out what happened,” Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said at a media briefing an hour later, “and we can hold them to justice."
High Value Detainee Interrogation Group
The rule waiving the Miranda warning does not set a precise limit on how long a suspect can be interrogated before being advised of his rights, but it likely buys authorities no more than 48 hours.
Richard Engel, NBC News chief foreign correspondent, talks with Rachel Maddow about the likely interrogation of Marathon bombing suspects Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and how the public celebration of the law enforcement victory in this case undermines what would have been a bragging point for recruiters of terrorists worldwide.
During that time Tsarnaev, 19, will be questioned by a federal government team called the High Value Detainee Interrogation Group, consisting of officials of the FBI, CIA and Defense Department. Though he will not have a lawyer present, any statements he makes during the questioning will be admissible in court.
Among the questions investigators are certain to focus on is whether he and his brother had help in plotting or carrying out the terrorist attack at the finish line of the marathon. The dual blasts from pressure cookers packed with explosives and shrapnel killed three people and injured 176.
That question took on more urgency when police in New Bedford, Mass., south of Boston, announced Friday evening that three people there had been taken into custody as part of the bombing investigation.
In addition to possible co-conspirators in the U.S., the interrogators also will want to know whether the brothers, both ethnic Chechens, received any assistance from overseas.
Travel records obtained by NBC New York showed that Tamerlan Tsarnaev left the country for six months in 2012, flying to Moscow on Jan. 12 and returning on July 17. Where he went and what he did after his arrival in Russia could expand what so far has been a domestic manhunt into a global one.
Enemy combatant?
Suspicions that the elder brother could have received terrorist training or support abroad were heightened Friday, when an official familiar with the matter told NBC News that a foreign government had expressed concern in 2011 that Tamerlan Tsarnaev could have ties to terrorism. The official said the FBI investigated, but found no such links and reported the findings back to the foreign government.
Even if authorities determine that the Tsarnaevs received support from an overseas terrorist organization, the Obama administration official said the government will not seek to declare him an enemy combatant and try him before a military commission, as it has done with senior al Qaeda officials captured overseas and imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Administration officials see that scenario as a non-starter, the official said, particularly given the fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is an American citizen, naturalized last September.
AP Tamerlan Tsarnaev, left, was killed by police. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured and will be interrogated by a special team of investigators.
Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona issued a statement late Friday urging that the administration hold Tsarnaev as an enemy combatant.
"It is absolutely vital the suspect be questioned for intelligence gathering purposes. We need to know about any possible future attacks which could take additional American lives," said the statement, posted on Graham's Facebook. "The least of our worries is a criminal trial which will likely be held years from now."
Mass of evidence
At the same time they are seeking to uncover the bombing suspects’ motives and determine whether they had a support network, investigators will continue to collect and analyze vast amounts of forensic evidence from crime scenes stretching across three cities.
In addition to processing evidence from the bombings, FBI technicians will analyze hundreds of hours of video camera recordings from private and public surveillance and traffic cameras as they attempt to trace the brothers’ movements – both after the attack and before it.
Investigators also will obtain and assess phone records, seeing who the brothers were in contact with in the weeks and months leading up to the attacks.
Only when they have scrutinized every bit of data, and explored every lead, will they turn over the mountain of evidence they have assembled to prosecutors. It will be up to them to decide what charges the younger Tsarnaev should face and whether to seek the federal death penalty in a state where life in prison is the maximum sentence that can be imposed.
But despite such a massive expenditure of time and technological know-how, they may never answer the most haunting question surrounding the case, as President Barack Obama noted.
“Why,” he asked during a brief statement on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s arrest late Friday, “did young men who grew up and studied here as part of our communities and country resort to such violence?”
More from Open Channel:
Follow Open Channel from NBCNews.com on Twitter and FacebookBENGALURU: Amazon is looking to hire over 1,000 people, mostly software professionals, in India. The hires will cater largely to research and development for the company's divisions, including Amazon.com, Amazon.in, the devices business, and the cloud-computing division, Amazon Web Services (AWS).The company told TOI the hiring was limited only by the availability of talent in the required technologies, and it was looking to hire as many as possible.Amazon's website lists 1,245 open positions in India on its careers page as of Wednesday evening. It has around 50,000 people on its rolls in the country. India is currently the second largest workforce centre for Amazon after the US. Globally, it has 3.41 lakh employees.“The numbers are mind boggling. We're looking at a fully functional tech organisation in India and are hiring varied skills across several job families. India is a big focus area for talent,“ Dale Vaz, director of software development at Amazon India, said. It is looking for talent in technology spheres like research scientists, data analytics, natural language processing, artificial intelligence machine learning and Android developers. AWS is looking to hire 195 people in India. Among the open positions, 557 are in Bengaluru, 403 in Hyderabad and 149 in Chennai. “We process a lot of data and are always looking for data-processing and profiling engineers,“ Dale Vaz said.The Bengaluru centre is the largest for Amazon in India. The Chennai centre focuses on devices like Kindle and Fire. The recruitment number for Bengaluru alone is higher than for any other centre outside of the US, including London, Luxembourg (where the global CTO of consumer business sits), Dublin, Berlin and Tokyo.Terry Hanold, vice-president of international consumer technology in Amazon, told TOI the talent and excitement he saw in India was similar to that in Silicon Valley 20-30 years ago.While app development is a focus globally, India, a mobile-first market, focuses more on mobile and app. “We are always looking for Android app developers who can solve India-specific problems like the fragmentation of the An droid universe with smallercapacity handsets and the poor connectivity and speed in India. We've seen the India team reinventing the Amazon app experience,“ Vaz said.Most of my travel destinations are dictated by work or family commitments. The beer excursions that you read about on the pages of this blog must be creatively worked into the itinerary of those trips. This explains why my first report from Europe since starting this blog is not from Brussels or Munich, but from Helsinki.
How you may ask did I end up in Finland in late November when the temperature hovers around freezing and the days are only marginally longer than a college football game. To answer that question I need to take a brief detour to explain an unusual feature of the Finnish academic system. Although Finns are not particularly formal about many societal customs the same cannot be said for the process one must go through to get a doctorate. The final step is to invite a professor from outside the university to come in and grill the aspiring doctoral candidate in a public defense that takes place in front of his or her parents, siblings, labmates, and other curious onlookers. I was invited to play the role of opponent for the dissertation defense of Sami Vasala, a clever young chemist at the University of Aalto which is located in Espoo a western suburb of Helsinki.
Playing the role of opponent is not an easy job. The exam lasts for 2-3 hours and during most of that time Sami and I sit at tables that face each other and engage in a debate over the contents of the dissertation. It’s important that the opponents questions be at the right level of difficulty. If they are too easy people start to wonder why they paid to fly in this “expert” from across the Atlantic. If they are too hard the outcome is probably even worse. Lord knows I didn’t want to end up facing an angry family member in a dark alley staring down the wrong side of a frozen herring. Fortunately, Sami was well up to the task and everything went smoothly. Afterwards there was a formal dinner held downtown, which much to my delight involved delicious food, plenty of wine, and no internal organs of a reindeer.
Sahti – A traditional Finnish farmhouse ale
Prior to arriving my only knowledge of Finnish beer was limited to what I had read on the internet about a very old and rather hard to find style of beer called Sahti (pronounced kind of like sock tea). It is known to the outside world in large part through the writings of renowned beer writer, Michael Jackson, who wrote many articles on Sahti. The late Jackson describes this style as follows on the Beer Hunter website:
Sahti is the only primitive beer to survive in Western Europe. The beer that peasants learned to brew in the 1500s is still made much the same way today, much of it in people’s homes. Many sahti brewers of today use woodfire-heated kettles from their cow houses and saunas as mash tuns. Fresh juniper twigs are used in the filter bed on the bottom of the lauter tun and also used to infuse the hot brewing water. It is a sweet, malty, turbid beer with complex flavor, the banana-like notes and phenolic peaks found in a German Weizen intermingling with juniper. The alcohol content varies from 7 to 11 percent.
If you are interested in more details about how Sahti is made I suggest you check out a well written post (with a lot of good pictures) entitled “Sahti – The Finnish Farmhouse Ale” that I found on a Finnish blog site. It’s a good read for the homebrewers out there, but for everyone else I will summarize here. Sahti is made with various grains in addition to malted barley, including oats and rye. Hops can be used sparingly but are not required. The mash is filtered through juniper twigs and then the wort goes straight to fermentation with no hop boil. Taking yet another turn away from conventional brewing Finnish baker’s yeast is used for the fermentation in place of standard ale or lager yeast. It’s an antiquated way of making beer that has been handed down for at least 500 years and probably much longer. More popular among homebrewers than commercial breweries, think of it like the moonshine of Finland in beer form.
Suffice to say I’ve never come across a bottle of Sahti in the states, although some American breweries have on occasion tried their hand at variations of this style. The one that seems to have the widest distribution is a Dogfish Head beer from their ancient ales line called Sah’tea. For those of you living in Oregon, the Ale Apothecary, located outside of Bend, makes what is the highest rated Sahti on either of the big beer rating sites. Although like all Ale Apothecary beers the distribution is likely to be limited and the cost high.
The Suomenlinna Brewery
While I’ll admit to being a little obsessed with beer, I do save a small part of my brain and time for other activities, so I thought I should at least spend a little time looking around Helsinki, before I started seriously tracking beers. Although as you’ll see my sightseeing excursion ended up leading me to a brewery. Armed with a city map not much bigger than a postcard and some scant internet research on things to see and do, I set off on Saturday about midday to explore the capital. The season’s first snow had fallen the day before and the city looked quite festive in a fresh coat of white. The forecast was for partly cloudy skies with a high temperature of −1 °C (30 °F). I spent five nights in Helsinki and this was the only day that I was fortunate enough to glimpse the blue of the sky, not the sun itself mind you, but at least some hints of blue as you can see in the picture below. Partly cloudy may not seem like an inviting forecast, but in southern Finland at this time of year it’s an excuse to break out the cross country skis and pack a picnic lunch.
The first (and only non-beer related) order of business was to visit the sea fortress of Suomenlinna. Established in 1748 as a military outpost and naval base by the Swedes, who ruled Finland from the 12th century until 1809, Suomenlinna is a fortress built on six closely spaced islands that lie in the Gulf of Finland and strategically guard Helsinki’s harbor. You can reach Suomenlinna by a ferry boat that takes 15-20 minutes and costs 5 Euros for a return ticket. The ferries depart every 40 minutes from market square on the harbor.
On the day I visited it was not particularly crowded which made for a peaceful setting. I spent most of my time wandering through the courtyards of the old palace and walking the battlements that overlook the Bay of Finland. The freshly fallen blanket of snow and the half-light of a winter day made for a very peaceful, winter holiday vibe. I could imagine myself transported back to Victorian times, a feeling that was heightened by the complete lack of cell phone and internet connectivity. There was even enough of a break in the clouds to perceive the sunset over the Baltic sea. If you ever go to Helsinki Suomenlinna is a must see destination. Apparently in the summer it is a very festive and popular location for locals and tourists alike.
After an hour or so of wandering around the islands I made my way back toward the main quay to catch the ferry. Even though it was just past 4 pm the sun had set nearly 30 minutes ago and the long Finnish night had descended. I could see the ferry approaching the dock, but just then I spied a sign for a brewery in the row of buildings that face the quay. So I decided to sample their wares and wait for the next ferry.
The inside of the Suomenlinna brewery/restaurant is a simple, rustic setting similar to the other buildings on the islands. I later learned this building was built by the Russians, who controlled Finland from 1809 to 1919, as a barracks for the Czar’s troops. The main public area is a long room with wooden plank floors and plain white walls. Half of the room was set up as a restaurant with places set for people that would presumably arrive later in the evening for dinner. The other half held a bar that was cluttered with all manner of things and 6-7 tables, all of which were full when I arrived. Each table had a burning candle and some operatic Christmas music was playing in the background.
They were pouring three house beers—a pilsner, an American pale ale, and a dark ale with spices, called Old Grieg. Given the weather and the setting how could I order anything other than a pint of the Old Grieg. It’s a good representation of the winter warmer style—dark amber in color, malty without being too sweet, and spiced with cardamom and other spices I couldn’t pick out. After a while the next ferry pulled in and the place filled up with patrons again. Warmed by the pint of hearty beer (7.4% abv) I headed back into the night to catch the ferry back to the mainland.
Tracking down the elusive Sahti
Since Sahti is Finland’s major contribution to the brewing world you’d think it would be everywhere, or at least one could find it at the better beer bars in the city, but you’d be wrong. What you can find without looking too hard are pale European lagers that will set you back on the order of 6-8 Euros ($7-$10) per pint. Fortunately, I mentioned my quest to my host at dinner on Thursday night and she was kind enough to supply me with a bottle of Sahti as a gift the next day. She told me that the place to find it is at the state run Alko liquor store. That didn’t stop me from hitting several pubs in search of Sahti, but it was only on the third day of searching that I found a place that serves Sahti, St. Urho’s Pub (more details toward the end of the post).
The bottle of Sahti that I was gifted is brewed by Finlandia brewery, which is a small brewery located in Forssa a town that is 115 km northwest of Helsinki. It comes in a plastic bottle with a screw top lid and a crooked label. Not exactly the cage and cork sophistication you get from many Belgian farmhouse ales. The beer itself is a deep brown color with absolutely no carbonation. I can’t recall pouring a beer that was this flat. It’s quite aromatic though, with a distinct banana aroma that is reminiscent of a German Hefeweizen or Dunkelweizen, and some spicy, herbal aromas that are hard to describe. Some clove-like phenols are definitely present, but there are also herbal notes that I assume come from the juniper. To the taste it’s sweet and syrupy with a big helping of bready, caramel maltiness and a healthy dose of the bananas that were so evident on the nose. They do use baker’s yeast to brew Sahti, and the end result is a little like a glass of spiced banana bread. The thick, syrupy mouthfeel is accentuated by the complete lack of carbonation.
I start to understand why Sahti is hard to come by, even in Finland. It’s definitely an acquired taste. After half a glass I’m not sure I will be able to finish the bottle, but I manage to do so over two evenings. The more I drink the more the distinctive flavor grows on me. I would definitely try it again but the sweetness and complete lack of carbonation are such that I doubt I would ever want to drink it on a regular basis. I suppose one could think of Sahti as a distant unrefined cousin of Dunkelweizen.
It’s interesting that the baker’s yeast produce esters and phenols that are reminiscent of weizen yeast. According to an article from the magazine Brewing Techniques, it’s important to use the right strains of baker’s yeast from Finland. That pack of Fleischman’s yeast sitting in your kitchen will not produce the same flavor profile. Lest you think that I got a bad bottle or my ability to describe the taste and smell of Sahti is inadequate, both of which are possible, Michael Jackson posted the following brief notes about Finlandia Sahti—muddy, syrupy with a good juniper character.
The pubs of Helsinki
While my Sahti quest didn’t quite live up to expectations, I did enjoy visiting several pubs in Helsinki where I was able to try several great beers. To finish this post (pun intended) let me share some notes on the pubs that I visited while wandering the city in search of good beer.
Located not too far from the main railway station, Kaisla is quite large yet is designed in a way that maintains the feel of an inviting neighborhood pub. There is a bar in front that was pouring a dozen beers and another bar in the back that for whatever reason I didn’t check out very closely. The draft list at the front bar was not spectacular, with taps pouring widely available non-Finnish beers like Kronenbourg 1664, Palm, Murphy’s Irish Stout, Fuller’s London Pride as well as a variety of German ales, and a few taps set aside for Finnish ales. I ask the bartender for a recommendation on a Finnish beer and she steers me to Keisari 66, a Finnish brewed American Pale Ale. It’s a decent beer but doesn’t make much of an impression on me.
Where Kaisla shines is in the bottle selection. There are two coolers adjacent to the bar, situated in such a way that you can walk up to them and peruse the selection. The Belgian selection is particularly impressive, featuring beers from six different Trappist breweries, Saison Dupont, La Chouffe, Tripel Karmeleit, Boon Marriage Parfait and many more. Much to my delight I find both Cantillon Gueuze and Kriek. These are beers I’ve long wanted to try but are very difficult to track down in the US. So I order a bottle of Cantillon Gueuze and find a comfy spot on a couch to enjoy my good fortune. Suffice to say I was not disappointed. I was expecting something that was over the top sour, but instead I found it to be very lemony with just the right amount of barnyard accents, and supremely drinkable.
I enjoyed my first visit to Kaisla so much that I returned for a second visit on Sunday so I could try the Cantillon Kriek. On this trip I sat in the middle room where many of the patrons were playing games. At one table four college age men were playing Cards Against Humanity, while in the far corner of the room a group of 8-9 people were playing Trivial Pursuit. At yet another table a half dozen people were playing a game that involved a laptop and dice with varying number of sides, perhaps Dungeons and Dragons although no one appeared to be drinking mead. Once again it was a very inviting, comfortable atmosphere in which to enjoy a few gems from their bottle list. The Kriek was also a treat, but between the two I had a slight preference for the gueuze.
The Black Door (Iso Roobertinkatu 1)
Located southeast of the Railway station, it takes about 15 minutes to walk from Kaisla to the Black Door Pub (unless you get lost like I did). It has a real English pub feel—lots of dark wood, stools at the bar, an ample selection of Scotch whisky, English football on the tele, and a handpump serving real ale from a cask. Authentic English ale on cask is hard to find in the states, so I take a seat at the bar and without hesitation order a half-pint of Whitstable Bay Pale Ale. It’s a nice departure from what I normally drink, but I’m not blown away.
When it comes time to order a second round I ask the bartender for his recommendation of a good Finnish beer. The bartenders here, both big burly guys with shaved heads and Duvel shirts, look intimidating but are actually friendlier and more knowledgeable than the ones I interacted with at Kaisla. He tells me they are pouring a very hoppy beer made special for this pub. Curious to find out what a Finn considers a very hoppy beer I order a pint of H.O.D.A. (hop overdose ale) by Malmgård brewery. After only one drink I agree, this beer would be considered hoppy in any country. It doesn’t have much malt backbone and consequently while the hops are unmistakably citrusy they are also a bit astringent. When the bartender sees me taking notes he tells me that it is 3.9% abv and 120 IBU! No wonder it lacks balance. Still as the only truly hoppy beer (at least in the US craft beer sense of the word) I tried on the trip it was a good wake up call for my palate. I settle in to watch second half of the Manchester United v Arsenal football match and nurse my glass of overhopped session ale.
The third Finnish pub I visited, St. Urho’s Pub, was not part of my weekend excursions, but rather the venue where Sami and I had dinner on the Monday night before I left town. Once again the vibe here is very much in the style of the pubs I’ve visited in England. Unlike the Kaisla and Black Door, this pub is located adjacent to a restaurant and offers a pretty solid selection of food ranging from burgers to reindeer steak to fish and chips. The décor here is heavy on the dark wood with a well-worn comfortable pub feel. For a Monday night they attract a decent crowd. Like Kaisla, they have Cantillon bottles for sale and like Black Door they are pouring real ale from a beer engine. Unlike the other two pubs it is also possible to get Sahti here. At this point I had already finished the bottle of Sahti that I was given and not particularly anxious to try another, but Sami who is Finnish and has never tried Sahti decides to give it a try. The bartender disappears into the walk-in cooler and emerges with a chalice of Sahti. Sami’s reaction to Sahti is similar to mine.
I guess I saved the best for last, because the beers at St. Urho’s were arguably the highlight of the trip. The first was a Finnish porter called Huvila that was recommended by the bartender. This was the best Finnish beer of the trip I tried, a big 7.4% abv porter that is bursting with chocolate and coffee flavors from the malts, yet manages to keep a dry finish. It reminded me very much of Founder’s Porter, which I consider to be one of the best porters on the planet. For my next pint I decide to give real ale another chance and order a pint of the Fuller’s ESB on cask. It’s so floral and fruity, but at the same time sessionable and delicate. Very impressive, better than the Whitstable Bay, and unlike any beer that you can find in Columbus (including Fuller’s ESB in the bottle).
To end the night I thought it would be appropriate to try a Baltic Porter, a style that may not be synonymous with Finland but is certainly linked with the region. I opted for a bottle of Sinebrychoff Porter, a beer that is much praised in Michael Jackson’s writings on Finnish beer. A bit sweeter than the Huvila, it is also a big flavorful porter that hit the spot and left me with some fond memories of my time in Helsinki. Though if I were to have a fourth glass I would go back to the Huvila.Indulge your GochiUsa obsession with these classy but cute Rabbit House headphones.
Is the Order a Rabbit?, known to fans as GochiUsa, is a comedy/slice-of-life anime series based on a yon-koma (four-panel) manga about a group of young girls working at the Rabbit House cafe. The anime, which recently wrapped up its second season, has proved a hit with its super cute characters and lighthearted storylines. And of course, a series making it big means lots and lots of related merch. Thankfully the latest product in the never-ending slew of goods to collect is something you can actually use, rather than a bit of plastic that will serve only to sit around collecting dust on a shelf.
Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer Onkyo has announced a collaboration with the popular moe anime to produce a set of limited edition hi-res headphones.
The ONKYO E700MW GochiUsa Model will feature the Rabbit House logo as deco on the back casing and will be available in silver and pink-gold. It’s a relatively unobtrusive design, so the only people who will recognize your loli-loving otaku tendencies are fellow otaku. The packaging will also feature a special design with a book-style box that will store stylishly on your shelf.
Pre-orders opened on February 1 and will close at 3pm on March 4 for an expected delivery by the end of May. The price is 19,800 yen (US $168), including tax and shipping costs within Japan, which is 6,000 yen (US$51) more than the plain ordinary model. These companies know that fans are willing to pay a premium!
For those who are more interested in the quality of the headphones rather than the fact that they come with a cute anime logo, here are the basic specs of the E700MW:
Play frequency band: 6-40000Hz
Impedance: 32Ω
Sensitivity: 108db
Speaker diameter: 13.5mm
Maximum input: 30mW
More detailed information on the specs can be found in the company’s press release [Japanese].
Source & Images: C-Lab
Gif: TumblrYou almost forget this isn’t normal. You’re living in a period of unprecedented success in Seahawks history, and the possibilities are unrestrained, and you want to reach for more, more, more.
That’s the thing about greatness. You can never have enough of it. It’s going to make you cocky. And perspective can get lost while you’re floating in the good times.
But while focusing on another potential Seattle championship run, take a look behind you. Take a look around you. Bask for a minute in what the Seahawks have become.
At 5:15 p.m. Saturday, a decade of dominance continues. Over the past 10 years, the Seahawks have turned into something they’ve never been before. They’ve done a greater job of sustaining a high level of play, and the success they’ve enjoyed has been more meaningful than at any point in their history.
When the Seahawks take the field to play Carolina in the divisional playoff round, they’ll do so with more credibility than they’ve ever had. Last season’s Super Bowl triumph cemented it. But that just wasn’t a random moment of excellence. That was the culmination of a long pursuit that began soon after Paul Allen bought the team from Ken Behring in 1997 and helped save the Seahawks from relocation to Southern California.
The rise began with Allen luring Mike Holmgren to Seattle in 1999. It took time, but Holmgren infused the organization with consistency and a championship ethic over his 10 seasons. Then, after Jim Mora’s one-year stint as Holmgren’s successor, Allen brought Pete Carroll back to the NFL, and they’re more dominant than ever.
Consider the glory of the past 10 years. The Seahawks have made seven of their 14 all-time playoff appearances. They have a 9-5 playoff record during that span; in the 29 seasons before that, the Seahawks were 3-7 in the postseason.
Seattle has made its only two Super Bowls during this time. If the Seahawks beat the Panthers, they will reach their third NFC Championship Game since 2005. Before that, they had been to one conference title game, in 1984 when they lost to the Los Angeles Raiders in the AFC Championship Game.
In this era, their record is 91-69, the best stretch in franchise history. Extend the sample size by two years, and the Seahawks have been to the playoffs in nine of the past 12 years, which puts them among the more consistent teams in a league built on parity.
The Seahawks haven’t been merely a playoff qualifier, either. They’ve won at least one playoff game in their past six visits to the postseason. They’ve won seven consecutive home playoff games.
Seahawks safety Earl Thomas, who made the All-Pro team for the third consecutive season, was asked this week if he’ll ever take the honor for granted. After a few quick thoughts, he paused for a second before finishing.
“Legacy,” he said. “I’m grateful for everything that this game brings.”
The Seahawks are a grown NFL franchise now. They’re still young. They’ll turn just 40 next season. But this is a franchise that now understands how to achieve.
This isn’t normal. This is exceptional. You’ve never gone into a postseason with this much confidence that the Seahawks will play in the NFC title game. You’ve never expected a Super Bowl appearance. You’ve never talked aloud about winning two titles and had passing thoughts of winning three.
The nervous fan doesn’t want to think that far ahead. After watching the Seahawks lose the magic and recapture it during the regular season, it’s wise to respect how difficult it is to win in the NFL. You have to stay in the moment and respect Carolina for its hard-nosed defensive style and its immensely gifted quarterback, Cam Newton.
But there’s nothing wrong with thinking back and gaining perspective on how special this era is. If the Seahawks beat Carolina, it would be just the second time they’ve won at least one playoff game in three consecutive years. Until now, the franchise had never posted a 36-12 record in a three-year span.
The Seahawks are doing things that they may never be able to repeat. And with the way Carroll and general manager John Schneider have built the team, they seem certain to add to the glory.
It’s hard to reflect during the playoffs, because every game means so much. You’re one loss from a harsh reality check. But take a minute right now, just a minute, to appreciate what the Seahawks have become.
Bask in the dominance. It won’t last forever.
Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @JerryBrewerYou know the importance of technology to the future of journalism has become a widely accepted fact when a prominent editor decides to join a new company because of its content management system. That’s what Ezra Klein told The New York Times about his decision to leave The Washington Post for Vox Media, a digital publisher with a fancy, custom-built CMS. Klein couldn’t quite describe what made the Vox system so special, but the fact that a journalist said he loved, let alone even tolerated, his CMS was all you needed to know that the world has changed.
Suddenly, the CMS, an often derided but necessary tool of modern journalism, is cool. Vox uses its CMS as a recruiting tool. Google is not-so-secretly building a CMS for the news industry. Times media columnist David Carr recently devoted an entire column to the up-and-coming blogging platform/CMS called Medium, and proclaimed that “the content management system is destiny.”
We couldn’t agree more. Here at The Times, our own CMS, Scoop, is central to our ambitions to innovate on all platforms. It’s also the repository for all the aspirations for what the merging of print and digital journalism may one day become — and many of the frustrations for what it is today.
With that in mind, we thought it was a good time to take a closer look at Scoop’s past, present and future — what it does well, what can be improved and how it will help The Times remain the finest journalistic organization in the world.
What is Scoop?
Scoop (not to be confused with our mobile listings app, The Scoop) is The New York Times’s homegrown digital and (soon-to-be) print CMS. (We also use WordPress for many of our blogs.) Scoop was initially designed and developed in 2008 in close partnership with the newsroom. Unlike many commercial systems, Scoop does not render our website or provide community tools to our readers. Rather, it is a system for managing content and publishing data so that other applications can render the content across our platforms. This separation of functions gives development teams at The Times the freedom to build solutions on top of that data independently, allowing us to move faster than if Scoop were one monolithic system. For example, our commenting platform and recommendations engine integrate with Scoop but remain separate applications.
The vision for Scoop has evolved over the years. The beauty of a homegrown CMS is that we can shape its features and technology over time. Since its inception, the Scoop platform has been extended to include many new features such as sophisticated authoring and editing tools and workflows, budgeting, photo manipulation, video management and more robust content APIs. Its user base has swelled from a few dozen web producers to more than 1,000 users, including reporters, copy editors, photo editors and video producers.
Perhaps the biggest change has been the reversal of our publishing process. The original idea was that articles would be written in the Microsoft Word-based print system, CCI, and then sent to Scoop, where a web producer would add multimedia, tag the content and publish it on NYTimes.com. Today, instead of writing articles in CCI and then sending them to Scoop, our journalists can create articles in Scoop and publish to web and mobile first before sending them to CCI for the print newspaper. We call this change “Digital First” — a multiyear project that will make Scoop the primary CMS for both print and digital by 2015.
It’s a powerful system, custom-built for the needs of a 24/7 print, web and mobile news organization. Scoop publishes roughly 700 articles, 600 images, 14 slide shows and 50 videos per day. With that power comes significant complexity, especially in comparison to the content management systems of our digital-only competitors. Unlike many simpler systems where a journalist can single-handedly take an article all the way from inception to publication, Scoop is role-based to reflect the segmentation of duties and the checks and balances in our newsroom. Managing that complexity — making the system as easy to use as possible without diminishing its features and functionality — is a balancing act we face every day.
Here’s a look at a selection of Scoop’s features and what we’re planning for the future.
Story Budgeting and Planning
Once upon a time, editors used to plan out the print edition of The Times by printing out story lists and circulating them among the various desks in the newsroom. Many trees were killed in this archaic and inefficient process. A few years ago, we built a separate tool to bring all planning online and then integrated that tool into Scoop. Editors still bring a lot of paper to Page One meetings, but online budgeting makes managing a global news operation of multiple desks and bureaus possible in a digital age. It’s also often the first step before an article or other type of content is created in Scoop. We plan to extend this functionality into a system that knows the status of each article, when it is will run online and in print, what multimedia will run with each article and how that article is performing once it is published.
Track Changes and Comments
One of the most distinguishing features of Scoop is its ability to do in-line track changes similar to what you would find in Microsoft Word. Many other browser-based text editors, such as Google Docs, show changes in the margin. Our editors prefer (well, demand) Word-style track changes for text editing, not a diff engine that compares the current text to previous versions. This style of track changes dates back to the earliest computer text editors such as Atex, which were the standard in newsrooms in the 1980s, and the style definitely has its merits by showing all edits in context. At our editors’ insistence, we also provide in-line comments and notes rather than notes in the margin. To accomplish this, we built our own text editor called ICE, and then open sourced it |
IGION: Mormon Food Banks
A store volunteer (right) helps Jon Isom select his groceries at the Bishop's Storehouse in Concord, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009. Operated by the Latter-Day Saints, the storehouse provides food and provisions to church members in need. less A store volunteer (right) helps Jon Isom select his groceries at the Bishop's Storehouse in Concord, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009. Operated by the Latter-Day Saints, the storehouse provides food and... more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Mormon food bank a private welfare system 1 / 5 Back to Gallery
Unemployed for a year and with an ailing wife at home, Mike Hammer stepped out of his truck in a Concord strip mall and walked into the heart of one of the most sophisticated private welfare systems in the country.
Here, in a plain white box of a building, Hammer and other Mormons come to get groceries - everything from produce to meats, much of which comes from Mormon-owned farms and cattle ranches.
Others come for counseling, employment help and a self-canning facility, where observant Mormons can up to a year's worth of food supplies in the event of an emergency. All services in the building, known as a Bishops' Storehouse, are intended to promote Mormon self-sufficiency.
"I'm not asking for money or somebody to do things for me," said Hammer, 36, a Brentwood father of three who carried away bread, milk, eggs, cheese, fruits and vegetables. "It's eased up finances a little bit."
The breadth and sophistication of Mormon social networks was glimpsed during the Proposition 8 campaign. But the recession and the increased demand it's putting on Mormon storehouses give a unique look into the elaborate organization of a religious group gaining influence in America.
"They're damn sophisticated people, for sure," said Rodney Stark, professor of sociology of religion at Baylor University and the author of "The Rise of Mormonism."
What makes the 110 storehouses around the country remarkable is that they are part of a system run almost entirely by volunteers. They grow the food on Mormon-owned farms, and package it at the storehouses. Volunteers drive trucks and deliver the food to distant wards - what Mormons call their sanctuaries - if recipients live more than 30 miles from a storehouse. As the recession has deepened, the church says it has seamlessly kept up with demand that increased 20 percent over the past year. But the intensely private church declined to say how many people or how much food that represented.
The volunteers include Wayne Bishop, 65, a retired electrical engineer from Pleasanton who is on an 18-month stint, spending roughly 20 hours a week co-managing the Concord storehouse.
"It's part of our dedication to the church," said Bishop.
A calling
Volunteers are "called" to their roles. Callings, in religious terms, are often thought of as inner motivations. But for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the church is formally known, someone actually calls.
The volunteers are selected by bishops, the individuals who oversee wards, or stake presidents, who oversee clusters of wards. Bishops and stake presidents are themselves volunteers, creating a lay priesthood that defines the grassroots nature of the faith. The actual president of the entire church, currently Thomas S. Monson, is considered a divine prophet.
Some volunteer as a way to pay back the help they've received. Others volunteering at the Concord storehouse said they feel no pressure - and that they always have the choice to refuse. The motivation is religious.
"We really feel and believe 100 percent that our church is led by a prophet of God," said Diane Pergrossi, 61, who is on an 18-month calling to stock shelves and fill food delivery bins in the storehouse. "The people he has helping him are also inspired. It comes down to faith."
With 5.9 million members nationally and 750,000 in California, the church has a lot of volunteers to choose from. Observant Mormons are expected to volunteer some of their time regularly.
"The local bishop has all sorts of people for whom he's got to find things to do," said Stark, the sociology of religion professor. Stark has known elderly Mormons who get taken to doctors' appointments or have their houses painted. "They've got this enormous firepower to do all sorts of things."
In addition to tithing 10 percent of their income, adherent church members fast for two meals a month and contribute the cost of those meals to the church's welfare programs, which include the storehouses.
Lay leadership gives the church members a more personal and mystical connection to faith, Stark said, and it also means the church is run with the professional expertise its members can bring from successful business careers.
Church officials say those who've served on the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the church's highest leaders after the president, have included an airline industry executive, a Utah Supreme Court justice, an attorney and a heart surgeon.
This dynamic, Stark said, "makes for a very strong church."
A long story
The origin of the storehouses stretches back to the church's early roots. Fleeing persecution, church members in 1847 began a series of journeys to the Salt Lake Valley in Utah. They created storehouses of grains and other goods along the trail to ease the journey for later groups.
During the Great Depression, the current concept of storehouses was formally established. The then-president of the church, Heber J. Grant, said that he had a revelation from God about the welfare system created by the New Deal.
"Our primary purpose was to set up, insofar as it might be possible, a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of a dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift and self-respect be once more established amongst our people," Grant said, according to church officials.
The faith community's self-reliance has been invaluable to people like Laura DeVoe, whose husband, a general contractor, has had only sporadic work for three years. The Castro Valley family of three has come to the storehouse for food for the past four months.
"We're not able to pay bills or buy food," said DeVoe, 36.
She said what they get from the church goes beyond food. Their landlord, who is also Mormon, has let them do work instead of paying rent. She said he told her to "pay what you can, but pay your tithing first."
DeVoe, who supplements with food stamps what the church doesn't provide, said the help has eased much of the stress during this difficult time.
"I know that when we go to church and do what we're supposed to be doing, the Lord blesses us," she said. "We're able to be a tight-knit family."While there may be little credibility to the latest US media report claiming Moscow will present President Donald Trump with former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the whistleblower pointed to it as “irrefutable evidence” of his lack of any ties with Russian intelligence.
“Finally: irrefutable evidence that I never cooperated with Russian intel. No country trades away spies, as the rest would fear they're next,” Snowden wrote on his Twitter. While it was not immediately clear if he was being sarcastic or seriously concerned, the CIA employee-turned-whistleblower accompanied his tweet with several pre-inauguration retweets from January, when the topic of Snowden becoming Vladimir Putin’s gift to Trump was all the rage in US media.
Finally: irrefutable evidence that I never cooperated with Russian intel. No country trades away spies, as the rest would fear they're next. https://t.co/YONqZ1gYqm — Edward Snowden (@Snowden) 10 февраля 2017 г.
Speaking to Katie Couric in December, Snowden used a similar argument when asked about his feelings on possible extradition to the US. Admitting that he is concerned for his life and liberty, the whistleblower argued that on the other hand an extradition would be an excellent proof of his independence.
“I’m actually kind of encouraged… It wasn’t so many years ago that people were saying, ‘This guy’s a Russian spy.’ But countries don’t give up their spies,” the renowned whistleblower told Couric, alleging that as a critic of the Russian government policies he might have turned into a burden for Moscow.
Here’s what @snowden told me about the possibility of Putin handing him over as a good will gesture to the Trump administration. pic.twitter.com/LdoxE7cYvA — Katie Couric (@katiecouric) 10 февраля 2017 г.
The whistleblower went on to suggest that his handover to the US authorities would clear him of any suspicion and serve as a “vindication…of the fact that I have always worked on behalf of the United States.”
READ MORE: Snowden’s Russian lawyer hopes for clemency from Trump
In a report, published by NBC News on Friday, an unnamed “US senior official” claimed that the Russian government was actively considering the possibility of handing over Snowden “to curry favor” with President Trump.
The official alleged that he had come to a conclusion of Russia’s alleged intentions upon studying a “series of highly sensitive intelligence reports.”
Clinton's top CIA surrogate Mike Morrell has been urging Putin give Snowden to Trump as a "gift." Russia's response: https://t.co/Jws6UEFvsopic.twitter.com/0boCa72umT — Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) 18 января 2017 г.
Another US intelligence source cited in the piece said that the intelligence, allegedly containing thoughts by Russian officials on how to cater to the current administration, have been collected since Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
But Snowden’s lawyer in Russia, Anatoly Kucherena, said he did not believe that Russia was prepared to extradite Snowden anytime soon.
"Russia has no legal basis to hand over Snowden," he told Interfax. “All this talk is just ordinary speculation. Someone is indulging in wishful thinking.”
“Someone in Washington, DC, really wants an innocent man to be sent to the United States,” he added. "Russia does not trade in human beings and human rights, although American intelligence agencies are always trying to drag us into various provocations."
Snowden’s American lawyer, Ben Wizner, appeared to be in the dark about a possible radical change of his client’s status, telling NBC News that nothing would indicate such a move.
"Team Snowden has received no such signals and has no new reason for concern,” Wizner said.
Read more
While the latest report has not attracted any attention from Moscow yet, in January the idea of Russia utilizing Snowden as an “inauguration gift” for Trump was slammed by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova as an “ideology of betrayal.”
Back then the suggestion came from the former CIA director Michael Morell, who alleged that by presenting newly-sworn US President with Snowden, Russia not only would court Trump, but also make a “poke…in the eye of [Putin’s adversary] Barack Obama."
Zakharova argued that by proposing to trade Snowden for a potential favor, Morell shows that “it is normal [for CIA] to present people as gifts and give up those who seek protection.”
Snowden has been living in Russia since 2013 after his request for asylum was satisfied by the Russian government and subsequently extended for three years. In January, the asylum was successfully renewed for two more years, Zakharova confirmed.
Trump is known for his tough stance on Snowden, whom he has denounced as “a traitor and a disgrace.”
“Make no mistake, he is no hero. In fact he is a coward who should come back & face justice,” Trump wrote in a FB post from 2014.Senate Republicans unveiled legislation Thursday to crack down on regulatory overreach.
The Separation of Powers Restoration Act would clarify the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) to state that courts, not agencies, are to interpret all questions of law, including both statutes and regulations.
The bill was introduced by Sens. Orrin Hatch Orrin Grant HatchThe FDA crackdown on dietary supplements is inadequate Orrin Hatch Foundation seeking million in taxpayer money to fund new center in his honor Mitch McConnell has shown the nation his version of power grab MORE (Utah) and Chuck Grassley Charles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyOvernight Health Care: Drug execs set for grilling | Washington state to sue over Trump rule targeting Planned Parenthood | Wyoming moves closer to Medicaid work requirements Senate reignites blue slip war over Trump court picks Lower refunds amplify calls to restore key tax deduction MORE (Iowa) along with Sens. Mike Lee Michael (Mike) Shumway LeePush to end U.S. support for Saudi war hits Senate setback The Hill's Morning Report — Emergency declaration to test GOP loyalty to Trump The Hill's 12:30 Report: Trump escalates fight with NY Times MORE (Utah), James Lankford (Okla.), Jeff Flake Jeffrey (Jeff) Lane FlakeBrexit and exit: A transatlantic comparison Poll: 33% of Kentucky voters approve of McConnell Trump suggests Heller lost reelection bid because he was 'hostile' during 2016 presidential campaign MORE (Ariz.), James Inhofe James (Jim) Mountain InhofeTrump backs off total Syria withdrawal Allies wary of Shanahan's assurances with looming presence of Trump On The Money: Trump to sign border deal, declare emergency to build wall | Senate passes funding bill, House to follow | Dems promise challenge to emergency declaration MORE (Okla.), Thom Tillis (N.C.), presidential candidate Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzTrump unleashing digital juggernaut ahead of 2020 Inviting Kim Jong Un to Washington Trump endorses Cornyn for reelection as O'Rourke mulls challenge MORE (Texas), John Cornyn John CornynHillicon Valley: Senators urge Trump to bar Huawei products from electric grid | Ex-security officials condemn Trump emergency declaration | New malicious cyber tool found | Facebook faces questions on treatment of moderators Key senators say administration should ban Huawei tech in US electric grid Senate plots to avoid fall shutdown brawl MORE (Texas), Ben Sasse (Neb.) and Dan Sullivan (Alaska), all Republicans.
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The lawmakers say federal agencies have continued to accumulate more power since the Supreme Court's 1984 ruling in Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. That case, creating the Chevron doctrine, said that courts should defer to an agency’s interpretation of a statute as long as the statute is “ambiguous” and the agency’s reading is “reasonable.”
Lawmakers say that deference allows agencies to rewrite laws and issue regulations as they see fit.
Grassley said the practice has weakened the nation’s system of checks and balances in remarks at a Heritage Foundation event to discuss the Chevron doctrine on Thursday.
“Congress delegates too much power in the first place to regulators as you know, but this undermines accountability,” he said. “It’s not the way our founders intended our government to work under the principle of checks and balances.”
He later added that the, “consequences of regulatory overreach are felt by the people who foot the bill for all this: the American people.”
The bill is part of Lee’s Article I project, an initiative he's launched with lawmakers in both chambers to reassert Congress’s powers under Article I of the Constitution.
Article I, he explained, says “all legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress.”
“It’s time to turn back to the text of the Constitution on which we swore oath to uphold,” Lee added.Julia Ward was a pioneering WWII cryptographer, inducted into the National Security Agency’s Cryptologic Hall of Honor in 2002.
She doesn’t have a Wikipedia page — yet.
Bryn Mawr College, under the guise of its Albert M. Greenfield Digital Center for the History of Women’s Education, hosted a Wikipedia edit-a-thon focused on women in STEM last month. It was the second edit-a-thon the Main Line liberal arts college has hosted. Nineteen faculty, staff and students attended the event, where they began, created or edited more than a dozen entries (including one on Ward, the cryptologist).
See what they worked on here. (Think Brownstone director Kimberly Blessing is on the list of entries to create.)
Why host events like this?
“It is important to ensure that women and minority voices have a presence on Wikipedia, simply because it is so many people’s main reference for information — otherwise we risk losing sight of them entirely,” wrote Evan McGonagill, assistant director of Greenfield, on the group’s blog.
As of last year, 90 percent of Wikipedia editors were male and that’s led to some hairy consequences, McGonagill pointed out.
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“The under-representation of women, gender non-conforming individuals, people of color, and others on Wikipedia is a site-specific manifestation of a universal problem,” McGonagill wrote:
Additionally, in adding in those who have been neglected either on the site or in general society, we take steps towards correcting those lacks in the culture itself, from beyond and before Wikipedia: we reassert the importance and visibility of the marginalized, affirming their place in history and their right to be known. Because of its open structure, Wikipedia is more than just a mirror of the status quo: it is also a potential locus of powerful change.
The next Greenfield edit-a-thon will be this spring, as part of an Art+Feminism Wikipedia event collective.
Another project that spun out of the Greenfield Center is a federal grant-funded digital archive of the “Seven Sisters,” a group of women’s colleges that includes Bryn Mawr.
-30-In the midst of being skewered across media outlets yesterday for his chaotic rollout of an Executive Order that appeared to target Muslims, including those legally living in the U.S. as businessmen, doctors, university faculty and students — who were initially denied reentry after travel abroad — President Donald Trump tried desperately to change the subject. Following a plunge of over 200 points in the Dow Jones Industrial Average yesterday, Trump pivoted to something he thought would please his financial backers on Wall Street.
He called the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation passed in 2010 by the Obama administration a “disaster” and promised to “do a big number” on it soon. The Dow closed down 122 points — now wary of Trump’s fire-ready-aim leadership on complex matters.
The legitimate fear across Wall Street right now is that Trump’s zero-vetting approach to rule-by-Executive-Order could leave Wall Street in the same chaotic state as the airports experienced from his ham-fisted approach to immigration.
But it’s not just Trump that Wall Street needs to fear: it’s Goldman Sachs as well. Trump has stuffed his administration with so many Goldman Sachs progeny that his administration is now regularly referred to as Government Sachs.
Goldman Sachs has a unique vested interest in repealing chunks of Dodd-Frank while making sure that the Glass-Steagall Act is not reinstated. That’s because when it comes to derivatives, Goldman Sachs is keeping a lot of secrets.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is the regulator of national banks. Each quarter it publishes a report on the derivative holdings of the biggest Wall Street banks and their holding companies. Its most recent report shows that as of September 30, 2016 Goldman Sachs Bank USA (a taxpayer-backstopped, FDIC insured bank where it holds its derivatives) had “credit exposure to risk-based capital” of 433 percent. That figure was more than double that of JPMorgan Chase (216 percent) and six times that of Bank of America (68 percent).
There’s another big problem with Goldman Sachs: it has a miniscule asset base compared to the big guns on Wall Street but it’s attempting to play in the big leagues in terms of derivatives. As the chart above shows, Goldman Sachs is the third largest holder of derivatives on Wall Street with $45.48 trillion in notionals (face amount). (As of 2015, the entire GDP of the United States was only $18 trillion.) But Goldman only has $880 billion in assets. That ratio compares to JPMorgan Chase with $2.5 trillion in assets and $50.6 trillion in derivatives and Citigroup with $1.8 trillion in assets and $51.78 trillion in derivatives.
Read complete article on Wall Street on ParadeNews for December 2016
Welcome to this installment of site news, where we celebrate the holidays and SCPs!
This is a series showing off news from the site, articles from the past month, and fan-content for you to check out and discover! Be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts!
On-Site News
Featured Articles
Event-Featured Articles
December 13, a day for music. Specifically, violins, though as Drewbear
December 24, Christmas Eve! For some, a day to prepare for the upcoming holiday. For some, a day to celebrate. And for others, not quite the happiest day. See how some Foundation employees handle the holidays, courtesy of Jacob Conwell
New Year's Eve! Yes, that's right, the calm before the storm, December 31 is the final day of, frankly, a shitfuck year that was 2016. For some, they were more Quiet Days. Dmatix
Rest of the News
The History Contest is now a thing! One of the first contests of the year to celebrate the Ten-Year Anniversary of SCP. Be sure to check it out and submit something!
The 5th Annual SCP Holiday Art Exchange has come and gone, and lots of exciting gifts! From tales, to pictures, to pictures of what used to be a library! Come see all the wonderful creativity on tap from the community!
Missing out on articles? Enjoy a recap on the articles from the past month. rumetzen created the blurbs from December 1 - 14. A Random Day created the blurbs for December 15-31. As the holidays kick into high gear, enjoy!
Week of December 1st:
SCPs:
SCP-2715 ("Guilty Sister") - Poisons can't hurt her, but loneliness will always wear you down. Written by Noktigo
SCP-2609 ("Traveling Lamp") - Lamps aren't that dangerous, right? Sure, as long as they stay put. Written by TheGreatGimmick
Tristar Pictures ("A film by SCP-2956, products of Natura Toys.") - Do you know how many safety briefs we're going to have to sit through because of this mess? Get it together guys. Compiled and edited before submission by LordStonefish
SCP-2635 ("Hot Potato") - They say that art can set the soul aflame. And you. Mostly you, actually. Crafted by Dr Solo
Expedition Log Ψ13-2815-1612-1 - An expedition into the tree of life produces some unexpected results. A supplement for SCP-2815, written by Nederbird
SCP-2378 ("Tissue Dome") - It's like one of those old tv episodes where they have to shrink down and go into someone's body, except the body is a bloated mass of warped clone-flesh. Written by DrBleep
Tales:
GoI Formats:
Number 27, Oneiroi Station - The search continues. The cycle continues. My work is not yet complete. One day you too will be inducted, if you can prove yourself worthy. Transmitted by Jack Ike
Author Pages:
Week of December 7th:
SCPs:
SCP-118-J ("The Saltiest Doctor Alive") - At this time, it is believed that SCP-118-J is thirty minutes into a rant about "Hanzo mains". Written by DrMagnus
SCP-2574 ("What Rough Beast") - "Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, the blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned." Written by AbsentmindedNihilist
SCP-2438 ("There Is No Hunger in the Lee of Stone") - The bunnies could be anywhere. Watching. Listening. Waiting for their chance to strike. And there's nothing we could do to stop them… Written by Petrograd
SCP-2869 ("Fuckworms") - Now everyone can experience the miracle of childbirth! Written by Le Blue Dude, rewritten by SpookyBee
SCP-2384 ("The Biggest Duck of All") - First the bunnies, now this duck? Easter this year is going to be fucked up. Written by Tanhony
Tales:
The Kitchen Sink - The seventh mind-peeling tale in the history of Thaddeus Xyank. Three people meet in a New York City building. Or, more accurately, every New York City building. Written by FortuneFavorsBold
The Homecoming of Eta-13 - With nearly half their task force dead, MTF Eta-13 makes one last attempt through the Hydra's Spine to return home. Agents of the Serpents Hand seek to ensure this doesn't happen. The action packed conclusion to the Wayfarers series of tales. Written by Jacob Conwell
GoI Formats:
GRANT REQUEST FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF DEVICES TO REGULATE THE HUME COEFFICIENT OF LOCALISED REALITY - Though ethical concerns have been raised over the scope of the project, they have been deemed trivial. The potential financial and scientific benefits of the devices are such that their creation should be top priority. Written by psul
Hubs:
Wayfarers Hub - The Foundations sends its explorers to map the roads of the multiverse. But it won't happen without resistance. Series created by Jacob Conwell
Week of December 15th:
It ain't no game, just turn up all the beams when I come up on the scene…
SCPs:
SCP-2391 ("Bimmy Plays") - Hell is the YouTube comments section. Remember to like and subscribe to Tanhony
SCP-2431 ("1000 Prion Cranes") - Supposedly, anyone who folds 1000 paper cranes will be granted a wish. Aido has no paper. He does, however, have prions. Folded by DrBleep
SCP-2809 ("Des Souvenirs") - Lay down your burden. Pick up your suitcase. Written by Humanmale
SCP-2695 ("Lucibelle Perhacs") - No obvious health issues have arisen from multiple needles located in subject's brain. Subject reports feeling stiff in the afternoon. Sewed together by Accelerando
SCP-1466 ("A Canary") - If you begin to feel atomic fission, please stop doing math and consult a doctor. Solved by Communism will win
SCP-2874 ("Don Burten Explosive Dev13e) - If you have seen this cy12nder, you now have 11 seconds before you exp10de. Written 8y Tanhony
SCP-2825 ("Jacob Perhacs") - With the current amount of saliva produced, the saliva "lake" possesses a peak depth of 189m and reaches 790m in altitude; 5440m2 of forest and grasslands are encompassed by bodily fluids within the valley. Written by Accelerando
SCP-2536 ("The Gift That Keeps On Giving") - Here at [DATA EXPUNGED], we love nothing more than to watch the good work you fellows do. Your empathy and moral integrity are an inspiration to us all! Gifted by Tanhony
SCP-729-J ("Peep Peep, Motherfucker") - Good at scaring away monsters… and everything else, too. Written by AbsentmindedNihilist
SCP-2745 ("Linda Perhacs") - Temporal anomalies should NOT be present. I've already used them to begin Alizarin's process. DO NOT ENTER THE CORNER IF ANY ARE DETECTED. Paradoxes are highly volatile. Written by Accelerando
SCP-2452 ("A Collection of Photographs") - There is supposed to be a headless bandaged mummy in this photo. So where is the headless bandaged mummy?! Shot by Tanhony
SCP-1347-1353-J ("What a Pestis") - Worst roommate ever. Contracted by DrBleep
SCP-2793 ("Peace Planet") - There's something strange going on in the rings of Saturn… and something doesn't want us looking into it. Written by Praetor Avacyn
Tales:
Author Pages:
Week of December 22nd - 30th
Hope you're down for a great train robbery…
SCPs:
SCP-2647 ("Premium") - Can you really put a price on your family's life? Written by kobon.
SCP-2709 (" Can Anyone Hear You Scream?") - Are they trying to keep you out… or something else in? Written by AbsentmindedNihilist
SCP-2730 ("Dogs TM ") - Collect 'em all! Traded by Faminepulse.
") - Collect 'em all! Traded by Faminepulse. SCP-1950-J ("Locked away in the tallest Containment Cell") - Upon being informed of the latest foiled attempt by SCP-1950-J-3 to breach containment, Administrator Jensen was observed rubbing their hands, cackling, and saying “Good, Soon I WILL BE THE PRETTIEST OF ALL! MUAHAHAHAH!” Sealed away by JameGumb
SCP-1909 ("Conqueror's Tomb") - Meet Alexander, the twelve year old tactical coordinator of Mobile Task Force Omega-7. Bred by Anaxagoras
SCP-2821 ("A Lunar True Vacuum") - There was void, and it was maddening / [Horror, abomination] made [Dolphin whistles] stay / THEY BUILT A LOCK AND THREW AWAY THE KEY. Written by 9Volt
SCP-2744 ("Zeitgeist") - Seeing is believing. Recorded by MkfShard
SCP-2258 ("The Great Escape") - You can't keep a good balloon down. Written by rockyred9
Tales:
Hub Pages
Fandom Stuff
What's been going on in the community aside from our site? Well…
Fanart
This stylized poster of SCP-353 looks really cool! Like the kind of warning posters you might see near her containment cell in the Foundation. Give deksto some love, eh?
Иagi produces a ton of cool art; so many that I had trouble picking. In the end, I went with this abstract piece of SCP-2808. Many ways you can try and illustrate it, and I think this approach works just as well (and is probably easier, let's face it) than illustrating the anomaly's effects directly. But please check out their body of work!
This full color work of SCP-2845 shows it in all of its grand, menacing glory. THE DEER is truly awe-inspiring as depicted here. This was done by 雨見鶏, an artist with such a lovely style, who's work I highly recommend.
Top-Rated Articles of 2016
2016, a relatively quiet year for the site. Still, despite that, the content that has shown up has been incredibly great, and will prove to stay with the community for years. So what are the top-rated ones of the year? Here are the Top 10 for SCPs and tales!
SCPs:
Tales:
Thanks for tuning in again, folks! If you're unsatisfied with the blurb(s) provided for the article(s) you wrote, feel free to change it. Of course, you could just avoid that problem entirely by sending A Random Day or rumetzen a blurb for your article. We may or may not use it (if we can think of something more attention-getting, though we can try to stick with one you give us) but we'd really would just like them in order to make the process easier for making these. This is a community thing, and we want authors to give their blurbs to sell these articles much easier. It reduces the workload we have to do, and helps the news come out that much earlier!
We look forward to 2017 with you all!Kirk Cameron sure knows how to ruffle feathers. His latest venture is a new film about his faith. The trailer was banned from Facebook and YouTube, but is it really controversial?
Kirk Cameron is at it again. The trailer for the controversial celebrity’s latest venture, Unstoppable, was banned from Facebook and YouTube.
The clip starts with a close-up of the former Growing Pains star asking, “Why does God let bad things happen to good people?…That is the question that wrecks people’s faith.”
He shares, “This the most personal project I have made regarding my faith.”
The trailer uses dramatic music and strong images to help get the message across. Cameron’s film is designated as a one-night-only event on Sept. 24 at Liberty University in Virginia as well as at select theaters around the United States.
The ban on Facebook happened because users deemed the content in the trailer “abusive,” “unsafe” and “spammy.” On YouTube, the trailer was labeled “spam,” “scam” and “commercially deceptive,” the 42-year-old reported on his Facebook page.
With help from his fans, Cameron was able to get the trailer reinstated on both social media sites. However, the ban and the reinstatement spoke volumes about the how divisive Cameron is as a public figure.
His positions on gay marriage and homosexuality and his support of former U.S. Rep. Todd Akin after his rape/pro-life comments have left him with fewer fans than he had during his ’80s heartthrob days. While many of his conservative Christian followers applaud his views, many in Hollywood shun the former actor.
While Cameron does have a right to his beliefs and free speech, sometimes his statements are inflammatory when directed at the industry that first made him famous. His fame gave him a platform to preach his message later in life.
Even if half of the country doesn’t agree with the film, the trailer seems pretty tame for Facebook and YouTube audiences.
Watch the trailer for Unstoppable.
www.youtube.com/embed/c-Nd12rC6iQ
Photo credit: Kirk Cameron/FacebookThe worldwide rights to Michael Moore's latest surprise documentary on Donald Trump, "Fahrenheit 11/9," have been purchased by producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, "Variety" magazine reported on Tuesday.
The brash left-wing director claims that his film will lead to nothing less than the end of Trump's presidency:
The film, prepared in secret, aims to dissolve what Moore calls Trump's "teflon" protection.
"No matter what you throw at him, it hasn't worked," Moore said in a statement. "No matter what is revealed, he remains standing. Facts, reality, brains cannot defeat him. Even when he commits a self-inflicted wound, he gets up the next morning and keeps going and tweeting. "That all ends with this movie."
The title of the film, "Fahrenheit 11/9," is a reference to his famous political documentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11," and to the date the results of the latest US election were finalized, on November 9, 2016, confirming that Donald Trump would become president of the United States.
In "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore dealt with President Bush's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
"Fahrenheit 9/11" was about the the presidency of George W. Bush in the aftermath of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. It was awarded the Palme d'Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004. According to "The Hollywood Reporter," it also raked in $222 million dollars (200 million euros), making it the highest-grossing documentary of all time.
Shortly before the November 2016 election, the 63-year-old filmmakerhad also released the film "Michael Moore in Trumpland," based on his one-man show promoting Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The film was made in just 12 days.
Moore was one of the very few public figures to have predicted that the then-candidate had a strong chance of winning.
Along with his documentary, the director now also has an upcoming Broadway show, "The Terms of My Surrender," about the "Trumpian era." It will open in late July.
eg/kbm (AP, AFP, dpa)Rep. Blake Farenthold (MSNBC/Screenshot)
Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) would like to duel his Republican colleagues in the Senate who didn’t vote in favor of the party’s unpopular health care bill.
But there apparently won’t be a gunfight because the lawmakers who stalled the bill are women.
Farenthold told a Texas radio station last Friday that he thinks it is “absolutely repugnant” that “the Senate does not have the courage to do some of the things that every Republican in the Senate promised to do.”
“Some of the people that are opposed to this, there are some female senators from the northeast,” he added. “If it was a guy from south Texas I might ask them to step outside and settle this Aaron Burr-style.”
The radio interview was highlighted by Think Progress on Monday.
Farenthold himself was not in favor of the Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. But he changed his mind after meeting with President Donald Trump in March.
Listen to the interview below:
(The comments appear around the 27:00 mark.)The funeral service for President Boyd K. Packer, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was held Friday, July 10, at 11 a.m. MDT in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square. A recording of the service is provided on this page. (To view on a mobile device, click here.)
President Packer died July 3 of causes incident to old age. President Packer, who was 90, served as a general authority of the LDS Church for more than 53 years. He is remembered as a champion of families, a master teacher and a resolute defender of LDS doctrine. President Packer was also known for his reverence for nature and his artwork, which embodied that reverence.
Click here to read 24 inspiring quotes from President Packer.Now it's time to get started! begin by removing the six screws from the bottom of the Super Nintendo. The picture below shows the location of these screws. Put the screws somewhere they won't get lost.
When the screws are out, flip over the console and take the top half off. As shown in the second picture, there are little plastic pieces that must be cut off to make room for the arduino. They are not essential parts of the case and can be cut off without ruining the integrity of it. Use a rotary tool to cut them off. If you don't have one you can probably cut them off with wire cutters.
Now that the case is finished we have to get the power button ready.An |
So....
The Titans aren't going to be gunning for a championship, but they don't exactly face the hardest teams this year. Last year the Titans faced the Broncos, Seahawks, 49ers, (a better) Chiefs, and Cardinals and still ended up with a 7-9 record. That is a pretty great job, so saying that they are going to do worse with more talent, better coaching, and an easier schedule doesn't make sense.
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<!-- ######## END NEXTCLICKS SNIPPET ######## -->“To all the armchair ‘fighters’, the professional humanists, the ‘sensitive’ intellectuals and spiritual personages: I say to you good riddance in advance.”
These are the words of Nikos Romanos, the 21 year old anarchist incarcerated for armed robbery, whose hunger strike threatens to spark mass unrest in Greece. He hasn’t eaten for over three weeks, in protest against the state’s decision not to allow him to pursue his higher education studies. He has lost 17 kilos, and doctors have warned that his heart may fail at any time. (As this is being published, it appears Romanos might die at any moment. – Ed.)
Romanos is not only standing up for his rights. His hunger strike is a call to action, part of the anarchist struggle to which he has long been committed. It’s hard to imagine that his timing is not strategic. Six years ago today, Romanos was with his friend Alexandros Grigoropoulos when he was shot by a police officer. The teenagers had been hanging out on a street corner. The officers say they had been attacked with stones and bottles, and had fired ‘warning shots’, one of which ricocheted. Eye-witnesses claim the youths were targeted. Either way, sixteen year-old Grigoropoulos was shot in the heart and died in front of Romanos’s eyes. The killing of an innocent teenager sparked mass riots for a fortnight in Athens and Greece at large.
Could another such wave of unrest hit Greece? This is the talk on the streets, as Romanos’s heart rate speeds up to 170 bpm. Already, there have been scores of solidarity demonstrations across Greece with thousands marching, and several occupations, including of a trade union building in downtown Athens. Violent run-ins with the riot police in Exarcheia look set to escalate- a district known for its anarchism and home to the street where Grigoropolous was shot.
Scenes of Molotov cocktails hurled at police, burnt-out and upturned cars and tear-gassed protesters haven’t spilled outside of Exarchia yet, but the city waits with held breath. Yannis Michailidis, who was arrested alongside Romanos, is on hunger strike in solidarity. The Turkish Prime Minister’s visit to Athens provided a reason to close the city’s main streets, yet it’s clear that Athens is in lockdown mode, with riot units ready to deploy at a hat’s drop.
Whatever the scale of the fallout, the Greek state has misplayed its cards. After Romanos passed his university entrance exams from behind bars, the Ministry of Justice and the President of Greece wanted to award him for his academic success. Romanos chose to stick to his anarchist principles as he saw them, and refused the prize. His furlough to attend his Business Studies course was then denied, in an act interpreted by some as revenge. The more likely reason may be that two cases linking him with terrorist acts are still hanging. Nevertheless, since the hunger strike, the Minister of Education has drawn up panicked plans for distance learning. It’s too late. The only way to stop Romanos now is through force-feeding, which his lawyer has rightly stated would amount to torture.
Even without this unpredicted crisis, Greece is already heading for turbulent times. Early elections are probable – before March 2015 – in which Syriza looks set to win. The right-wing ruling party, New Democracy, won’t hesitate to take drastic action in order to retain their hold on power. Some within the party will no doubt feel that a brutal crackdown on students, anarchists and other leftists would play well with their majority older, right-wing voters. This would truly be playing with fire.
In 2008 the country teetered on the edge of social collapse after the killing of a Alexandros Grigoropolous, with rioting and looting in all the major cities. Of course Romanos is not an innocent teenager: he is a convicted criminal, who has consciously put his life in danger for his beliefs. Yet 2008 was before the austerity crisis that has hit young people in Greece the hardest, before the Syntagma Square protests that radicalized many and turned them against the police, before the announcement of Type-C prisons, which will bundle “ideological enemies of the state” in with dangerous criminals, subjecting them to horrifying conditions.
In 2014, Greece is a country of barely repressed tensions. It may look positive from the outside. The dangerous energy of the anti-austerity movements were in part channeled into the electoral success of Syriza, which is pulling ahead in the polls by 10%. Also this year, the country exited recession for the first time in six years, with growth forecast to continue. Yet the ‘Coalition of the Radical Left’ has inevitably moved towards the centre in preparation for taking power. Many on the far left have departed, while others whisper increasingly loudly of the ‘coming betrayal’. There is no firm evidence, meanwhile, that the economic ‘upturn’ is helping living conditions or lifting ordinary people in Greece out of unemployment.
Everything is far from resolved, and Greece is still a country ripe for unrest. It seems clear that Romanos, by risking his life, wants to call on the ‘fighters’: those committed to what he sees as the anarchist struggle for freedom against injustice and oppression. We will see very soon the response to this call. One thing seems clear. Whatever the fallout of Romanos’s hunger strike, he will have acted with the intention not only of winning his right to education, but to influence the future direction of the country.Sometime ago or at least when I started doing programming in the late 90s XML was all the rage, it promised to be the panacea for everything from data to storage to data presentation and processing. People realised that it was just complexity as Joel Spolski points out an attempt to make the complex seem accessible to ordinary people.. Really people were annoyed to write all those tags as those ‘<‘ and ‘>’ are hard to reach on a qwerty keyboard.
Beginning the new millennia in 2000 the web started to get very popular and things like “web services” popped up everywhere, people realised that actually XML is not that great so started to get a format called Json to get computers talking to each others in a sane manner.
But people realise that json was actually not that great to chat between web services as it was actually designed to serialize objects between programming languages. And really down the line it’s more about the programmers being annoyed by all those { } [ ]Â brackets
So here came yaml the latest “fashion format” based on the popularity of tab based programming languages.
Most new software lately have been using it, all the containers software ecosystem configure things in yaml so you have to deal with it when you work with them.
I don’t know if I like yaml or not, the only thing i know is that when I have a big ass large yaml file it become quickly unreadable. You have no idea which blocks belong to which one and not sure how many indents you need to add to that block to align to that other one that started 800 lines ago.
This has been driving me crazy as I need to write some large kubernetes/OpenShift yaml files and sometime end up for hours trying to detect where I have my tab alignment.
Some may argue, but you do python and python is tab based. Yeah i have been doing python for the last 10 years and this has never been issue cause first I don’t write kick ass 5000 lines python functions and second the python mode of my editor Emacs is properly configured.
Ah there I say it, the editor needs to be configured properly to have a good workflow so here is Emacs to the rescue to make it bearable (and make that post more productive that another rant from the interweb)
So without further ado and with much fanfare, here is the emacs extension i found to make writing yaml bearable :
Highlight Indentation for Emacs
This mode would give you a visual representation of the current indentation with a bar showing the indentation.
Smart Shift
This mode doesn’t give you a visual but allow you to indent blocks of texts easily. Usually in emacs you would use the Control-C Tab command to indent and prefix it with a number for the number of indent. For example C-u 4 Control-C Tab would indent the text for 4 spaces. Smart shift make things much easier to move around.
Flycheck-mode
This is a generics mode you should really configure for all your programming needs, it supports yaml files and will try to validate (with ruby-yaml library) your yaml file and see where you have an error.
aj-toggle-fold
This is a function I found in a post on stackoverflow (by the author of Highlight-Indentation-for-Emacs) it allow you to folds all code on an indentation level greater than the current line. A great way to show you the current outline of the file.made 14 Pro Bowl appearances in 17 seasons in the NFL. (Dave Martin/AP) Tony Gonzalez made 14 Pro Bowl appearances in 17 seasons in the NFL. (Dave Martin/AP)
SOCHI, Russia -- One of the most challenging things for former athletes transitioning to sports broadcasting is to fully excise themselves from their former teammates and coaches. But Tony Gonzalez, who was officially announced by CBS Sports on Tuesday as an analyst for The NFL Today pregame show, Showtime’s Inside The NFL and the CBS Sports Network’s Sunday pregame show (That Other Pregame Show), plans on being critical when criticism is warranted.
“When you are playing, at least for me the way I approached it, I wasn’t going to be that player calling people out,” Gonzalez told SI.com on Tuesday. “Not really calling people out, but more telling the whole truth. Because I don't believe in that while you are playing; it just doesn’t make sense because we are in that fraternity. But now that I am done, I am going to say exactly what is on my mind. I’m not there to go out and kill players, but if I believe something is true, I am going to say it and not hold back on it. It’s an opportunity to really speak up on issues and I’m going to be as fair as possible and hopefully make some good points people are interested in hearing.”
The hiring of the recently retired Gonzalez gives CBS something NFL-airing networks crave -- currency. Gonzalez retired in January after 17 years as a tight end and is the NFL’s all-time leader in touchdowns (111) and yards (15,127) by a tight end.
“It’s [broadcasting] something that I didn’t want to do up until about three years ago,” Gonzalez said. “I was always one of those players who said when I get done playing I’m going to detach myself from everything and spend time with my family every day. But about three years ago I started to think more about retirement and I started to do more television and I said to myself: ‘This is fun.’ What a great way for me to stay connected to the game and give back to the game. I don’t take this for granted at all. The jobs are hard to get and I am happy to get this one.”
CBS dually announced that Dan Marino and Shannon Sharpe -- two longtime staffers on its pregame show -- were not being retained. The new cast of The NFL Today is current host James Brown and analysts Bill Cowher and Boomer Esiason and Gonzalez. CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus told Sports Business Daily media reporter John Ourand on Tuesday that the network is in the process of hiring another analyst soon, but added that deal was not ready to be announced yet.
“While we welcome Tony, we want to acknowledge Dan Marino and Shannon Sharpe who have contributed greatly to the success of The NFL Today for more than a decade,” McManus said in a statement. “Dan and Shannon are true Hall of Famers on the field and in front of the camera. As they pursue other professional opportunities, we thank them for their hard work and dedication and wish them nothing but the best.”
Why did Gonzalez choose CBS? He said The NFL Today was the show he watched most and that the fit with other staffers felt comfortable. His multi-year deal has been set for a couple of months. “I felt like they wanted me more than the other places I was talking to” said Gonzalez, who was courted by multiple outlets. “It was kind of a no-brainer when it came down to it to be on the main desk right away.”
Gonzalez cited many former players-turned broadcasters that he admires, including Esiason, NBC’s Cris Collinsworth and Fox’s Michael Strahan. “It’s those type of guys I am looking to model myself after if I can,” Gonzalez said. “I know that is reaching pretty high and I know it will take awhile to be as comfortable as they are and to articulate my thoughts as well as those guys do.”
Last month ESPN NFL analyst Cris Carter re-signed a multi-year deal with ESPN after he was courted by CBS to be a part of Showtime's Inside The NFL show and possibly The NFL Today. There has been serious chatter among industry sources for months about CBS blowing up the current group on The NFL Today, including rumors of Gonzalez joining CBS. Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead connected a lot of the dots in this Jan. 15 post.
The NFL Today The NFL Today The NFL TodayWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The mom and pop businesses that make up the bulk of America’s employers, key players in scuttling health reform during the Clinton years, say years of crushing costs have them backing major changes this time around.
A man gets a haircut at a barber shop in New Orleans, Louisiana, November 1, 2005. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
The National Federation of Independent Business helped derail President Bill Clinton’s effort to overhaul the health insurance system during the 1990s, with a massive direct mail and telephone campaign, and a blitz of lawmaker lobbying.
Now, small companies with an average of 10 workers are bearing the greatest burden of insurance premium increases, which have grown twice as fast as inflation for several years. They’ve started lobbying the presidential candidates early and are pushing for changes to taxes and state laws.
“The situation for small business is much worse than it was in 1994 in terms of cost,” said Todd Stottlemyer, the group’s president. “We can’t just say ‘no’ today.”
It is much cheaper per employee for large companies to provide health insurance, with more employees to balance risk and spread administrative costs.
And workers pay 18 percent more for premiums than their counterparts at larger firms, according to a study by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit research group.
“The NFIB is starting to listen to its members,” said Peter Harbage, a Democratic health strategist who has worked for former presidential candidate John Edwards. “The whole health-care system seems designed to work against small business.”
These companies represent 80 percent of total U.S. employment. The influence lies in these hard numbers, but also their ubiquitousness in grass-roots politics.
“These are the business people that go to the Rotary Club lunches their congressman speaks at,” said Robert Laszewski, president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates, a consulting firm. “They have the numbers, and the personal relationships with the congressmen.”
The group launched its multimillion-dollar campaign earlier this month, including letters to the candidates and town hall meetings with members nationwide.
Polls among its members have found one in three small-business owners say their No. 1 voting issue in the 2008 presidential election will be fixing health care.
EARLY INFLUENCE
And they’ve already influenced the debate.
Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, who led the overhaul effort for Bill Clinton, makes an exception for small businesses in her proposal to require employers to provide insurance or pay into a fund that does.
That is a direct result of NFIB’s opposition to her earlier efforts, experts said.
The group has not taken a position on mandates that individuals buy insurance and held a briefing to explore the issue this week.
Stottlemyer said the group backs proposals letting small businesses pool together for greater leverage with insurers.
“All three (candidates) are talking about it, but they are not at a deep detail level right now,” he said. “We’re urging them for more details.”
In general, the Democrats seek universal coverage by building on the current employment-based insurance system, while McCain wants to encourage individuals to buy insurance outside of work by revising the tax system.
McCain proposes eliminating the tax breaks employees receive by getting insurance through work. Individual buyers of insurance don’t get those tax benefits.
In the small-business community, about half are forced to buy their insurance individually, which is far more expensive than group plans, Stottlemyer said.
“There is some equalization that we think needs to take place,” he said.
Experts say that taking away the employer tax incentives could encourage employers to abandon health insurance altogether. Critics also worry that more flexibility in state insurance regulations may dilute consumer protections.
Either way, small business will take a lead in influencing the debate.
“They were a major player in dumping the Clinton plan. They don’t want to be the enemy this time,” Henry Aaron, a health-care economist at the Brookings Institution, said. “They know it’s a national problem.”Universal’s sequel to 2012’s Snow White And The Huntsman is opening in 18 international territories this weekend ahead of its domestic debut on April 22. On Friday, The Huntsman: Winter’s War chopped down $4M for an early overseas total of $15M. That puts the weekend at an estimated $21.3M through Sunday. Across the bows, the film opened No. 1 in the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and Mexico.
Competition in international markets this weekend includes the continued run of Warner Bros’ Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, which grossed an estimated $7.6M on Friday in 67 offshore hubs. That reps a 60% drop from the sophomore Friday last week. The overseas total is now $463.5M. Disney also has a pair of pics this frame with Zootopia in its zooper-duper ongoing run and the live-action Jungle Book making an early swing in a handful of plays to take advantage of local dating opportunities. We’ll have the full weekend estimates tomorrow.
Looking at The Huntsman: Winter’s War, a direct comp isn’t apples-to-apples with Snow White And The Huntsman. That pic, which starred Kristen Stewart who is not back for part II, bowed in an opening suite of 45 territories. It grossed $39.3M in its first weekend which fell at the tail end of May 2012. It was No. 1 in 67% of its release territories; Winter’s War has 56% No. 1s. The original topped out at about $240M overseas which is around $190M in today’s dollars.
This time, Cedric Nicolas-Troyan takes over the director’s chair from Rupert Sanders and turns the focus on Chris Hemsworth’s Huntsman. Also returning are Charlize Theron and Sam Claflin with Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain suiting up for the first time. Set in the aftermath of SWATH’s events, Winter’s War explores the Huntsman’s origins, revealing that he started out in the employ of Freya (Blunt), evil sister to Queen Ravenna (Theron), until he defied her one demand by falling in love with fellow warrior Sara (Chastain). As Freya works to resurrect her sister, the Huntsman works to be reunited with his lost love.
Including previews, the UK is the top opener with $2.8M thus far at 526 dates. Friday’s score was $696K. On the previous film, the UK was also the strongest debut with about $5.5M before the big currency fluctuations of the past two years, and ultimately grossed $25M+.
Australia, where THWW opened in only some states, was a No. 2 bow on Thursday. The gross is $980K at 262 dates. It’s running a close race with Zootopia for No. 1 over the weekend. Oz was hot for Hemsworth’s Huntsman the last time around at about $21M.
There are 47 more territories to open over the next two months. Next weekend adds seven, including Korea and Russia. China goes day-and-date with the U.S.
On BvS, here are the current top cumes through Friday: China $91.2M; UK $45.4M; Mexico $32.1M; Brazil $25.2M; Australia $19.1M.
More to come tomorrow.In the last month, we've seen monumental changes to the penal codes in Jordan and Lebanon around laws that affect women who are victims of crime, following years of activism.
As many women in the Arab world pointed out to me as I conducted my research, Arab society is drenched in honour codes and imbalances between the sexes. And when a crime is committed against a woman, it is the family's honour that the law seeks to preserve. Moreover, this fuels the attitude that women require protection, rather than that they have the ability to manage their own lives.
In Jordan, where activists have long sought to make changes to the entire penal code, a law that gave rapists a punishment loophole was revoked. More specifically, article 308 allowed rapists a free pass out of jail if they married their victims.
In Lebanon, a similar law that is decades old was also ditched. Once again, it was the work of tireless advocates for women's rights that saw the law eventually abolished. In one campaign, women used the symbolism of a wedding dress, but instead of pristine white gowns, they displayed torn, bloodied dresses on billboards with the caption "A white dress does not cover rape".
These women are not ignorant or to be pitied; they are their most effective campaigners
In another development, the Jordanian government has allocated $1.4 million to open a shelter for women in danger of crimes around "honour". As reported by journalist Rana Husseini, who has spent the better part of her career documenting so-called "honour killings" in Jordan, many women face indefinite imprisonment in Jordan when their lives are threatened by family. It's not the offender who is punished; women are placed in "protective custody", some languishing for a decade without charge.
This may seem a minor step; after all, can change come fast enough? But it's a major development considering the long road activists have faced in shifting society's beliefs around honour and shame.
When Husseini first began reporting on so-called honour crimes, she was a lone voice. Her voice has been instrumental in garnering support from wider society, government and even the royal family, in order to criminalise these murders. Thanks, in part to her efforts such as hers, sentences have since increased.
Many of these women are up against deeply ingrained ideas about male superiority, and the belief that men cannot control themselves. Yet men are never instructed to change; only women, who are told to dress conservatively, to be modest and shy. Unfortunately, the focus is not on teaching boys how to be decent men; rather on being a modest, virginal woman - free of shame.
Women will openly share their frustrations about this mentality. Yet this honesty is so often lost in the symbolism of the Arab woman who needs saving.
Consider Manal Al-Sharif, a Saudi woman who sat behind the steering wheel of a car and drove on the streets of Khobar to protest the prohibition on women driving. The custom of women being chaperoned by men fell under the heavy blanket of guardianship, which sees women treated as minors. Al-Sharif has herself gone so far as to say women in the Kingdom are treated like "slaves".
The act was heralded as one of defiance, but in Al-Sharif's words, it was one of "disobedience". She took an event and turned it into a campaign, Women2Drive, where the "mundane" act of driving was used to raise awareness about the discrimination Saudi women face on a daily basis. It became a symbol of disobedience, powerful in its simplicity.
Immediately lauded by the West, Al-Sharif became the face of a cause and her message was shaped into one of the oppressed woman fighting unjust customs in a patriarchal Arab society. In tone, it smacked of the poor Arab woman wanting to be western, because what could be more western than driving?
In tone, it smacked of the poor Arab woman wanting to be western, because what could be more western than driving?
But what is stronger than a woman disobeying customs and risking her liberty in the process?
Make no mistake, what Al-Sharif did was significant, and it got her into trouble. But she has told media that she wasn't being a "troublemaker"; she was a "history maker".
And what is partly so significant about Al-Sharif's act of rebellion is that she is unapologetic, refusing to surrender the issue of women's rights in her country to other concerned parties. While she is deeply engaged with the world's interest in Saudi Arabia, she remains in control of her own messaging.
Al-Sharif has very openly criticised her country's misogynistic laws and customs, ones that repress women, not men. But as she details in her book, Daring to Drive, while travel opened her eyes to possibilities beyond those she knew of in Saudi Arabia, what she was seeking that day was to gain a basic right: to be the driver in her own life.
It took a great deal of courage to challenge a custom (it's not a law, but the licence required is not issued to women) that enlivened the power imbalance between genders in Saudi Arabia. But tired of being reliant or under the thumb of men, Al-Sharif and many others with her were on a path to self-determination.
It is true that women in Saudi Arabia suffer from a lack of choice in many ways. But women are protesting for their rights. These women are not ignorant or to be pitied; they are their most effective campaigners.
Take, for example, this video, which mocks guardianship laws. And last year, Saudi women petitioned for the abolition of the guardianship system. Many women wear wrist bands with the words of a popular hashtag emblazoned on it in Arabic and English: "I am my own guardian".
Saudi-Australian artist and activist Ms Saffaa has developed an entire body of work around the hashtag.
A new generation of women are finding that their voices can have great reach and they are using them. The result is a discernible shift in Saudi Arabia as it slowly introduces change to a society long bound by rigid ideas about gender interaction and the role of women.
Women now have the right to vote and will be taking up more jobs and study without a male's permission. Female competitors at the Rio Olympics are another example of Saudi society needing to bend to the realities of the modern world – there is a place for women at the table, and on the sporting field.
Mostly importantly, it is women themselves who are leading such necessary change by challenging the status quo. Their personal experiences inform their passion. It's their self-determination at stake. It's not simply that women are their best champions, they are their most essential.
Amal Awad is a Sydney-based journalist and author. Her latest book, Beyond Veiled Clichés, explores the lives of Arab women.
Follow her on Twitter: @amalmawad
Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author, and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.This article is about the art group. For other uses, see Resident (disambiguation)
The Residents are an American art collective best known for avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, Meet the Residents (1974), the group has released over sixty albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects, and ten DVDs. They have undertaken seven major world tours and scored multiple films. Pioneers in exploring the potential of CD-ROM and similar technologies, the Residents have won several awards for their multimedia projects. Ralph Records, a record label focusing on avant-garde music, was started by the band.
Throughout the group's existence, the individual members have ostensibly attempted to operate under anonymity, preferring instead to have attention focused on their art output. Much outside speculation and rumor has focused on this aspect of the group. In public, the group appears silent and costumed, often wearing eyeball helmets, top hats and tails—a long-lasting costume now recognized as its signature iconography. In 2017, Hardy Fox, long known to be associated with the Residents, identified himself as the band's co-founder and primary composer; he died in 2018.
The Residents' albums generally fall into two categories: deconstructions of Western popular music, and complex conceptual pieces composed around a theme, theory, or plot. The group is noted for surrealistic lyrics and sound, disregard for conventional music composition, and the over-the-top theatrical spectacle of their live performances.
History [ edit ]
1965–1972: Origins and Residents Unincorporated [ edit ]
The earliest known photograph of the group, circa 1969
The artists who would become The Residents met in high school in Shreveport, Louisiana in the early 1960s. Around 1965, the group of young artists began making their first amateur home tape recordings and making art together with a number of friends. In 1966, with the intentions of joining the flourishing hippie movement, the members headed west for San Francisco, but after their truck broke down in San Mateo, California they decided to remain there.[1]
While attempting to make a living, the group purchased crude recording equipment and began to build on their home recording and tape editing skills, as well as photography, painting, and anything remotely to do with art that they could afford. The Residents have acknowledged the existence of at least two (of perhaps hundreds) unreleased reel-to-reel items dating from this era, titled The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger and Rusty Coathangers For The Doctor.[2] "Uncle Willie", former Residents fan club president, wrote in his book Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated Guide to the Residents that, while searching through the band's archives, he came across "a suite named The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger," but not a complete album. Further evidence of pre-1970 recordings surfaced with the release of the song I Hear You Got Religion, supposedly recorded in 1969, and released originally as a downloadable track from Ralph America in 1999. The Cryptic Corporation has confirmed that there are many tapes in their archives dating back decades, but all were recorded before the group had officially become "The Residents" so the band does not generally consider them to be part of its discography.
Word of the unnamed group's experimentation spread, and in 1969 British guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Phil Lithman, known as Snakefinger, began to participate with them.[3] Around this time the group also made the acquaintance of the mysterious (and perhaps apocryphal) N. Senada, whom Lithman had picked up in Bavaria where the aged avant-gardist was recording birds singing. The two Europeans would become great influences and life-long collaborators with the group.
In 1971 the group sent a reel-to-reel demo tape to Hal Halverstadt at Warner Brothers, as he had signed Captain Beefheart (one of the group's musical heroes) to the label. Halverstadt was not overly impressed with The Warner Bros. Album (he describes it as "okay at best" in Uncle Willie's Cryptic Guide to the Residents), but awarded the tape an "A for Ariginality". Because the band had not included any name in the return address, the rejection slip was simply addressed to "Residents". The members of the group then decided that this would be the name they would use, first becoming "Residents Unincorporated", then shortening it to the current name. The Warner Bros. Album would remain officially unreleased by the group until 2018, when it was remastered and re-issued in a limited edition as part of their comprehensive "pREServed" campaign.
The first known public performance of the band who would become The Residents was at the Boarding House in San Francisco in 1971. This brief, guerrilla-style performance took the audience completely by surprise, and produced a photograph of Lithman playing violin with his pinky "about to strike the violin like a snake" – this photo originated the nickname that he would use as his stage name for the rest of his life, Snakefinger. Later in 1971, a second tape was completed called Baby Sex, featuring a long collage partially consisting of recordings from the Boarding House performance. The original cover art for the tape box was a silk-screened copy of an old photo depicting a woman fellating a small child, an example of the extremely confronting and deliberately puerile visual and lyrical style the group had adopted throughout this period.
1972–1980: "Classic" era [ edit ]
"Santa Dog" and "Meet The Residents" (1972–1974) [ edit ]
"The Enigmatic Foe", 1974
In early 1972, the band left San Mateo and relocated to 20 Sycamore St, San Francisco; a studio they named "El Ralpho", which boasted a completely open ground floor (seemingly ideal for a sound stage), allowing the group to expand their operations and also begin preliminary work on their most ambitious project up to that point, a full-length film entitled Vileness Fats, which would consume most of their attention for the next four years. Intended to be the first-ever long form music video, The Residents saw this project as an opportunity to create the ultimate cult film. After four years of filming (from 1972 to 1976) the project was reluctantly cancelled because of time, space, and monetary constraints. Fifteen hours of footage was shot for the project, yet only approximately 35 minutes of that footage has ever been released.
The group also formed Ralph Records at this time, as a small, independent label to release and promote their own work. To inaugurate the new business, the group recorded and pressed the Santa Dog EP (1972), their first recorded output to be released to the public. Designed to resemble a Christmas card from an insurance company, the EP consisted of two 7" singles, with four songs between them. The four songs were presented as being by four different bands (Ivory And The Brain Eaters, Delta Nudes, The College Walkers, and Arf And Omega featuring The Singing Lawn Chairs), with only a small note on the interior of the gatefold sleeve mentioning the participation of "Residents, Uninc."
They sent copies of Santa Dog to west coast radio stations with no response until Bill Reinhardt, program director of KBOO-FM in Portland, Oregon received a copy and played it heavily on his show. Reinhardt met the Residents at their studio at 20 Sycamore St.[4][5] in the summer of 1973 with the news of his broadcasts. The Residents gave Reinhardt exclusive access to all their recordings, including copies of the original masters of Stuffed Trigger, Baby Sex, and The Warner Bros. Album.
Throughout this point, the group had been manipulating old tapes they had collected and regularly recording jam sessions, and these recordings eventually became the group's debut full-length album, Meet The Residents, which was released in 1974 on Ralph. To aid in promoting the group, Reinhardt was given 50 of the first 1,000 copies of Meet the Residents. Some were sent to friends, listeners and critics, and two dozen were left for sale on consignment at the Music Millennium record store, where they sat unsold for months. KBOO DJ Barry Schwam (Schwump, who also recorded with the Residents) promoted them on his program as well. Eventually, KBOO airplay attracted a cult following |
We are answering the tough questions this morning.
In an unexpected turn of events, one of the top storylines of fall camp has been the now infamous sleeves of Quinten Dormady. Apparently he’s elected to go with the old school non-elastic sleeves that you saw back in the late 90s.
The fanbase is split. The sleeves have driven some to compare Dormady to Peyton Manning, who wore those loose sleeves his entire career. Even they weren’t as big and baggy as the ones Dormady has though.
Maybe he’s trying to channel his inner Erik Ainge, Casey Clausen or Peyton Manning. But I’ve got to agree with Ryan here. They’re bad.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen sleeves. With the evolution of the jerseys, elastic sleeves have taken over. I honestly didn’t know the loose sleeves were still an option.
This just looks unnatural. I can’t get the thought of Sam Bradford’s goofy looking sleeves out of my head when I see Dormady now. I mean, wouldn’t these things get in the way? I feel like this would be a hinderance to my ability to throw the football.
This reminds me of NCAA 2014. The first thing that I would do after signing a recruiting class would be to go in and edit my players to make sure they had the tight sleeves. The big loose sleeves looked atrocious on the game.
For some contrast, here’s Jarrett Guarantano rocking the much cleaner elastic look.
Knoxville News Sentinel-USA TODAY NETWORK
Where do you guys stand on #SleeveGate?60% of US navy to be in Indo-Asia-Pacific region The United States plans to shift 60% of its navy into the Indo-Asia Pacific region within the next two years, US navy officials said.
India, US agree to share military logistics for warships, aircraft India and the United States have agreed in principle to share military logistics, US defense secretary Ashton Carter said on Tuesday, as both sides seek to counter the growing maritime assertiveness of China.
NEW DELHI: American aircraft and warships will soon be able to access Indian military bases and vice versa for refuelling, repair and other logistical purposes, in a move that will further tighten the India-US strategic clinch and help Washington in its ongoing "re-balance" of 60% of its naval forces to the Asia Pacific to counter an increasingly assertive China.Signalling a shift from the UPA regime's diffidence over such pacts, defence minister Manohar Parrikar and his US counterpart Ashton Carter on Tuesday announced that the two countries "have agreed in principle" to share military logistics, which will now lead to inking of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement in a few months.Top Indian officials took pains to clarify that the "reciprocal" logistics pact was just meant to facilitate military cooperation and not aimed at forging any sort of a military alliance against China.Top Indian officials clarified that the logistics pact with US was to facilitate military cooperation, especially for the flurry of bilateral combat exercises and humanitarian aid operations in the region.India and the US will also further bolster maritime security cooperation, which will include stepping up the complexity of its combat exercises and talks on anti-submarine warfare, but there are no plans for joint naval patrols in the contentious South China Sea or elsewhere. "India has not changed its stand (on joint patrols)," defence minister Manohar Parrikar said.Parrikar and his US counterpart Ashton Carter stressed that Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) did not entail stationing of any US troops on Indian soil, even as officials added that India will not extend support in the event of any US military action against "friendly countries". "We can refuse access to our bases whenever we want," said an official.But it does overturn the policy of the previous UPA regime, which had steadfastly stonewalled the US push for the so-called "foundational agreements" on logistics, the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum Agreement (CISMOA) and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation (BECA) for well over a decade.Then defence minister A K Antony, backed by the Left and others, had opposed the three foundational pacts on the grounds that they would "compromise" India's traditional strategic autonomy and give "basing rights" to the US military in the country. While the Modi government still has some reservations on CISMOA and BECA, it says India and the US are institutionalising through LEMOA what already happens "on a case-to-case basis", as earlier reported by TOI.Carter, who met PM Narendra Modi and NSA Ajit Doval later in the day, said LEMOA will make it "more routine and automatic" for the Indian and American forces to operate together. "We have agreed in principle that all the issues are resolved. The text will now be finalised," he said.Meanwhile, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said he had "expressed concern" to his US counterpart Ash Carter over the F-16 sale to Pakistan. Overall, Pakistan will now have 84-85 F-16s, which are primarily directed against India.I appreciate that history counts for nothing if you are looking for a winner, but I’m sure it creates some interest as the Wallabies and the All Blacks do value their legacy and try to add to that during their time.
Incredibly they only played each other once in the first four World Cups, Australia winning a semi-final in Dublin in 1991. Then in 2003 Australia did the same in Sydney. Both teams left the tournament at the quarter-final stage in 2007 and New Zealand reversed the trend in the 2011 semi-final in Auckland. Those three semi-final meetings are cornerstones of the rugby history of the two teams ranked one and two in the world.
Australia won the World Cup in 1991, as did New Zealand in 2011 and you may remember England pipped Australia in the 2003 final with an extra-time Jonny Wilkinson drop goal. So this is the first time they have played each other in a final. Both teams will be trying to become the first team to win the Webb Ellis Cup for a third time and the All Blacks the first side to retain it.
The first reaction after reaching the final will have been relief that a tricky hurdle had been jumped: “We have survived, we have a chance now to be world champions.” Then it will have been about recovery from the physical exhaustion accumulated through training and games over the past six weeks and going through the weekly ritual to prepare for the contest on Saturday. The correct recovery is massively important and it starts immediately after the completion of the semi-final, often taking players until Wednesday after a Saturday game to feel relatively normal again. The All Blacks, being ranked No1, have the advantage of an extra day to recover and prepare.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest New Zealand captain Richie McCaw says the Rugby World Cup final will not be about magical moments, but rather about each player doing their job when it counts.
Matt Giteau was in the final in 2003. Richie McCaw and 10 other All Blacks were involved in the final in 2011 but this is the biggest game ever for these teams. The week will have been cerebral rather than physical, ensuring that the 23 players in each team have total clarity on unit and individual roles and have a full tank going into the game.
The ritual involves finalising the game plan both in attack and defence based on the analysis from previous encounters between the two teams and any other strengths and weaknesses observed during the tournament. Each individual player will have taken some time to view his own game and his opponent’s to sharpen his mind to what he needs to win the individual contest. Then it is about rehearsal, practising what is required as an individual; as a unit, backs and forwards, and as a team.
It is important each step is done methodically and that nobody gets ahead of themselves and loses focus because of the importance and the emotion of the occasion. The plan will have been for the coaches to have all this covered early in the week and then for the captain and senior players to take ownership and rehearse and execute the plan with intensity and accuracy two days prior to the game.
David Pocock and Australia back row inspire victory over Argentina | Andy Bull Read more
Also it is important absolutely nothing distracts from this focus. For example there will be a number of the senior players playing their last game for New Zealand, icons like Richie McCaw, Keven Mealamu, Dan Carter, Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith, and it is disappointing that Tony Woodcock is not there. They are outstanding people who have been the backbone of the All Blacks for more than a decade. That won’t have been mentioned because it is a distraction from the focus of the build-up and the team always comes first. And these senior players will drive that focus. The Wallabies will do similar with the likes of Adam Ashley-Cooper, Will Genia and Giteau.
Then there is game day. I used to dread the wait, wide awake at 4.30am and the match didn’t start until 8pm: more than 15 hours to go and absolutely nothing to do apart from a walk-through for the team for 30 minutes around four hours before kick-off.
The players do their own thing and will have an individual game-day ritual. I used to have a three-hour walk with my wife Raewyn on the morning of a match. In 2011 I spent the night at home prior to the final and then we walked around the waterfront in Auckland; people were looking at me thinking why isn’t he with the team, but there is nothing you can do but wait and you are only a phone call away.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Matt Giteau played in the 2003 World Cup final, and has made a hugely positive impact since returning to the Australia fold this year. Photograph: Seconds Left/Rex Shutterstock
Early in my time as All Black coach I used to give the players a team talk prior to getting on the bus to go to the game. I had given a team talk prior to every game in my previous 30-plus years of coaching. Tana Umaga, the captain of the All Blacks during a tour of Europe in 2005, said to me: “Do you want a coffee, Ted?” I replied: “OK, T.” He went straight in: “Why do you give those team talks?” I didn’t like the way the conversation was trending.
I said: “Well I think they may give the guys a little direction and a little inspiration.” His reply was abrupt: “Are they for you or for us?”
I was depressed for a week; I thought I was good at it, self-assessment of course! I discussed the value of the team talk with my fellow coaches Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith; they were noncommittal, probably being sensitive. I, and I assume Steve Hansen too, have not given a team talk since, all part of the evolving process.
Tana was right and he was obviously passing on the message of the team. It is their time, they have to prepare mentally for the game and they don’t need the distraction of the coach telling them what they know two hours before kick-off.
Then, the game. Well, I’m pleased that Nigel Owens is the referee. He is the man in form with the whistle, he is relaxed, has got a good feel for the game and relates well to the players.
I hope he won’t be too distracted by the TMO and assistant referees and will let the teams decide who will win the Rugby World Cup. The two sides have only lost one game each this year. The Wallabies beat the All Blacks in Sydney to win the Rugby Championship but the All Blacks recovered to win the return fixture in Auckland a week later and retain the Bledisloe Cup. One-all, but it does not come any bigger than this, the Webb Ellis Cup and the title of world champions.Pope Francis has impressed people around the world with his remarks and actions ever since he was elected. However, despite his views, nobody probably ever expected him to be mobbed by nuns during a service. But that’s exactly what happened to him at Naples Cathedral on Monday.
Pope Francis was at a ceremony when he found himself being swarmed and hugged by a group of nuns.
In fact, the nuns’ actions became so incessant that Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, who was officiating in the Cathedral, actually had to intervene and told the sisters to stop bothering the pope.
Upon seeing the scene, via ABC News, Cardinal Sepe said into the microphone, “Sisters… later. Well, would you look at that.”
However, even though the pope was being mobbed by the nuns, Sepe was still able to make a joke about the situation, as he cracked, “And these are the cloistered ones. Just imagine the non-cloistored ones.”
Sepe then went on to add, “They are going to eat him! Sisters… sisters!”
The Archbishop of Naples ultimately helped to rein in the sisters, who had been showering him with presents and greetings when they clearly became overwhelmed with being so close to Pope Francis.
According to the Telegraph, after hearing their names called by the archbishop, each of the nuns then excitedly broke into applause and began fervently waving. They then made their way from the side wing of the cathedral and surrounded Pope Francis. This was when the pope’s security personnel finally intervened.
The pontiff was able to see the funny side of the nuns’ efforts though. However, he also looked to be a tad bemused by them at the same time.
Pope Francis was in Naples for just one day to meet a variety of religious leaders, seminarians, and priests in the area.
The nuns usually observe and abide by the rules of “papal enclosure,” which means that they very rarely leave their nunneries. Most of the time, they only meet their visitors through a grill. In order to meet Pope Francis, each of the nuns had to be given special permission to have their seven convents in Naples closed for the day.
While in Naples, Pope Francis also visited some of the city’s poorest and most poverty stricken areas, while he also visited where the mafia has a stronghold.
As Pope Francis made his way around the region, hundreds of thousands of people made their way onto the streets to pay their respects and say hello to him.
[Image via IBTimes]Bananas are among the most popular fruits for eating right out of the hand as well as incorporating into baked goods. Recipes call for sliced bananas, mashed bananas, diced bananas, and even whole bananas, so sometimes it's difficult to know just how many bananas you need. Luckily, there are some simple equivalent measurements you can use to help you the next time you are buying bananas for a recipe. But, if you are in doubt about the quantity, buy a couple of extra bananas; you can always freeze them if they aren't needed in the recipe.
One thing to keep in mind is how big the bananas are as some recipes will reference the size, as in "two small bananas," for example. Small bananas are approximately 6 to 6 7/8 inches long, medium bananas are roughly 7 to 7 7/8 inches long, and large bananas are approximately 8 to 9 inches long.
Converting Pounds of Bananas to Quantities
Some recipes will specify how many pounds of bananas you need, but if you are using bananas from the fruit bowl on your kitchen counter, and you don't own a food scale, then you probably don't know how many bananas are in a pound. If you keep these equivalents nearby, though, you will be able to make the switch easily.
1 pound bananas = 3 medium bananas
1 pound bananas = 4 small bananas
1 pound bananas = 2 to 2 1/2 cups sliced
1 pound bananas = 1 1/3 cups mashed
1 pound dried bananas = 4 1/2 cups slices
Converting Quantities of Bananas to Cups
Whether you are making a fruit salad or a banana bread, these recipes may call for either whole bananas or the measurements in cups. Once you get a hang of the conversions, you will feel confident with any banana recipe down the road.
1 medium banana = 2/3 cup sliced bananas
2 medium bananas = 1 cup diced bananas
3 medium bananas = 1 cup mashed bananas
2 medium bananas = 1/2 to 1 teaspoon banana extract
Substituting for Bananas in Recipes
You can't make banana pudding or banana bread without bananas. However, if you don't care for bananas, are allergic to them, or don't have time to run to the store, there are some substitutions you can make for bananas in recipes.
Applesauce (storebought or homemade) can substitute for a banana in baked goods. Replace one banana with 1/2 cup of applesauce, but don't use more than 1 cup of applesauce because the mixture will be too wet. Egg whites (or a whole egg) can also substitute for a banana in some baked goods.
Canned pumpkin and silken tofu also work as substitutes for a banana in some recipes, although you may need to add sweetener, and plain yogurt might work in some recipes—but if the recipe calls for vinegar or lemon juice, choose another substitute.
Mashed cooked sweet potato works as a banana substitute in baked oatmeal recipes, and good substitutes for bananas in smoothies are canned pumpkin, mango, avocado, and frozen yogurt.
Using Bananas as Substitutes
Bananas can be used as substitutes for other ingredients in baked goods. Vegans, in particular, are familiar with using bananas to substitute for eggs. One ripe banana replaces one egg in a cake recipe—the banana will flavor the cake, so only use them when they complement the other ingredients. Extra leavening may be needed.
Bananas can also be a substitute for butter and oil in recipes. If using bananas for butter, replace in equal amounts. You can substitute 3/4 cup of mashed banana for 1 cup of oil in baked goods such as muffins, cakes, and breads, but you'll need to use a low-gluten flour and reduce the baking time.
Freezing Bananas
Keeping a supply of banana slices in the freezer means you'll always have just the right amount of banana for baking, sauces, and smoothies—making substitutions unnecessary. Freezing bananas is a simple process, but they should be frozen at peak ripeness. Begin by peeling the bananas, and then cut each banana into slices that are about 3/4-inch thick. Spread the banana slices in a single layer on a cookie sheet; the slices should not touch. Freezing them this way means they won't all clump together, and you'll be able to remove only as many slices as you need.Green Car Reports On Friday, Tesla announced a suite of upgrades to the Model S sedan. The headline improvement was the introduction of "Ludicrous Mode," which betters the "Insane Mode" the company created for the high-performance P85D all-wheel-drive, twin-motor version of the car last October.
Insane Mode was truly insane. Here was a four-door luxury car that could do 0-to-60 in a staggering 3.1 seconds. That's supercar velocity.
But Ludicrous Mode cranks the Model S up to 11. Yes, it truly does. Through some complicated electrical engineering and the addition of a 90kWh battery option, the Model S P85D can, according to Tesla do 0-60 in 2.8 seconds, breaking the highly symbolic 3-second barrier and serving up straight-line performance reserved for roughly half a dozen so-called hypercars, such as the Ferrari LaFerrari and the McLaren P1 — exotic beasts that cost more than a million bucks.
The Ferrari LaFerrari. Ferrari The P85D — actually, it should probably be called the P90D, with the 90kWh upgrade — costs a bit more than $100,000.
Now that's ludicrous!
Even more astonishing is how Tesla was able to achieve this level of velocity. As CEO Elon Musk related on a conference call Friday, and in a company statement, Tesla wasn't exactly trying to create the kind of acceleration for the Model S that would rival what Musk gets from the the products of his other company, SpaceX, and its rockets.
Rather, Tesla was trying to make the powertrain (that's the battery pack plus the electronics and motors that drive the wheels) last a million miles (itself an impressive goal). This process entailed improving a fuse that would typically melt when sucking too much power. A "smarter" fuse solved this problem — and serendipitously now enables the P85D in Ludicrous Mode to continue, effectively, accelerating in Insane Mode past the previous Insane Mode limits.
It's double Insane Mode!
The good old Model S
Musk is in many ways at his best when he combines his love of technology and engineering with his geeky adoration of pop culture and his passion for the future. Ludicrous Mode is pure Musk, who at one time owned an exotic McLaren supercar and who appears to have an affection for 1980s cult sci-fi spoofs (Ludicrous Mode is a reference to the 1987 "Star Wars" satire "Spaceballs").
Inspiration for the Model S. McLaren Automotive To listen to him explain the new technology in quite pure terms, using the language of engineers, shows his dedication to a company that has actually become one of the great engineering stories of all time, and that commands the respect of the auto industry. When asked about the Model S last year, Ford CEO Mark Fields said: "We have driven the Model S, torn it down, put it back together, and driven it again."
High praise, indeed.
The Model S, however, is on the verge of being supplanted by Tesla's next vehicle, the Model X SUV, scheduled to arrive in a few months, according the Musk (the Model X will also have Ludicrous Mode, although because it's heavier than the Model S, it will have to settle for being merely the fastest SUV on planet Earth, if it lives up to performance expectations).
The Model S has been around now for a while. It's gathered numerous accolades. Motor Trend named it Car of the Year in 2013. Consumer Reports has tagged the Model S its top pick for two straight years, even though the car is primarily an upgraded version of the same model. The Model S, you see, is continually improving itself through software updates. If you buy the car in 2015, you could perceive it to be almost a new vehicle in 2016, once the software self-tweaks.
Over the next few years, the Model S will also for all practical purposes be able to drive itself, as Tesla improves its current autonomous-driving features. Other vehicles can drive themselves. But obviously, it will be a while before the Google Car can outrun a Ferrari 458.
We're so used to the Model S — with its sleek, conservatively futuristic styling, its smoothly magnificent performance, and its massive central infotainment screen — that we now take it for granted. I've driven both the single- and dual-motor versions of the car (I drove them on the same day, in fact) and I can tell you that it didn't take me very long to settle into the Model S's quiet brilliance.
Heck of a ride! Matthew DeBord/Business Insider
What a car
But let's get real. On Friday's conference call, I asked Musk if Tesla had been forced to make any suspension or chassis adjustments to the Model S to tolerate the 2.8-second 0-to-60 performance. He said nope, they just plunked the new battery pack and electronics into the old S and set the sucker loose. Vroom!
Any other automaker would have to basically create a whole new car to take advantage of a 0-60 time that broke the 3-second mark. At the very least, they would have blinged up the design in some aggressive way. A faster machine would have to announce, visually, it faster-ness. You would also need an ocean-going shipping container full of money to buy it.
The Model S, on the other hand, didn't even get a bigger rear spoiler. The car's basic engineering is so good that it could take its new hypercar-grade acceleration in impeccable stride. That's some masterful engineering. That's impressive. And you can get the whole juicy package for less than $20,000, once you've set aside the $105,000 to purchase the P85D.
Critics will say that straight-line speed is all well and good, but the true test of a performance car is its ability to go around corners. I'm no pro, but I didn't think the P85D had any issues whatsoever with handling. The all-wheel-drive system makes the thing feel glued to the road. It's almost too planted in the curves. The slightly more rear-end-wiggly Model S is more fun.
I don't imagine that the Ludicrous Mode version would be that much different from the Insane-Mode-only Model S. And in any case, you could save Ludicrous for the drag strip and use Insane for the track. Existing P85D owners can also upgrade to Ludicrous Mode for $5,000, for the next six months.
The Great American Car. Mark Ralston/AFP
Model S forever
We haven't heard anything about Tesla dropping the Model S from its lineup. The car should be with us for quite a while, assuming Tesla achieves its objectives and becomes a bigger car maker.
But over the next few years, Tesla is likely to refresh or redesign the car. This is simply an inevitable consequence of being in the auto industry: customers get bored with the same-old, same-old.
What we should do for now is take a moment, consider the current Model S in all its glory, and reflect on what a ludicrously marvelous piece of work it is. Tesla and Musk set out to build the Great American Car: beautiful, fast, game-changing. Really, the Greater American Car. And with the Model S, they did it.HBGary, the IT security company that had highly sensitive internal emails splashed across the internet by hacktivist group Anonymous, is to be sold off to federal security rival ManTech International.
The acquisition marks the final ignominy for a firm that once threatened to lift the curtain on Anonymous by revealing the apparent identify of some of its most senior members.
Those threats, made by Arron Barr, then-chief executive of HBGary Federal, prompted Anonymous to launch attacks on HBGary's systems and pilfer thousands of company emails, which were leaked online.
The acquisition by ManTech, has been “structured as an asset purchase”, which ensures that ManTech is able to control which liabilities are being assumed – so that if there was any subsequent fallout from the Anonymous attack, ManTech may not have to foot the bill.
“The combination of ManTech and HBGary will create a broader cyber security solution capability for both our commercial and government customers,” said William Verner, chief operating officer of ManTech's cyber and technology solutions group.
The emails leaked in the wake of the Anonymous attacks apparently detailed HBGary's involvement in plans to destroy WikiLeaks, discredit journalists and also detailed how a number of high profile firms, including Morgan Stanley, had been infected by the infamous Operation Aurora.
At the time, HBGary warned that the content of the published emails was not reliable.
Nevertheless, the fact that Anonymous was able to bypass its security systems with ease and publish sensitive company documents, was a big blow to the company's credibility.Palestinians appear dazed by level of damage as they check homes, retrieve possessions and search for bodies of relatives
Thousands of people in Gaza have ventured out from homes and shelters during a 12-hour ceasefire to find that whole streets and neighbourhoods have been destroyed in the last week.
Israel and Hamas both agreed to a UN request to stop fighting from 8am until 8pm on Saturday. An Israeli cabinet minister said on Saturday night that Israel had agreed to prolong the truce by four hours. Hamas gave no immediate response to the extension.
Shortly before the ceasefire took effect, at least 18 members of the al-Najar family, including many children, were killed in an air strike on Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip. The family had recently gone there to escape fighting in a nearby village, a Palestinian health official said.
As the Palestinian death toll in the 19-day-long conflict topped 1,000, diplomatic efforts to forge a longer ceasefire continued in Paris. Foreign ministers from seven nations – the US, France, Britain, Italy, Germany, Turkey and Qatar – called for an extension of the truce.
The group had convened, along with a senior EU representative, at the request of the US secretary of state, John Kerry, who failed to win Israeli or Hamas backing for a week-long truce on Friday. There were no envoys from Israel, Egypt or the Palestinian Authority.
"All of us call on the parties to extend the humanitarian ceasefire that is currently under way," the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, said.
In Gaza, scenes of devastation were discovered by those who returned to areas which had been the centre of particularly intense fighting, such as Shujai'iya, Beit Hanoun and around Khan Younis. Scores of homes were pulverised, roads were blocked with wreckage, and power cables dangled in the streets.
Many of those attempting to check the condition of their homes, retrieve possessions and, in some cases, search for the bodies of relatives seemed dazed by what they found. Some who had not seen each other for days embraced as they surveyed the wreckage around them. Ambulances with wailing sirens and donkey carts loaded with mattresses and pots clogged the streets.
In other areas, Palestinians rushed to stock up with food and essentials, and get cash from banks and ATMs, ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which starts on Monday.
In Beit Hanoun, close to the border, Israeli tanks stood by as people searched through the debris for their belongings, packing whatever they could – blankets, furniture and clothes – into taxis, trucks, rickshaws and carts before fleeing the town.
Siham Kafarneh, 37, sat weeping on the steps of a small grocery store. The mother of eight said the home she had spent 10 years saving up for and moved into two months earlier had been destroyed. "Nothing is left. Everything I have is gone," she said.
Some people were defiant. One woman pulled a black-and-white Palestinian scarf from the rubble, shouting: "They won't take away our pride. We'll wear this to Jerusalem and the day of victory is close."
Others were resigned. Zaki al-Masri noted quietly that both his house and that of his son had been destroyed. "The Israelis will withdraw, tomorrow or the day after, and we'll be left in this awful situation as usual."
At the nearby hospital, six patients and 33 medical staff had spent the night huddled in the X-ray department as the neighbourhood was shelled, said the director, Bassam Abu Warda. A tank shell had hit the second floor of the building, leaving a gaping hole, and the facade was peppered with holes from large-calibre bullets.
Two Red Crescent ambulances were hit in Beit Hanoun overnight, killing a medic and wounding three, one critically, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. On Saturday, rescue workers pulled the scorched body of the medic from the wrecked vehicle, which had been hit about 200 metres from the hospital.
"Targeting ambulances, hospitals and medical workers is a serious violation of the law of war," said Jacques de Maio, head of the ICRC delegation for Israel and the occupied territories.
In areas that had seen intense fighting, 85 bodies were pulled from the rubble, many of them partially decomposed, said Palestinian health official Ashraf al-Kidra. Fighters were also among the dead, said the Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Said al-Saoudi.
Speaking in Cairo on Friday, Kerry said he was confident there was a framework for a ceasefire agreement that would ultimately succeed and that "serious progress" had been made, although there was more work to do.
Kerry, who, along with UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, has been leading international efforts to reach a truce, has been in regular contact with the foreign ministers of Turkey and Qatar as both countries wield influence on Hamas.
Israel's defence minister, Moshe Ya'alon, said on Friday that the military offensive could expand in the coming days. "At the end of the operation, Hamas will have to think very hard if it is worth it to taunt us in the future."
Israeli troops have so far uncovered 31 tunnels in Gaza and destroyed half of them. Israel considers the tunnels to be a strategic threat because militants have used them to launch surprise attacks inside the country.
The Israeli government has also begun suggesting that Gaza be demilitarised as a condition for a permanent ceasefire so that Hamas cannot rearm itself. The current war is the third in Gaza in just over five years.
Hamas says it will not halt its rocket until it receives international assurances that Gaza's seven-year-old border blockade will be lifted. Israel and Egypt tightened the blockade after Hamas seized Gaza in 2007.
The violence spread to the West Bank and East Jerusalem late this week. Nine Palestinians have been killed as protests over the bloodshed in Gaza have erupted into clashes with Israeli security forces. Hundreds more have been wounded, many with gunshot injuries.
On Thursday night, 10,000 demonstrators marched in solidarity with Gaza near the Palestinian administrative capital of Ramallah. Protesters surged against an Israeli army checkpoint, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails.
The Palestine Liberation Organisation called for more demonstrations in the West Bank but said it was helping to try to secure a ceasefire deal.
As well as more than 1,000 dead in Gaza, at least 6,000 people have been injured. The UN said more than 160,000 people had sought shelter in its buildings, and thousands more had fled their homes to stay with relatives and friends in what are thought to be safer areas.
The Israel Defence Forces said 40 soldiers had been killed in the conflict. Three Israeli civilians have also died in rocket attacks.Here are the raws for Sinbad no Bouken 125 and a summary! In which Sinbad and Barbarossa continue their date and get to know more about each other.
Just a reminder, to anyone who follows me and enjoys these raws/summaries, parts of or even all of these summaries could be completely wrong, so be advised as you read them as I am by no means a professional translator!
*** Disclaimer : Sinbad no Bouken is not my work. Please be sure to vote for Sinbad no Bouken every day on the MangaOne app if you have it!
This week’s chapter begins with Barbarossa again asking Sinbad if he would become friends with him. Sinbad seems caught off guard by this sudden proposal and the scene then changes to a river with the two of them fishing.
Barbarossa skillfully catches a fish and then praises Sinbad, saying that he could catch it by following Sinbad’s advice. Sinbad however, is completely zoned out and after receiving no response, Barbarossa calls out to him a few times and asks if he’s listening. He then holds up his fish, playfully telling Sinbad that they can’t deepen their friendship if he continues to make that face, and then tells him to come teach him how to fish some more. But as Barbarossa stares at him in anticipation, Sinbad wonders to himself what’s going on and what’s up with Barbarossa. He thinks about how they first went horseback riding and now they are fishing. Barbarossa asks him what’s wrong and mentions that they are fishing because Sinbad wasn’t good and riding horses; however, he doesn’t seem to be having fun. He then looks at the basket full of fish beside Sinbad and comments on his skill, saying that he would expect no less from him. Sinbad responds that it’s because he is a fisherman and begins to say something else. Barbarossa quickly asks about what he was going to say and Sinbad tells him that he’s not “discontent”, but points out that they are fishing in a river and then says that it’s much different from fishing in the sea. Barbarossa asks if there’s a difference, to which Sinbad replies that the two are completely different. He explains that the fish found in rivers are smaller, there are more of them and that they thrive more in shallow waters. He then explains that unlike river fish, sea fish don’t just bite if you drop your fishing line and that to catch them, you must read their movements.
He says that you must read the waves and act before they do, which is what sailors do to catch their fish. He continues to say that fishing in the sea is much more amazing and mentions that, occasionally, you are up against a horde of thousands, and the joy that comes from catching them is on a whole different level than catching river fish. He then begins to reminisce and say how he always used to give fish away to the villagers when he caught a lot, but then apologizes to Barbarossa for rambling, saying that his story has nothing to do with what they are doing. But Barbarossa just laughs and says that he doesn’t mind, and in fact, he would like to hear more. He tells Sinbad that he was born in the capital and doesn’t know much about other places, so he is actually quite interested in stories about these unfamiliar places. He then adds that, as he’s said before, he is also interested in Sinbad and isn’t it only natural that he would like to know more about his friend’s hometown. Barbarossa ends his statement in a very loud exclamation, which surprises Sinbad. But he smiles and tells Barbarossa that he is from a small fishing village called Tison. Sinbad then beings to tell Barbarossa about his hometown, his family, his father and himself. (T/N: Seriously… This might be one of the cutest parts of the series thus far. Sorry I’m fujoshi trash… )
After listening to his story, Barbarossa seems to have gained a better understanding of him and asks if that is why he decided to enter the dungeon. Sinbad confirms this and Barbarossa mentions that the rest of his story should go per his “Tales of Adventure”. Sinbad then tells Barbarossa of his goal to change their corrupt world and in order to do that, he’s traveled around the world to gain friends and power. He then addresses Barbarossa, saying that since he is no longer a military man, he should have no more obligation to protect he country, however, he still created his political party to change his country and asks him why he did it. He asks if it’s because Parthevia is his homeland, or if he has some other reason. He says that he cannot see what Barbarossa’s goal is and if wants to become closer friends just as he said, he needs to give an answer. Barbarossa then sm |
experience weaker export growth in 2017 and 2018 as demand, both globally and in the United States, eases and businesses in this country experience “ongoing competitive challenge,” the bank said.
Financial Post
gisfeld@nationalpost.com
Twitter.com/gisfeldThe past five point guards John Calipari recruited all were rated as top-10 prospects in their high school classes, which makes Ryan Harrow, the newest Kentucky Wildcat, different in several ways from his famed predecessors.
1) Harrow was ranked No. 25 in his class by Scout.com.
2) He is coming to UK not from high school, but as a transfer from N.C. State.
3) He will have a year to absorb Calipari’s style before he starts playing for the Wildcats rather than one year to play for Calipari before heading on to the NBA.
That’s what happened with Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, John Wall and Brandon Knight -- the first two playing their one college season for Calipari at Memphis – and what could happen with incoming freshman Marquis Teague. Harrow, who enrolled in summer school classes at Kentucky this week, averaged 9.3 points as a freshman at N.C. State. He now will serve a year in residence, practicing against Teague and learning the Dribble Drive Motion offense, before joining the team in 2012-13 with three years of eligibility remaining.
“The year off is going to do him good in all ways – physically, maturity,” Calipari told Sporting News. “We’ll be getting a guy stepping in who has played college basketball before and will know how we play.
“I think he’s a terrific player.”
Calipari said one reason he wanted to recruit another point guard at this stage is rooted in the NBA’s collective bargaining discussions. Originally he was convinced the draft age limit would be raised to 20 years.
“The biggest fear I have is they’re going to stay at one year,” Calipari said. “If they do that, you and I know I’m losing a bunch of guys. I’d have a kid that’s good, plays bigger than his size, has great skills with the ball and is a point guard.
“Now, if they go to two years, it’s OK. I can play two point guards at one time if I need to.”
Calipari’s first Kentucky team was designed that way, with Wall and Eric Bledsoe sharing the backcourt.
Calipari told Harrow he would be challenged at a high level if he were to choose Kentucky.
“I told him: Do you understand what you’re stepping into, the point guards and what they’ve been able to do? You better bring it. That was the conversation I had. I didn’t beg him. You come here, you’ve got to be totally both feet sold with what’s going on.
“I feel very comfortable that he’s in there.”In a post on his personal Facebook page, SKAI news director Malelis accused Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' government of attempting to silence its critics. "To the regime's various party dogs. You're not going to silence me, no matter what you do. No form of power ever did and neither will you. There's a huge difference between you and I. I've worked all my life, while you have been warming your party seats. You're wasting your time with threats. I don't bite it. Anyone with arguments here I am!" he said. The Journalists' Union of Athens Daily Papers said it had "called on our nine members to address the accusations" before its ethics board. Last week the union released a statement criticising the reporting from certain, unnamed, journalists. "Unfortunately, some colleagues mainly in television media, instead of following the imposed strict ethical rules, diverted to delinquent behaviour, substituting the journalistic function with undisguised propaganda."
A spokesman for the government-appointed independent media watchdog Greek National Council for Radio and Television said the council would also be launching "an investigation into the way these channels reported the referendum". He said the CEOs of the channel would likely have to account for their journalism. It was reported in Greek media on Monday that the Parliament may also consider sanctions against the channels. "It is the obligation of the Greek Parliament to protect the Greek Republic and… to take such measures to ensure violations of electoral legislation do not go unpunished," a parliamentary spokesman for Syriza told TVXS. Privately-owned media, who have generally urged a deal with EU creditors, have been heavily criticised by the government and the 'no' campaign. On Wednesday morning, Mr Tsipras told members of the European Parliament that local media had been "terrorising Greeks" into picking yes. Dimitris Kotaridis, a journalist with ANT1 and the treasurer of the ESIEA union, said the union's ethics committee had come under the control of Syriza affiliates and the move was "politically organised". He understood the committee had plans to expand the investigation up to 300 journalists - all of them from private TV and radio stations. The state-owned TV station ERT, which is generally pro-government, would escape scrutiny.
"It's totally stupid because they are investigating only those that were in favour of the yes… Even if you have said something in the past that wasn't politically correct or wasn't so in favour of Varoufakis, the former minster of finance, they are calling you, you have to apologise for that. It's purely political," he said. "I think it's very bad for journalists in Greece. We have been under heavy attack the past years. People have been getting beaten on the street. It's difficult for journalists to go to certain areas in Athens." Under Greek law, each party must be given exactly the same amount of time to present its case. It is standard practice for TV channels to be fined for their coverage. But Nikolas Vafiadis, the foreign editor of ANT1, told Farifax that the targeting of his colleague Maria Houki and other privately owned media was "politically motivated". "These are early signs of an authoritarianism that is developing here in Greece and I'm very much worried as a journalist with an open spirit that we are heading towards fanaticism," he said. He said channels may have pursued or favoured certain editorial angles, but that this was normal practice.
"Thank God we have pluralism in Greece. I think we are heading for new era of Stalinism." SKAI released a statement on Wednesday defending its reporters. It said: "All these actions have one purpose: the silencing of the 'other', any 'other' views and opinions, and to hide 'annoying' news reporting and the truth." On the day of the referendum, the minister of health Panayotis Kouroublis criticised the "black propaganda" of the Mega television channel, attacking in particular the reporting of Ms Tremi and Mr Pretenteris - both are among the nine under now investigation. At the post-referendum celebrations on Sunday evening in Athens' Syntagma Square revellers chanted "f--- journalists".(CNN) Donald Trump's immigration policy plan that dropped over the weekend has a huge fan: Ann Coulter.
The conservative commentator tweeted Sunday "I don't care if @realDonaldTrump wants to perform abortions in White House after this immigration policy paper," along with a link to the real estate mogul's plan.
I don't care if @realDonaldTrump wants to perform abortions in White House after this immigration policy paper. http://t.co/l7nq8gN7i5 — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) August 16, 2015
Her comments were met with some criticism on social media from both the left and the right.
She also called it "the greatest political document since the Magna Carta."
The greatest political document since the Magna Carta - http://t.co/l7nq8gN7i5 — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) August 16, 2015
She even tweeted that Trump's plan shows that he's the "only candidate who cares" about "black lives" because his "plan will increase black, Hispanic, female workers" in Silicon Valley.Making Kombucha Mushroom Tea at home is simple, easy and safe. The mushroom, size, shape and texture will give a reasonable reflection of the activity of both the bacteria and yeasts within the ferment, and to identify possible course corrections. The mushroom also serves as an alert to the possibility of pathogens
The mother mushroom may sink or float, it does not matter that much. The new baby mushroom that forms will form on the surface.
Kombucha = S.C.O.B.Y. Serendipitous Colony of Bacteria & Yeasts.
The Mushroom / Pellicle/ SCOBY/ Gelatinous Mass will reveal the health of the bacteria and yeasts that are in your brew. Creamy Smooth thick and tough is perfect.
Unlike MOV - Mother of Vinegar, which looks like a SCOBY. when the MOV sinks,they say its dying. With Kombucha the SCOBY travels around, may sink or float or go on its side and then maybe right itself. This movement is due to the activity of the yeasts and the carbonation (bubbles) the yeasts produce. MOV does not have an active yeasts present whereas Kombucha does. Don't worry if your mother SCOBY sinks. It will still produce a new Baby Mushroom (SCOBY) on the surface of the ferment.
On the pictures above you can see the Carbon Dioxide accumulated in the interface between the pellicle (mushroom) and broth; this separated the mushroom from the broth and lifts it up.and eventually, may block the transfer of nutrients and oxygen to the bacteria.
When the bacteria and yeast are balanced and the Time and Temperatures right, life is good and the mushrooms look beautiful. Kombucha Tea and Life is as it should be.
The first portion of the ferment cycle, days 1-3, the yeasts are most active. The yeast are in a "Respiration" stage, reproducing more yeast and giving off Carbon Dioxide (carbonation)in the process. As the dissolved oxygen depletes, the yeasts are forced into "fermentation" where sugar is utilized (cleaved into glucose and fructose) and the yeast "breathe" via glucose, and reproduction declines. Greater amounts of alcohol are produced at this fermentation stage.As the yeast population declines the bacteria originally crowded out by the yeasts, begin to multiply as they feed off the alcohol produced by the yeasts. The production of the cellulose mat / mushroom help the bacteria seal off oxygen from the yeasts thus forcing the yeasts into greater production of alcohol (fermentation) which the bacteria prefer over the glucose.
This balance between Yeast and Bacteria and Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide is critical in creating the best Kombucha Tea Ever. More about this later. Fortunately one need not worry too much, as nature takes its course.
Yeast contribute to "ugly"
When we see the yeasts, its their dead and dying bodies that pile up. Sounds gross, looks grosser. But this sludge is full of vitamins and nutrients.People spend good money on purchasing the dried version at the health store. Loaded with Vitamin B. More importantly, it is these yeasts cells that add flavor and character to the brew. This is what we taste in Kombucha Tea. The actual tea adds only a slight flavor while the yeast adds the body. Yet remember its the balance thats important. More on yeasts later.
Not every ferment turns out great. But if it smells good, taste good and looks OK then its probably OK.
There are only a few things that can actually go wrong.
1. Mold (mould) most often will be FUZZY, or DRY and Dusty. It will look like common mold but in any of various colors. It will grow on top of the brew right where the mushroom grows. If you disturb it it may slid right off and disappear into the tea. Properly fermented Kombucha Tea with a pH below 4.0 will destroy most all the common pathogenic mold that harms people. Numerous studies are listed in our Library. Many books on Kombucha simply say to wash off the mushroom and start over. If you purchased your Kombucha Starter form us, we'll send a free replacement. The FDA and CDC investigate all instances of health risks and have deemed Kombucha Mushroom Tea to be safe. If you're not sure give us a call or better email (HappyHerbalist@me.com) or text us a picture. (919-518-3336 EST)
In the first few days, when the batch is most at risk, it is difficult for a newbie to tell the difference between mold and mushroom. Wait a few more days and it will be clearly mold or clearly not mold.
2. Vinegar Flies (Fruit Flies). Vinegar flies go after the yeast and the liquid ferment. Leave babies that hatch and the larvae eat 1-2 inch trails out of the mushroom. The Kombucha continues to survive and thrive. Folks use their own discretion.
3. Vinegar Eels. Vinegar eels eat the bacteria and destroy the mushroom and hence the ferment. They are visible and may contain any vinegar product. Have to discard, sterilize and start over. Non toxic to humans. A few folks will continue to drink the tea.
Vinegar flies (left) and Vinegar Eels (right) magically appear. neither are toxic to people. Fly larvae and eels look alike. Larvae will fly away. Eels are forever, and will necessitate tossing out the entire batch and sterilize. These bugs may ride in on tea or sugar or the fruits used. More likely on Organic stuff as they don't contain any pesticides. Eel eggs may fly in on the Vinegar Flies. Best to keep your hygiene standards high and keep your ferments covered with a tight weave or paper cloth.
Turbid or Cloudy Ferments. A ferment that is cloudy and turbid may happen from different sources. May be the tea used, stressed yeast, proteins and related brewing problems, Another source may be caused by Bacteria infection. (not the usual Acetobacter or Lactobacillus species) Motile bacteria (those with flagella) can swim. Their movement will create a uniform cloudiness (turbidity) in the brew. Non-motile bacteria with waxy cell walls tend to float at the surface of the broth, producing a surface membrane called a pellicle/ mushroom/ SCOBY. Other types of non-motile bacteria sink to the bottom of the tube, forming sediment. Some of these bacteria tend to stick together in clumps called flocculent growth.(shown above on the left).
Vinegar eels, shown above on the Right also create a turbid brew. Usually seen swimming at the top and along th rim of the mushroom. They are also feed on the brown sludge - referred to as "Squidles" in kombucha parlance. This sludge is spent yeast cells. Vinegar eels are grown by Tropical Fish breeders and hobbyists for food. The acidify the water and place apple or fruit slices to encourage their population. Old Kombucha (as with Kombucha Hotels that are allowed to continue over 90 days, or ferments that add whole pieces of fruit or allow large amounts of yeast sediment to accumulate. often become a breeding ground for vinegar eels. Before drinking or bottling its a good idea to filter. Filter through a layer or two of cheesecloth. Filtering will also increase the carbonation and add oxygen to the carbon dioxide - oxygen ratio.
4. Bacteria Phage. Phage will attack the bacteria. Sometimes nothing changes. Sometimes the bacteria will stop producing. You may end up with Kombucha "wine". the alcohol and not the gluconic acid or acetic acid. Sometimes no mushroom will be produced but the Kombucha Tea taste the same great flavor.
5. Humans. yep. they do all sorts of things. Especially destructive are those friends and relatives who you leave watch your place and they toss out the horrible thingy in the fridge.
Most often the brew or ferment, and mushroom, all look good and smells good.
But sometimes there's yeast flocculent (sludge / squidlies) on top or hanging from the bottom of the mushroom. That's normal and expected. But sometimes it looks like something strange growing below - as pictured above right..
We highly recommend all brewers and home food preservatives to refer to Minnesota's Dept of Health and their Pickle Bill and their Fact Sheets. These deal with preserving food and selling home-canned food. Their recommendation is that your food (and your brew) be below a pH of 4.0 as measured by a pH meter. Paper pH strips are cheap, easy and convenient for a quick read but not accurate for bottling. We have listed in our Library various studies and peer-reviewed articles on how safe kombucha is when properly fermented. Typically Kombucha is naturally fermented to a pH between 2.5 and 3.5 and is quite safe and anti-pathogenic to most common human pathogens. In KOMBUCHA BREWING UNDER THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION MODEL FOOD CODE: RISK ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING GUIDELINES author Brian Nummer consistently quotes the pH to be < 4.2. We urge all to check their local regulations.
Below are pictures of good SCOBY's. They may be ugly, incompletely forming, or holes, or not uniform in color and texture.
(Above) Mushrooms are usually moist. An active ferment evaporates and gives off moisture A lack of adequate air flow will dry out the mushroom. Looking and feeling leather-like. The Kombucha Tea my actually taste good and even less sour or less of a bite. The Acetobacter actually require oxygen and can not convert the alcohol into acetic acid and will diminish heading your brew towards a Kombucha Beer. Keep your ferment in a well ventilated area. The "vinegar smell" will be obvious to many. But soon be used to.
(Above) When you use a SCOBY (Mother/Mushroom) starter that is smaller than the container that you are using the new Baby mushroom will start forming around it. The new growth is at the intersection of the liquid (brew) and the air. Then it thickens and grows in height. On the Above Right photo there is foam - or carbonation which signals the activity of the yeast. Here seen very active. As the activity of the yeast switch from Respiration to Fermentation The bacteria become more active and the mushroom starts morning. IN time it will grow over and hide the mother.
Temperature plays a critical role.Everyone has their comfort zone. For example yeasts do better in cooler temperatures sometimes as low as 40F, while the bacteria aren't even awake until its warmer - Lactobacillus around 60F+ and Acetobacter till it hits 70F. Neither do much of anything out of their comfort zone. But yeasts will be sleepy in cooler temperatures and stress in the warm to hot temperatures. Molds as a category can be anywhere under 100F. But typically attack a cold Kombucha in the 60F. We recommend 74F to 84F. ~74 if you like your brew crisp and light and 84 if you prefer the heavier more robust brew.
Mold yes it happens. It happens to beer, wine, vinegar and everybody who brews and ferments. The best way to keep the risks at a minimum is to practice good house-keeping and be clean. Importantly, we try to use a good healthy starter. We want "our" good guys (the bacteria and yeasts we want) to be in control from the start. Mold is one of opportunity. A low pH, a clean room, and a strong start. Watch the cooling down time and temperature and be prepared and have the time to do it right.
Above, mold has taken over. Our SCOBY or Kombucha Mushroom never even started. The failure is usually attributed to human error. Temperatures too hot, forgetting the starting tea, weak SCOBY, etc., Here the Mold is the common mold - that is Fuzzy and looks like mold.
Sometimes its hard to tell for sure. Often there are several different species. The White Spot above is the real kombucha SCOBY forming but it looks like its losing overall. ON the Left, the SCOBY seems to be forming only on the outside ring.Something else is controlling the center.
Mold is almost aways - but not always Fuzzy. Mold can be Dry and Dusty, and Mold can be thin wispy smooth. as pictured above. On the Right Side, you can still see white smooth areas. This may be the Kombucha SCOBY or maybe Lactobacillus. (another probiotic bacteria)
When in doubt - Toss it out. Keep it simple. Most Kombucha ferments are gallon or two gallon size, with 1-2 cups of sugar and 5-15 tea bags. Maybe $2.00 worth of ingredients. Don't cry over spilt milk. Stay Healthy. Even if you were to drink a contaminated Kombucha Tea it is very unlikely to cause any ill affects.
Sometimes you just don't know. Smells good. Taste good. And it may be OK. The picture above on the far right looks like Vinegar Flies (larvae) were at work. Sometimes no mushroom forms or forms incompletely. May just be weak bacteria or bacteria that have been attached my phage.
Pediococcus (Above Left) is a common bacteria often found in Kombucha. It is a species of Lactobacillus. ferments cabbage (sauerkraut), Usually preferred in Lambic Beers, and kept out of Beers and Wines, but flavors Chardonnay. Produces lactic acid with a buttery taste. Helps create cheeses and yogurts. Brettanomyces (Above Right) grow in small white circular globes that eventually cling together. Brett is a yeasts commonly found in Kombucha, beers and wines. Both Pediococcus and Brettanomyces produce acetic acid and not all beers and wines love these guys. These are often mistaken for the Kombucha Mushroom (SCOBY) especially when they clump together. The tea taste fine - even great for some. Healthy yes. But not Kombucha - as there is no evidence that the Kombucha Mushroom (SCOBY) exists. Remember Kombucha is not a Lactic Acid Ferment as erroneously identified as such in many kombucha books but a Acetic Acid Ferment produced by the Acetobacter species (group of about 6 subspecies) that produce acetic acid and most importantly gluconic acid. Its the Gluconic Acid that separates Kombucha from the rest of the crowd.
Now remember Kombucha is a SCOBY. A Serendipitous Colony of Bacteria & Yeasts If your Yeasts, for instance, your Brettanomyces, takes over and diminishes your Bacteria (Gluconobacter) - which produces the unique identifying Hallmark of Kombucha Tea (Gluconic Acid) then you're only getting acetic acid and alcohol from your yeasts (Brett) and you'll be brewing Kombucha Beer.
If you're adding pieces of Fruit, Herbs or Spices to your primary ferment, or even adding after and in the Second Stage Ferment, or Bottling Stage. THose pieces may beckon spoilage and mold.
All ferment should be kept below the water line. A plate with a weight (rock or jar of water) to hold those pieces below the water line will prevent Airborne pathogens from attacking. Below the water line our Probiotics and the acid nature of the brew (pH below 4.0) ward off pathogens. Even the pieces submerged below the water line may complicate a ferment. Whole pieces of fruit may harbor bacteria, yeast,fungus and other microbes. Our recommended method to add freshness is to juice and simply add the fresh juice. Which also may contain contamination You can also par-boil the fruit and spices and just add the heated liquid. Review the Pickle Bill for additional help or our Library for additional information
Ferments have been around forever. Folks have fermented Beer, Wine, MOV, Jun, Apple Cider, Mead, Water Crystals, Passion Drinks, Cheeses, Yogurts, all safely and healthy. Just have to do it a few times and use common sense.
What till you see what the beer people do for fun.
Remember the thing that grows on top of your ferment goes by different names; Beer and wine folks refer to that mass as a Pellicle. Where vinegar folks call it Mother-of-Vinegar (MOV) Real Ginegr Beer Brewers call it a Plant, and Kombucha folks SCOBY or Mushroom. Chemist refer it as a Bio-Film. Saurekraut, Kim-che, and picklers simply scrape it off and throw it out. Novices,neighbors and friends just say WTF
Flowers of Wine:
Small flecks or blooms of white powder or film may appear on the surface. They may first appear as rings of white foam. If left unchecked, they grow to cover the entire surface and can grow quite thick.
Saccharomyces mycoderma produce flowers of wine, This is a off-ferment of the Saccharomyces yeasts used in wine and beer making and commonly in kombucha as well. Early wine books refer to these as Mycoderma vini. This is the yeast going off on a tangent and not doing the normal ferment one expects.
Flowers of wine are, of course are expected when using sherry yeast. This produces Flor, a sherry film on the surface of a ferment. Otherwise, in wines this is considered an off-ferment due to too much contact with air. In which case the ferment is then filtered or sulphites are used to save the wine. If you notice in the pictures below of fermenting beer and wine, you’ll see foam is natural and expected and produces a good ferment.
In kombucha brewing a film is expected to grow (i.e. the Kombucha Mushroom). Do not confuse the Saccharomyces mycoderma (S. Mycoderma) or Mycoderma vini with Mycoderma aceti (bacteria), which produce acetic acid and gluconic acid of our kombucha mushroom tea.
Flower of wine is not welcomed in popular ferments as they will consume our alcohol and acetic acid and leave water and carbon dioxide in its place.
The distinction, when the entire surface is covered is not that difficult. Harder is to distinguish a film on top of the surface when it is mingled and mixed with different species. Often the SCOBY is growing and yeast gets trapped or grows with the SCOBY. Then the decision becomes, "How thirsty am I"
This small ring of white foam or flowers of wine may also appear on kefir, viili, Caspian sea yogurt and other ferments as well. Although there, they appear as a separate film or layer easily distinguished from the main ferment growing underneath. Foam also appears on lacto-ferments like kimchi and sauerkraut. This is commonly simply removed and the ferment allowed to continue - unless it is pinkish in color (pathogenic mold). Flower of wine, according to what I could find, have not been identified as pathogenic – other than to thwart ones effort. The taste of this “flowery kefir” is quite yeasty and distinct. In he case of kefir and wine, the advice seems to be just to scrape off. It does not otherwise interfere with kefir or the next batch. In kombucha fermenting it may be more difficult to control because if it is the yeasts (Saccharomyce) may be contributing and we need the yeasts to stop fooling around and produce what we want. We may be losing our ferment, since we rely upon the present ferment to produce a starter for our next brew as well. The next few batches will tell as the mushroom becomes thinner and weaker and the kombucha tea less flavorful.
The super big advantage of brewing Kombucha Mushroom over our brewing cousins is that Kombucha Tea is far far cheaper. Brews in days (9-14 days) while beer, wine, mead and vinegar takes many months to many years and cost a whole lot more. Then Kombucha Mushroom Tea is exceptional healthy and has "cured" many folks of whatever ailed them. Quite a miracle.
In a very short time you'll be an expert. Your family and friends will love you.
Extra Mushrooms. Create a Kombucha Hotel for all your family and friends.
Simply start a new batch following you favorite recipe, This time allow to continue to ferment for up to 60 or 90 days. Add new mushrooms to the hotel as time goes on. Be sure to keep covered with a cloth. The reason for not going beyond 90 days is that as all the sugar and nutrients are used, the tea becomes more acidic thwarting the bacteria and yeast population. You want to keep your guests happy and content and ready to go out into the world. Additionally old ferments attract vinegar flies and eels. So every 60 days or so, remove the sour tea and add fresh sugar and tea.
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Start Culturing Yourself
a little culture goes a long way.
To your Health and Longevity, Ed & Sue Kasper. www.HappyHerbalist.comBy Stephen Janis, Special to the AFRO
There have been few leads and even fewer clues as to how and why Baltimore Homicide Detective Sean Suiter was fatally shot in the head with his own gun in a vacant lot in West Baltimore more than a week ago.
But one fact which has emerged from the case is only stoking community suspicions and raising more questions about the department tasked with solving the case: the widening of an investigation into eight officers charged with stealing from residents, racketeering, and drug dealing.
At an impromptu press conference on Wednesday, Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis revealed that Suiter was set to testify before a federal grand jury as part of an ongoing investigation into the now-notorious Gun Trace Task Force. The charges brought against that group have continued to reverberate throughout a department already under a federal consent decree and battling a record wave of crime.
“I am now aware of Detective Suiter’s pending federal grand jury testimony surrounding an incident that occurred seven years ago with BPD police officers who were federally indicted.” the commissioner said. “The acting US attorney and the special agent in charge of the Baltimore field office have told me in no uncertain terms [that] Detective Suiter was not the target of any ongoing criminal investigation.”
The bombshell announcement came more than week after Suiter was killed. The 18-year veteran was shot in the head after what Davis characterized as a brief struggle.
But tangible leads in the slaying have been scarce, according to investigators familiar with the case. That fact has not stopped Davis from publicly expressing his theories on what happened—among them, that Suiter’s impending testimony and his murder are not linked.
“It appears to be nothing more than a spontaneous observation of man acting suspiciously, and a spontaneous decision to investigate his conduct,” Davis said.
Still, the fact that Davis’ comments came during the widening ongoing federal investigation of the department, and during a high-profile murder investigation, have raised questions both inside and outside the department.
“Everyone was surprised that he’s been talking so freely about the case,” a source familiar with the investigation who did not want to be named told the AFRO.
Suiter was not the only officer who worked with the Task Force who received a summons to appear before a federal grand jury. Sources told the AFRO that at least one other officer who had worked with the Gun Trace Task Force received a letter last week compelling them to testify, indicating federal prosecutors are far from done with the scandal.
It’s unclear which aspect of the case investigators are currently exploring. However, Baltimore NBC affiliate WBAL-TV and The Baltimore Sun reported that federal prosecutors have reopened an accident case that involved Suiter and Wayne Jenkins, one of the eight Task Force officers already indicted. In 2010, the pair engaged in car chase with a suspect who ultimately crashed into another vehicle, killing the 86-year old father of a Baltimore police officer. The suspect was charged with possession of heroin, but has asked a federal judge to reopen his case.
Meanwhile, questions still surround the few details police have disclosed about what happened in that vacant lot in the city’s Harlem Park neighborhood, a crime scene that remains cordoned off. An aspect of the case that troubled one former homicide investigator is how a suspect could take Suiter’s weapon and shoot him while his partner was nearby.
“We would cover someone,” said former Baltimore Homicide Lieutenant Stephen Tabeling. “I would have been right behind him.”
However, Davis has said that the detective who accompanied Suiter that day, who has yet to be identified, was allegedly not in the immediate vicinity when the shooting occurred.
“Upon the sound of gunfire, Suiter’s partner sought cover across the street and immediately called 911,” Davis said. “We know this because it was captured on private surveillance video that we’ve recovered.”
“The evidence refutes the notion that Detective Suiter’s partner was anything but just that, his partner,” Davis said.
Tabeling also noted that Baltimore police officers usually wear safety holsters, which are designed to prevent suspects from taking a gun during close contact.
“They make it pretty tough to get the gun,” Tabeling said.Problem: Many testers do not get a chance to explore Jenkins.
Why this post?
Jenkins is an open source continuous integration tool written in Java. Jenkins seems to be the popular choice for continuous integration. Due to a variety of reasons, many testers do not get the opportunity to explore and play around with Jenkins. May be your development teams manage Jenkins, may be you joined a testing team after Jenkins was setup and stable, may be Jenkins is hosted on a machine you are not given access too. At Qxf2 Services, we strongly believe in exploring the tools that we use everyday. In this post, we will show you how easy it is to set up Jenkins on your personal machine and learn more about it. Happy learning!
For this tutorial, we take a chess application written in Java, write a unit test and execute the build and tests via a Jenkins job. We are choosing a chess app because Qxf2 loves chess. We have chosen Ant as our automated build utility. There is nothing special about the choice of Ant here. Jenkins does allow you to integrate various automated build tools with it.
Pro tip: To get the most out of this post, spend some time exploring the different screens Jenkins offers you.
Getting started with Jenkins to build an app
1. Download and install Jenkins
2. Install Java and Ant
3. Select an application to build
4. Update the Junit test case
5. Set up the project in Jenkins
6. Start the build
7. Verify the result
STEP 1: Download and install Jenkins
Jenkins provides installers for different operating systems. In companies, it is more common to see Jenkins hosted on a *nix system. Our best guess is that most testers use Windows. Our goal is to help you, the tester, learn about Jenkins. So we are choosing to use Windows in this example. You can download the Windows native package as a zip file. Extract the file and install Jenkins. Since we are installing Jenkins using the Windows installer, we don’t need to do anything else as the Windows installer automatically runs Jenkins as a Windows service.
You can verify Jenkins is running as a service by launching the Services app from the Windows Start Menu and looking for a running service called “Jenkins” among the list of all windows services running on the machine.
NOTE: By default, Jenkins runs at http://localhost:8080/. You can change it by editing jenkins.xml, which is located in your installation directory.
STEP 2: Install Java and Ant
Jenkins requires Java in order to run, so make sure you have Java installed. Since we are building an Java app using Apache Ant you need to download and install Apache Ant. Configure the correct path to your JDK and Apache Ant by clicking on Manage Jenkins and then Configure System on Jenkins.
STEP 3: Select an application to build
We will take an example of a chess app posted in github for building through Jenkins. Download the project from github to your local machine. The java chess app has some dependencies, we need to download Apache Ivy to manage these dependencies. Apache Ivy is a tool for managing (recording, tracking, resolving and reporting) project dependencies.
STEP 4: Update the test case
We will update the test case to validate that the Title of the Chess app displays as “October Chess Sample chess Project”.
import com.nullprogram.chess.Chess ; import org.junit.Test ; import static org. junit. Assert. assertEquals ; public class BoardTest { @Test public void testGetTitle ( ) { # Assert that the Application title displays as "October Chess Sample chess Project" assertEquals ( "October Chess Sample chess Project", Chess. getTitle ( ) ) ; } } import com.nullprogram.chess.Chess; import org.junit.Test; import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals; public class BoardTest { @Test public void testGetTitle(){ # Assert that the Application title displays as "October Chess Sample chess Project" assertEquals( "October Chess Sample chess Project", Chess.getTitle()); } }
Make sure you have Junit.jar files included inside your ANT_HOME/lib directory. Both junit.jar and ant-junit.jar should be present in ANT_HOME/lib. For more details refer to link
http://ant.apache.org/manual/Tasks/junit.html
STEP 5: Set up the project in Jenkins
Go to Jenkins, select “New Item”, enter a name for your build and then choose “Build a free-style software project and click “OK”.
You can run your project directly from web-based hosting services like Git or Bitbucket. However we will run the project directly from our local machine. Configure the project as “None” under “Source Code Management”.
Click on “Add Build step” and select the ant version.
Click on “Advanced” and enter the Build File Path accordingly and click on Save.
STEP 6: Start the build
Go back to your build page in Jenkins and click on “Build Now”. The Build will start and you can view the status. Click on the small icon in the Build History to see the complete Console Output
Note: The initial build will take a longer time since it has to load ivy settings.
STEP 7: Verify the result
The Build will succeed however the test case failed as currently the title was displayed as “October Chess fatal: Not a git repository (or any of the parent directories):.git”
Update the project so that the title displays “October Chess Sample |
Database page and rate the movie to enter!Photo Credit: cisc1970
Patricia Bosworth met her future husband in a bar when he punched out a drunk who pinched her bottom. She was only 19, but they married with dizzying speed.
He began to abuse her almost as quickly. One night they argued about money, in the back seat of a taxi, and he started hitting her. Screaming and sobbing, she begged the cab driver for help, only to have him shrug off her pleas.
“He’s the boss, lady,” the driver said.
Bosworth finally left her husband when he tried to choke her to death because he was angry that his pet bird escaped. Now 83, she has since had a long career as an actress and author. Her latest book—The Men in My Life: A Memoir of Love and Art in 1950s Manhattan—describes the harrowing story of her first marriage in an era when the prevailing culture simply assumed that men were entitled to beat their wives.
“I was brought up to believe the husband was always right,” Bosworth recalls. “That’s the way things were in those days.”
As the women’s movement gained strength, feminists raised public awareness about the prevalence of domestic abuse, and laws were passed to protect women from violence by intimate partners. But Donald Trump’s candidacy alarmed a wide range of women’s advocates—and things quickly got worse.
Although many activists had assumed voters would reject a nominee caught boasting on tape about grabbing female genitalia, Trump’s victory signaled a disturbing public acceptance of such retrograde behavior. His actions since then have generated growing fear that the Trump administration heralds a return to the policies—and the predations—of the past.
Women’s advocates were particularly dismayed by the news that Trump is planning “dramatic” federal budget cuts that include all 25 of the grant programs managed by the Office on Violence Against Women, which is housed in the Department of Justice.
“We’re deeply concerned about cuts in the funding that enables us to provide legal and social services to victims,” says Jennifer Friedman, managing director of the Center for Legal Services at My Sisters’ Place, a nonprofit organization in New York’s Westchester County that provides shelter and counsel to survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking.
Such cutbacks would be dangerously counterproductive, according to activists in a broad range of women’s rights, civil rights, faith-based, labor, and law enforcement groups. “I don’t think it is extreme if I say to you that women will die,” Lynn Hecht Schafran, senior vice-president of Legal Momentum, warned in a call for action sent to the organization’s supporters.
The proposed budget cuts don’t even make economic sense, according to experts. “VAWA (the Violence Against Women Act) has saved taxpayers billions of dollars in costs for medical and mental health services, as well as costs for law enforcement and justice system expenditures,” Schafran wrote. “VAWA’s 25 grant programs are not wasteful, and they represent just over one hundredth of one percent of the federal budget.”
Despite considerable progress, the need for such assistance remains acute. “Domestic violence is still happening in huge numbers,” Friedman says.
‘People think that if women have money, they can get out, but my mom was making well over six figures when my dad held her underwater in a hot tub.’
The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 40 percent of female murder victims are killed by their intimate partners. Two-thirds of all women who report being raped, assaulted, or stalked are victimized by current or former husbands or boyfriends, and more than a million American women are physically assaulted by their intimate partners every year, according to the Department of Justice.
And yet male office-holders have long neglected the problem, preferring to focus on other priorities. President Trump emphasizes the potential threat from foreign-born terrorists, but far more Americans die from domestic violence, as was made painfully clear by a recent headline on a New York Times op-ed column: “Husbands are deadlier than terrorists.” In the United States, the death toll is exacerbated by ready access to firearms, as Nicholas Kristof pointed out: “In other countries, brutish husbands put wives in hospitals; in America, they put them in graves.”
Equally curious is the ongoing failure of male-dominated legislatures to address the economic consequences of such abuse, which are enormous. “One in three women is the victim of domestic violence in her lifetime, and it costs the U.S. billions of dollars a year in loss of productivity, health care, and other costs,” says Alyse Nelson, president and CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership, a non-profit organization that works with women leaders on economic empowerment and human rights issues.
Popular stereotypes often assume most victims are women of color and those in poverty, but domestic violence occurs in all socio-economic, religious, racial, and cultural groups. Steph Wagner, a San Diego-based financial consultant who specializes in divorce, sees women in every income bracket. “I had a prospective client whose estate was 15 to 20 million dollars, and we had to create an underground-railroad safety plan before we could even talk,” says Wagner, who grew up in Texas with an abusive father. “People think that if women have money, they can get out, but my mom was making well over six figures when my dad held her underwater in a hot tub.”
The stubborn persistence of such assaults only highlights the fact that most men have not joined the battle. “The majority of men are non-violent, but unfortunately the majority, for the most part, stay silent,” Nelson said at Vital Voices’ annual gala last December.
Seeking new ways to address the problem, some organizations are now enlisting men. “Violence against women is one of the greatest challenges facing the human race, but it’s always been thought of as a women’s issue, and it’s only going to get better through engaging men,” Nelson says. “We can’t expect to eliminate violence against women without men as active partners and allies. We have to show them that this is where they need to lead.”
The Vital Voices event, Voices of Solidarity, honored male leaders who are helping to fight violence against women in countries around the world. The honorees included a Heineken executive in Mexico, the mayor of Dallas, and the actor Patrick Stewart, whose abusive father served in the British Army. All spoke eloquently about their efforts, and the mood that night was hopeful.
But Trump’s rise to power has ratcheted up fears of a return to the bad old days. During the presidential debates, many viewers perceived his behavior toward Hillary Clinton as threatening, and therapists and service providers saw a surge in abuse survivors who reported that the public conduct of the GOP nominee had triggered a flare-up of their post-traumatic stress symptoms.
“Women felt Trump’s presentation was that of a batterer, and all of us saw an increase in women coming out of the woodwork to tell their stories,” says Friedman. “People you never knew had a story came out and said, ‘This is what happened to me.’”
Many survivors felt traumatized by Trump’s bullying tactics, which included verbal abuse and the denial of objective reality, known as gaslighting, a tactic abusers often use to assert their dominance by creating confusion and anxiety. “The fear is so great it’s like living under Saddam Hussein,” says Wagner. “It’s about mental control. The humiliation and control are just as painful as being punched in the eye.”
That perspective reflects an evolving understanding of domestic violence, whose treatment increasingly incorporates a recognition of its psychological and economic dimensions. “The word ‘violence’ implies injury, but domestic violence is defined by advocates as a whole range of behaviors, including emotionally abusive power, and control issues that may not be physical,” Friedman explains.
Trump’s history includes an accusation of rape by his first wife, Ivana, the mother of his three oldest children. But despite such charges, 53 percent of white women still voted for him. “No matter how far we’ve come, I still think the majority of women are traditionalists,” Bosworth says. “They think it’s a man’s world, and men should have control.”
When Trump assumed office, he chose other alleged abusers as close advisors — including Steve Bannon, the far-right media executive who became his senior strategist and White House counselor. During their divorce, Bannon’s second wife accused him of abuse, and he was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence, battery, and dissuading a witness. The charges were dropped after his ex-wife failed to appear in court, although she said her absence was due to threats made by Bannon and his lawyer.
Bannon’s divorce and custody files also included charges that he was abusive toward his children; didn’t see them for a full two years, during which time they had no idea where he lived; threatened school administrators; and failed to pay child and spousal support.
A Trump cabinet nominee raised similar concerns. Trump named Andrew Puzder, chief executive of the parent company of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., as his secretary of labor. Puzder’s first wife Lisa Fierstein had appeared in disguise on an episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” titled “High Class Battered Women” to accuse Puzder of domestic abuse. Fierstein, who had called the police during one incident, said Puzder told her, “I will see you in the gutter. This will never be over. You will pay for this.” Fierstein later retracted her charge of spousal abuse as part of a child custody agreement; the couple divorced in 1987. Despite Puzder’s history, Trump was apparently unperturbed, and it was only when the Oprah tape became public—and senators from both parties reportedly saw it at private screenings—that Puzder finally withdrew his nomination.
Yet President Trump’s apparent tolerance for assault has raised fears of a growing male backlash against women’s empowerment. “Violence against women is an age-old problem, but it isn’t getting better—it’s getting worse,” says Nelson. “We have seen great progress in the U.S., but men are threatened by women’s rise in power.” Their reactions will soon be measured in dollars and cents, with decisions made by the aging white men who dominate both Congress and the new administration.
“If Congress cuts funding, it would be turning back the clock,” says Friedman. “People don’t give up privilege that easily, because privilege is power. The notion that women and men are equal only became embedded in our law a few decades ago. You’re challenging all of human history in a generation or two. We’re waiting to see what’s going to happen, but there’s an atmosphere of trepidation now.”
Leslie Bennetts is a longtime journalist who has covered presidential politics since the 1970s and a best-selling author whose latest book is Last Girl Before Freeway: The Life, Loves, Losses and Liberation of Joan Rivers.Tonight’s episode of The Daily Show With Trevor Noah experienced an unexplained disruption during its broadcast, right in the middle of an interview between Noah and Anthony D. Romero, the head of the ACLU. As numerous viewers noted on Twitter, the screen cut to black during their conversation about Donald Trump’s executive order banning American immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. The Comedy Central logo reportedly stayed present on the bottom of the screen.
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Noah himself expressed confusion at the interruption via Twitter. We’ve reached out to Comedy Central for a comment on the interruption; meanwhile, numerous viewers are waiting to see if the incident reoccurs when the episode is rebroadcast later tonight.
UPDATE: As noted in the comments below, the full video of the episode—including Romero’s interview—is available on Comedy Central’s web site.
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UPDATE: Noah has since tweeted that the interruption was a technical glitch.Kubica retains hopes of Formula One return as Renault driver has further surgery on elbow
Robert Kubica is refusing to give up hope on a return to Formula One and has undergone further surgery in an attempt to realise his dream of a return to the pinnacle of motorsport.
Kubica suffered horrific injuries after a rallying accident in February last year. His right forearm was partially severed while he also suffered multiple fractures to his right elbow, shoulder and leg after his Skoda car was impaled on a crash barrier during the Ronde di Andora rally in Northern Italy.
Reports earlier this year claimed a return to Formula One for Kubica was 'nearly impossible'. However, the Polish driver has undergone further surgery to try and improve the mobility in his elbow following tests in a Formula One simulator.
Fresh hope: Kubica
Kubica was operated on at the Pederzoli hospital at the end of last month, when parts of his elbow were replaced with prosthesis. Head surgeon Ruggero Testoni said: 'The surgery was preceded by a series of tests in an F1 car simulator.
'This way the driver will be able to fully handle the steering wheel, while before he was unable to rotate the palm down, so he was forced to release the steering wheel in order to turn left. It will take at least one month in order to stabilize.'
Kubica, a previous victor of the Canadian Grand Prix which takes place this weekend, was ultimately replaced at Lotus, formerly Renault, by Kimi Raikkonen after initial stand-in Nick Heidfeld failed to do enough to secure a permanent drive.
Raikkonen spent two years competing in the World Rally Championship before returning to Formula One this season. But mindful of the loss of such a talented as Kubica, Lotus team principal Eric Boullier revealed last month that Raikkonen's contract prevents him from competing in rallies after it was suggested he may want to compete in his home event in Finland.What do you call it when thousands of dark-skinned, slum-dwelling youths conspire on Facebook to suddenly show up at a swank, tony, mostly white shopping mall?
Some might call it a party. Others would call it a nightmare. In Brazil, they call it a rolezinho, AKA a “little stroll.”
Such little strolls have been an escalating cause of alarm in the past couple months as loud, giddy throngs of teens from Brazil’s notoriously wretched favelas pour out en masse from the dilapidated roach motels they call home and into the gleaming, glittering palaces of consumption typically patronized by the nation’s upper crust.
Although in its infancy, the rolezinho phenomenon recalls prior instances of deliberate mass intrusion into public spaces and private establishments such as the lunch-counter sit-ins of the American South in the 1960s, the Occupy Wall Street debacle of a couple years ago, and the randomly violent black flash mobs that have been one of the Obama Administration’s signature achievements.
Last summer in Brazil saw widespread street disturbances among the emerging South American superpower’s lumpenproles. Such shenanigans picked up again during the Christmas season, when shopping malls became targets for mass displays of poor people’s public petulance.
“Maybe one man’s rudeness is another man’s revolution.”
A rolezinho in early December at São Paulo’s Itaquera shopping center attracted an estimated six thousand gleefully disruptive teens that culminated in a police crackdown. Although apologists meekly claim that these teens only seek acceptance and a place to sing, dance, flirt, and share communal joy without being hassled or oppressed or made to feel inferior due to their skin color, video footage from the December event reveals throngs of loud shirtless assholes loping around scratching their nuts and creating near-riot conditions that likely drove away anyone who’d innocently arrived at the mall seeking to buy things. Then again, maybe one man’s rudeness is another man’s revolution.
There have been an estimated dozen or so rolezinhos in Brazil since December. On January 4, a rowdy little stroll at Shopping Tucuruvi led to a mall shutdown. A week later, another rolezinho at Shopping Metrô Itaquera resulted in a crackdown involving rubber bullets, tear gas, and Brazil’s famously overeager police whomping partygoers with nightsticks.
This led to at least a half-dozen malls in São Paulo obtaining court orders to block such future events, allowing them to station police and security guards outside who could bar entry to unaccompanied minors. This naturally led to cries of racism, discrimination, and accusations that Brazil was an “apartheid” state. Just as America’s civil-rights movement shat upon the idea that business owners should have the freedom to refuse service to whomever they choose, it was deemed a crime against humanity that wealthy mall owners should refuse to open their glass doors to hordes of ghetto rats who may not possibly have the best of intentions.
A planned January 17 rolezinho at São Paulo’s super-chic Leblon shopping mall was expected to draw nearly 10,000 party-crashers, but mall owners nipped it in the bud by shutting the place down for the day. Similar preemptive shutdowns have occurred elsewhere. The nation has thus arrived at a temporary and unsustainable standoff”rather than call in the Shock Battalion to beat teenage intruders senseless and possibly set off large-scale social unrest, they will merely retreat and lock their gates…for now. But this can’t last. Sooner or later, something will have to give. Such is always the case when hordes of angry peasants seek acceptance on demand.
Pay to Play - Put your money where your mouth is and subscribe for an ad-free experience and to join the world famous Takimag comment board.That's 14,000 electric buses. In just one city.
I'm a big believer in the importance of sending a signal. So when 12 major cities committed to only buying electric buses from 2025 onwards, I was impressed. After all, it sends a powerful signal to investors and vehicle manufacturers about which way the market is ultimately headed.
I was impressed, that is, until I read over at Cleantechnica how Shenzhen—a city of 11.9 million residents in the Guangdong province of China—will have entirely electrified its bus fleet of more than 14,000 vehicles by the end of 2017.
Now that's what I call really sending a signal to the markets.
Of course, Shenzhen has a home field advantage because it happens to be home of BYD, a leader in the field of electric vehicles, in general, and electric buses in particular. And China has been streets ahead of other countries in terms of electric bus sales. Nevertheless, switching over such a massive fleet in the space of a few years (Cleantechnica reports the transition began in 2011) is an incredible achievement that ought to drive higher ambitions from the rest of us.
Worth noting, of course, is that while electric vehicles are likely always greener than gas or diesel vehicles of a similar size, the full green benefits of Shenzhen's transition will only be realized once the grid they run on is significantly greener too. That said, buses and other diesel engines are a major source of smog forming emissions. Smog forming emissions are significantly impacting the output of Chinese solar. So switching to electric buses could actually increase the amount of renewables that are available to run those very same buses.A city ordinance requiring a license for door-to-door sales does not usually result in arrests, but it did Wednesday for six out-of-town salespeople.
Lawrence police arrested the solicitors, who all sell books, magazines, and coffee door-to-door for the same Champaign, Ill., company, in two separate incidents Wednesday evening in the 1700 block of Lake Alvamar Drive about 6:30 p.m. and outside Hy-Vee, 4000 W. 6th Street about 11:30 p.m.
The six were arrested after residents and Hy-Vee employees complained about their activities. The solicitors told police and their employers that they were unaware there was a city ordinance governing their sales.
In fact, selling door-to-door without a license in Lawrence is a municipal offense punishable by a fine of $250 to $1,000. Local offenders are normally given a summons to appear in court later, said Sgt. Trent McKinley, a Lawrence Police Department spokesman, but those from out of town may be arrested to ensure that they don’t simply leave town and ignore the citation.
When a salesperson knocks on your door, you should be able to see clearly if they are licensed, said Jonathan Douglass, the city clerk.
Solicitors are required to show proof of their license while doing business, Douglass said. A licensed solicitor should have an ID card with their picture, license number, and company name provided by the city.
To apply for a license, a solicitor must pay $250, pass a police department background check, and show a valid Kansas sales tax ID number, vehicle information, and a government-issued photo ID. The licenses are good through the end of the year, and applicants can be disqualified if their license has been revoked in the past two years or if they have an outstanding warrant for their arrest.
In residential areas, solicitors can only operate between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. and cannot sell to any residence or business that displays a “no solicitors” or “no trespassers” sign.
Employees at the Hy-Vee said they asked four of the solicitors to leave the store’s property Wednesday and called police when the salespeople were not cooperative. Two other salespeople were arrested on Alvamar Drive after residents complained to police.
All six were booked into jail on suspicion of soliciting without a license and criminal trespass. Staff at the Illinois sales company Certified Management Inc., said the employees worked in many communities around the country and violated Lawrence’s ordinance by mistake because they were unaware of it.
The arrested sales people were all booked into Douglas County Jail and released on bond. They included:
• Sukari Shawnay Obiogun, 28, of Oakland, Calif. Obiogun was also booked on suspicion of obstruction.
• Tashzeri Lacole Cleveland, 21, of Mablevale, Ark.
• Mario Terrelle Massenburg, 22, of Chicago. Massenburg was also booked on suspicion of possession of marijuana.
• Tashara Ciera Dowds, 27, of Greensboro, N.C.
• Antonio Cartiez Jones, 36, of San Rafael, Calif.
• Price Williams, 47, of DetroitAfter a month of competition that saw amazingly harrowing sporting drama over the course of its 64 matches, the 2014 FIFA World Cup concluded on Sunday with Germany claiming their fourth World Cup victory in history and their first in 24 years, defeating Argentina in extra time 1-0. There are a few prominent issues that came to the surface over the course of the tournament and will remain so even now that the teams have left Brazil and the stadiums are now empty. Some of those go beyond the sport and are primarily socioeconomic and domestic in nature, while others relate to the evolution of the sport from a tactical and strategic standpoint. However, what I want to feature in this discussion is something that came to my attention in three separate instances during the event, and they relate exclusively to the issue of concussions.
Before I delve into that though, it would make sense to pose a question at this point. How many of you immediately associate the game of soccer with an elevated and above average risk for head injuries? Maybe it’s more than I’m giving credit for, but the casual observer would probably list a handful of other sports, some even non-contact, above soccer in terms of such a risk. If you polled the American sports fan, football would obviously garner a vast majority of attention when it comes to this issue. There has been a great deal of media coverage of the class-action lawsuit that former players have brought against the NFL over the league’s supposed lack of concern over concussions earlier in its history.
Head injuries in Soccer: A Conundrum
That being said, it is slowly but surely becoming readily apparent that global soccer and its governing body, FIFA, need to come to grips with this issue much like the NFL has tried to in recent years. As I mentioned earlier, there were three incidents during the recent World Cup competiton where concussions and their in-game treatment undoubtedly came to the forefront.
During the Uruguay-England group stage match, Uruguayan midfielder Alvaro Pereira was accidentally kneed in the head, attempting to make a sliding play on the ball against England’s Raheem Sterling. He was clearly knocked unconscious. No more than a few minutes later upon being revived, he was vehemently disregarding the advice of the team doctor who was calling for him to be substituted. He ended up staying on the pitch for the remainder of the game.
In their semifinal showdown, Argentina’s Javier Mascherano and the Netherlands’ Georgino Wijnaldum clashed heads. A few moments later, Mascherano was stumbling to the ground and looked like someone who had downed one too many shots of tequila. Once again, despite the initial concern, he remained on the pitch and played all 120 minutes of a match that ended in a penalty shootout.
Even the Final had an incident that pertains to this issue. Around fifteen minutes into the game, German midfielder Christoph Kramer had a nasty collision with Argentina’s Ezequiel Garay and collapsed to the ground. Despite the obvious concussion-like symptoms he was suffering from, he played a further 15 or so minutes before finally being taken out of the game, which might have been the closest example of a situation like this actually being handled properly.
Perhaps the most vocal of proponents with respect to the issue of concussions and head trauma in soccer is current ESPN analyst Taylor Twellman, whose promising career with the US men’s national team and the New England Revolution was cut short due to a horrific injury he suffered in August of 2008 in a game against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Though he continued his career for a few years afterwards, he was eventually forced to retire in 2010 at the age of 30 due to the lingering effects of multiple concussions he had suffered while playing. On air and via social media during ESPN’s coverage of the World Cup, particularly as a few of these incidents were transpiring, Twellman continuously called out FIFA on their complete lack of uniformity when it comes to diagnosing injuries of this nature in real time.
Twellman has continuously argued for a neutral doctor unaffiliated with either team that can step in and provide an unbiased opinion as to whether or not a player with concussion-like symptoms should continue playing. In my opinion, this would partially take the emotion out of the equation. When you’re talking about the highest level of professional sports, oftentimes the pressure to win trumps everything else. To a point, there’s nothing wrong with that at all. We wouldn’t watch the games if that wasn’t the case. However, there has to be a fine line between winning at all costs and ensuring the long-term welfare of the athletes, which is what the concern over neurological trauma is all about.
As the science of concussions is becoming better understood, more and more medical experts are coming to the conclusion that serious mental conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and many others, can be brought about as the result of head injuries earlier in life. The greater risk is a second concussion taking place a short time after the initial trauma, leading to what’s known as ‘second-impact syndrome’ which can be fatal.
Until FIFA begins to constructively address head injuries in a more proactive manner, especially after observing the few incidents pertinent to the issue during its showcase event, the word ‘concussion’ will gradually come to be associated with the organization in much the same way that ‘corruption’ has continued to define it in the eyes of the world.
Thank you for reading. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
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Main Photo:Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey says President Donald Trump may have 'complete unconsciousness' of what he was doing. | Getty Mukasey: Trump's reported conversation with Comey 'not appropriate' The former attorney general and campaign surrogate says the president may have 'complete unconsciousness' of what he was doing.
Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's reported urging of FBI Director James Comey to drop part of the ongoing Russia-U.S. election probe was "not appropriate" and suggested that Trump has thus far failed to appreciate the shift from being a real estate mogul to being the nation's chief executive.
"That conversation may be appropriate to a minor disciplinary matter in a corporation. It’s not appropriate to a criminal investigation and the inability to distinguish the one from the other I think is extraordinary," said Mukasey, who served as attorney general under President George W. Bush and was a frequent public surrogate for Trump during last year's campaign.
Story Continued Below
Speaking at a panel discussion in Washington sponsored by the conservative Federalist Society, Mukasey said Trump had the authority as chief executive to end the investigation if he chose to, but the casual sounding interaction with Comey wasn't the right way to do it.
"The president, I think....has the power to direct that an investigation cease, but that wasn't—as the story is told that’s not what happened," the former attorney general said. "This kind of informal, 'Would you cut this guy some slack? He's a nice guy,' that kind of conversation about an ongoing proceeding conducted in a manner that is extraordinarily informal...suggests a complete unconsciousness of what it is that's actually happening."
Mukasey expressed no disagreement with Trump's controversial and high-stakes decision to fire Comey, but said the president's timing was less than ideal. The former AG said he believes the 10-year term Congress set for the job does not signify that directors were supposed to stay that long or that the president should be restrained in dismissing an FBI chief. (Comey was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013 and dismissed last week, after less than four years as director.)
"I think the 10 years was really intended to be a maximum, not a minimum," Mukasey said. "That said, the ideal time to have done that would’ve been on Jan. 20th."
The former attorney general spoke alongside President Barack Obama's final White House counsel, Neil Eggleston. Both men said they could not conceive of their bosses having the conversation Trump reportedly had with Comey in February, urging him to back away from any further investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn. The New York Times first reported Tuesday, and POLITICO later confirmed with a Comey ally, that the FBI chief wrote memos about that meeting and other interactions with Trump."
Asked if that could have happened under Bush, Mukasey said: "One word answer: No." He later said he was aware of no such White House involvement in criminal cases or investigations during his tenure.
"The norm was observed," the former AG said.
Eggleston said Obama's White House had and generally adhered to a policy of not discussing investigations with people at the Justice Department.
"It would not have happened while I was in the White House," the former White House counsel said. "We would not have been talking to the FBI director or attorney general about a specific investigative matter...That just would not happen."
Eggleston later acknowledged that the Obama White House did have discussions about where the alleged conspirators in the September 11 attacks would be tried, but he said that was really about the place it would happen, not what charges would be brought.
Mukasey challenged the Obama White House's purity on the subject by noting that Obama did say in an October 2015 interview that former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had not jeopardized national security through her private email set-up. That rankled some investigators as "a statement that I think was regarded in some quarters as the king’s wish," the attorney general said.
"He was talked to by the White House counsel after that," Eggleston chimed in.
"Good," Mukasey replied.
Whatever counsel Eggleston may have given the president, in April 2016, Obama repeated his view that Clinton's hadn't threatened national security through her email practices. However, the president added this caveat: "Nobody gets treated differently when it comes to the Justice Department, because nobody is above the law."
Mukasey said he would not fault White House spokespeople for having publicly said at press briefings twice in the past week that there was no basis to appoint a special prosecutor to look into alleged Russian interference in the election and the Trump campaign's potential involvement in that.
"If you look at Title 18 [the U.S. Criminal Code], you’ll find no crime defined as collusion. There is a crime called conspiracy that requires an agreement to do something….If the result was the hacking that was complete before any collusion, if there was any, took place. So the notion that you need a special prosecutor looking into that is remote," the former attorney general said.
"I also am not a fan generally of special prosecutors," Mukasey added. "They make work for themselves and feel the need to produce results, generally in the form of an indictment.... You can't have somebody who's independent of the executive. Prosecution is inherently an executive function. We don’t in times of crisis straddle a new branch of government that’s independent of the others. It's an illusion."
In 2008, Mukasey went outside the normal Justice Department process, although not outside the department, to name a prosecutor to investigate the destruction of interrogation videos by the CIA. He tapped a career federal prosecutor from Connecticut to head up the probe, which convened a grand jury but ultimately sought no charges.
Eggleston didn't directly criticize the Trump White House for dismissing the need for a special counsel, but he said that also would not have happened in the Obama era.
"We wouldn't have commented about whether there should be an investigation [or] who should conduct the investigation," the former Obama lawyer said. "This White House and this president has obviously made a different decision, including in tweets about those kinds of things, but they made a different judgment than we made about whether we should be involved in these kinds of matters. That’s a norm that they’ve decided not to follow…which is a decision that they’re entitled to make."CRAZY! Arsenal fans get in a punch-up over Arsene Wenger’s future outside the Britannia Stadium [Tweets]
Fans fighting with each other outside of the Britannia – grown men who support the same team knocking hell out of each other — India (@IndieAfc) December 6, 2014
Jesus! It’s all going to shit for some Arsenal fans now.
Following a run of three straight wins for the Gunners, all the positive feeling around Arsene Wenger’s side evapourated at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday in a terrible 3-2 loss at Stoke.
The Gunners fell 3-behind in the first half, and despite a decent showing in the second period Stoke held on for the points.
With many Arsenal fans tired and frustrated with the on-going plight of their club, cat-calls for Arsene Wenger to be fired kicked up a notch after the game.
Incredibly, the despair was so bad for some Arsenal fans that they reportedly got into a fist fight outside the Britannia over the issue of Wenger’s ongoing future.
Read tweets reporting the Arsenal on Arsenal crime above and below.
All that started with soneone apparently saying if you support Wenger you need a punch. Fuck me its shit times for us — India (@IndieAfc) December 6, 2014
In the car and getting out of here. That will be the last away game I attend. Fans punching each other over different views so so sad — India (@IndieAfc) December 6, 2014
I swear I'm never going to Arsenal away again. Watching our fans attack each other is scaring me. Just want to get home now — India (@IndieAfc) December 6, 2014
Fist fights between arsenal fans after the game, absolute joke. Absolutely disgusting to see our own fans punching each other — Mr Saváge (@thesavagegooner) December 6, 2014
@18DialSquare86 yea, honest man. Group of people fighting over Wenger. This has gone too far — Mr Saváge (@thesavagegooner) December 6, 201432-bit Support, Smoother Framerate, Roleplay Changes, and More!
The Roleplaying 32-Bit Update is Here - Broke Protocol <!-- [if lte IE 9]> <link rel='stylesheet' id='sydney-ie9-css' href='http://brokeprotocol.com/wp-content/themes/sydney/css/ie9.css?ver=4.7.4' type='text/css' media='all' />
Hi again! This update features many changes to improve the roleplaying aspect of the game. No more free weapons at the airport! They have to be hard earned or stolen off the streets. Melee items and a usable chest can now be bought at the pawn shop for storage for your gang. Just a couple bombs behind the terminal now.
Players killing other innocents are reported in the kill feed. And now police can keep their job after being killed. They still have to find another gun/ammo though (this is to prevent item duping). Also ATM accounts are locked if you have criminal activity – preventing easy bank cash grabs.
Also, due to popular request, the game runs buttery smooth in 32-bit now!!
Full Roleplaying v0.622 Changelog
Remappable Use/Submit/Zoom keys
server_info, admin_list, and ban_list all updated in real-time (don’t need to restart server)
Cleaned up Action Menu code (Cancel is first option now)
Removed Weapons chest from airport
Chest can now be bought/used from the Pawn shop
Melee Items moved to Pawn shop
Medkits added to Pawn shop merchant
Added 3 bombs behind airport at icon
Now Players/NPCs don’t lose job if killed
Added kill messages for murdering innocents
Handcuffs removed when released from jail
Fixed occasional server disconnect & crash
Fixed sun/moon/stars distance
Reset vehicle steering on exiting
Smooth player movement (no more stuttering)
World time/environment update optimizations
Better sprint animation handling
ATM accounts locked if you have a wanted level
Ammo and Pawn shops now sell handcuffs
Interpolated physics movement (much smoother)
Reduced server memory usage (also -nographics option set in Server.bat)
More accurate ragdoll colliders
Fixed ragdolls falling through floors
Please tell the server admins to update their servers and see you online!
Cheers!
-BenzIn a government-funded laboratory, Wesley Dane worked carefully peering through the microscope. Having worked solely on the integration of artificial ligaments, he knew better than anyone that the future of technology wasn’t in plastics but rather, lightweight metals that rarely rusted and remained cool regardless of use, and the rebuilding of a structure that can function like another body part. Maria Hawkins entered and walked over. She peeked over his |
gender equality is at the forefront of global issues.
"She stands for things that people still care about and will always care about so much that she's never going to fade away," Diane Nelson, the president of DC Entertainment, told the BBC.
"Her ability to operate alone and be her own independent person but also to work right alongside with the same strength and same abilities as some of the strongest male super heroes I think is a testament to her character and kind of ties back again to the UN designation and this idea of gender equality."
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Wonder Woman is never going to “fade away”, says the president of DC Entertainment.
Stephane Dujarric, a UN spokesman for the secretary-general, said earlier this week "in order to reach young people, in order to reach audiences outside of this building, we need to be creative and have creative partnerships".
But can a superhero that is older than the UN itself really reach a younger audience?
Interestingly, Wonder Woman ran for president in a comic book written by Mr Marston in 1943 and later in a 1972 cover story for Ms magazine, which was co-founded by Ms Steinem.
The heroine lost both times, but perhaps after Hillary Clinton shattered a glass ceiling by becoming the first female to lead a major party ticket earlier this year, Wonder Woman may stand a chance.
What other fictional characters were appointed UN ambassadors?Embiggens even the weakest of coffees. Humongous porcelain mug holds 20 regular cups of coffee.
For serious coffee drinkers.
Cromulent!
Sometimes it takes one cup of coffee to start our engines in the morning. Some days are two cuppers. And then there are days like today when it feels like only straight up electricity could perk us up. Today is a 20 cup day. But we're too tired to get up and down and get 20 cups throughout the morning. Good thing we have the World's Largest Coffee Cup. It's 20 regular cups of coffee in one giant, massive, awe-inspiring cup!
Each World's Largest Coffee Cup weighs a little over 10 lbs. It weighs a little over 10 lbs. empty, that is. This means not only will you be getting waaay too much coffee with one cup, but you'll also be getting some arm exercise. But do you really need your own World's Largest Coffee Cup you are wondering? Well, you don't want someone else in the office to get it first do you? Yeah, we're just looking out for you, is all. You're welcome.
Please note: No puppies were given coffee for these photos. Whimsy was staring at some treats. We just thought it would be cute. So there.
World's Largest Coffee CupLIFE&STYLE
A Buddha statue found at a temple site in Yangyang, Gangwon Province, on Wednesday. (Yonhap)
A Buddha statue, presumed to date back to the ninth century, has been found in Korea in what archeologists say may be an important new discovery to understanding ancient Buddhist art.The gilt bronze statue, measuring over 50 centimeters in height, was discovered at a temple site in Yangyang, Gangwon Province, where a stone pagoda and other Buddhist relics had earlier been uncovered.“According to experts who were called upon to check the new discovery at the excavation site this afternoon, the relic seems to be the largest of such kind from the Unified Silla period (668―935) and hold high value both artistically and historically,” an official at the Cultural Heritage Administration was quoted as saying by the Yonhap news agency.Preserved in relatively good condition compared to other statues from the period, the statue will have to be examined by researchers in the coming months, but experts predicted it could become a national treasure.By Lee Sun-young(milaya@heraldcorp.com)I hate powdered sugar.
Its weirdly tinny flavor and tooth-aching sweetness add nothing but a choking hazard to most desserts, and with frosting, it's the pebble in my shoe: a pervasive grit that mars every bite. While I'll admit to keeping powdered sugar on hand in case of emergencies (disappearing in a cloud of smoke, temporarily blinding my enemies, detecting security lasers, et cetera), it's an ingredient I've always tried to avoid.
At the heart of this confectioner's complaint is cornstarch, which is added to powdered sugar as an anti-caking agent, a role in which it truly shines. Cornstarch is the least hygroscopic* of all starches, which keeps powdered sugar free-flowing and soft. (It also just happens to be the cheapest.) The problem is that it has a chalky taste and texture. This stems from the fact that cornstarch isn't soluble at room temperature. It may seem to dissolve in liquids, but the cornstarch granules actually remain distinct—like a fleet of Enterprise shuttlepods drifting through space.
* That is, it attracts the least water, the enemy of free-flowing powders.
Like finely tuned sensors, our tongues detect their presence as a subtle granulation, which is why every recipe that values smoothness—from pastry cream to mac and cheese—gets the cornstarch bubbling-hot. Around 200°F, its metaphorical shields begin to fail; the granules start to absorb water and swell, expanding until they cannae take anymore. If the heat doesn't let up, the granules eventually burst, leaving a debris field so finely dispersed, we can't perceive it at all.
That's what makes cornstarch so killer at thickening all manner of sauces and custards, but the thing about powdered sugar is that it's almost invariably served raw. Whether it's whipped into frosting or dusted over marshmallows, the cornstarch granules remain intact, leaving a chalky residue behind.
So, when organic powdered sugar first started cropping up in stores a few years back, I could only shrug. As far as I was concerned, it was simply a more expensive version of the status quo.
My hatred for powdered sugar blinded me to the fact that the push for organic would usher in the next generation of powdered sugar, altogether free from corn. See, in an industry dominated by GMOs, standard cornstarch is cheap, but organic cornstarch is hella expensive, motivating manufacturers to seek out cheaper organic alternatives, the most popular of which is tapioca.
Tapioca!
A starch so objectively fantastic we speak of it as a jewel, throwing pearls into our tea for fun. If anything, pure tapioca (also known as cassava) tastes vaguely sweet, or at least pleasantly neutral. As a native starch—industry-speak for an unmodified plant starch—it feels silky-smooth even in raw applications, because each shuttlepod granule is smooth and round.
Unlike cornstarch, tapioca begins to swell and absorb liquids long before it's boiling-hot, providing greater thickening power in low- to no-heat applications. So, not only does tapioca-based powdered sugar feel creamier and smoother, it can help add body to no-cook desserts.
Take the frosting on my hot cross buns, a simple blend of cream and powdered sugar. For the sake of comparison, I omitted the vanilla and salt to observe each frosting's inherent color and flavor—not that the conventional version had either, just an unmitigated jolt of alabaster sweetness.
Though by no means runny, the cornstarch-based powdered sugar frosting slowly oozed to the edges of the spoon, and its texture reminded me of baking soda toothpaste. When made from tapioca-based powdered sugar, the creamy frosting was thick enough to mound up on itself and had a richer, more well-rounded sweetness. That's an enjoyable side benefit of organic powdered sugar, which is by nature made from raw cane sugar and therefore rich with the minerals and flavor we associate with molasses...complexity that tempers our perception of sweetness.
In granulated sugar, I find that flavor something of a distraction from the blank canvas I want for butter and vanilla, but it goes a long way in taming the aggressive sweetness of powdered sugar—a compelling reason to try organic powdered sugar even if you don't give a fig about the benefits of tapioca over cornstarch.
That said, tapioca-based powdered sugar isn't without its faults. Because it's so highly absorbent and so readily dissolved, it's pretty useless as a garnish for high-moisture desserts. Fifteen minutes after hitting a freshly cut lemon bar, even the thickest dusting will all but melt away, leaving only a few spotty clumps within half an hour.
Meanwhile, cornstarch-based powdered sugar barely breaks a sweat, making its stubborn refusal to dissolve an asset when it comes to presentation...and storage. Not only is tapioca more absorbent than cornstarch, it's more hygroscopic, which means it can suck moisture straight outta the air like some sort of culinary Kirby, resulting in a ton of lumps.
Unless you've left the bag open for weeks on end, sifting conventional powdered sugar is an effortless but largely unnecessary task, as most of the clumps will crumble away on their own. Not so with tapioca-based alternatives, which form enough lumps to make sifting essential. Every. Single. Time. I've repeatedly hoped that the sheer muscle of a professional KitchenAid would help me power through, only to end up with a lumpy frosting clogging my piping tip or ruining a parchment cone.
That extra step feels like a chore with powdered sugar's more utilitarian applications, when you just want to grab a handful and be done—say, rolling out a sugar cookie dough, or dusting marshmallows. But skip sifting and you'll find hard lumps of sugar embedded in your cookies and candies, as unpleasant to eat as they are unsightly.
For those of us who hate the chalky residue of cornstarch in powdered sugar, those downsides are a small price to pay, but if you've been happily baking with conventional powdered sugar all along, you may feel differently. Ultimately, whether you switch to organic and/or tapioca-based powdered sugar will depend on your baking style.
If you primarily use powdered sugar for decoration, whether sprinkling it over cannoli or mixing it into colorful royal icing, stick with a traditional cornstarch-based brand. Its bright white color, non-clumping formula, and resistance to melting will suit you best.
If you generally use powdered sugar as the foundation for buttercream, frosting, or glaze, try looking for an organic, tapioca-based brand. Its silky mouthfeel, mellow flavor, and ability to thicken give you more luscious results.
If you aim to keep kosher this Passover, organic, tapioca-based powdered sugar is corn-free by nature, so brands with kosher certification may help with holiday baking.
As a sworn enemy of powdered sugar, I can only say that the flavor and texture of tapioca-based formulas opened my heart, and pantry door, after two decades of fierce opposition. You may not experience the same sort of dramatic conversion, but experimenting with new alternatives can only broaden your understanding of this staple (and you'll be well supplied for all the powdered sugar–centric recipes to come).
This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Serious Eats. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.BEIJING, April 4 (Reuters) - China will close 1,725 small-scale mines with a total capacity of 117.48 million tonnes in 2014 as part of its programme to phase out low-quality coal production, its energy administration said on Friday.
Smog-hit China has been desperate to reduce coal consumption, a major source of pollutants, including hazardous airborne particulate matter in the country’s cities.
Beijing hopes to close old and depleting mines in the east and consolidate output in a series of “coal energy bases” in remote parts of the country, including the vast northwestern regions of Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang.
The National Energy Administration said in a notice posted on its website (www.nea.gov.cn) that local governments must also encourage mergers and technological upgrades in a fragmented coal sector long plagued by poor safety standards.
They will be obliged to disclose the details of their pit closure programme to the public in order to improve enforcement.
Local governments have been under orders to gradually shut all coal mines with annual production capacity of less than 90,000 tonnes, as well as those mines that are operating illegally and do not comply with state safety requirements.
While China is determined to reduce the share of coal in its energy mix to less than 65 percent this year, its last five-year plan for the energy sector still allows for the construction of an additional 860 million tonnes of new coal production capacity over the 2011-2015 period.
China aims to cap total coal production at 4.1 billion tonnes by 2015, up from 3.7 billion tonnes in 2013, but some experts predict the actual figure will be much higher, given the number of new mine project approvals. (Reporting by David Stanway, editing by William Hardy)At ease, soldiers. DSA Combat, designed by Jrod, is a PBT sublimated keyset sure to get your keyboard out of the trenches. The military-inspired theme uses the classic grey and beige found in military uniforms with a few exciting pops of red.
With several modification options, you can truly make this keyset salute your unique style. Text modifiers and novelty weapon modifiers both come in beige, light gray, and dark gray. Novelty “rank” modifiers, which feature the military ranking symbols, come in beige, light gray, and dark gray, as well as one grey option with fully-colored legends.
Shoot sharp and get your hands on DSA Combat.
Keyset details:
19 kit options to choose from including:
- TKL/Ortholinear Base Set (GQN)
- TKL Text Modifiers (GQN, GMC, GSF)
- TKL Weapons Modifiers (GQN, GMC, GSF)
- Alternate Kit (GQN, GMC, GSF)
- Numpad Kit (GQN with GMC)
- Ortholinear Modifiers (GQN, GMC, GSF)
- Rank Kit (GQN and GMC with color print)
- Rank Kit (GQN, GMC, GSF with black print)UPDATE with video Hillary Clinton says her career “as an active politician” is over. “I am done with being a candidate,” the former Democratic presidential nominee told Jane Pauley on CBS Sunday Morning today.
Clinton answered with a firm “yes” when Pauley asked if her political career is over, but added the qualifiers “as an active politician” and “being a candidate.”
“But I am not done with politics because I literally believe that our country’s future is at stake,” Clinton said, offering no further details. (Watch the entire interview above.)
The comments came during Clinton’s first TV interview since the election, and the start of a television blitz promoting her new memoir What Happened, hitting stores Tuesday. Clinton visits ABC’s The View Wednesday, CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, Sept. 19. and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Wednesday, November 1.
Some of today’s interview smacked of deja vu – Clinton told some now-familiar anecdotes, like the “You Creep” bit about being stalked on that debate stage by Donald Trump, how she “maybe missed a few chances,” and her “gob-smacked” post-loss days in Chappaqua, where she took long walks in the woods, cleaned closets and had her “share of Chardonnay.”
But Clinton also revealed how she felt attending Trump’s inauguration speech – in keeping with former First Lady protocol – and it wasn’t pleasant.
“I’m a former First Lady, and former presidents and First Ladies show up. It’s part of the demonstration of the continuity of our government. And so there I was, on the platform, you know, feeling like an out-of-body experience. And then his speech…”
Ah, yes, the “This American carnage stops” speech. Trump, Clinton said, blew “an opportunity to say, ‘Okay, I’m proud of my supporters, but I’m the president of all Americans.’ That’s not what we heard at all.”
What we heard, Clinton said, “was a cry from the white nationalist gut.”
Though admitting to mistakes – the e-mails, the “political gift” that was her “basket of deplorables” snipe, and especially not doing a better job “of demonstrating” that she understands the nation’s widespread anger and resentment post-financial crash – Clinton reiterated about the what she writes in her book about her pride in “running a traditional presidential campaign, while Trump was running a reality show.”
“We have a reality show that leads to the election of a president,” Clinton told Pauley. “He ends up in the Oval Office. He says, ‘Boy, it’s so much harder than I thought it would be. This is really tough. I had no idea.’ Well, yeah, because it’s not a show. It’s real. It’s reality for sure.”LOS ANGELES – Actor Jeff Bridges was among those who eulogized actress Betty Garrett in an April 6 memorial service at the prestigious Mark Taper Forum in downtown L.A., attended by hundreds of entertainment community members. Bridges, who won the Academy Award for 2009’s Crazyheart, said Garrett, who was his godmother, “really pointed the way for me…. She was teaching [a musical theatre class] a week before she kicked it…. She taught us how to fly….” Beau Bridges also remembered his godmother as “probably one of the most positive people I ever met.”
The two-hour-plus celebration of the life of Garrett, who died February 12 at age 91, included a number of film/TV clips. The larger than life Garrett sang, danced and joked with Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly in 1940s MGM musicals, with Red Skelton and Esther Williams, and as Archie Bunker’s neighbor Irene Lorenzo in TV’s All in the Family 1970s series. Garrett also had a recurring role on another popular sitcom, LaVerne & Shirley, and performed onstage from Broadway to Las Vegas to L.A., where she co-founded the Theatre West company.
The video tribute included many blue jokes and limericks told by pixyish Betty, which had the audience frequently laughing hilariously. Highlighting the memorial service were home movies of Garrett and her husband, Larry Parks (Oscar nominee for 1946’s The Jolson Story), visiting Hawaii in the 1970s. In this rare footage of the sightseeing Garrett and Parks, a poolside scene reveals a rascally Garrett: Both she and Parks are clad in “aloha” tourist attire, and as Parks nonchalantly relaxes on a lounger, Garrett mugs for the super 8MM camera. She lifts her Hilo Hattie-type top (to discreet camerawork). Then Garrett twice turns her back to the camera and lifts the top to expose her derriere, which she impishly wiggles around while giggling merrily.
Garrett’s upbeat, jaunty personality helped sustain her marriage when tragedy struck during the Red Scare in the form of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Sixty years ago Larry Parks was the first of 100-plus Tinseltown talents to be subpoenaed to appear before the congressional committee when HUAC resumed its investigation of “subversion” in Hollywood. On March 21, 1951, Parks confessed to having been a member of the Communist Party years earlier. From his tearful testimony:
“Don’t present me with the choice of either being in contempt of this Committee and going to jail or forcing me to really crawl through the mud as an informer…. I don’t think this is really sportsmanlike [or] American justice…. I beg of you not to force me to do this … frankly … I am probably the most completely ruined man that you have ever seen.”
Although Parks eventually named other suspected Communists, he was blacklisted anyway and his promising movie career ruined, as was Garrett’s. Banned on the big screen, Garrett and Parks created a live show in Las Vegas. In another film clip at the memorial, Garrett recalled meeting Joe McCarthy in Vegas. There the vacationing anti-communist zealot requested to meet with the blacklistees, and feigned friendliness. The following morning he played with the couple’s children, Andrew and Garrett, in the hotel swimming pool. The young boys were mystified when their parents made them take baths after the swim – lest they be contaminated by the fascistic junior senator from Wisconsin.
At the service, one of the sons referred to the McCarthy era, saying, “My mother lived through the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” But being as loving and vivacious as Betty Garrett was must have helped her and Parks, who died in 1975, to persevere.
For Betty, Theatre West’s 2010 revival of Clifford Odets’s proletarian drama of the 1930s, Waiting for Lefty, recalled her youthful idealism (she had performed several roles in another working-class masterpiece, Marc Blitzstein’s musical The Cradle Will Rock, also recently revived in L.A.).
After the Lefty performance I told Betty that I wanted to write and co-produce a theatrical production based on the transcripts of the 1951 HUAC hearings, now that we are observing the 60th anniversary of the inquisition in Hollywood. “You are bringing back some very disturbing memories,” the 90-year-old told me, “and I’m glad you are.” Agreeing to support the project, she offered that one of her sons, an actor, might read Larry Parks’ heartbreaking testimony.
Aloha oe, farewell to thee, Betty Garrett. This beloved progressive performer gave us a glimpse of what a truly emancipated woman could be and do.
Photo: Betty Garrett in an autographed picture with husband Larry Parks. Courtesy of the Parks family.Police chiefs have defended the right of officers to confer in some circumstances in the aftermath of fatal shootings, such as that of Mark Duggan.
Duggan, 29, was shot in August 2011 after armed officers forced a cab in which he was travelling to stop, based on intelligence that he was part of a gang and had collected a gun.
The shooting in Tottenham, north London, triggered the worst riots in England in recent times, with several days of disorder that began in London and spread to other towns and cities.
In January this year a jury returned a verdict that the police had killed Duggan lawfully. But a report in May by the coroner Keith Cutler expressed concern that comprehensive accounts were not taken from police witnesses at the first opportunity. The officer who shot Duggan, known as V53, said that his substantive account of the shooting was written three days after the incident, when he and his colleagues spent more than eight hours together on their statements.
Andy Fairbrother, a solicitor acting on behalf of the Met, said the force accepted that the current “post-incident procedure” did not “attract public confidence and needed to be made more transparent”. It now insists that a senior officer is present while witness statements are written. But it said that, while officers are warned against conferring and there is a presumption in guidance against doing so, a blanket prohibition would not be practical. He added that police officers may be too traumatised by such incidents to provide immediate witness statements.
Duggan’s family said they were particularly distressed by a statement from the Met saying that the intended outcome of the operation against him was achieved. Duggan’s mother Pam and his brother, Shaun Hall, said that the force’s statement in response to Cutler’s report, that “the intended outcome of the planned operation – that is the interception of Mark Duggan and the recovery of the firearm from him – was achieved,” had devastated them.
“It’s atrocious,” said Hall. “Will no lessons be learned from my brother’s shooting? That comment makes us feel as if the Met don’t care about us as a family. They got the gun, but our son and brother was killed and after that we had the worst riots in modern history.”
Pam Duggan said: “Mark would have been 33 last month, had he not been shot dead by the police. The coroner has accepted his responsibility to try to prevent future deaths. But the police and other agencies are burying their heads in the sand. More mothers will be burying their children as a result. I’m ill with cancer, which I believe has been caused by all the stress of the police killing my son.”
The responses to the coroner’s concerns have now been placed on the Courts & Tribunals Judiciary website.
A police officer in the Duggan case is under investigation by the IPCC after allegedly failing to circulate intelligence about the gun which was linked to an incident in a Hackney barber shop a couple of weeks before Duggan was killed.On Sunday I led a workshop at the Austin Zen Center. I had a swell time. During the workshop the group and I became involved in an interesting discussion about enlightenment. I didn’t record my talk. I never record the best ones. But I’m going to try to write from memory some of what I think I might have said.
There’s a phenomenon that lots of people call “enlightenment experiences,” or “satori” or “kensho,” or “awakening,” or “opening,” or whatever. My teacher used to call that phenomenon “solving philosophical problems.”
It’s a moment when you see with perfect clarity that all that stuff about you being one with the entire cosmos, about the individual self being identical with the Great Self of the Universe, about there being no real difference/separation between subject and object, and all of that isn’t merely an abstraction or a philosophical position. It’s actually a better description for how things really are than the story you’ve been told by pretty much everyone who ever taught you anything, the story you have believed in absolutely and unquestioningly for most of your life.
That’s an important moment. It’s profound and significant. It’ll turn your head around. It’s a big deal.
But in a lot of ways it’s sort of like losing your virginity. You can only lose your virginity once. And no matter what kind of sex you have after that, your first time is something you’ll always remember.
Because you’ve crossed a boundary. Before you have sex for the first time, sex is an abstraction. You may have read about it, watched videos of it, imagined what it would feel like, etc. But once you actually do it you discover tons of things about sex that no video could ever show you, that no piece of writing could adequately explain, that were not part of your imaginary version of the activity. Oh! That’s what it smells like!
One of our problems as Westerners who are just now being introduced to a tradition in which such experiences are even regarded as possible, is that we have a tendency to get far too impressed by those who have had them. For example, we’ll say that a person who has had one of these experiences is now Enlightened and we’ll go on to create all kinds of mythology around what that means.
This is not confined to the West either. In Asia there’s also a strong tendency to attach a lot of weird unrealistic stuff to someone who has had such an experience. Often it’s even worse over there because they’ve had a lot more time to develop these myths.
But it’s kind of like when you’re a teenager and that one person in your little group of nerds who hang out by the front door of the school before the bell rings manages to get some for the first time. He becomes a bit of a celebrity. He’s the guy in the know. Like the Fonz. And everybody wants to ask him what it’s really like and hear the juicy stories.
The thing is, though, just because you’ve had sex once doesn’t make you an expert in All Things Sexy. In fact, you’re probably kind of a dunce about it. But your friends don’t know that. They’re still terribly impressed.
And just like there’s nothing about losing your virginity that suddenly makes you an expert at navigating all the ethical implications of having sex, there is nothing in a so-called “enlightenment experience” that teaches you all about ethical behavior as a whole. Seeing clearly that you are literally one with everyone and everything can impart to you the understanding of why you ought to be ethical. You see clearly that hurting someone else, or stealing from someone else, or whatever other bad thing you might do to anyone or anything is just something unpleasant you’re doing to yourself. And vice-versa.
But this doesn’t mean you won’t do those bad things or that you’ll always do right. The habits you formed when you didn’t see this for yourself are still very strong. You still have all the dark urges and screwed up personal history that you had before your “awakening.” All you’ve really got now is a new perspective on your neuroses. That doesn’t make them go away.
In fact it might make things worse. If you suddenly become aware that it’s all me, me, me as far as the eye can see, you might conclude that anything you do to anyone else is OK because — hey! — it’s all just me and I can handle it! I see lots of so-called “enlightened people” who appear to me to be acting as if that’s the way they think things are. But they’re not.
This is where the precepts come in. In the San Francisco Zen Center version of the precepts ceremony you’re asked, “Can you keep these precepts from now on, even after attaining enlightenment?” I like that. It’s a damned good question. But you’re not supposed to answer, “That’s a damned good question.” You’re supposed to answer, “Yes!”
At the workshop on Sunday a guy asked me, “Are you enlightened?” It’s a fair question, I suppose. I wrote about my loss-of-virginity experience in two books, Hardcore Zen and There Is No God And He Is Always With You. I did my best to try to convey what it was like, though I feel I did a hatchet job both times.
I know there are people running around on the spiritual circuit who’ve had experiences similar to my loss of virginity and will boldly claim that they are Enlightened. But I wonder what that means. What does it mean to them and to the people they say that to? Does it imply that they’ve crossed some kind of spiritual finishing line? Because I don’t feel like I have or ever will. So from that standpoint I am not enlightened and I can’t imagine I ever will be.
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Registration is now OPEN for our Spring Zen & Yoga Retreat March 18-20, 2016 at Mt. Baldy Zen Center, Mt. Baldy, California
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Check out my podcast with Pirooz Kalayeh, ONCE AGAIN ZEN!
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I’ve got a new book coming out soon! Stay up to date on its release schedule, my live appearances and more by signing up for our mailing list on the contact page!
My publishers are running a contest on Goodreads to give away 2 copies of my new book!
UPCOMING EVENTS
March 9, 2016 El Paso, Texas Eloise Coffeeshop/Bar 7:00pm
March 18-20, 2016 Mt. Baldy, California SPRING ZEN & YOGA RETREAT
March 25, 2016 Venice, California Mystic Journey Bookstore 7:00pm
April 7, 2016 San Francisco, California Against The Stream
April 8, 2016 San Francisco, California San Francisco Zen Center
April 22, 2016 New York, New York Interdependence Project
April 23, 2016 Long Island, New York Molloy College “Spring Awakening 2016”
June 2, 2016 Los Angeles, CA The Last Bookstore 7:00pm
September 9-11, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland 3-Day Retreat
September 16-17, 2016 Dublin, Ireland 3-Day Retreat
September 22-25, 2016 Hebden Bridge, England, 4-Day Retreat
September 27, 2016 – Wimbledon, London, England – Talk and Q&A
September 29-October 2, 2016 Helsinki, Finland, 4-Day Retreat
October 7, 2016 Berlin, Germany Zenlab
October 14, 2016 Munich, Germany, Lecture
October 15-16, 2016 Munich, Germany, 2-Day Retreat
October 23-28, 2016 Benediktushof Meditation Centrum (near Würzburg, Germany) 5-Day Retreat
ONGOING EVENTS
Every Monday at 8pm there’s zazen at Silverlake Yoga Studio 2 located at 2810 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90039. Beginners only!
Every Saturday at 10:00 am (NEW TIME!) there’s zazen at the Veteran’s Memorial Complex located at 4117 Overland Blvd., Culver City, CA 90230. Beginners only!
Plenty more info is available on the Dogen Sangha Los Angeles website, dsla.info
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One of the main ways I make money when I’m not getting enlightened is through your donations to this blog. I won’t get any of the recent Angel City Zen Center fundraiser money. I appreciate your on-going support!Aug, Hangzhou-8btc hosts a blockchain developer meetup in Hangzhou last night, topic of which is around the development of sidechain and crosschain. Guest speakers share their experience in blockchain project development. Guests include Diego Gutierrez Zaldivar, CEO of RSK; Yue Lipeng, founder of Cosmos and Polkadot; Yi Changjun, developer of Bytom; Chen Hui, founder of PPk.
Duan Xinxing delivered a opening speech with the intrdocution of 8btc. Since its establishment in 2011, 8btc is the earlierest bitcoin and blockchain community in China. It offers a platform for developers to learn and share. The first batch of blockchain startup entrepreneurs are connected to 8btc forum to a certain extent.
Duan Xinxing introducing the sidechain architechture of Bytom
The evolution of blockchain has been so dramatic that it’s difficult to keep up with. Public blockchain project like Ethereum and Litecoin are cultivated from Bitcoin. Ripple, Chain, Hyperledger are more popular on enterprise level. However, the data island of blockchain still requires a new mechanism to achieve inter-operation and inter-communication. This is how crosschain and sidechain are originated.
Diego Gutierrez Zaldiva, CEO of RSK, share the crosschain technology via Bitcoin blockchain. RSK sets to build the smart contract platform based on Bitcoin blockchain. Sidechain is adopted to achieve security while extending performance of Bitcoin.
Diego Gutierrez Zaldiva, CEO of RSK
Diego says that the internet today allows us to transmit information effortlessly at almost zero cost but it fails to deliver assets with value. Bitcoin, as one of the greastest invention in the world, has fulfilled the function of value transfer perfectly. However, the transmission rate of Bitcoin network is low due to security concern. RSK may achieve hundreds of tx/s. Diego hopes to promote blockchain development alongside with Chinese peers.
Yue Lipeng, founder of Lianhulian community, shares his insights on the research of crosschain, using Cosmos and Polkadot as example. Cosmos aims to verify crosschain data between two blockchains via IBC (InterBlockchain Communication)plugin. Cosmos is set to become a decentralized exchange.
Yue Lipeng shares his insights on the research of Cosmos and Polkadot
Currently most exchanges are centralized, like OKCoin and Huobi. The setback of centralized platform is that users lose control of digital currency. Polkadot can be used for heterogeneous cross-chain communication and is more complicated compared to Cosmos. Polkadot is a heterogeneous multi-chain framework, constituted by collector, relay blockchain, parallel blockchain and other components. Headers of all blockchains are integrated together. Users and collectors are required to register on the relay blockchain if they wants to conduct crosschain transaction. The relay blockchain is in charge of cross-chain transaction fees and cross-chain data penalties.
Yi Changjun, developer of Bytom, shares the sidechain design of Bytom. XRelay is adopted to realize sidechain function. Developers can create XRelay, a mini version of X blockchain, on Bytom. Dapp developer can verify Xchain activity through invoking API from smart contract.
Yi Changjun, developer of Bytom
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Take dividend distribution for example, if asset issuer wants to distribute dividends in BTC, he may invoke XRelay to conduct cross-chain operation.
Chen Hui, founder of PPk project, reviewed the inspiration of the success of the World Wide Web on the development of blockchain. He proposes the integration of communication between blockchain and internet. Traditional internet framework consists of LAN, IP WAN, DNS, Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and Web application.
Chen Hui, founder of PPk project
Chen Hui says that the most important factors for the success of WWW (World Wide Web) are the release of URI, HTTP protocol, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) since its inception in 1945. At its current stage, blockchain is like the early of stage of local area network. Developers are required to grasp in-depth understanding the bottom-layer protocol of blockchain when they are developing applications, which increases the learning costs and lowers development efficiency. Chen Hui proposes that a bridge, a trusted identity and transmission protocol, could be built between the application layer and bottom-layer of blockchain, which will greatly reduces the developer’s cost and improves their efficiency.
The meetup attracts a large crowd and audience have to pick a spot on the venue.Sapphire Technology has started to ship a new graphics card worldwide, as part of its Radeon R300 lineup. The Sapphire Radeon R9 380 ITX Compact Edition has been specially developed for small form factor PCs. AMD's AiB partner claims that this model is "the only ITX board on the market using this generation of technology and delivering this class of performance". This compact new Radeon graphics card is said to be perfect for SFF PC gaming in resolutions of 1080p and beyond.
Mini-ITX systems are becoming more popular; they fit more subtly into rooms where a traditional desktop sized PC might be an eyesore, however people don't often want to go mini on performance. The rise in popularity in living room entertainment PCs and 'Steam Machine' type builds means cards like this new Sapphire R9 380 ITX and the ASUS GTX 970 DC Mini seem to be popular with readers.
The Sapphire Radeon R9 380 ITX Compact Edition is just 170mm long, it is 116mm tall and 37mm thick. It is a 2-slot solution cooled by a dual-ball bearing fan and efficient heatpipe cooler. Sapphire Black Diamond chokes are said to provide stability. This |
one or more secondary instances that mirror your main GitLab instance. Geo's primary goal was to drastically speed up cloning and fetching projects over large distances. While Geo works really well for this use case, it has one point that prevents us to use this technology to support a full disaster recovery scenario: files that are saved on disk were not replicated. This is what we are actively working on and with GitLab 9.0, we are releasing a first step towards providing support for Disaster Recovery scenarios. We call it Disaster Recovery in Alpha. A bunch of important changes to Geo have been introduced with this release: If you use LFS, LFS objects will automatically be replicated to the secondary nodes (Merge request).
All file uploads are now recorded in the database (Merge request). This will allow us to replicate those files in a future iteration.
There is a new process to automatically backfill repositories (Merge request).
You can now disable a secondary node through the UI.
Both GitLab Geo and Disaster Recovery are under development and not production-ready. To enable Disaster Recovery in Alpha, refer to the documentation. Disaster Recovery in Alpha is available to all Enterprise Edition Premium customers as part of GitLab Geo. On a sidenote, due to PostgreSQL's upgrade happening with GitLab 9.0, GitLab Geo 8.x is not compatible with GitLab Geo 9.0 and requires a manual update. If you are an existing Geo user, please read the upgrade instructions before upgrading to GitLab 9.0.
Other Improvements in GitLab 9.0
Deprecations GitLab Runner Deprecation Please note that GitLab Runners prior to 9.0 utilize API v3, and therefore are deprecated along with the v3 API. Runners version 9.0 and above utilize the new v4 API, requiring a minimum of GitLab 9.0. Due: August 2017. Git-Annex deprecation As previously announced, support for Git-Annex has been deprecated in GitLab 9.0. Read through the Git-Annex to Git-LFS migration guide. Due: today. GitLab Pages IP on GitLab.com We've changed the IP address of GitLab Pages server on GitLab.com. Your DNS A record needs update. For more info, please read the blog post "We are changing the IP of GitLab Pages on GitLab.com". Due: March 31st, 2017 at 23:59h UTC.
Upgrade barometer To upgrade to GitLab 9.0, downtime is required. Larger instances (>1000 users) should expect about 15 minutes of downtime. The specific migrations requiring downtime or taking significant time are described below. Some columns are renamed. This operation requires downtime.
A new column is added to users table, which does not require downtime but may take some time to complete.
The builds table is updated, which does not require downtime but may take some time depending on your CI usage. GitLab 9.0 introduces a new version of our API. While existing calls to API v3 will continue to work until August 2017, we advise you to make any necessary changes to applications that use the v3 API. Read the documentation to learn more. Because of PostgreSQL's upgrade, GitLab 9.0 introduces a breaking change to GitLab Geo. If you are an existing Geo user, please refer to the documentation before upgrading to 9.0. Note We assume you are upgrading from the latest version. If not, then also consult the upgrade barometers of any intermediate versions you are skipping. If you are upgrading from a GitLab version prior to 8.0 and you have CI enabled, you have to upgrade to GitLab 8.0 first. New configuration options have been introduced in the omnibus-gitlab packages. To check what changed compared to your /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb configuration file, run sudo gitlab-ctl diff-config. Please be aware that by default the Omnibus packages will stop, run migrations, and start again, no matter how “big” or “small” the upgrade is. This behavior can be changed by adding a /etc/gitlab/skip-auto-migrations file. If you're GitLab EE user, please be aware that in 9.0 release we bumped the required version of Elasticsearch from 2.4.x to 5.1.x. Please update it following the official documentation. Indexes created by Elasticsearch 2.4.x can be read by Elasticsearch 5.1.x.
Changelog Please check out the changelog to see all the named changes: GitLab CE
GitLab EE Installing If you are setting up a new GitLab installation please see the download GitLab page. Updating Check out our update page. GitLab Products We offer four different products for you and your company: GitLab Community Edition (CE) : Open source, self-hosted solution of GitLab. Ideal for personal projects or small teams with minimal user management and workflow control needs. Every feature available in GitLab CE, is also available on GitLab Enterprise Edition (Starter and Premium), and GitLab.com.
: Open source, self-hosted solution of GitLab. Ideal for personal projects or small teams with minimal user management and workflow control needs. Every feature available in GitLab CE, is also available on GitLab Enterprise Edition (Starter and Premium), and GitLab.com. GitLab Enterprise Edition (EE) : Open core, self-hosted, fully featured solution of GitLab. Available in two different subscriptions: GitLab Enterprise Edition Starter (EES) : Ideal for co-located teams who need additional security and workflow controls for their professional projects. GitLab Enterprise Edition Premium (EEP) : Ideal for distributed teams who need advanced workflow controls, premium features, High Availability, and Premium Support.
: Open core, self-hosted, fully featured solution of GitLab. Available in two different subscriptions: GitLab.com: Free GitLab solution, which runs on top of GitLab EES, hosted by GitLab, Inc. Ideal for individuals who want to get their projects up and running quickly. Administrated by GitLab (users don't have access to admin settings).Chobani, the Greek yogurt maker, is suing Alex Jones, the right-wing conspiracy theorist who says the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting was a hoax, 9/11 was an inside job by the U.S. government and Chobani imports migrant rapists to Twin Falls.
Chobani sued Jones and his InfoWars website on Monday in Idaho District Court in Twin Falls, where the company operates the largest yogurt plant in the world. The lawsuit said Jones, his network, and InfoWars’ Twitter feed and YouTube channel repeatedly published false information linking Chobani, owner Hamdi Ulukaya and Twin Falls to a sexual assault case involving refugee children at a Twin Falls apartment complex.
Ulukaya, a Turkish immigrant, has drawn threats for advocating for immigrants and refugees. The company employs more than 300 refugees at its plants in Twin Falls and upstate New York.
Twin Falls drew national attention in June 2016 after three refugee boys sexually assaulted a 5-year-old girl in a laundry room at an apartment complex. Right-wing websites, including Breitbart News, fanned flames of several conspiracies, including that a group of Syrian men had attacked the girl, that a rape had occurred, that a knife was present and that city officials attempted to cover up the crime, the Times-News in Twin Falls reported.
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Police and prosecutors said the conspiracies were false. While details remain unclear because the file remains sealed, prosecutors said one of the boys touched the girl while the other two filmed on a cellphone. Police and prosecutors said there was no rape, no knife was present, and authorities followed proper protocol, the Times-News reported. The three boys, ages 14, 10 and 7, each pleaded guilty to one or more felony charges April 4.
The lawsuit highlighted several InfoWars headlines and statements promoted on various platforms that the company said unfairly linked Chobani to the crime. They include:
▪ “MSM [mainstream media] Covers for Globalist’s Refugee Import Program after Child Rape Case.”
▪ "Idaho Yogurt Maker Caught Importing Migrant Rapists."
▪ Allegations that Chobani’s practice of hiring refugees brought crime and tuberculosis to Twin Falls.
Alex Jones and InfoWars ignored Chobani’s repeated requests to remove the inaccurate coverage, the lawsuit said.
“The defendants’ conduct in this matter was extreme, outrageous and warrants punitive damages,” the lawsuit said.
Chobani seeks at least $10,000 in damages, attorney fees and punitive damages.
Chobani also wants InfoWars to acknowledge its inaccuracies. In addition, Chobani said InfoWars violated the Idaho Consumer Protection Act by knowingly misrepresenting facts.
InfoWars did not immediately reply to the Statesman’s request for comment.
Jones’ Monday through Friday radio show is broadcast by about 60 stations nationwide, including KIDO-AM (580) in Boise.
Jones is currently in a child custody battle with his ex-wife in a Texas court. Jones’ attorney said his client’s angry, on-air rants should be considered performance art and should not be used against him in the custody case.Detroit police said they found a weapon on the front lawn that had been accidentally discharged
Buy Photo Lights on police car. (Photo: Free Press file photo)Buy Photo
Detroit Police say that a 9-year-old boy found a handgun in a neighbor's yard, then shot himself by accident while showing the gun to his mother.
The shooting happened shortly before 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the 17600 block of Faust on the city's west side, said Officer Shanelle Williams, a Detroit Police spokeswoman. Officers arrived at the home and found the handgun on the lawn, and now believe the gun was fired accidentally.
The boy was taken to a hospital, where his condition has stabilized. Police were notified from a security staff member at the hospital.
More updates will be provided as they become available.
Contact Daniel Bethencourt: 313-223-4531 or dbethencourt@freepress.com. Follow on Twitter @_dbethencourt.
Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/275K9SU"We realized that if we stopped caring about our fanbase and told them that they were wrong that they would just have to accept it, because our attendance is shit anyway," stated general manager Dave Kasper. "We had a general front office and ownership meeting about our fans at the end of the 2014 season and we decided that we don't really like them. It behooves us to remove all the elements that we don't like before we move into a new stadium where we don't want the ruffians around that might bring down our team value."
Reportedly, the D.C. United front office is trying to flip the team for a tidy profit two years after the stadium at Buzzard Point is built and has plans to collectively buy a Brooklyn Brownstone with the money.
"We actually called Merritt Paulson to ask him about how to tell fans off, but he told us that his fans just end up loving him anyway for doing so. He really didn't have any advice on how to actually get fans to stop showing up to games," stated Mr. Kasper to The Nutmeg News on Monday. "So we called Jorge Vergara, who told us that the key to pissing off a fanbase was collectively apathy on and off the field, unreasonable sanctions on fans, increasing ticket prices, failing to keep promises and finding a way to ensure that the front office is a bigger story than the team on the field. We also reached out to Andrew Hauptman about this issue and he told us that the best way to reach a fanbase is to insult them by OP/ED online followed by not talking to them for the next few years and complete ineffectiveness on the field."
Sources within the D.C. United front office stated that if they can reduce the size of the supporters groups, they can sell more field level tickets at a higher price when they move into the new stadium so it behooves the team to eliminate as many fans with dissenting views as possible.
The Nutmeg News will have more on this as the D.C. United front office talks about invalidating the season tickets of any fans that dare challenge them in order to resell them to anyone else that wants the seats.Vital Stats:
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed.
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5.5″
Ring Gauge: 50
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Dominican Hybrid
Binder: Mexican Sumatra
Filler: Multiple country blend
Factory: E. León Jimenes Tabacalera
Blender: Henke Kelner
Number of reviewers: 6 —– Gregg (McGreggor57) Sandeep (Djangos) Ron (shuckins) Brian (B-daddy) Cindy (Ms_CindyLynn) Robert (NavyPiper)
Price: $7.00
Age: 2 Months Rest
Release Date: July 2013
Contributed by: Ventura Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 91
“Medium, caramel-brown in color, the wrapper looks oily, veiny and bumpy. Some areas look pulled tight.” –Cindy (Ms_CindyLynn)
Aroma: 93
“Nothing noteworthy at the foot. A bit of vegetal flavors on the cold draw with a hint of cedar.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
First Third
Flavor: 92
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
“The third starts off with a lot of nuttiness as well as some unsweetened chocolate. There is definitely hay and grass as well as other barnyardy aromas that are difficult to place but nevertheless very pleasant. The pepper is almost absent in the beginning but begins to show after a few puffs and then builds in strength slowly. For the lack of a better word, there is slight ‘twang’ that can be appreciated. The smoke is creamy and smooth and voluminous. No issues with the draw or the burn. Very pleasant so far.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
“First third was very, very mild at the start. Flavors are mild tobacco with a nuttiness mixed in. Ash is tight, salt and pepper in color. Not much in the way of smoke output, so let’s see what develops as we go along….” –Robert (NavyPiper)
Second Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Dry cedar with a touch of sweet grass flavors are up front. Nutmeg with a nice light pepper kick to it is following close behind as I smoke past the halfway mark. Everything is blending well together and I like where the cigar is headed.” –Ron (shuckins)
“The cedar has become the dominant flavor in the second third. The spice has gone away nearly entirely and I’ve gotten a bump-up in strength, a little buzz. The finish is now very short. Every third or fourth draw I get a vegetal (celery?) note. And that’s about all I’m getting out of it.” –Brian (B-daddy)
Final Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Leather and roasted nuts kick off the final third. The charred flavors along with an earthiness provide a welcome relief. This is like a different cigar than the one I’ve been smoking.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
“The last third is befitting to this great cigar. The nuttiness reaches a crescendo and after that takes a back seat, after that the pepper gains more predominance. The pepper ramps up quite rapidly in the last half inch. The leather also becomes more prominent in this third. The draw and burn have no issue and the ash is medium gray and holds for over an inch before falling off. This is a very eventful cigar and I have to say I enjoyed it quite a bit.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 90
“A really nice draw, firm with plenty of smoke.” –Ron (shuckins)
Burn: 93
“The burn on this guy was rock solid straight the whole way through.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
Construction: 93
“Nice firm pack and a pretty slow burn. Cool to the nub. Very good.” –Brian (B-daddy)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Overall Experience: 91
“Definitely box-split worthy, if not full box. After doing the last several reviews, I found this a pleasant change to the run of the mill good cigars that were missing something. I will definitely smoke this again. The complexity and the changes in the flavors are very welcome.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
“The first two thirds were not good. Too tight of a draw and a plastic taste left me wanting to chuck it early. I’m glad to have smoked the final third however, it was by far the best part. If offered another one, I would smoke it…but I also would not hesitate to put it out early if it started out like this one.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
“Good flavors, along with a great burning cigar added up to a great smoking experience that I would be happy to share with friends.” –Ron (shuckins)
“Although this stick performed pretty well, I was never really interested in the flavor palate. I’d say the first third was the best but it sorta devolved from there. I don’t think I’d buy these or recommend them based on this one try.” –Brian (B-daddy)
“Overall, the cigar was good. It was pretty one dimensional, but enjoyable at the same time. The spice and cedar was a nice combo.” –Cindy (Ms_CindyLynn)
“Overall I’d say it was a good mild cigar, one that would be a good one to have to start off your day. I’ve had some mild sticks in the past that just tasted burnt if you know what I mean. This sample didn’t have that at all, which really made me happy. Its probably not one I’d stock up a lot of just due to my personal preferences, I’ve been smoking mostly full strength/body stogies for the past few months.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 76
Total Score: 91 (Very Good)
Reviewer Appea-rance Aroma 1/3 2/3 3/3 Draw Burn Constr. Overall Gregg 90 90 88 83 92 83 97 90 85 Sandeep 90 93 93 92 95 95 95 93 92 Ron 85 90 93 92 92 95 95 95 92 Brian 85 95 93 85 85 85 90 93 85 Cindy 95 93 95 90 90 100 83 93 90 Robert 92 93 90 90 90 85 93 93 90 Overall 91 93 92 90 91 90 93 93 91
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.CHICAGO — The starting job was up for grabs this offseason, and the Bears’ four running backs each had an opportunity to make it his. They all handled Chicago’s most scrutinized position battle by acting…. as civilly as possible.
Ka’Deem Carey, Jordan Howard, Jeremy Langford and Jacquizz Rodgers spent the summer giving each other tips on how to get better on the field, and then hitting the bowling alley together after practice. Sure, bowling inspired some friendly wagers, with the loser picking up the tab for food. “But if it was me, they usually took it easy and took care of the bill,” says Howard, a fifth-round rookie from Indiana. “I guess that’s what teammates do.”
The Bears made virtually no effort to re-sign Matt Forte, who has led the NFL in yards from scrimmage since 2008. Now 30, Forte is the second most productive back in Bears’ history, with 8,602 rushing yards and 4,116 receiving yards. He left Chicago in free agency and signed a three-year deal with the Jets, including $9 million in guaranteed money. The Bears’ front office declined to match, believing the roster had enough in-house talent move on.
• SCOUTING CHICAGO: The Formula for Cutler’s Success
Throughout his 13-year career, coach John Fox, has always favored a committee approach with his backs, which became the game plan in Chicago after the Bears failed to lure restricted free agent C.J. Anderson. Still, it was a gamble for general manager Ryan Pace.
Langford had a few standout moments as a rookie last season—his highlights include an 83-yard touchdown off a screen pass against the Rams—but the Michigan State product must work on finding open space more consistently. He averaged only 3.6 yards per carry, and 1.13 yards after contact (second worst in 2015 among all backs with at least 100 carries). Carey, a 2014 fourth-round pick, was at risk of being cut at this time last season. Rodgers, a veteran, is coming off a fractured arm that curtailed his season at five games last year. “Getting my shoulder back to full strength is the biggest thing,” Rodgers says. “But it feels so much better than when I started rehab.” Howard is a rookie, meaning, of course, that his adjustment to the NFL is an unknown. All these men vying for the job could, in theory, make for an awkward situation and head-over-the-shoulder paranoia in the locker room.
Chicago Bears running back Jeremy Langford. Getty Images
“It could be like that, but we’re really close,” says Carey, the longest-tenured running back in Chicago. “I know that sounds crazy but when one messes up, we tell the other what he did wrong. We pick each other up when we’re down.”
Though he’s gone, Forte is still having an impact on his protégés. Carey and Langford say they still text him, and Carey began trying Pilates, at the suggestion of Forte. “I just look at the way he got himself ready every single season, every single game,” Langford says. “That’s what it takes to make it eight years in this league, then that’s what I need to do.”
This offseason, the backs each prepared for new roles. Langford bulked up to endure a 16-game workload, and says he studied film of Chris Ivory, wanting to see how he reliably picks up a blitz and how he breaks tackles for extra yards. Carey cut his body fat from 6% to 3%, and worked on his juke moves for when he finds himself one-on-one with a safety.
Rodgers, however, is possibly the biggest surprise. While Langford shoulders most of the first-team reps early in the season, Rodgers has emerged as a third-down bruiser and leading candidate for the understudy role. Coaches have commented on the 26-year-old’s reliability, and he adds a dynamic that Forte was known for: Rodgers caught at least 52 passes for the Falcons in 2012 and 2013.
In recent years, the franchise has only had nostalgia to cling to, and parting ways with Forte was an unpopular move among the fan base. During one two-day stretch at training camp this summer, an informal count found the number of fans wearing Forte jerseys rivaled only by fans wearing Walter Payton jerseys. Both outnumbered any current player by almost a 2-to-1 margin.
On one particularly sticky afternoon in Bourbonnais, Ill., fans lined up for autographs as Carey approached.
“Jeremy, Jeremy, come here!” a young boy beckoned.
“That’s not Jeremy Langford,” the boy’s father corrected. “That’s the other guy.”
“Who?” the kid asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” said another man standing nearby. “None of them are Forte.”
Soon enough, and when it matters most, their friendship will be tested like never before.
Five Things I Think About the Bears
1. Leonard Floyd has the potential to be a beast. First thing out of the way: his weight. Floyd, who has struggled to add pounds, has been on an eat-anything-you-want-as-much-as-you-want diet (tough life, right?). He told me he put on five to six pounds since the draft. I asked him if he’s sick of everyone talking about the scale. “No, because I get it,” he said. “It’s the biggest question mark about me. Because once I figure that out…” I’ll finish the sentence here: he can be the next great Bears linebacker. Watching Floyd you can’t help but notice how quick he is. He can use his length to fend off blockers, and has incredible athleticism and burst. “You notice I’m fast, right?” Floyd said when I mentioned being impressed by his quickness. “My speed is my best asset and I’m going to use that.” I am curious what his production will be this season, though. I could see the Bears using him in a situational role as he eases into the NFL.
2. Two other rookies have stood out at camp: third-round defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard, and seventh-round wideout Daniel Braverman. Bullard, a disruptive tackler, has an opportunity to start this season. Meanwhile Braverman, the against-all-odds slot receiver from Western Michigan, has become a fan favorite and has a legitimate chance to make the roster. He’s tough, with catch-and-go quickness, and could also return punts.
3. Jerrell Freeman is an overachieving linebacker who spent three seasons in the CFL before flourishing with the Colts. He is above average in pass coverage and, combined with Danny Trevathan, creates a playmaking pair coordinators must game plan against. He was a smart pickup in free agency.
4. I am worried about the Bears’ offensive line, specifically who is snapping the ball to Jay Cutler. With Grasu out for the season, the team promoted Ted Larsen to first-string center. The seventh-year veteran, signed as a free agent in March, needs some work. Larsen had been working at right guard and hasn’t played center in the regular season since 2012, when he was with the Buccaneers.
5. I believe the Bears made the right call in promoting quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains to offensive coordinator. This keeps continuity for Cutler, who made great strides last season in an offense that Gase specifically catered to the quarterback, focusing on disciplined decision-making. The biggest issue is whether Loggains can call plays, and we won’t know that until Week 1.
Question? Comment? Let us know at talkback@themmqb.comNintendo has been infamously reticent when it comes to embracing mobile devices, but the company is slowly changing its tune — and soon there will be an app to prove it. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata recently revealed that Nintendo is working on an app that would let users use their Mii avatars outside of games and the company's own Miiverse social network.
"It would be fun for players to use their Mii characters as icons on social media."
"It would be fun for players to use their Mii characters as icons on social media," he told Japan's Nikkei business daily. "We are currently developing an application that will allow users to do that." The app will be officially announced later in the year, and right now there are next to no details — we don't know what social networks it will support and on what mobile platforms it will be available.
It doesn't sound like the most robust app — it's a far cry from actually developing smartphone apps or games that utilize Nintendo vast library of well-known characters — and it shows how slowly Nintendo has been moving in the mobile space compared to its competitors. While Microsoft has Smartglass and Sony lets you stream PlayStation games to certain mobile devices, Nintendo has done very little in this space. In 2012, Nintendo released a Pokedex app for iOS, and more recently it partnered with Japanese mobile developer Gungho to create a Super Mario spin-off of the studio's massively popular Puzzles & Dragons game. However, the new release will be coming to the 3DS as opposed to smartphones.
Iwata previously expressed an interest in making smartphone apps early last year, though little has come of that in the time since. It's also clear that, apps aside, Nintendo remains steadfast in its decision not to make smartphone games, and instead focus on its own dedicated hardware — just today it launched a new version of its 3DS handheld in North America. "In the past, I have opposed making smartphone and tablet versions of Nintendo titles," Iwata explained. "Prices for content aimed at smartphones and tablets are falling quickly. I am still wary of the category."In a rare bit of message contradiction within the ranks, Donald Trump’s first campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, conceded there was no evidence for the president’s claim that Massachusetts Democrats were brought into New Hampshire by bus on Election Day to steal the state for Hillary Clinton.
“I live on the border,” Lewandowski said in an interview with the podcast Axe Files, posted on Monday. “I didn’t see buses coming across the line to say that, hey, we’ve moved up from Massachusetts.”
Lewandowski is known for his fierce, unyielding defense of Trump, even after he was booted from the campaign and ended up on the airwaves at CNN. So it’s noteworthy that he acknowledges Trump’s claims of voter fraud in New Hampshire are false, even if that merely reflects the acceptance of reality.
And he would know. Lewandowski, a native of Massachusetts, cut his teeth as a political operative in New Hampshire. He is also not the first Republican from the Granite State to contradict Trump’s claim. A former GOP state party chair, the current New Hampshire secretary of state and a longtime GOP operative who was arrested for voter fraud have all said it is bunk.
Trump, nevertheless, has insisted that he was cheated out of a win in New Hampshire because thousands of Democrats came from Massachusetts and illegally cast votes for Clinton. He mentioned this first in a meeting with a bipartisan group of senators. And a top aide, Stephen Miller, repeated the debunked claim days later.
“Go to New Hampshire. Talk to anybody who’s worked in politics there for a long time. Everybody’s aware of the problem in New Hampshire,” Miller said.
While Lewandowski said that busing in voters is “not what happens,” he did argue that the state’s laws were vulnerable to exploitation because they allow people registering to vote to claim residency even if they don’t have proof (the would-be voters do have to sign an affidavit).
“I don’t think you have that,” Lewandowski said of the mythical buses. “What I do think you have is the potential in the future for voter fraud.”
The Trump White House did not return a request for comment.A Danish woman jailed by New York police 20 years ago for leaving her baby in a stroller outside a restaurant while she was dining inside is speaking out.
Anette Sørensen was a 30-year-old aspiring actress who returned to New York City in May 1997 from Copenhagen.
She met up with Exavier Wardlaw, the biological father of her then-14-month-old daughter, Liv.
According to the New York Post, the couple decided to grab a drink at Dallas BBQ in Manhattan's East Village.
Sørensen decided to leave Liv and her baby stroller outside the restaurant as she and Wardlaw were inside while keeping an eye on her from the window.
She says she was doing what any normal parents would have done in her native Denmark, where babies in strollers are left on sidewalks while their mothers and fathers shop and dine indoors.
A Danish woman jailed by New York police 20 years ago for leaving her baby in a stroller outside a restaurant is speaking out. The woman, Anette Sørensen (right), is seen with her daughter, Liv, 21, who was just 14 months old at the time of the incident
Sørensen was a 30-year-old aspiring actress who returned to New York City in May 1997 from Copenhagen. She met up with Exavier Wardlaw, the biological father of her then-14-month-old daughter, Liv (seen here in May 1997)
The couple decided to grab a drink at Dallas BBQ in Manhattan's East Village (above). Sørensen decided to leave Liv and her baby stroller outside the restaurant as she and Wardlaw were inside while keeping an eye on her from the window
After servers and diners complained about the baby being left outside, police arrived and arrested Sørensen and Wardlaw (seen far right) for child endangerment
'I had lived in New York [during school], so, of course, I knew that I didn't see prams all over the city,' said Sørensen in an interview published Saturday.
'But… I had been living in Copenhagen, I had given birth to my daughter in Copenhagen, I was raised myself in Denmark… That's just how you do it in Denmark.'
Diners and servers at the restaurant noticed the baby was outside and asked the couple to bring her in, but Sørensen and Wardlaw declined.
While witnesses at the time told the press that the baby was crying, Sørensen insists that Liv was comfortably asleep in her stroller.
The charges against her were eventually dropped on condition that she leave the United States
Nonetheless, someone called 911 and the police showed up.
'The first time she woke up was when the officer took her out of the pram,' Sorensen told the Post.
Sørensen said that the two police officers who initially arrived were going to allow her to leave with Liv.
But then a third officer arrived and things changed.
'I said, "I'm leaving now," and he said, "No, you're not: You're arrested,"' she said.
'It was unreal... I did not break any kind of law. I never, ever thought this could happen.'
The NYPD booked Sørensen and Wardlaw for child endangerment and disorderly conduct.
She was placed in jail for 36 hours, while her daughter was put in foster care by the city's welfare services.
'I didn't know where my child was,' said Sørensen.
'I don't think there's any greater punishment than to have your child taken away from you.'
Four days after she was arrested, Sørensen was finally reunited with Liv.
She remained in New York for a few more weeks because of summonses to civil and criminal court.
Charges against Sørensen were eventually dropped after she agreed to leave the United States.
The case made front-page news and generated headlines in the local press, which Sørensen says treated her unfairly.
While the local media in America treated her as a negligent parent, the Danish press rose to her defense.
'For every Dane it was a nightmare because we are used to living like that,' said Sørensen.
The case made front-page news and generated headlines in the local press, which Sørensen says treated her unfairly. While the local media in America treated her as a negligent parent, the Danish press rose to her defense
In 2012, Sørensen wrote a book about her experiences. She now wants to translate it into English, and she has launched a Kickstarter fund toward that end.
The book, titled A Worm in the Apple, recounts the 'traumatizing' experience.
‘It’s about what happened before, what happened as it happened, and what happened after,' she said.
The book is a chronicle of 'all the feelings, all of the thoughts that were going on at that time.
'I always had a big longing for an apology. I probably never will get this apology [so] I want to give this [book] back.'
'It's a way of getting back what I never got,' said Sørensen. 'I would like [it] if I could just say what I think.'
A year after the ordeal, she sued the city for $20million. She was awarded $66,400 by a civil jury, which found only that she should not have been strip-searched and that the city commonly failed to advise arrested foreigners of their right to notify their consulates.
Sørensen now says she wants to show the American public that the Danish system of parenting is healthier.
'People live in fear [in the US]. Children are not allowed to play in the playground alone,' said Sørensen.
'That's why it's important for me now to get [my book] into English, to show it's possible to live another way.'
Sørensen now lives in Hamburg, Germany with her husband, Mike, and their two teenage children.
Liv, the baby in the stroller, is a 21-year-old woman living in Copenhagen, where she is studying design."Kiss of Love" activists Rahul Pashupalan and model Resmi Nair, along with six others, were arrested by the Kerala Police on Tuesday and Wednesday for reportedly running a sex racket in Kerala.
The couple, who rose to fame with the "Kiss of Love" campaign, became overnight celebrities in Kerala and were planning to make a Malayalam film titled "Pling" on their controversial campaign.
Read: Rahul - Resmi Arrested
Latest reports suggest Resmi claimed they became involved in the sex racket due to the financial issues they faced during the production of the film.
Rahul is also said to have confessed about his involvement in luring women into prostitution by promising them a career in modelling. Meanwhile, Resmi lured young girls to the business highlighting her past as a model in Playboy Miss Social.
Operation Big Daddy
As part of "Opearion Big Daddy", the investigators obtain the contact number of Abdul Kadar aka Akbar through a website called Locanto. A policeman contacted him posing as a "customer", and it was Akbar who showed the police semi-nude photographs and details of Resmi through WhatsApp.
According to the police, the middleman demanded almost Rs 3 lakh for providing minors and Rs 50,000-60,000 as Resmi's rate for her "escort service". After negotiations, Akbar demanded Rs 4 lakh for five girls, and the police transfered Rs 18,000 to him as advance. Akbar was subsequently arrested on his arrival in Kochi and asked to contact Lenish Mathew, who arrived in the city with two minors from Bengaluru. She was arrested on her arrival in Kochi as well.
Meanwhile, oblivious of the police's operation, Resmi was dropped off by her husband |
-year recession. That spiral of lost jobs and income is also wrecking the country’s cherished reputation for sound public finances.
Finland’s school-masterly advice, prominent in a chorus of northern European criticism when euro zone debtors asked for bailouts, may come back to haunt its policymakers as they struggle to agree on reforms from taxes to pensions.
While southern Europe starts to win back investors after years of donor-imposed job losses and welfare cuts, Finnish welfare costs and taxes have risen as jobs are lost. Government levies as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) have jumped to a European Union high, piling costs onto the private sector.
Finnish exports, investments and retail sales are all tumbling and firms are putting out profit warnings.
“The Finnish economy has drifted into the same reference group with Italy and France,” the EU’s top economic official Olli Rehn said, referring to the two big euro zone economies whose finances linger outside the bloc’s fiscal limits.
“We have no time to lose,” said Rehn, a Finn, last month.
But with parliamentary elections in a year’s time and Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen due to step down next month, serious cost cutting looks unlikely for now.
“We would need a brave government to implement the needed reforms,” Danske Bank economist Pasi Kuoppamaki said.
But the chance of that happening decreased further on Friday, when social democrats replaced their leader, Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen, with union boss Antti Rinne, who has advocated state take a bigger role in the economy.
And with the opposition talking mainly about small cuts to welfare and incremental changes, elections are unlikely to produce anything beyond policy fine-tuning.
Finland’s GDP is still about 5 percent below its 2007 level, a bigger lag than the euro zone average and well below its main export competitors, Sweden and Germany.
The economy shrank 1.4 percent last year, and on Monday, the European Commission forecast it to grow 0.2 percent this year and 1.0 percent next - the second-weakest in the euro zone on both counts, beating only bailed-out Cyprus.
Netherlands, another debt-crisis hardliner, also has seen economy contract, but its struggles are smaller than Finland’s and has returned to export-led growth.
In the euro zone, only Malta and Estonia are less competitive than Finland on pricing. Companies such as Merivaara produce less, but labor costs have not fallen nearly as much.
While Finnish leaders are worried, about half the deficit trimming has been achieved by raising taxes. Government revenue as a share of GDP rose to 56.3 percent this year, the highest in the EU and more than 10 percentage points above the EU average.
“The question is: How can Finland finance a public sector of this size, and the answer is: ‘It really can’t, at least if it wants the economy to grow’,” Nordea analyst Jan von Gerich said.
ERODING COMPETITIVENESS
Merivaara’s sales of hospital beds and surgical tables show rising domestic costs coupled with the strong euro are increasingly hampering exports, which go mainly to Scandinavia and Russia, where the economy has stagnated.
“Price competitiveness is getting tougher all the time,” Merivaara’s Vihavainen said. “Labor here is expensive, and we are far from markets, which adds to transportation costs.”
Besides, health care spending across the globe is being squeezed by cuts in public budgets - a cause Finland championed.
“Why would we listen to countries that are not taking care of their own public finances?” said its EU minister Alexander Stubb in 2011.
He could become prime minister next month.
Even after two years of recession, there are few empty storefronts. Unemployment has risen, but is still well below the EU average, which has made it easier to delay reforms.
Finland has kept its top triple-A credit rating, earned by reforms undertaken after a deep recession in the early 1990s. But its pristine fiscal reputation “is more the past than the present,” Pimco portfolio manager Andrew Bosomworth said.
Foreigners hold 90 percent of its sovereign debt, and Finland may find its cost of borrowing drifting higher as debt investors look more closely at its current performance.
“When investors think next time whether they should buy more or reduce Finland’s weight (in their portfolios), it may be that they’ll act differently,” Nordea’s von Gerich said.
LOST RECIPE FOR GROWTH
Finland, with 5.5 million people, has lost about 100,000 industrial jobs in 10 years. Phonemaker Nokia’s woes have grabbed global headlines, but traditional Finnish strongholds of machinery and paper sectors are shedding jobs too.
In a February report to government, economists Bengt Holmstrom, Sixten Korkman and Matti Pohjola called the current crisis “to some extent even worse” than that of the early 1990s, when unemployment rates were close to 20 percent.
“Productivity growth has stopped in a never-before-seen manner and there is a lack of ideas to speed it up. The recipe for growth has been lost,” they said.
Finns must shrink their welfare state and, put simply, work harder, they said. The OECD has just given a similar message.
In Finland, Sweden serves as a yardstick for almost anything, and Finland has fallen well behind. Sweden has rebounded from the financial crisis well and its economy is expected to grow about 3 percent this year and next.
Mobile games have often been touted as a Finnish success story, with global hits including Clash of Clans and Angry Birds. But the sector employs only about 2,000 people at home.
Slideshow (3 Images)
Finland also lags on reform: Sweden has cut taxes and brought the welfare state to an affordable level.
With many Finnish export-goods makers training their workers to perform highly specialized tasks, they have sought to keep the staff employed. Now lay-off notices are more frequent, and with capacity use at less than four-fifths, even an export upswing is unlikely to mean more hiring or investments.
“There is no positive news for Finland in any scenario, at least not in the near future,” Nordea’s von Gerich said.Here are a few questions you won’t hear asked of the parade of Israeli officials crossing US television screens during the current crisis in Gaza:
What would you do if a foreign country was occupying your land?
What does it mean that Israeli cabinet ministers deny Palestine’s right to exist?
What should we make of a prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, who as opposition leader in the 1990s addressed a rally under a banner reading “Death to Arafat” a year after the Palestinian leader signed a peace accord with Israel?
These are contentious questions, to be sure, and with complicated answers. But they are relevant to understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict today. They also parallel the issues routinely raised by American journalists with Palestinian officials, pressing to consider how the US would react if it were under rocket fire from Mexico, to explain why Hamas won’t recognise Israel and to repudiate Palestinian anti-Semitism.
But it’s a feature of much mainstream journalism in the US, not just an issue of coverage during the last three weeks of the Gaza crisis, that while one set of questions gets asked all the time, the other is heard hardly at all.
In years of reporting from and about Israel, I’ve followed the frequently robust debate in its press about whether Netanyahu really wants a peace deal, about the growing power of right-wing members inside the Israeli cabinet opposed to a Palestinian state, about the creeping air of permanence to the occupation.
So it has been all the more striking to discover a far narrower discourse in Washington and the notoriously pro-Israel mainstream media in the US at a time when difficult questions are more important than ever. John Kerry, the US secretary of state, and a crop of foreign leaders have ratcheted up warnings that the door for the two-state solution is closing, in no small part because of Israel’s actions. But still the difficult questions go unasked.
Take Netanyahu’s appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday. The host, Bob Schieffer, permitted the Israeli leader to make a lengthy case for the his military’s ground attack, guiding him along with one sympathetic question after another. Finally, after describing Netanyahu’s position as “very understandable”, Schieffer asked about dead Palestinian civilians – but only to wonder if they presented a public relations problem in “the battle for world opinion”.
As if Schieffer’s position wasn’t already blindingly clear, he went on to quote former prime minister Golda Meir’s line that Israelis can never forgive Arabs “for forcing us to kill their children”.
As way of balance, CBS followed with a short clip of an interview by Charlie Rose with the Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal, who was pressed on his willingness to recognise Israel.
There has been fine reporting from on the ground in Gaza by courageous American journalists who have laid bare the price being paid by ordinary Palestinians. That, in turn, has prompted some stiff questioning in American TV studios of Israeli officials about the scale of civilian deaths and shelling of schools and hospitals. Some pro-Israel American pundits admit to have becoming “less pro-Israel”.
But the broader framework of how the conflict is presented in the US is more troubling.
‘We have a media scandal that we need to expose,’ says Rula Jebreal. Still via CNN
Former MSNBC contributor Rula Jebreal drew widespread attention to the media divide when she condemned NBC News on air, on MSNBC, for pulling its only Arab-American correspondent, Ayman Mohyeldin, out of Gaza, only to reinstate him because of the backlash. “We are disgustingly biased on this issue,” she said.
She has a point.
An analysis by Punditfact of CNN coverage during the first two weeks of the latest Gaza crisis showed that appearances by Israeli officials outnumbered Palestinian officials by more than four-to-one. There were substantially more interviews with what Punditfact called Palestinian “laymen”, but they included the relatives of a Palestinian-American beaten by Israeli soldiers that offered little insight into the bigger picture.
All appearances by Palestinian officials were outnumbered by interviews with a single man: Israel’s former ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, whom CNN hired as a Middle East analyst earlier this year. The network presents Oren as a kind of neutral interpreter, when just a few months ago he was vigorously defending Israel on behalf of Netanyahu’s government. His limited value as an analyst was swiftly exposed by his assertion that Hamas was trying to get Israel to kill as many Palestinian children as possible as part of a media strategy.
The number of guests booked or sources quoted has never been balanced on this issue in the mainstream American press, but more important is the nature of interviews and the broader coverage when Israel and Palestine are not thrust into the news by a fresh surge in violence.
At one extreme is Fox News, where last week Sean Hannity shouted down a Palestinian guest, Yousef Munayyer, because he would not condemn Hamas as a terrorist organisation, then proceeded to terminate the interview.
Munayyer, director of the Jerusalem Fund in Washington, has appeared repeatedly on CNN where he is treated more respectfully. But he told me he is frequently brought on to answer accusations from the Israeli side, rather than explain the Palestinian perspective in the way that Israeli officials and commentators are allowed to lay out their case.
“Most of the time I go on it is to be put on the defensive, in response to a conversation that’s framed around Israel’s security concerns first and foremost,” Munayyer said.
Palestinians should face difficult questions about recognition of Israel, about Hamas’s policies and actions, about how peace would work in practice.
But on the other side, I’ve rarely seen a major channel match that kind of routine close questioning of Israeli officials about the position of a government packed with ministers hostile to a Palestinian state, who advocate annexation of much of the occupied territories and who propose second-class citizenship for Arabs.
Israel’s preferred representatives in the US media – Oren, plus the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, and Netanyahu’s spokesman, Mark Regev – all project the country as a liberal democracy, an unwilling occupier that is thirsting for peace.
But that does not fit with the views of leading politicians back in Israel. Naftali Bennett, the economy minister and leader of the most powerful political party on the right, has said: “I will do everything in my power to make sure [the Palestinians] never get a state.”
Danny Danon, the increasingly powerful chairman of the central committee of Netanyahu’s Likud party, openly opposes a Palestinian state and has said the prime minister doesn’t believe in it either. “I want the majority of the land with the minimum amount of Palestinians,” Danon, whom Netanyahu just fired as deputy defense minister for being critical of opposition to a ceasefire, told me last year.
And Israel’s ultranationalist foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, wants a good chunk of Israel’s Arab population stripped of citizenship.
Perhaps none of these men will get what they want. But they hold important levers of power, and good journalism would seem to demand that probing questions get asked about where Israel is headed under such leadership.
That kind of piercing American journalism can be found, mostly in foreign-policy journals and long magazine articles, such as David Remnick’s insightful report in the New Yorker last year on the rising political power of Jewish settlers. But much of the press demonstrates a frightening lack of inquiry, and if the mainstream media won’t do it, others are increasingly willing to do it for them.
It’s no secret that younger Americans do not rely on the nightly news, cable networks or printed newspapers for information in the way many older people do. The internet has opened access to foreign news media, which often has a different take in Israel, and has opened up a stream of links to to first-hand accounts as well as writing by analysts and activists who offer insights and information wilfully ignored by the Bob Schieffers and Sean Hannitys of the world.
There is evidence of a shift in public opinion, mostly generational: a Pew poll this month showed falling support for Israel among younger Americans. Over 65s backed the Jewish state by 60% to just 9% support for the Palestinians. Among young adults, aged 18-29, just 44% were behind Israel with backing for the Palestinians rising to 22%.
As opinion shifts, it will be harder to go on presenting just one side of the story.
• This article was amended on 1 August 2014. An earlier version said Netanyahu had addressed rallies in the 1990s under a banner reading “Death to Arabs”. That has been corrected to say that Netanyahu addressed a rally under a banner reading “Death to Arafat” a year after the Palestinian leader signed a peace accord with Israel.
• Comments on this article are set to remain open for 24 hours from the time of publication but may be closed overnight (UK time)The announcement came as security was raised after vehicle attacks in Barcelona and elsewhere, and a widely-reported warning from the Islamic State group that Italy is next on its hit list.
Administrative expulsions, which are not subject to any appeal, are one of the main planks of Italy's strategy for preventing the kind of jihadist attacks suffered by other European countries.
Sicily decided Saturday to introduce barriers preventing vehicular access to six pedestrianised areas of the island's capital Palermo, reflecting fears of truck attacks.
Additional barriers are to be placed on potentially vulnerable locations in Milan, a meeting of regional security officials decided.
The prefecture for the Rome region approved an increase in the number of guards for its major tourist sports and said it would step up monitoring of trucks moving around the capital.
The latest individuals deported included a 38-year-old Moroccan said to have been radicalised while in prison for minor crimes.
His status was bumped from medium to high risk after he and other prisoners were seen enthusiastically celebrating the Stockholm truck attack in April which killed five people.
The Syrian, who also operated under a false Tunisian identity, was arrested in 2015 for involvement in illegal immigration and placed under house arrest at a centre for asylum seekers in southern Italy.
There, he was caught celebrating the attack in May that killed 22 people, many of them children, at a concert in the British city of Manchester.
The suspect, whose age was not released, had managed to avoid the fate of two previous expulsion orders issued in 2011.
The third man expelled was a 31-year-old Moroccan whose expressions of support for IS were thought to be linked to a psychiatric disorder for which he received compulsory treatment after being arrested for theft.
The interior ministry said all three had been flown back to their respective countries of origin.
Italy is regularly threatened by IS propagandists. SITE, a private intelligence group which monitors extremist organisations, said Saturday it had picked up fresh online messages promising the country would be next to be targeted.
Italian officials stress that they have yet to be alerted to an imminent, credible threat on its territory or against the Vatican.
A government panel said in a report in January that Italy was less exposed than neighbouring countries to the risk of attacks carried out by homegrown radicals.Created Last update By
This (almost) daily post intends to follow up the activity changes of volcanoes all over the world.
This post is written by geologist Rodger Wilson who specializes in Volcano seismicity and Armand Vervaeck. Please feel free to tell us about new or changed activity if we haven't written about it. -
April 28, 2013 volcano activity
We start our daily overview with another great video from yesterday's Etna (Sicily, Italy) Paroxysm (short powerful eruption)
KVERT reported no significant changes in eruptive/seismic at the five active Kamchatkan volcanoes: Tolbachik, Sheveluch, Bezymianny, Kizimen, and Karymsky. Seismicity at Gorely volcano, which presently exhibits a high level of hydrothermal activity, remains at a moderate level.
Small shallow earthquakes continue in varying daily numbers at Iliamna volcano (Alaska Range) (station INE).
Several small earthquakes occurred at/near Mount Rainier (Cascade Range) (WA) (station RCS) and Mount Saint Helens (station VALT) today.
Seismic data from Colima volcano (Mexico) continue to be unavailable. The Colima volcanocam showed no obvious surface activity when viewed a few hours ago. Exhalations occurred at an average rate of nearly two events per hour at Popocatepetl volcano overnight. An exceptionally large outburst took place at the volcano earlier today and launched an ash-laden plume to over a kilometer in height above the cone. The Popo seismogram continues to show mainly low-level volcanic tremor occurring within/beneath the cone.
Volcanic tremor is high at Pacaya volcano (Guatemala) (station PCG) at this time, but surface activity has been relatively low. Small strombolian explosions, incandescent rockfalls from the snout of the newly extruded lava flow, and nearly continuous "locomotive sounds" characterize activity at Fuego volcano (station FG3) today. Small vulcanian explosions have recently increased from the Caliente dome at the Santiaguito Dome Complex (Santa Maria volcano ) (station STG3), some are visible on today's Santiaguito seismogram.
Volcanic tremor remains slightly elevated at San Cristobal volcano (Nicaragua) (station CRIN). Magnitudes of seismic events at Telica volcano (station TELN) have increased overnight, but their rate of occurrence has been only slightly above the "normal" high background level observed at the volcano. Volcanic tremor at Masaya volcano (station MASN) remains unstable, but has generally declined in amplitude over the past few days.
Higher-than-normal magnitude volcanic earthquakes continue at San Miguel volcano (El Salvador) (station VSM).
Local earthquakes and hydrothermal "noise" continue at Poas volcano (Costa Rica) (station POA2) today.
Seismicity remains unstable at Nevado Del Ruiz volcano (Colombia) (station OLLZ). Small earthquakes affect Sotara (station SOSO) and Cumbal (station MEVZ) volcanoes, and pulses of gas (and ash) emission tremor have recently appeared on seismograms at Galeras volcano (station CUVZ).
Eruptive activity has re-commenced at Tungurahua volcano (Ecuador) (station RETU) less than two days after we noted an increase in seismicity (see yesterday's report) at the volcano. Small earthquakes continue, though with reduced amplitudes today, at Cotopaxi volcano (station CO1V). Co-eruptive(?) seismicity has increased at Reventador volcano (station CONE) since yesterday.
Volcanic tremor continues its slow decline at White Island volcano (New Zealand), but surface hydrothermal activity remains strong there.
OMI satellite data have not been updated during the past few days (another victim of "The Sequester"?). Volcanic "hotspots" were identified in MODIS satellite images of Tolbachik, Fuego, Etna and Stromboli (Italy), and Batu Tara (eastern Java) volcanoes.
zTime goes hereA note about listicles: So we know a lot of people hate listicles and associate them with cheap, low-quality, traffic-driving, link-bait articles. But here’s the thing—a list is a great format for an article, and a format I was using on my old blog almost 10 years ago. In fact, my first listicle, 19 Things I Don’t Understand, was published in August of 2005, a year before Buzzfeed was even founded. Then, over the last few years, I watched in horror as one of my favorite formats decided to prostitute itself all over the internet as the default format for lazy articles. Anyway the point is, A) I was doing listicles before they were cool, and B) A list headline doesn’t mean it can’t be a high-quality article, so C) Wait But Why will make a listicle when it’s the best format for that post, and don’t be mad at us cause it’s not what it looks like.
__________
When you’re a kid, or in high school, or in college, you don’t really work too hard on your friend situation. Friends just kind of happen.
For a bunch of years, you’re in a certain life your parents chose for you, and so are other people, and none of you have that much on your plates, so friendships inevitably form. Then in college, you’re in the perfect friend-making environment, one that hits all three ingredients sociologists consider necessary for close friendships to develop: “proximity; repeated, unplanned interactions; and a setting that encourages people to let their guard down and confide in each other.” More friendships happen.
Maybe they’re the right friends, maybe they’re not really, but you don’t put that much thought into any of it—you’re more of a passive observer.
Once student life ends, the people in your life start to shake themselves into more distinct tiers. Something like this:
At the top of your life mountain, in the green zone, you have your Tier 1 friends—those who feel like brothers and sisters. These are the people closest to you, those you call first when something important happens, those you love even when they suck, who make speeches at your wedding, whose best and worst sides you know through and through, and whose relationship with you is eternal—even if you go months or years without hanging out, nothing has changed when you find yourself together again. Unfortunately, depending on how things went down in your youth, Tier 1 can also contain your worst enemies, the people who can ruin your day with one subtle jab that only they could word so brilliantly hurtfully, the people you feel a burning resentment for, or jealousy of, or competition with. Tier 1 is high stakes.
Below, in the yellow zone, are your Tier 2 friends—your Pretty Good friends. Pretty Good friends are a much calmer situation than your brothers and sisters on Tier 1. You might be invited to their wedding, but you won’t have any responsibilities once you’re there. If you live in the same city, you might see them every month or two for dinner and have a great time when you do, but if one of you moves, you might not speak for the next year or two. And if something huge happens in their life, there’s a good chance you’ll hear it first from someone else.
Towards the bottom of the mountain in the orange zone, you have your Tier 3 friends—your Not Really friends. You might grab a one-on-one drink with one of them when you move to their city, but then it surprises neither of you when five years pass and drink #2 is still yet to happen. Your relationship tends to exist mostly as part of a bigger group or through the occasional Facebook like, and it doesn’t even really stress you out when you hear that one of them made $5 million last year. You may also try to sleep with one of these people at any given time.
The lowest part of Tier 3 begins to blend indistinguishably into your large group of acquaintances (the pink zone)—those people you’d stop and talk to if you saw them on the street or would maybe email for professional purposes, but whom you’d never hang out with one-on-one. When you hear that something bad happens to one of these people, you pretend to be sad but you don’t actually care.
Finally, acquaintances gradually blend into the endless world of strangers.
And depending on who you are and how things shook out in those first 25 years, the way your particular mountain looks will vary.
For example, there’s Walled-Off Wally:
And Phony Phoebe, who tries to be everyone’s best friend and ends up with a lot of people mad at her:
Even Unabomber Ulysses has a mountain:
Whatever your particular mountain looks like, eventually the blur of your youth is behind you, the dust has settled, and there you are living your life—when one day, usually around your mid or late 20s, it hits you:
It’s not that easy to make friends anymore.
Sure, you’ll make new friends in the future—at work, through your spouse, through your kids—but you won’t get to that Tier 1 brothers level, or even to Tier 2, with very many of them, because people who meet as adults don’t tend to get through the 100+ long, lazy hangouts needed to reach a bond of that strength. As time goes on, you start to realize that the 20-year frenzy of not-especially-thought-through haphazard friend-making you just did was the critical process of you making most of your lifelong friends.
And since you matched up with most of them A) by circumstance, and B) before you really knew yourself yet, the result is that your Tier 1 and Tier 2 friends—those closest to you—fall in a very scattered way on what I’ll call the Does This Friendship Make Sense graph:
So who are all those close friends in the three non-ideal quadrants?
As time goes on, most of us tend to have fewer friends in Quadrants 2-4, because A) people mature, and B) people have more self-respect and higher standards for what they’ll deal with as they get older. But the fact is, friendships made in the formative years often stick, whether they’re ideal or not, leaving most of us with a portion of our Tier 1 and Tier 2 friendships that just don’t make that much sense. We’ll get to the great, Quadrant 1 friendships later in the post, but in order to treat those relationships properly, we need to take a thorough look at the odd ones first. Here are 10 common ones—
1) The Non-Question-Asking Friend
You’ll be having a good day. You’ll be having a bad day. You’ll be happy at work. You’ll quit your job. You’ll fall in love. You’ll catch your new love cheating on you and murder them both in an act of incredible passion. And it doesn’t matter, because none of it will be discussed with The Non-Question-Asking Friend, who never, ever, ever asks you anything about your life. This friend can be explained in one of three ways:
1) He’s extremely self-absorbed and only wants to talk about himself
2) He avoids getting close to people and doesn’t want to talk about either you or himself or anything personal, just third-party topics
3) He thinks you’re insufferably self-absorbed and knows if he asks you about your life, you’ll talk his ear off about it
Giving you the benefit of the doubt here, we’re left with two possibilities. Possibility #1 isn’t fun at all and this person should not be allowed space on Tier 1. The green part of the mountain is sacred territory, and super self-absorbed people shouldn’t be permitted to set foot up there. Put him on Tier 2 and just be happy you’re not dating him.
Possibility #2 is a pretty dark situation for your friend, but it can actually be fun for you. I have a friend who I’ve hung out with one-on-one about four times in the last year, and he has no idea Wait But Why exists. I’ve known him for 14 years and I’m not sure he knows if I have siblings or not. But I actually enjoy the shit out of this friend—sure, there’s a limit on how close we’ll ever be, but without ever spending time talking about our lives, we actually end up in a lot of fun, interesting conversations.
2) The Friend in the Group You Can’t Be Alone With Under Any Circumstances
In almost every group of friends, there’s one pair who can’t ever be alone together. It’s not that they dislike each other—they might get along great—it’s just that they have no individual friendship with each other whatsoever. This leaves both of them petrified of the lumbering elephant that appears in the room anytime they’re alone together. They’re way too on top of shit to ever end up in the car alone together if a group is going somewhere in multiple cars, but there are smaller dangers afoot—like being the first two to arrive at a restaurant or being in a group of three when the third member goes to the bathroom.
The thing is, sometimes it’s not even that these people couldn’t have an individual friendship—it’s just that they don’t, and neither one has the guts to try to make that leap when things have gone on for so long as is.
3) The Non-Character-Breaking Friend You Have to be “On” With
This is a friend who’s terrified of having an earnest interaction, and as such, your friendship with him is always in some kind of skit—you always have to be on when you’re interacting.
Sometimes the skit is that you both burst out laughing at everything constantly. He can only exist with you in “This is so fucking hilarious it’s too much!” mode, so you have to be in some kind of joke-telling or sarcastic mode yourself at all times or he’ll become socially horrified.
Another version of this is the “always and only ironic” friend, who you really bum out if you ever break that social shell and say something earnest. This type of person hates earnest people because someone being earnest dares him to come out from under his ironic safety blanket and let the sun touch his face, and no fucking thanks.
A third example is the “You’re great, I’m great, ugh why is everyone else so terrible and not great like us” friend. Of course, she doesn’t really think you’re perfectly great at all—if she were with someone else, you’d be one of the voodoo dolls on the table to be dissected and scoffed at. The key here is that the two of you must be on a team at all times while interacting. The only comfortable mode for this person is bonding with you by building a little pedestal for you both to stand on while you criticize everyone else. You can either play along and everything will go smoothly, even though you’ll both despise yourselves and each other the whole time, or you can commit the ultimate sin and have the integrity to disagree with the friend or defend a non-present party the friend criticizes. Doing this will shatter the fragile team vibe and make the friend recoil and say something quietly like, “Hm…yeah…I guess.” The friend now respects you for the first time and will also criticize you extra hard next time she’s playing her pedestal game with a different friend.
What these all have in common is the friend has tall walls up, at least toward you, and so she builds a little skit for you two to hang out in to make sure any authentic connection can be avoided. Sometimes that person only does this out of her own social anxiety and can become a great, authentic friend if you can just stomp through the ice. Other times, the person is just hopelessly scared and closed off and there’s no hope and you have to get out.
In any case, I can’t stand these interactions and am in a full panic the entire time they’re happening.
4) The Double-Obligated Friendship
Think of a friend you get together with from time to time, which usually happens after a long and lackluster email or text exchange during which you just can’t find a time that works for both of you—and you’re never really happy when these plans are being made and not really psyched when you wake up and it’s finally on your schedule for that day.
Maybe you’re aware that you don’t want to be friends with that person, or maybe you’re delusional about it—but what you’re most likely not aware of is that they probably don’t want to see you either.
There are lopsided situations where one person is far more interested in hanging out than the other (we’ll get to those later), but in the case we’re talking about here, both parties often think it’s a lopsided situation without realizing that the other person actually feels the same way—that’s why it takes so long to schedule a time. When someone’s excited about something, they figure out how to get it into their schedule—when they’re not, they figure out ways to push it farther into the future.
Sometimes you don’t think hard enough about it to even realize you don’t like being friends with the person, and other times you really like the idea or the aesthetic of being friends with that particular person—being friends with them is part of your Story. But even in cases where you’re perfectly lucid about your feelings—since neither of you knows the other feels the same way and neither has the guts to just cut things off or move it down a tier, this friendship usually just continues along for eternity.
5) The Half Marriage
Somewhere in your life, you’re probably part of a friendship that would be a marriage if only the other person weren’t very, very, extremely not interested in that happening. 1 for 2 on yes votes—just one vote away—so close.
You might be on either side of this—and either way it’s one of the least healthy parts of your life. Fun!
If you’re on the if only side of things, probably the right move is to get your fucking shit together? Ya know? This friendship is one long, continuous rejection of you as a human being, and you’re just wallowing there in your yearning like a sobbing little seal. Plus, duh, if you gather your self-respect and move on with your life, it’ll raise their perception of your value and they might actually become interested in you.
If you’re on the oh yeah definitely not side of the situation, here’s what’s happening—there’s this suffering human in the world, and you know they’re suffering, and you fucking love it, because it gives your little ego a succulent sponge bath every time you hang out with them. You enjoy it so much you probably even lead them on intentionally, don’t you—you make sure to keep just enough ambiguity in the situation that their bleeding heart continues to lather your ego from head to toe at your whim.
Both of you—go do something else.
6) The Historical Friend
A Historical Friend is someone you became friends with in the first place because you met when you were little and stayed friends through the years, even though you’re a very weird match. Most old friends fall somewhat into this category, but a true Historical Friend is someone you absolutely would not be friends with if you met them today.
You’re not especially pleased with who they are, and they feel the same way about you. You’re not each other’s type one bit. Unfortunately, you’re also extremely close friends from when you were four, and you’re both just a part of each other’s situation forever, sorry.
7) The Non-Parallel Life Paths Friendship
Throughout childhood and much of young adulthood, most people your age are in the same life stage as you are. But when it comes to advancing into full adulthood, people do so at widely varying paces, which leads to certain friends suddenly having totally different existences from one another.
Anyone within three years of 30 has a bunch of these going on. It’s just a weird time for everyone. Some people have become Future 52-year-olds, while others are super into being Previous 21-year-olds. At some point, things will start to meld together again, but being 30-ish is the friendship equivalent of a kid going through an awkward pubescent stage.
There are darker, more permanent Non-Parallel Life Path situations. Like when Person A starts to become a person who rejects material wealth, partially because she genuinely feels that pursuing an artistic path matters more and partially because she needs a defense mechanism against feeling envious of richer people, and Person B’s path makes her scoff at people who pursue creative paths, partially because she genuinely thinks expressing yourself is an inherently narcissistic venture and partially because she needs a defense mechanism against feeling regretful that she never pursued her creative dreams—these two will have problems. They may still like each other, but they can’t be as close as they used to be—each of their lives is a bit of a middle finger at the other’s choices, and that’s just awkward for everyone. It’s not always that bad—but to survive an Off-Line Life Situation, friends need to be really different people who don’t at all want the same things out of life.
This friendship is a distant cousin of The Morally Off-Line Friendship—
8) The Frenemy
The Frenemy roots very hard against you. And I’m not talking about the friends that will feel a little twinge of pleasure when they hear your big break didn’t pan out after all or that your relationship is in bad shape. I’m not even talking about someone who secretly roots against you when they’re not doing so well at some area of life and it hurts them to see you do better. Those are bad emotions, but they can exist in people who are still good friends.
I’m talking about a real Frenemy—someone who really |
The gravel isn’t as unforgiving as the cobbles of Belgium or northern France but it is still riddled with hazards. In dry conditions, there’s choking dust, unstable ground and puncture-inducing stones. In the wet, there’s cloying white clay, slippery slopes and puncture-inducing stones. Whatever the conditions, a gravel section can exacerbate the smallest of gaps between riders and cause a race to be won or lost 60km from the finish line.
One of the shorter one-day classics at 175km, a factor that aids the fast tempo and dynamic racing, this year’s race will include 11 gravel sections, making up 62km of the race. The peloton will have only just left Siena and entered into the Chianti countryside, before the first of these sections presents itself, neatly coming in at 11km, after which the first, and steepest gravelled climb comes 17km. The rider then cover two more sections of gravel including the Monte Sante Marie, which has been dedicated to 3-time winner Fabian Cancellara.
The big test comes some 30km after this, in the form of the climb to Montalcino (4km at 5%). However, its early appearance in the race means it has little chance of appearing a race defining split. After this comes two significant gravel sections, separated by barely a km in between. After this, the remainder of the race profile resembles the read out from a nervous polygraph subject, that undulates without extreme severity.
As the race reaches the penultimate section of gravel, steep stretch up to Colle Pinzuto, expect the hopeful race-winning attacks to be launched. After this, the final sections of gravel, with another punchy climb halfway through it, will then leave only 12km to the finish and the lead group of riders will have Siena in their sights. This is arguably one of the finest finishes in professional cycling: The sharp upward roads, leading to the tight city streets, lined by the terracotta coloured medieval buildings, leading to the finish line in the Piazza del Campo – Bellissimo!
Similar to last weekend’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad it has UCI world tour status for the first time this year which means it was even easier to attract the big teams and so, like the best spring classics, the lineup is full of excellent riders. Here we focus on the guys we think will really have a crack at it tomorrow.
Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) – Of course he’s a favourite here. He took Omloop, finished 7th the next day at KBK and has a mightily strong team around him including the Italian duo of Daniel Oss and Damiano Caruso who will be looking forward to racing on home gravel.
Peter Sagan (BOH) – His form here at Strade Bianche in the past 4 years has got him two second places and a fourth place finish. His form last Saturday and Sunday was second and first respectively. He will be in the choice group making the decisive moves, and if he can get up that last street climb better than he has in the past years, this race is his.
Vincenzo Nibali (TBM) – With a victory at Il Lombardia and impressive, punchy stage wins in grand tours under his belt, Nibali shows that when he isn’t concerned with a general classification position he can race a one-dayer as well as the best. Giovanni Visconti will be a very useful teammate here.
With a top three finish at last year’s Il Lombardia, Rigoberto Uran (CDT) could factor in the final moves but he’ll probably be riding for his teammate Sep Vanmarcke. Simon Clarke will also be acting as a very handy domestique.
Previous winner Zdeněk Štybar (QTS) will be wanting to make up for QuickStep’s poor luck in last weekend’s Belgian races, and without Tom Boonen being the de-facto team leader, Zdeněk can call all the shots. With a team also featuring Matteo Trentin and Gianluca Brambilla, QuickStep are here to win.
Michal Kwiatkowski (SKY) will want to summon the fearless form that led to his victory in 2014. A form that one could argue hasn’t been recreated in Team Sky colours, but with a strong Italian trio of Salvatore Puccio, Diego Rosa and Gianni Moscon backing him up, he’s going to try his damnedest.
Trek-Sefafrado are seemingly not struggling with life without Cancellara, with both Jasper Stuyven and Fabio Felline looking in great shape after the opening classic weekend in Belgium. Both look able to challenge for the win here, but we think the Italian will be favoured on home roads.
Notable others: Tiesj Benoot and Jurgen Roelandts (LTS), Enrico Battaglin (TLJ), Edvald Boasson Hagen (DDD), Georg Preidler (SUN).
Picks:
When discussing this preview one of us joked we could sum it up in one word: Sagan. Another joked we could sum it up in three letters: G.V.A. No no no, you’re wrong, said the last pundit, two words: Fabio Felline. Wait, what?
Andy: Sagan
Chris: GVA
James: FellineAny price comparison is to a new, nonrefurbished product price.
Microsoft Surface 2 32GB 10.6” Tablet (Refurbished)
The Microsoft Surface 2 tablet packs the intuitive, touch-friendly Windows 8.1 experience—including Microsoft Office—into a lightweight tablet that’s ready to travel.
Big Full-HD Display
For movies that look straight off a big-screen HDTV, the Surface 2’s display lights up with a crystal-clear 1080p resolution. It’s 10.6” from corner to corner, so there’s plenty of space for reading comfortably, scrolling through photos, or playing games.
Zippy Processor
A quad-core processor powers fast navigation and seamless switching between programs. It also helps games and apps from the Windows Store run with less lag.
Office Productivity
CNET heralded the Surface 2 the “best productivity tablet” in part because it comes preloaded with Microsoft Office 2013 RT. Create a budget spreadsheet, work on a business presentation, or write Santa a love letter, all from the tablet.
Built-in Kickstand
The tablet props itself up for hands-free use, whether you’re watching a movie with a friend or referencing a recipe in the kitchen.
Specifications
Product number: P3W-00001
10.6” display
1920x1080 full-HD resolution
32GB storage
2GB RAM
NVIDIA Tegra 4 1.7GHz quad-core processor
Windows RT 8.1 OS
Microsoft Office 2013 RT
Built-in WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0
5MP rear camera, 3.5MP front camera
Battery life: Up to 10 hours of video playback
Dimensions: 10.81”x6.79”x0.35”
Weight: less than 1.49lb.
Full specifications
Condition: refurbished
90-day warranty from vendor
In the box: Surface 2 tablet, power supply, quick start guide, safety and warranty documents
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Goods sold by Groupon Goods. View the Groupon Goods FAQ to learn more.So yesterday I got a box of body parts in the mail and when I pieced them all together they were a bunch of angry cross-dressers.
I couldn’t make this shit up.
Lego sent me this to celebrate their new line or anniversary or something and I honestly have no idea what the hell to say here except that this pretty much sums up my entire life. Other bloggers get invited to go on CNN or get free furniture. I get an angry transvestite army.
Even my kid was like “Fucking-A, this shit is disturbing” except that she’s three so it was more like she picked up the girl/boy and said in a really deep, masculine voice “My name is Lori?” and then looked to me for guidance and I was all “I got nothin’, kid” and Victor couldn’t stop laughing.
And let me just go on record here as saying that I am a HUGE supporter of the transgendered community and I think Eddie Izzard in drag is 10 times hotter than Brad Pitt covered in nougat, but this is just bizarre. There was not one face in the box that wasn’t the threatening moustachioed dude.
PS. Someone just sent me the lego version of Eddie Izzard’s “cake or death”. I’m still confused but at least it makes this post slightly more cohesive*.
*No, it really doesn’t really at all.
Update: So it turns out that this angry moustachioed head is most often used in sets where he plays a patient about to undergo some sort of procedure. Of course it is.
Also, I got a very nice response from Lego which said ” Each kit was supposed to contain an assortment of random parts; however, it looks like yours somehow consisted only of angry mustache faces. Please know that this was not at all done intentionally or to freak anyone out in any way.” I also heard from several other people who got packages from Lego and none of them contained the angry moustachioed man head. So basically I control the entire market. It’s a lot like cornering the market on gold, which is enviable and glamorous. Only switch “gold” with “angry moustachioed heads”, and “enviable and glamorous” with “perplexing and mildly uncomfortable.”
Comment of the day: It’s like a bunch of tiny Tony Orlandos. ~Missie(Image: CNET/CBS Interactive)
A trifecta of vulnerabilities has been found in software preinstalled on a number of Dell, Toshiba, and Lenovo consumer and enterprise PCs and tablets, affecting millions of users.
A proof-of-concept that was posted online (which we are not linking to) could allow an attacker to run malware at the system level, regardless of what kind of user is logged in.
A user can be tricked into opening a specially-crafted web page, either as a drive-by download or through an email attachment, which could allow an attacker to exploit the flaw.
The security researcher, known as slipstream/RoL, confirmed to ZDNet that he did not inform Dell, Toshiba, and Lenovo of the flaws before the the proof-of-concept code was posted online.
An advisory, posted by Carnegie Mellon University's public vulnerability database (CERT) on Thursday, said preinstalled Lenovo software (
often known as "bloatware"
) includes three vulnerabilities.
The Lenovo Solution Center, an app designed to give the user a quick overview of the system's health, security and network status, comes pre-installed on a number of Think products, including ThinkPads, ThinkPad tablets, ThinkCenter and ThinkStation, IdeaCenter and some IdeaPads, running Windows 7 and later.
A Lenovo spokesperson would not say which specific models or how many would be affected, but referred to the security advisory posted on its website, posted Thursday, which reads: "We are urgently assessing the vulnerability report and will provide an update and applicable fixes as rapidly as possible. Additional information and updates will be posted to this security advisory page as they become available."
Lenovo has not said when it will fix the vulnerabilities in the software, but said in a security advisory that uninstalling the app will remove the risk posed by the flaw.
As for Toshiba, a security vulnerability was found in the preinstalled Toshiba Service Station, which searches for software updates among other features.
According to slipstream/RoL, the app allows a logged-in user to read parts of the registry as a system user, which has higher privileges than a standard user account. He said an attacker can't read the security account manager (SAM) or bootkeys, however. He said it's possible to "bypass any specific registry permissions set."
For Dell, this is the second major security issue in as many weeks -- and both were found by the same security researcher.
slipstream/RoL said that the preinstalled Dell System Detect app, which checks a user's system for issues prior to a support call, can be crudely used to bypass a Windows security feature that escalates a user's privilege.
He said that an attacker can abuse a signed application to repeatedly give a signed User Account Control prompt, until a user gives way and allows the elevation.
It comes just a week after Dell was accused of preinstalling a security certificate that could allow an attacker to intercept traffic and conduct man-in-the-middle attacks. CERT explained at the time that attacker can create their own certificates signed by Dell, which would be trusted by any system that trusts that certificate.
Spokespeople for Dell and Toshiba did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
It's not clear how many PCs or tablets are affected by the flaw,
but it's thought to be in the millions
.
Lenovo shipped 13.5 million PCs during the third-quarter this year, according to its third-quarter earnings report, published in mid-August. But it's not clear how many Lenovo PCs and tablets are affected by the vulnerable software.
Based on IDC figures, Dell shipped more than 10.1 million PCs in the third-quarter. It's not clear how many Toshiba PCs were shipped worldwide, but it shipped about 810,000 PCs in the US during the third quarter.
Bloatware -- also known as crapware -- remains a major issue in PC and mobile circles, particularly because it's been known to compromise system security. Lenovo, which was caught up in the "Superfish" adware scandal earlier this year, promised to stop bundling preinstalled bloatware on PCs.
"Preinstalled crapware is bad, m'kay?" said the researcher.FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Two weeks ago, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was a surprise guest at a Massachusetts middle school. This Saturday, he'll welcome a child to Gillette Stadium as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Everyone knows about the force that Gronkowski is on the football field, but this is the side of him that isn't often talked about.
Few Patriots give as much time to charitable and community endeavors as Gronkowski.
"I don't think that Rob has ever had a bad day," owner Robert Kraft said. "His happy, go-lucky attitude is infectious, which makes him a great ambassador when he is out in the community."
Such was the case in Gronkowski's most recent community appearance, on Oct. 20 at Holten Richmond Middle School in Danvers, Massachusetts. The parents of two students had bid on an auction item at the annual Patriots Charitable Foundation gala to bring Gronkowski to school, which is the second year the star power of Gronkowski has raised big money for the franchise's charitable arm.
The visit was a surprise to many, and as is usually the case wherever Gronkowski shows up in New England, a frenzied excitement erupted when he arrived -- from students and many staff members.
"It's all smiles, the whole school going crazy, everyone going wild," Gronkowski said. "When it's like that, it is fun for both parties."
Gronkowski answered questions at a school-wide assembly, took selfies, and then had a meet-and-greet with 30 students as he signed autographs and taught them how to spike a football.
"He was so accessible to the kids, down to earth," said Adam Federico, the school's principal. "He was at their level and they really enjoyed how authentic it was to spend time with somebody like him. The message was great to the kids, about the importance of being involved with sports and activities in school, and I think they took it to heart."
That appearance came five weeks after Gronkowski greeted military members and their families. The Department of Defense event, coming two days after the Patriots' season-opening win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, was for families who are adjusting to having a loved one overseas.
In July, Gronkowski visited Boston Children's Hospital, teaming up with a local foundation that raises funds for cancer research. Gronkowski has shaved his head at the foundation's annual buzz off event each of the last few years.
In June, he was at Massachusetts General Hospital as part of an employee recognition and volunteer program. Prior to that, he was part of the team's "trophy tour" to Foxborough schools in which the Lombardi Trophy was shared with students. He was also part of a Play 60 event in local schools to promote healthy diet and exercise.
Kids raced to decorate their favorite Patriots players like Christmas trees during the Patriots' annual holiday party. Courtesy of the New England Patriots
And he's always a regular at the team's annual children's holiday party where kids decorated him like a tree, as well as volunteering as part of the Patriots' annual Thanksgiving Goodwill event in which turkey baskets are donated and delivered to families' cars.
"If I call him to do something, he'll do it for me," said Donna Spigarolo, the team's director of community relations. "His enthusiasm is contagious, no matter where he goes, and he always brings a smile to the room. It's a joy to work with him."
Spigarolo recalled her first meeting with Gronkowski during his rookie season in 2010, as he was at a Patriots community event in which a new playground was being built. The two sat next to each other on the bus to and from the event, and by the end of it she remembers Gronkowski asking to be part of more of them.
He often was, before his rising profile changed the dynamics a bit.
"As he became more of a star, his time became torn between different places and he couldn't be with me every week," Spigarolo said.
Gronkowski's tough run with injuries late in 2012 and into 2013 also didn't help, but he still has exceeded expectations. The Patriots mandate players to make a certain number of community appearances each year, but Gronkowski has easily spiked the minimum requirements over the years, sometimes bringing his brothers and making it a family event. In addition to being part of Patriots-based charity and community endeavors, he also does some on his own.
"You can't do it all. You get many requests all the time, but I still have to focus on football, still have to live my life a little bit," he said. "But there are definitely times during the week when you want to take time out.
"I was always blessed growing up with opportunities and access to facilities, equipment, and playing with my brothers in the backyard to be the best athlete I could be," he continued. "Everyone always helped me out growing up, and everyone now supports me Sunday. So whenever there's a chance to give back, to the community, to the less fortunate kids so they have the opportunity to gain the most potential they can in their life to be success, it's always good to do."
On the field, Gronkowski's impact arguably has never been greater, most recently evident as he caught 17 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns in the club's last two victories, and was credited by head coach Bill Belichick for creating opportunities for others even when he didn't register on the stat sheet.
He's also been productive in the marketing game, saying that he lives off his endorsement money and has never spent anything that he's earned as part of his contract. In fact, the first question Washington reporters asked him on a Wednesday conference call was about a party cruise he's sponsoring after the season.
Stories of Gronkowski the party man are plentiful, as are those of Gronkowski dominating on the football field. But even as his star has risen, and demands on his time have grown, he's still stayed grounded to the point that following through on community and charity events is important to him.
And, more importantly, to those he's reaching out to.
"I'm not sure Rob even knows how impactful his visits to schools and hospitals are," Kraft said. "I think he just genuinely enjoys meeting people and making them happy."With just over 50,000 people completing ObamaCare applications in the first week of the law's implementation, it could be in danger. According to sources inside the Department of Health and Human Services, just 6,200 Americans applied for health insurance through the government website on October 1, the day it was opened to the public, and less than one percent of all visitors to Healthcare.gov actually enrolled in a health insurance exchange.
Ninety-nine percent of all visitors to HealthCare.gov left the site before enrolling.
Millward Brown Digital, a company that tracks web traffic, provided figures from the first week of online Obamacare health insurance exchanges.
"Over the course of Obamacare’s first week, 9.5 million people visited healthcare.gov, the federal government’s official healthcare website and the de facto exchange for residents of two thirds of the states," wrote Matt Pace at the company’s blog. "In addition, the 16 operational state-run exchanges combined to attract over 3.1 million visitors during the same period."
"In total, 11.3 million consumers visited the federal and state exchanges during their first week of operation," he explained. "Unfortunately, what started as a fire hose of interest, resulted in only a small trickle of actual healthcare enrollments."
Pace added that just slightly over 200,000 people who visited the site were able to register an account, but the overall figures remain bleak. "In the end, just 36,000 consumers, or 1% of all those who attempted to register for the federal exchange, successfully enrolled in Obamacare," wrote Pace, noting that website wasn’t ready for the traffic it received, which he equated to the "daily traffic on Target.com."
Furthermore, based on the figures from the first week, National Review's Jim Geraghty estimates that ObamaCare will have approximately 820,000 enrollments by the time open enrollment ends on March 31, 2014. By comparison, the administration had hoped to acquire 494,000 enrollments by the end of October.
Geraghty puts those figures into perspective.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, "Over 47 million nonelderly Americans were uninsured in 2012." So the exchanges are on pace to get 1.7 percent of the uninsured with completed enrollment for insurance.
Officials in the administration purported to not be aware of the actual figures, likely hoping to sidestep questions about the implications of low enrollment. The Health and Human Services Department has announced that it will not release any enrollment data until next month, perhaps in the hope that by then the figures will appear less paltry.
But the Wall Street Journal contended that any indications from the administration that they do not have figures is false.
The states running their own exchanges report enrollment more regularly, which ranges from the low thousands in big states like California to a single person so far in Delaware. Literally, one. And the HHS-run exchanges are designed to make daily reports, seven days a week.
And some continued to assert that despite the poor figures, ObamaCare is popular. Justin Nisly, spokesman for Enroll America, an organization that aids Americans in signing up for ObamaCare, insisted that people have been "enthusiastic" and "grateful" for the healthcare law.
Others also tried to put a positive spin in the data. "HealthCare.gov received 14.6 million unique visits in the first 11 days, showing intense demand for quality, affordable health insurance," insisted HHS spokeswoman Joanne Peters, whose department operates HealthCare.gov. "While traffic is down somewhat from its peak on Day One, it remains high as Americans continue to seek to learn more about their new coverage options."
Without a significant increase in the number of enrollments, ObamaCare may undergo what insurance experts dub a "death spiral," driving insurance rates up for those who have coverage on the health insurance market — a phenomenon recently referenced by the Economist:
Obamacare’s main goal is to expand access to cheap insurance. It offers subsidies to those who cannot afford it and bars insurers from charging people more because they are sick. The sick who lack insurance will probably keep trying to enroll. The young and healthy may give up more quickly, if it is too difficult.
And if they do, the insurance firms that offer policies via the exchanges will find that their pool of customers is disproportionately sick and costly to cover. This may spur them to raise prices for everyone, making the young and healthy even less likely to enroll, despite the small fines they would have to pay if they lack insurance.
A death spiral could follow.
Some analysts assert that the poor enrollment is a result of coding and design problems connected to the website. Additionally, UnitedLiberty.org contends that the "decision to put income verification at the start of the enrollment process, thus allowing potential enrollees to see subsidy eligibilty so they wouldn't be scared off by rate shock" was another reason the exchange site experienced issues.
Texas Republican Rep. Kevin Brady, chair of the House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee, observed, "If the numbers are accurate, they show that relatively few people have navigated the challenges of the first step of the process — roughly the population of a small town in my district."
"The White House and HHS have continually claimed they did not have these figures," Brady told the U.K.'s Daily Mail. "If they do, they have misled the Congress and the American people."
And the Daily Mail asserted, "The low numbers also reflect a level of technological frustration on the part of Americans whose attempts to investigate their new health insurance options have been met with crashes, error messages and interminable delays."
The failed ObamaCare website should raise questions considering its cost: "HealthCare.gov is an unmitigated, $400-million disaster," declared Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.). He continued,
Deadlines have been repeatedly missed. The databases that store sensitive medical and financial information aren’t secure. Those attempting to enroll in health care exchanges have been unable to do so due to technical "glitches." Worse still, these same individuals will be slapped with a penalty tax for being uninsured. If the federal government is unable to manage this website, how can they possibly manage our country’s health care system?
The site was designed to serve as many as 50,000 people per hour, a figure that is now being heavily criticized as it fails to address the needs of the 50 million uninsured people in the country, with an additional 15 million who are currently buying insurance on the individual market and will have to change.
But low enrollment could very well be an indicator of something more.
The Daily Mail reported, "The anemic totals suggest a far lower level of interest in coverage through the Affordable Care Act than the Obama administration has hoped to see."
This could spell trouble for the administration. CNBC writes,
In order to keep prices on those plans affordable, Obamacare proponents are pushing to get 7 million or so people enrolled by 2014, and in particular are hoping to get nearly 3 million young adults to enroll. Those younger people are seen as crucial, because their premiums will help offset the costs of benefits paid out to older enrollees, who as a group have more health problems.Packaging Sculpt Paint Articulation Accessories Final Thoughts Compared to the previous Hot Toys Avengers releases, this figure is a bit of a letdown. He comes short on accessories, costume, articulation, and paint. The sloppy paint on the arms was the biggest disappointment for me. If you need to complete the team, he's worth it. Otherwise, it's a judgement call. Overall Score 3.9 It Depends Your Rating Readers Rating
0 votes 0 To search eBay for this figure: CLICK HERE
The Hot Toys Avengers line is one line that I just HAVE to have every figure in the line. I can’t skip one figure because then my Avengers team would look like it was missing someone. Today I have the latest, Hot Toys Avengers Thor Sixth Scale Figure for review.
While I wasn’t extremely excited about getting Thor, he’s still a nice figure to have in my Avengers collection. My wife was waiting for Chris Hemsworth in action figure form more than I was! Join me after the jump and let’s see if the Hot Toys Avengers Thor is as good as the rest of the figures Hot Toys has released so far.
Packaging
The packaging is the same as the rest of The Avengers line from Hot Toys, there is a basic slip box with a nice image of the character on the front and wrapping around to the side. There is no text about the movie or the character, which I would have really liked to have with each figure in this line.
Sculpt
There is no doubt that the head sculpt on Thor portrays that of Chris Hemsworth, though he does have an odd expression on his face. He looks worried or concerned.
His hair is sculpted, which I actually prefer for male characters. If it was rooted like Black Widow’s hair, I’m sure it would have been a disaster. The hair sculpt looks great though, much better than the previous Hot Toys Thor figure from the first Thor movie.
Paint
The paint applications are a little bit sketchy on this figure. I know that I’m not the only person that has had problems with him either. The paint on his face is top-notch as always, but I can’t quite say that for his chain mail armor on his arms.
The black paint is really sloppy on some sections and even completely missing on other parts. It may look just fine in the pictures, but I can assure you that when you have him in hand you will notice the sloppiness. I am exchanging my figure for a replacement from Sideshow because of this problem.
I also had a problem with his red wrist wraps leaking red onto his hands and staining them. My figure came like this and I’m curious if anyone else had this problem as well.
Articulation
The articulation for Thor is much more limited than other Avengers figures from Hot Toys. He has a muscular TrueType body underneath his armor, but the problem here is that the rubber chain mail armor restricts his movement quite a bit.
You can’t get his arms higher than shoulder level without fear of tearing the rubber chain mail. That was a huge let down for me as I was expecting that I would be able to pose him with his hammer above his head. Not going to happen here.
Thor’s boots are actually articulated at the ankles too (double joints). His ankles on my figure were pretty loose and it was getting pretty aggravating posing him because he constantly wanted to fall down. His heavy metal hammer didn’t help with that either.
Accessories
Thor comes pretty light on accessories.
He comes with a bunch of interchangeable hands, 9 in total. He has 2 hands for holding his hammer, 2 relaxed palms, 2 fists, 2 open hands, and 1 hand for holding the Tesseract canister. There are enough hands to use the few accessories that Thor comes with.
He obviously has to come with his Mjolnir. It is made of metal and has a leather-like strap on the end of it.
Finally, he comes with the Tesseract in a pretty cool canister. The cube isn’t removable, so if you want the actual cube you are going to have to get Nick Fury or Redskull.
Costume
His costume is screen accurate, it just has its problems. Like I mentioned before the chain mail on his arms is made of rubber. It makes it hard to pose Thor’s arms and can get bunched up with you bend his arms. I would be careful picking a pose for him in your display so that it doesn’t put too much stress on the costume.
The cape is made of polyester and comes packaged nicely in the box. It is attached to the figure, but fed through the tray so that it won’t be wrinkled when you get it. The only thing that I wish differently for the cape would be the addition of small wires to help pose the cape. In its current state, it just hangs down at his feet and you need external props to get a pose out of the cape. I’m really a fan of wires in capes.
Overall
Compared to the previous Hot Toys Avengers releases, this figure is a bit of a letdown. He comes short on accessories, costume, articulation, and paint. The paint on the arms was the biggest disappointment for me. It looked like a small child painted them. I’m just happy Sideshow has a 30-day return policy.
Even though this figure was a bit of a letdown, I’m glad that I got him. He’s crucial to complete my Avengers display, and you’re going to need him as well if you want to complete the team.
Ordering
UPDATE: The Hot Toys Avengers Thor Sixth Scale Figure can usually be found on eBay if you’re searching. Click this link to search eBay for the Hot Toys Avengers Thor action figure. Alternately, if you’re unable to find this figure to complete your avengers team, Sideshow does have a Thor figure from Age of Ultron currently available.
Do you have a question or comment about the Hot Toys Avengers Thor Sixth Scale Figure Review? Leave a comment below!Dark Souls 2 minimum and recommended system requirements for the PC version have been posted by Bandai Namco.
Here’s what your PC will need inside to run the game:
Minimum
OS: Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8
Processor: AMD Phenom II X2 555 3.2Ghz or Intel Pentium Core 2 Duo E8500 3.17Ghz
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT, ATI RadeonHD 5870
Hard Drive: 8 GB available space
Sound Card: Compatible with DirectX 9.0c or higher
Network: Internet connection required for online play and product activation
Recommended
OS: Windows 7 SP1
Processor: Intel CoreTM i3 2100 3.10GHz or AMD A8 3870K 3.0GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 or higher, ATI Radeon HD 6870 or higher
Hard Drive: 8 GB available space
Sound Card: Compatible with DirectX 9.0c or higher
Network: Internet connection required for online play and product Activation
Dark Souls 2 will be released on PC April 25.WAYNE, N.J. -- The New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys rivalry is heating up before training camps even open.
Giants safety Landon Collins responded confidently Friday at his Citi ProCamp about his team's chances after Dak Prescott said last week that the Cowboys would win the division.
"I commented right underneath his picture. I said, 'I highly doubt that.' They do not control the [NFC] East. It's over with. We're going to have a run for it. I mean, they're not going to win, I can tell you that much. We're definitely going to take over."
Landon was having none of it😂😂😂 A post shared by New York Giants Offseason (@giantsdesigns) on Jul 13, 2017 at 4:48pm PDT
At the ESPYS, Prescott had said: "We're the Cowboys. We're gonna win the NFC East."
The Cowboys (13-3) won the division last season but lost both matchups with the Giants. Prescott threw one touchdown pass in the two games.
The NFC East has not had a repeat winner since the Philadelphia Eagles did it in 2004. The Cowboys have not won back-to-back division titles since 1995-96.
But they're confident entering this year with an offense that is loaded with talent. Many consider Dallas' offensive line the best in football.
It didn't stop Collins from making his bold declaration. He's never shy to express his opinion and confidence.
"Not at all. Coming from the program I can from, the team that I came from, the kind of player that I am, I'm not afraid to say any of those words," he said. "My team, my guys and our organization backs it up every time."
Landon Collins and the Giants open the season on the road against the Cowboys on Sept. 10. Rob Carr/Getty Images
As a burgeoning leader of the Giants, he decided to express his opinion Friday at his inaugural football camp. Some 200 kids in grades 1-8 attended at Passaic County Tech. Institute. His message to the campers was to have fun and work hard, because you never know who is watching.
The rest of the NFL has been watching Collins, and it has made for an interesting offseason after he was named a Pro Bowler and All-Pro for the first time. He said players such as Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson have come up to him this offseason and complimented him on last year. It's a completely different feeling than the previous year after a trying rookie season.
"Just the respect of knowing who I am, the player that I am and what I bring to the table," Collins said of the reaction he's received.
The Giants are scheduled to report to training camp on Thursday.
"I'm ready to get back. It has been too long," Collins said. "I'm ready to put some shoulder pads in some people. Knock some heads off. "
The Giants open the season on the road against the Cowboys on Sept. 10.Archives Archives
What happened 1939-1941? [ edit ]
The period Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact-Operation Barbarossa deserves to be described here.Xx234 (talk) 08:59, 13 January 2015 (UTC)
The view of Norman Davies on Anti-fascism: Irreconcilably different anti-fascists [ edit ]
With this edit I have tried to make the point that Anti-fascism is not actually a coherent political ideology and that various anti-fascists are irreconcilably different.
To illustrate that this view is notable and deserves mentioning, I made this edit.
The point of that second edit is that contemporary German antifascists, that oppose the post-reunification rise in far-right extremism would be seriously offended by being lumped together with the SED of the former GDR.
Any editor that takes issues with these edits is welcome to discuss them here. Happy editing, Lklundin (talk) 11:20, 16 July 2015 (UTC)
There is a D is BRD, which means you discuss before reinserting the content. You can highlight the term used by the SED, but to conclude that this is evidence of irreconcilable difference in ideology by contemporary Antifa is original research and in breach of WP:SYNTHESIS. -Saint458 (talk) 11:33, 16 |
And even if he does get pulled away from the rim on defense and has trouble tracking a three-point shooting wing on the other end, his body of work suggests that he’s quite above average as far as his foot speed on the perimeter is concerned (as already previously stated) so he should never be an unplayable big due to that reason.
The Pronunciation
In closing, I just want to say that once upon a time NBA announcers, like Marv Albert, became real good at pronouncing Andris Biedrins‘s name (the last Latvian to play in the NBA before Porzingis).
You could sense the switch from a confused “BEE-drens” to the more correct “BEE-uh-drinsh” after he had played a couple of seasons in the NBA.
I wonder whether the same will happen with Porzingis. The truth is that there are a couple of sounds in his surname which probably are completely foreign for a native English speaker. You might be in for a hard time trying to repeat what I said:
The challenge at hand, I guess, is for him to become a player whose name deserves to be pronounced properly.
And he has that potential. The league is heading into a pace-and-space era perfectly fitted for him. With the size he has, he might be capable of doing everything that an opposing 6-8 small-ball center can do or, perhaps, do it even better.
Let’s see how good he can become.
AdvertisementsLEWISTON — L.L. Bean intends to make 1 million pairs of its famed hunting boots next year, and erase a production backlog that has dogged the popular footwear in recent years.
Company officials unveiled a $1 million injection molding machine during an open house at its new plant in Lewiston on Thursday morning. The investment increases the outdoor gear company’s capacity to make its trademark product by one-third.
The retailer sold 600,000 pairs of the boots last year and expects to produce 750,000 this year. It should reach the 1 million milestone in 2018.
“L.L. Bean manufacturing is both our history and our future,” Executive Chairman Shawn Gorman said while addressing a crowd of dignitaries, media and employees gathered to tour the company’s new plant on Lexington Street.
At the peak of last year’s backlog, 50,000 customers were waiting to receive their boots, which come in numerous styles and models. It took the company until July to catch up with the orders. There also were backlogs in 2015, when the company sold 500,000 pairs of the boots, and in 2014, when it sold 450,000 pairs. A decade ago, orders for the hunting boots tallied just 100,000 pairs.
The boots range in price from $99 to $199 and by a conservative estimate accounted for upwards of $60 million in sales in 2016, when L.L. Bean reported overall sales of $1.6 billion.
CEO Steve Smith said the added capacity means more than 550 people are working year-round on orders in Lewiston and at L.L. Bean’s production facility in Brunswick. Both facilities are working around the clock in three shifts during the week to stay on top of orders for the rubber-and-leather boots, as well as dog beds and tote bags. The company is looking to hire 40 full-time workers at the Lewiston location, and has another 130 manufacturing positions open. The average wage for front-line employees is $14.50 per hour.
“Hiring is what is holding us back,” said Smith, noting the goal is to have more than 700 people working in production by year’s end. Once that’s achieved, the company will be able to churn out 3,200 pairs of boots a day.
ON DISPLAY
In a nod to the importance of the company’s trademark boots, the plant’s entrance is festooned with new products. A display of boot soles shows a range of colors from bright blue to pink and orange. The soles are topped with uppers in more sedate shades of brown, gray and black, but a couple of red uppers and an eye-catching plaid are standouts in the display.
They are examples of new offerings now that the company has the capacity to increase production, manufacturing manager Roland Cote said.
New boot liners in Scotch plaid and variegated shearling also are on display, as well as edgier Bean boots, such as a knee-high woman’s boot with a traditional Bean boot bottom topped with a bison leather upper.
Menswear gets jazzed-up options, too. One mannequin in the entryway has a 10-inch Bean boot in various shades of black and gray.
Cote said the company is aware that orders for its traditional hunting boots may wane, despite their popularity on college campuses and with sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts. So L.L. Bean is stepping up ways to customize the boots for new markets. Besides adding new colors, linings and styles, the company is starting to expand marketing in Japan and Europe.
“We’re trying to offer a lot more variety for consumers,” Cote said.
Three years ago, the boots made a splash at New York Fashion Week when famed women’s footwear designer Manolo Blahnik applauded the boots’ stylishness and stability, raising their visibility to an international audience. Last year, Christina Binkley, fashion columnist for The Wall Street Journal, said the boots’ comfort and function are key to their enduring popularity.
“In fact, it’s looking like this is more long-term trend than fad,” she told the Press Herald at the time.
Smith, in his opening remarks Thursday, said that the new injection molding machine gives the company more leeway to design small batches of specialized boots and to experiment with “new inno vations and designs that our customers are craving.”
A NEW OPERATION
The new molding machine, which makes the rubber soles of the boots, was the final piece in the company’s fit-out of its new 106,000-square-foot facility. L.L. Bean previously operated a smaller plant on Westminster Street in Lewiston, but decided to move that operation and some of the production work previously performed in Brunswick to its new plant.
The building on Lexington Street houses all operations involved in the boots’ creation, from receiving raw materials in a warehouse section, to production, finishing, inspections and shipping, either directly to customers or to retail centers.
Cote pauses during a tour of the plant to watch Marilyn Laroche sew the triangle-shaped flaps on the bottom of a tote bag. The stitches are white, so any mistake would be obvious against the dark canvas. But Laroche, who has been with Bean for almost 24 years, expertly whips the fabric through the machine, aligning the stitches precisely before snipping the thread ends from the tote.
“It’s a real skill,” said Cote, who added that although some of the company’s production has been automated, there is still a need for highly skilled workers. L.L. Bean is the state’s fourth-largest private employer with between 5,500 and 6,000 employees, according to Maine Department of Labor data.
Surveying the company’s newest operation from the dais, Gorman, the great-grandson of company founder Leon Leonwood Bean, cited the innovation and technology that have fueled the company’s expansion. He also invoked his great-grandfather and commended the workers, many of whom wore T-shirts emblazoned with “Made in Maine” over red, white and blue Bean boots.
“I think he would be happy with the growth and the progress,” Gorman said. “And how far we’ve come.”
Carol Coultas can be contacted at 791-6460 or at:
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filed under:It gets worse. CD ran 2 articles addressing the fact that some of these tabs–even for parking tickets and minor traffic violations IF unpaid result in jail time. And the “felon” is then charged for the nights they spend in jail! Many emerge effectively tethered to an invisible Debtors’ prison. I think this criminalization of the poor scheme was brought to life in Mississippi or Alabama. (I don’t recall the state.)
The usurpation of all branches of society by Big Money means that those who suffer from the LOVE OF MONEY disease are running everything. Through deft lobbying tactics (legal bribery) they finagled all these deregulatory policies that allow them to skim all profits–like cream–off the top, and leave the mess for local citizens, government (which means citizens’ tax dollars), or paid entities to clean up.
Alan McDonald defines this as the externalization of costs. The Libertarian “free” trade types take it all for themselves under the guise of freedom; and then they leave everyone else to pay the tab, and/or repent for their fiscal and ecological sins!
There are so many fronts where injustice is running the show that people can only commit to a cause or two at best.
Fracking
Oil drilling
Closing public schools
The purchase of elections
The corporate control of media
The pervasive spying
The treatment of the Muslim community
The treatment of the Hispanic community
The treatment of the Black community
The treatment of women particularly regarding their access to birth control
The machine-like use of standardized tests
The infusion of ridiculous levels of vaccines into babies’ bodies
The manipulation of elections from voting rolls to vote counts
The wars!!!
The decimation of public health through a cast of artificial ingredients, pesticides, GMOs, etc that have millions of people struggling with Cancer, Diabetes, Depression, Obesity, etc.
Every just thing has been inverted!
The center cannot hold.
Watch for falling debris.Last week I sat down to play some The Secret World for the first time. But not before I’d chatted with project lead, Ragnar Tørnquist, in the rather creepy location of a 90th floor bedroom in a vast hotel suite. It’s an interview in which he threatens to kill me. We also talk about how people are getting bored of MMOs, why the game has XP after all, and the role of religion in a game based on myths.
RPS: Do you think there’s a danger people are getting bored of MMOs?
Ragnar: Genres don’t have to be restricted to singular mechanics. If all racing games were like Ridge Racer, it would be extremely boring. There are so many racing games because they all have different approaches to it. But with MMOs, there’s been just one approach. Some people dare to go in a different direction, like Guild Wars did that. EVE did that obviously. But they’re few and far between. Especially when it comes to the big story-driven, open world MMOs. There’s really only been class-based, level-based games that do things in a very predictable way. I’m kind of bored of MMOs as well, but I love playing The Secret World, simply because of the freedom you have in the game. It’s really unmatched. The fact that you don’t have to create alts, or don’t have to lock yourself into anything. And of course the storytelling as aspect is what excites me the most about playing it.
RPS: Yeah, being you.
Ragnar: [laughs] Well obviously. Martin talks about crafting and I’m… [exhales]. The crafting looks good!
RPS: The crafting looks good!
Ragnar: It looks fantastic! So if you’re into crafting, this is a dream system.
RPS: I hate crafting.
Ragnar: I hate crafting.
RPS: But, well, it obviously looks like Minecraft, and what a great idea. It looks like something I could intuitively do. Other MMOs, I find that if I can find a crafting bench, I’ll find I don’t have the things it wants, and…
Ragnar: You have to skill up, you have to grind.
RPS: So I say screw it, it loses my interest.
Ragnar: It doesn’t seem to be designed for having fun, or for giving players any sort of flexibility. It’s just designed to be a grind. But this is the opposite. You don’t have to have any recipes or skill up, you just learn the patterns, get the materials, and do it.
RPS: Was there ever a point in development when you weren’t going to have XP at all?
Ragnar: [thinks] Um… [thinks some more]. Maybe. I mean, we’ve been through so many iterations, and so many discussions about the system. I’ve probably spent 300 hours just sitting in rooms talking about the underlying RPG system. We’ve gone through a lot of different stages of it. So the answer is probably yes, at some point. I think at one point we went to the total extreme and said we’d have no classes or levels we ruined ourselves for a lot of the progression mechanics. But when we went into beta we learned that you do need good indicators of progression, because it’s really hard for people to understand how well they’re doing unless they have a number attached to it. So I think XP is a fundamental thing. It doesn’t contradict the freeform character progression, or the no levels, no classes, because it reflects what you’re doing in the game. The difference is you get XP from everything, from achievements, from lore, from PvP, from crafting.
RPS: But when you say no levels, I’m not sure if I can see the difference when you’re getting XP to get better at something. Have you not just taken the number off?
Ragnar: No, not really. Because what we’ve done is let people progress in different ways. So you either specialise in something, like specialise in one weapon, work your way through that one slice in the ability wheel, or you can broaden yourself very early on, not get that sort of focused progression but a much wider one. It doesn’t lock you down to one place, and I find that in level-based games, people are just racing for the top level. But we’ve got to a point where level doesn’t matter. It’s about finding your area of expertise, what you want to focus on. But even if it was just removing the number, it is a fundamental difference, especially as a player as I’m no longer just looking at one number – I’m looking at so many different things for my character. It feels different. But I think the lack of classes is more defining.
RPS: What is the solution for PVP, so I know who not to fight?
Ragnar: Well, I’m not the PVP guy, but there are definitely ways to make sure you get matched up with the right people. There’s matchmaking, and there’s the warzone, which is persistent, where players of any rank can go on. Although that’s locked when you begin the game. You need a certain amount of XP before you’re able to go in.
RPS: I’ve joked in the past, behind your back, that you can tell what TV shows Ragnar Tørnquist has been watching when he makes a new game.
Ragnar: Well, yes. But this draws much more on what I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time, rather than what I’m watching currently.
RPS: But you are influenced, and you’re not embarrassed by that.
Ragnar: No no no, we do that openly.
RPS: So, the Filth in this game is a really huge part of it. It feels weird that you don’t have Grant Morrison on board. It seems a really big thing to have used.
Ragnar: Well, we went through so many permutations of that name too, to illustrate this malevolent force from beyond. And I wouldn’t say it’s… it’s probably inspired by his work, as well as inspired by the work he’s inspired by. The Filth in our game – it is sort of a red thread or a black thread – a slimy black tentacly thread – through the game. But it’s also something that’s uniquely ours, and on the surface it may look like we’re borrowing or copying from other people, but really it’s just the surface. Once you scratch that, you’ll find that there’s a lot more to it. But yeah, we’re never ashamed by what we’re inspired by, and I think all good pop-culture spreaders are not afraid to wear their inspirations on their sleeves.
RPS: Do you think there’s an absence of that in the games industry.
Ragnar: Yeah. Yes, especially modern pop-culture references. Sometimes they’re done really badly. I mean, I think WoW is a great game, but sometimes you feel like the pop-culture references are just at odds with the rest of it. They feel misplaced. I think it can be badly handled, but when you have a real-world present day setting, it makes sense to do it. Our characters are aware of the world as well. We’re not pretending we’re in a separate dimension of reality where pop culture doesn’t exist. We allow our characters to be fans of what we’re fans of, and to reference things we reference. I’m tired of zombie movies where nobody ever says the word “zombie”.
RPS: Even crime procedural TV shows exist in a bubble where…
Ragnar: …no crime procedural TV shows exist. That seems to be the thing with a lot of pop-cultural things. They can reference outside of themselves, but never their own genre. Like zombie movies – nobody’s ever seen a zombie movie in a zombie movie. But we are very aware of that, and we let our characters be in on it. It’s not a joke – the game is not a joke, the story is not a joke – but they’re in on the fact that events in the game might happen in pop culture that they’ve watched or read or seen.
RPS: Stuff like the Don’t Look Now/Dark Water reference at the start of the Dragon story – is there a deeper philosophy of for that stuff, or is it simply so people who get it can feel good about getting it?
Ragnar: No, it’s a philosophy. We’re again tapping into that pop culture well. What we’re actually saying is, all the stuff we read about and see in the world, it has to come from somewhere. So we’re going to the source, and saying, this is where it came from. All those movies about scary little girls running around, where does that come from? The Dragon might actually be a source for that.
RPS: Ah, so you’ve flipped it on its head.
Ragnar: Exactly. Where does it come from? And that goes for all of our zombies and vampires and werewolves. We’re representing it in a way that’s familiar to people, but that’s only to show that everything is true. These things that you see in movies and read in comic books – there’s a source for them. And this is the source.
RPS: I asked you a couple of years ago, before people had seen the game or played it, whether you were nervous that by entering into this world of conspiracies, you may attract dangerous lunatics.
Ragnar: The wrong sort of people.
RPS: There’s a certain type of person who’s very attracted to this sort of thing, and if you’re creating a game that’s trying to take credit for it all…
Ragnar: The political conspiracies, that sort of thing, we’re not touching that much on. We’re much more about the occult conspiracies, the secret history of the world, rather than the “shadow government” controlling the US and having killed JFK – we don’t address those things at all. I think the more people find out about the game, the less likely it’s to be linked to those crazy websites where people are talking about 9/11 or Zionist conspiracies, or shit like that – that’s not what our game’s about. Our game’s about the fact that there’s been this secret world, this secret history that people are manipulating the world, on the occult side of things, rather than on the purely political or financial side of things.
RPS: What about religion?
Ragnar: Religion is definitely an aspect of the game. Our philosophy has always been that you should be able to look at the world of The Secret World, and that should fit with your religious or spiritual worldview. We’re not trying to touch on that or interfere with it, but having said that, there are things that are going to pop up during the game that we’re not going to show before launch – you may have seen some of them because you’ve seen too much…
RPS: That sounds like you’re going to kill me!
Ragnar: [laughs] Well, you’re not leaving this room. It’s a long drop down from the 90th floor… Again, we don’t want to mess with anyone’s religious or spiritual worldview. We want to make sure it can fit into it. If you’re liberal enough, obviously. This game could potentially offend a lot of people, but we’ve tried to step away from that. But at the same time there are going to be some links that will appear later on that might connect it to some religious worldviews.
RPS: Yes, because if you look at religion as mythology, and in your game all mythology is true, then it seems like it should be in there. But have you avoided that on purpose?
Ragnar: Yeah, we have avoided that on purpose. We don’t want to tell people that what they believe in is just a fabrication made by the Dragons – that’s not something we’re aiming for. And we’re also leaving the questions about good and evil, and whether God exists, up in the air. That fits into our setting. We have events in the game that can be interpreted as the work of some kind of divine entity, or not, if that is your point of view. We do have the idea of the ultimate destructive force in here, but that’s on a much more cosmic than spiritual level.
RPS: A running theme through your games – well, perhaps not Casper, I’m not sure – has been faith. So how does faith apply in this game?
Ragnar: That’s a good question. It is about mystery, I guess, much more than faith. And faith is mystery in a lot of sense – the belief in a greater mystery. There’s very little need to believe in anything in this game, since everything’s out there in the open. But there is actually – again I don’t want to spoil things – but there is actually a through-line in the game that we haven’t revealed that is about what are you going to put your faith in. What are you going to believe in? Whose voice are you going to listen to? And that’s a theme that’s going to carry past launch as well, where the players are hopefully going to be divided. What is the greater good of mankind? Who do you listen to at the end of the day. And that should lead to some interesting situations down the line. It’s not simply three factions against each other, but it’s much more on a general and ethical level about what is good for humanity. And that’s what the game is about as well: each of these three secret societies that you join have a very different philosophy, but none of them really believe in saving every single individual. We’re really pushing hard to make players question the motives of their secret society as well. They’re doing some amount of good, but most of the stuff they’re doing is completely selfish. Gaining XP is the ultimate selfish act in a game – you’re doing everything for yourself, and doing stuff for your society, so they can get the upper hand. It is a question of how strongly do you believe in the tenets of your secret society, and how we’re going to use that later down the line is going to be interesting as well.
RPS: Thank you for your time.Come April and you won’t have to go looking for public washrooms to relieve yourself after a long day of shopping in a South Delhi market.
Just walk into the nearest restaurant, convey your need to the staff and you will be able to use the well-equipped toilet for a meagre Rs 5.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on Tuesday issued directions to all hotels, restaurants and eateries in its jurisdiction to make their washrooms accessible to the public from April 1.
The move would allow anyone with Rs 5 in hand to access washrooms in even five-star hotels of South Delhi.
According to an SDMC official, the decision has been taken on the advice of lieutenant governor Anil Baijal to explore the possibility of making toilets in restaurants and hotels open to public use.
“We want the hotels and restaurants to adhere to the decision in full spirit rather than wait for the SDMC to enforce it,” said SDMC commissioner Puneet Goel.
“The hotels and restaurants will also need to put up display boards informing the public about the facilities. The managements of these restaurants have been given the discretion to charge up to ~5 per usage to cover their costs towards maintenance and cleaning,” said the corporation official.
The decision will be imposed on all the 4,618 eating outlets, including hotels, which are issued health trade licences by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.
“These outlets also comprise 600 roadside eateries. However, we assume, they don’t have the provision for washrooms so, the decision doesn’t apply to them,” the official said.
The move is expected to spell relief for women who have a particularly hard time for lack of enough public toilets.
The civic agency is working on the modalities of the move and finalising the amount that can be imposed as penalty on defaulters.
“Since the issuance of health trade licence is at the discretion of the municipal corporation, we will add this point in its list of terms and conditions next month,” said Goel.
There are 580 public urinals and 480 toilets in South Delhi. Out of 480, only 140 can be used by women. These include toilets in Lajpat Nagar, Green Park, Safdarjung Development Area, Rajouri Garden, Bhikaji Cama Place and Nehru place.
First Published: Mar 15, 2017 00:39 ISTFrench rock star and actor Johnny Hallyday, who became the first Gallic singer to popularize rock ’n’ roll in France and sold over 110 million records during a music career spanning over half a century, has died, according to Agence France Presse. He was 74 and had been fighting cancer for several months.
Widely known as the “French Elvis,” Hallyday began his singing career at the end of the 1950s specializing in French-language cover versions of famous songs by artists like Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochrane and Elvis Presley — whose example inspired him to become a singer.
At the beginning of 1960 Hallyday released his first album, “Hello! Johnny.” The following year he performed at France’s first rock festival at the Palais des Sports in Paris, setting off a near-riot that led to a ban on rock ’n’ roll shows for several months.
Hallyday’s covers instantly proved a successful way for American rock ’n’ roll to infiltrate its way into France. He even gave the Jimi Hendrix Experience their very first gig as his opening act at the Paris Olympia in October 1966.
In later years he was clever enough to sustain his popularity and increase his cross-generational appeal by moving into emotive balladry in a career trajectory similar to that of Presley.
Related Film Review: 'Everyone's Life' (Chacun sa vie)
A highlight of his career was the 2001 concert he gave at the Eiffel Tower that attracted an audience of more than 600,000. During his career he recorded over 1,000 songs, about a hundred of which he wrote himself. He also topped the French charts more than 30 times.
Unlike his friend, the singer Charles Aznavour, who successfully crossed over in the U.S., Hallyday could not replicate his success abroad. Americans first caught a glimpse of him on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1962; several concerts followed, including one in Las Vegas in 1996 in which he sung a rendition of “My Way” with Paul Anka, but he never built up much of a following.
Hallyday also became an accomplished film actor. He made his first screen appearance in 1955 as an extra in Georges-Henri Clouzot’s classic thriller “Les Diaboliques.” He broke through in France in “Where Are You From Johnny?,” playing a thinly disguised version of himself: a young rocker on the make. His co-star was first wife Sylvie Vartan, also a chart-topping singer, with whom he sung several popular duets.
The role was hardly a stretch, but his performance went down well with Hallyday’s fans. He began to get serious about acting in the 1980s, starring in Jean-Luc Godard’s “Detective” as a boxing manager fallen heavily into debt (shades of Hallyday’s real life: he struggled for a long time to reimburse 100 million francs in back taxes) and in Costa-Gavras’ rather limp “Family Business.”
Hallyday’s best performance, and the one he prized the most, was as a world-weary criminal in Patrice Leconte’s 2002 film “The Man on the Train.” There is wonderful pathos in the scenes between Hallyday and co-star Jean Rochefort who plays a retired teacher, each man aching to live the other’s life. Hallyday deservedly walked away with that year’s Prix Jean Gabin for best actor.
He appeared in “The Pink Panther 2,” with Steve Martin, in 2009, and starred in the Johnnie To-directed crime thriller “Vengeance” the same year.
Jean-Philippe Smet was born in Malesherbes, Paris, the son of a French mother and Belgian father. When he was an infant his parents split up, and he moved in with his paternal aunt, Helene Mar, a former silent-screen actress. He would later take his stage name from his aunt’s husband, an American entertainer called Lee Halliday, who had a defining influence on his life.
From the age of 11 Hallyday took to the road as an entertainer with Les Hallidays, a family troupe consisting of his uncle Lee and Mar’s daughters Menen and Desta. When Hallyday returned to Paris in 1957, he signed up for acting and singing lessons after watching Elvis for the first time in “Loving You.”
France’s first and only fully fledged rock star lived through a failed suicide attempt, a trail of broken marriages, cocaine use, chronic tax problems, a life-threatening motorcycle accident and, near the end of his life, a ghastly botched operation on a herniated disc. The fact that he always bounced back without complaint made him a folk hero for many French people.
Said Thierry Chassagne, President of Warner Music France: “Johnny Hallyday was an incredible recording artist and part of the Warner family for the last 12 years. He was one of the most prominent artists signed to Warner Music worldwide, selling more than 100 million records and delivering an amazing 18 platinum albums over the course of his career. He truly defined rock’n’roll in France and while we will miss him terribly his musical legacy will be there for generations to come.”
Hallyday is survived by his wife, Laeticia, and their two adopted children, Jade and Joy; son David Hallyday from his first marriage with Vartan; and daughter Laura Smet from his relationship with actress Nathalie Baye.A VIETNAMESE seaman survived five days floating in open ocean with only a life jacket for protection.
The sailor's perilous situation occurred after his cargo ship sank killing all his 22 crew mates.
Vietnam's state shipping firm said the Vinalines Queen, which disappeared on Christmas Day after passing the island of Luzon in the Philippines, had capsized, apparently without sending a distress signal.
The country's government website said the single surviving sailor, Dau Ngoc Hung, was found in open water by the British ship London Courage yesterday morning, almost a week after his own vessel went down in violent seas.
Nguyen Anh Vu, director of the Vietnam Maritime Rescue Cooperation Centre said Mr Hung had reported that "the vessel sank very quickly... after being strongly overturned to the left" in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Mr Hung, 31, was picked up around 350 kilometres away from the site of the accident, Mr Vu said on the government site, adding that the rescue vest had saved the sailor's life. The British ship is now on its way to Singapore.
Mr Vu said that the Vinalines Queen had gone down in very bad weather in waters up to 5,000 metres deep.
"According to our initial information, only one sailor has been rescued and the vessel has not been found yet," an official at Hanoi-based Vinalines said, asking not to be named.
Vinalines said its ship was carrying more than 54,000 tonnes of nickel ore and was travelling from Indonesia to China when it lost contact.
Vietnam had appealed to the Philippine, Taiwanese and Japanese coastguards for help in finding the vessel, but had heard nothing of the ship until now.
"We are now focusing our efforts on searching for the Vinalines Queen," the company official added.
The Japanese-built 190 metre Vinalines Queen was one of the largest and most modern cargo ships in the Vietnamese fleet, with a capacity of more than 56,000 tonnes. It had been in service for Vinalines since 2005.
Rescue experts quoted in the Vietnamese press said emergency equipment on the vessel should have automatically sent SOS signals to satellites and coastal rescue stations. It is not yet clear why no distress message was transmitted.
Vietnam National Shipping Lines, or Vinalines, is one of the communist country's main state-owned enterprises.
Global shipowners association Intercargo issued a statement in December 2010 warning of the hazards of transporting nickel ore which, it said, may liquefy and cause a ship to list if not loaded to international standards.
The body said it was "completely unacceptable" that three cargo ships, all carrying nickel ore and all loaded in Indonesia, had sunk in 2010, killing 44 seamen.(Grand Rapids, MI) – Founders Brewing has received label approval for what appears to be its next Backstage Series 750ml bottle release (unconfirmed), Curmudgeon’s Better Half.
Founders releases an old ale in four packs called Curmudgeon each May. The label for Better Half notes that the beer is aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels— just like the previous Backstage Series release, Canadian Breakfast Stout. Based on the timing, one might presume that this is the 2011 batch of Curmudgeon, aged in barrels for several months.
The description matches a beer that drinkers have come to love known as, “Kaiser Curmudgeon.” The beer, which was first released in kegs in the summer of 2010, hasn’t earned quite as much acclaim as CBS. Kaiser rates as an A- on Beer Advocate and a 97/92 on RateBeer.
Why the name change? It’s possible that it was a ‘gentlemanly gesture’ toward Avery Brewing who releases an Oktoberfest in bottles annually called, “The Kaiser.” Avery has not filed an application for trademark registration for The Kaiser.
If the plan for Curmudgeon’s Better Half distribution is similar to CBS, expect lots of attention and frenzy around the arrival of “CBH” just the same.
Founders recently suggested that the next Backstage Series beer won’t be ready for release before year’s end.
On another note, Founders’ next limited release is likely to be Imperial Stout which is scheduled for January. Backwoods Bastard was released in November.Sony has time and again proven that it can compete with the best when it comes to designing products. Their Xperia Z range in particular is constructed superbly and instantly comes across as a premium product. With the launch of the new Z2 product range, Sony continues to show their craftsmanship and today we review the Xperia Z2 Tablet.
Design & Construction Quality
I received the Sony Xperia Z2 tablet a few days ago and was instantly taken aback at how light it is. At just 6.4 mm thick and weighing 426g, the Z2 tablet is easily the thinnest and lightest tablet I’ve tested in the 10-inch spectrum. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be able to use it one-handed as easily as 7 our 8 inch tablets though, as the large bezels around the Z2 tablet’s screen make it is a bit difficult to grasp. Compared to my iPad Air, the Z2 tablet is slightly taller and wider at 172 x 266 mm but thinner and lighter.
While the front is all glass, the back has a soft finish that makes the Z2 tablet easy to hold and grip. Both the sides are fingerprint magnets though so be prepared to see a lot of smudging. When holding the tablet in landscape mode, the power and volume buttons are on the left side while the Micro-SIM and Micro-SD cards slots as well as the USB charging port sit on top behind waterproofed covers.Yes, the Xperia Z2 tablet is waterproof and can operate underwater like the smartphones in the Z range. An IR blaster is also located on top while a front camera and a notification LED sit above the screen. Lastly, the bottom has the 3.5mm audio jack and pins for docking. While I was able to charge the Z2 tablet using my older Xperia Z1 dock, the tablet wasn’t snapping on to it and needed some support behind it to keep it in a charging position.
Screen and Sound
The 10.1-inch screen on the Z2 tablet has a resolution of 1920×1200 which is a bit lower than competing Android tablets such as the Google Nexus 10 and the Samsung Galaxy Note. Although viewing angles are quite good, the IPS screen looks best when viewed directly and you immediately notice a change in contrast when tilting it. Sony has also done a decent job with the anti-glare coating and makes the screen reasonably reflection free. The screen is also very readable even in the strong Dubai sun.
Sony has adopted their TRILUMINOS technology for the Z2 tablet along with Live Color LED for increased color depth and gradation. According to Sony, this new technology combines red and green phosphor with blue LEDs and customized color filters to produce a brighter and more uniform light. To enjoy video, Sony has also added two surround-sound speakers towards the lower side of the Z2 tablet preventing you from muffling the sound when holding the tablet.
Hardware and Connectivity
Considering the Z2 tablet is Sony’s top-of-the-line tablet, expect the latest/greatest when it comes to specifications. The Z2 tablet is the first device we have received that is based on the latest Snapdragon 801 processor with the Adreno 330 GPU. Clocked at 2.3GHz with quad cores and 3GB RAM, expect the Z2 Tablet to be extremely snappy. I received the tablet with a pre-release version of the software |
Hull’s bid for a top flight return.
The 27-year-old, who would command a £2m fee, confirmed: "Staying at Hull permanently is a possibility. I have to think about it, especially if they go up.
“It has been very frustrating at Fulham. There have been bits here and there, but that is not down to me - it’s because they have a keeper in Mark Schwarzer who is doing very well.
“But there is a fantastic group of lads at the KC Stadium, and the team also plays great football.”
* FULHAM will offer a trial to free agent Simon Vukcevic ahead of a potential summer move, writes Ed Malyon.
The former Sporting Lisbon and Blackburn midfielder, who impressed for Montenegro in last month’s World Cup qualifier against England, left Ukrainian side Karpaty Lviv by mutual consent this week.Video gamers' brain study reveals how people morally justify violence
Updated
A groundbreaking study mapping the brain activity of video gamers has shed light on how people morally justify extreme violence.
Researchers from Monash University's social neuroscience laboratory found gamers' brain activity changed depending on whether they were shooting innocent civilians or enemy soldiers.
Doctor Pascal Molenberghs led the study and said the results provided an important insight into how people were able to commit acts of violence in real life.
"In normal everyday situations people wouldn't go out and harm other people," he said.
"But in certain situations, like, for example, during war, they have often no problems with just killing other people."
Dr Molenberghs' team asked 48 participants to watch video games where they were given a first-person perspective of the gunman.
The men and women were then told to imagine themselves as they killed innocent civilians or enemy soldiers.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging was then used to map the participants' brains as they played.
People can quite easily switch off this brain area which allows them to commit violence without feeling bad about it. Doctor Pascal Molenberghs
Dr Molenberghs found the test subjects had greater activity in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, a region of the brain associated with unconscious moral decision-making, when they believed the killing was justified.
"When they were shooting innocent civilians, this brain area became very active," he said.
"But whenever they were shooting the soldiers, this area was not active at all."
The researchers were surprised to discover most of the participants could easily switch between a justified reaction and an unjustified reaction.
"People can quite easily switch off this brain area which allows them to commit violence without feeling bad about it," Dr Molenberghs said.
"There's not much complex reasoning involved in the process, so it's a very implicit kind of a process that people can quite easily switch off."
Criminals' brains could be retrained in empathy
The study also gave researchers an important understanding of how some people became desensitised to violence.
"Some people seem to have problems switching back because they have learned over a very long period to switch off their emotions," Dr Molenberghs said.
"If they then return to a normal situation where they don't fear for their lives, they have problems trying to switch it on again."
Dr Molenberghs believes the findings could one day mean the brains of violent criminals and sociopaths could be retrained to make them more empathetic.
"One of the goals of this study is to train people to become more empathetic and more morally sensitive to specific types of situations," he said.
"So you can imagine that people who commit extreme violence, through therapy and through training, can become more moral over time."
The study has been published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.
Topics: research, fighting, brain-and-nervous-system, science-and-technology, australia
First postedKatelynn Reis takes a 15 minute tutorial Friday afternoon as she holds on to her 5 month old son Carter at the Mansfield Area Y. By taking the tutorial she qualified for a free baby box. (Photo: Jason J. Molyet/News Journal)
MANSFIELD - The concept is simple: A cardboard box that serves as a baby's bed for the first months of life.
Use of the baby boxes has been credited with helping Finland achieve one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world, by reducing cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
The local Baby Box project kicked off Friday at the Mansfield Area Y with representatives from various community agencies sharing how the project can decrease the infant mortality rate locally and statewide.
"It's a clear example of our commitment to improving our community's infant mortality rate as well as the leadership in this community in this particular area for Ohio," said Richland County Health Commissioner Martin Tremmel.
Tremmel said Richland County is the first to launch the Baby Box initiative in Ohio. The statewide Ohio Baby Box program is being launched in partnership with major hospital systems and health organizations across the state.
In 2017, the Ohio program will distribute about 140,000 Baby Boxes annually, ensuring that every expecting family in Ohio has access to this free resource regardless of socio-economic background.
Richland County's 2016 infant mortality rate was 10.4 per thousand live births, or 12 infant deaths out of 1,154 births, according to Richland Public Health statistics.
Ohio's infant mortality rates are among the worst in the United States. According to the Center for Disease Control 2014 data, the infant mortality rate for Caucasian babies in Ohio is 6.3, signifying that six infant deaths occur per 1,000 live births before their first birthday. The rate is 12.9 for black babies.
This translates to an overall rate of 7.1 infant deaths in Ohio compared to a national rate of 6.0 infant deaths, ranking Ohio 44 out of 50 states for infant mortality, according to Richland Public Health.
Tremmel, who stood in front of dozens of cardboard Baby Boxes, said the needle is not moving as far as officials would like.
He said the health department attempts to reach parents with a safe sleep message: "Alone. On the back. In the crib or ABC."
"We expect to use this tool, the Baby Box, all the boxes you see here and many, many more that are affiliated with the variety of agencies who are partnering with us as additional tools in the tool box, as we like to refer to this, in our efforts to improve infant mortality," he said.
The Baby Box Co., the company behind the global integrated program, Friday announced that Ohio is the second state to launch a universal program where all expecting and new parents can receive a free Baby Box by completing online parenting education.
Tremmel lauded Richland Source reporter Brittany Schock for a series of articles called "Healing Hope, Saving Babies Means Thinking Inside the Box."
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"Brittany in writing that article came upon a couple things. No. 1, the country of Finland has an infant mortality rate of 2.3, the United States, the most developed country in the whole world, has an infant mortality rate of 6.0," he said.
"It went from a story to a discussion to a critique to some action items to where you see Cristen (Gilbert, CEO at the YMCA) and some members of her team at the YMCA and many others in the room that have adopted and are getting in front of and behind the Baby Box concept," Tremmel said.
Boxes are available at the Mansfield Area Y, Richland Public Health and CHAPS.
For information, contact Richland Public Health at 419-774-4500 or the Mansfield Y at 419-522-3511.
lwhitmir@nncogannett.com
419-521-7223
Twitter: @LWhitmir
Read or Share this story: http://ohne.ws/2mbM4TsSubstitute House Bill 48 (Eliminate many 'no-guns' victim zones), sponsored by Ron Maag (R-Lebanon), is scheduled for a vote by the full House on Tuesday, November 17, 2015.
The bill, which passed out of the House State Government Committee back in June by a 9-2 vote, seeks to restore Ohioans' right to carry in day-care facilities (unless they post "no-guns"), private airplanes, school safety zones, and in non-secure areas of police stations and airports.
The substitute bill also contains "opt-in" language which would to allow authorities governing college campuses and certain government buildings the ability to allow concealed carry.
Places of worship, which already have the ability to "opt-in," would see no changes under the substitute bill.
Even though this bill enjoyed broad support in committee, the violence that has taken place since, combined by renewed activism by the anti-self-defense groups, have given some legislators concern about their vote on this legislation.
It is important that your State Representative hear from you now. If you are not sure who that is, you can find their information here.
Gun owners seem to be resting on their laurels this year. It’s not enough to have facts on our side when we are outworked by those who seek to disarm us. Please take the time to contact your legislator immediately to ask for their support. It does not matter if they are the most pro-freedom or anti-freedom legislator - everyone needs to hear from their constituents before the vote.
HB 48 reduces or eliminates many victim zones, or locations where a concealed handgun license is not valid. From random acts of violence, to active killers, to terrorist attacks like Paris experienced last week, we know that killers prefer to attack in locations where their victims have been disarmed. HB 48 is a priority bill because it would make many locations less attractive to those who would commit mass murder.
Session is scheduled to start at 1:30 pm. There are several bills on the schedule, some of which may have extensive discussion before being voted on. If you are not able to attend the session, you can view it live here.
Jim Irvine is the Buckeye Firearms Foundation President, BFA PAC Chairman and recipient of the NRA-ILA's 2011 "Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year Award," the CCRKBA's 2012 "Gun Rights Defender of the Year Award," and the SAF's 2015 "Defender of Freedom Award."Get the latest news and videos for this game daily, no spam, no fuss.
The final version of Titanfall for Xbox One will run in 792p, the same sub-1080p resolution that the game's beta featured last month, Respawn Entertainment has confirmed. Lead engineer Richard Baker confirmed the resolution to Eurogamer and said the studio is tinkering with ways to improve the game's visual performance post-launch.
"We've been experimenting with making it higher and lower. One of the big tricks is how much ESRAM we're going to use, so we're thinking of not using hardware MSAA [multisample anti-aliasing] and instead using FXAA [fast approximate anti-aliasing] to make it so we don't have to have this larger render target," Baker said.
"We're going to experiment. The target is either 1080p non-anti-aliased or 900p with FXAA. We're trying to optimize... we don't want to give up anything for higher res. So far we're not 100 percent happy with any of the options, we're still working on it," he added. "For day one it's not going to change. We're still looking at it for post-day one. We're likely to increase resolution after we ship."
Baker explained that a significant chunk of Titanfall's performance is on the GPU side, and noted that "there's still room for optimization and we're still working on it." A solid 60fps was an ideal scenario, Baker said, but he explained that this was not achievable when there's mass-scale fights going on with lots of particle effects and physics objectives in motion.
"We're still working to condense the systems, make them more parallel so we can hit 60 all the time, ideally," he said.
Titanfall launches tomorrow for Xbox One and PC, while the Xbox 360 version will launch on March 25 from external studio Bluepoint Games. Our review goes live at 12 noon PDT and you can check out this chart for when, down to the minute, you can begin playing tonight.After demonetization, many media persons thronged to get on the ground reactions from Indian citizens, politicians and anyone and everyone. Suhasini Haider, the deputy resident editor and diplomatic affairs editor of The Hindu decided to take it a step further by going international with her reporting and interviewed Greece’s alternate foreign minister Mr George Katrougalos of the ruling Syriza party.
Syriza essentially translates into ‘Coalition of the Radical Left’ and whose political ideologies include, Democratic socialism, Left-wing populism, Anti-capitalism and Alter-globalization. It in some ways is a U-turn party, after it came to power promising an end to the stringent austerity measures and ended up heaping even more stringent ones instead. In a report on 26th November co-written by her, in the story headline Mr Katrougalos was portrayed as calling Demonetization as a “Draconian move”.
On face value the Greek Minister calling it a draconian move was hypocritical to say the least as his party itself as part of the austerity measures had imposed a weekly withdrawal cap of 420 Euros or roughly Rs 30,000 which is much less considering the higher cost of living.
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Soon after the piece was published many talked about the veracity of a visiting foreign minister criticizing the internal policies of the guest country.
Greek minister on official visit & criticizes domestic Indian policy. No other govt would put up with this. @PMOIndia kick him out. #WTF https://t.co/zhbmNcWSlr — Rupa Subramanya (@rupasubramanya) November 26, 2016
Some commented about her strange choice for an interview
Hope @suhasinih also interviews finance ministers of Zimbabwe and Venezuela to tell us why demonetization is bad for the economy. https://t.co/DDgfnQn4UR — Spamnath Bharti (@attomeybharti) November 26, 2016
On 3rd of December, The Hindu published this clarification put out by Panos Kalogeropoulos the Ambassador of the Greek Embassy in New Delhi
With reference to excerpts of the Greek Alternate Foreign Minister’s interview to The Hindu (“‘Demonetization is a draconian move’,” Nov.26), the Embassy of Greece wishes to declare that some comments by the Alternate Minister concerning recent monetary measures by the Indian government have been presented out of context and thus led to an oversimplification of their meaning. The Minister was referring to European practices and has explicitly stated that he does not want to make judgment on internal affairs of which he does not have in-depth knowledge.
The clarification is nothing but an indictment of the style of reporting of Suhasini Haider and The Hindu. As was made evident by the Greek authorities, they were anguished by the fact that the report misquoted the Minister which led to an extreme oversimplification of what he wanted to actually say and stated that he did not with to make any judgement based on a country’s internal policies of which he has no knowledge of.
The fact that The Hindu, which originally reported the news, had to carry this clarification which in itself slammed The Hindu, gives us a hint as to the amount of criticism and pressure they must have been under, from the Greek embassy and officials. It is very likely that they felt extremely upset that their foreign minister was used as a pawn by Suhasini Haider, to settle domestic scores in India.
After the clarification people were quick to react:
Greece is very unhappy at the “oversimplification” resorted to by @suhasinih and @the_hindu. pic.twitter.com/Y9S4APwyky — S. Sudhir Kumar (@ssudhirkumar) December 4, 2016
Turns out not only was I right about protocol but Greek embassy denies Minister weighed in on Indian internal issues. @suhasinih over to you pic.twitter.com/KELgpwveep — Rupa Subramanya (@rupasubramanya) December 4, 2016
as a response Suhasini Haidar tweeted that
@rupasubramanya BTW, hope you were equally outraged by US praising demonetisation, and weighing in on “internal issues” — Suhasini Haidar (@suhasinih) December 4, 2016
Diplomacy might constitute praising the host country whether one means it or not but it certainly may not constitute criticizing a country and its internal issues especially when one has little or no knowledge of the same.
Share This Post and Support:Senior Labour Party MPs have used social media to attack the alliance struck between Mana and the Internet Party.
Former leaders Phil Goff and David Shearer, and Rimutaka MP Chris Hipkins, are among those who have objected to the deal. It could see MPs from Kim Dotcom’s fledging political vehicle enter Parliament on the ‘‘coat-tails’’ of a victory for Hone Harawira in Te Tai Tokerau.
The strong opposition from within Labour could make post-election coalition talks tricky.
Goff says he feel strongly about Dotcom’s ‘‘pure political opportunism’’, citing his previous donations to ACT MP John Banks, now the subject of a court case. ‘‘He wants to be able to influence and control politicians.’’
Goff says he was previously ‘‘very critical’’ of National for exploiting MMP and failing to implement recommendations from the Electoral Commission to abolish the provision.
‘‘I’m scarcely likely to endorse another rort...I’m being entirely consistent,’’ he said.
Goff says he made his feelings clear to the Labour caucus. ‘‘It will be the decision of the party leadership...but I see problems in creating a coalition where the philosophies and principle of people that you are trying to enter into a coalition with is unclear because they seem to be coming from diametrically opposed positions.’’
Those views were also reflected in a passionate Facebook post at the weekend. Shearer also used the social media site to write that although he wished the Internet-Mana ‘‘marriage’’ well, he knew ‘‘it’s going to end badly.’’
And on Twitter last week, Hipkins posted: ‘‘The good old days, when political parties formed from movements. Now all it takes is a couple of million and some unprincipled sellouts.’’
All three MPs were linked to the Anyone But Cunliffe [ABC] faction - who were opposed to David Cunliffe assuming leadership of the party. However, a Labour source played down talk of more division, saying all three were close to Te Tai Tokerau candidate Kelvin Davis.
Davis himself posted on Twitter: ‘‘Bro, I think of the people of Te Tai Tokerau, not Sergeant Shultz.’’ He was referring to Dotcom’s German origins.
A spokesman for Labour said Cunliffe was ‘‘off the grid’’ and not available for comment.
Earlier he told TVNZ’s Q & A, the party might consider scrapping coat-tailing.
‘‘National did not do that. One might suggest because they wanted to keep ACT and the Conservatives and United Future in play. And it's just possible that that might go down in history as one of the worst decisions that my opponent has made.”The sight of excavators tearing down vacant buildings has become common in this foreclosure-ravaged city, where the housing crisis hit early and hard. But the story behind the recent wave of demolitions is novel — and cities around the country are taking notice.
A handful of the nation’s largest banks have begun giving away scores of properties that are abandoned or otherwise at risk of languishing indefinitely and further dragging down already depressed neighborhoods.
The banks have even been footing the bill for the demolitions — as much as $7,500 a pop. Four years into the housing crisis, the ongoing expense of upkeep and taxes, along with costly code violations and the price of marketing the properties, has saddled banks with a heavy burden. It often has become cheaper to knock down decaying homes no one wants.
The demolitions in some cases have paved the way for community gardens, church additions and parking lots. Even when the result is an empty lot, it can be one less pockmark. While some widespread demolitions could risk hollowing out the urban core of struggling cities such as Cleveland, advocates say that the homes being targeted are already unsalvageable and that the bulldozers are merely “burying the dead.”
T he task of plowing under the homes rests with the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corp., which grew out of a 2009 state law aimed at creating “land banks” with the power and money to acquire unwanted properties and put them to better use — or at least put them out of their misery.
The efforts have led other states to pursue similar laws to deal with their own foreclosure epidemics. New York passed a comparable measure this summer. Similar legislation is in the works in Georgia, Philadelphia and elsewhere.
Cleveland has found progress in the sliver of common ground between the land bank’s mission and the interest of financial firms, including some that helped fuel the housing crisis through risky loans and later botched paperwork in carrying out foreclosures across the country.
This collaboration was uncomfortable at first, said Gus Frangos, the Cuyahoga land bank’s president and one of the people behind the state law.
“Two years ago, when we started... it was difficult,” he said. “Everybody was guarded.”
After countless meetings, however, land bank officials and banking representatives shed their initial wariness of one another. Frangos made a simple pitch: We’re not here to point fingers. We’ll take your worst properties, the ones not worth keeping. Pony up for the demolition, and you’ll still come out ahead. Just don’t walk away from them.
Bank of America and Wells Fargo announced plans this summer to donate more than 100 properties to the land bank. J.P. Morgan Chase also has made regular donations, and several other banks have given sporadically. Fannie Mae, the massive mortgage finance company seized by the federal government three years ago, began donating properties early on and now hands over about 30 properties a month, Frangos said.
For those companies, the arrangement equals good public relations. But it also makes economic sense.
“It feels great that we’re able to help nonprofits, help neighborhoods, help families,” said Tyler Smith, an assistant vice president at Wells Fargo, which donated 300 properties nationwide last year and is on track for about 1,000 this year. “But we certainly have to have the piece that shows it makes business sense.”
The bank, which often services mortgages on behalf of other investors, knows what it costs daily to hold each foreclosure — the upkeep, the taxes, the broker’s commission, the potential for costly code violations.
“We can make the financial case to the investor that, ‘It’s in your best interest to donate this,’ ” Smith said.
Thanks in part to the steady stream of donations, Cuyahoga land bank officials expect to complete roughly 700 demolitions by the end of the year.
On a recent Tuesday, the excavators roared to life. On tap: Four empty homes and one decaying apartment building, some on foreclosure-riddled streets, others in leafy neighborhoods with tidy lawns.
“It’s been a long time comin’,” Ronice Dunn, 58, said as the rotting home two doors down from her on Agnes Court — and donated by Fannie Mae — finally surrendered to the heavy machinery. “I’m not sad to see it go.”
In East Cleveland, not far from the mansion where John D. Rockefeller once lived, workers were turning an abandoned apartment building on Hartshorn Road into rubble.
“It’s about... time,” said George Jester, 73, who has lived on the block for more than two decades. What had become a magnet for rodents, vandals and vagrants was now an empty lot, full of potential. “It’ll be for the better.”
‘The discarded litter’
Land banks have existed for decades, but only in recent years have their numbers surged. Their objective, said Emory University professor and land bank expert Frank S. Alexander, is to deal with “the discarded litter of a consumption society” — the homes nobody wants. Traditionally, they have been small and passive organizations, acquiring properties through tax foreclosures and able to handle only a few at a time.
The aim of land banks has been to take these properties — which would otherwise be a drain on public services, magnets for crime and a drag on housing prices — and renovate them or clear the land for potential redevelopment.
With the foreclosure crisis ravaging Cleveland neighborhoods, officials there envisioned a more nimble and autonomous version. The Ohio law allowed Cuyahoga’s land bank, a nonprofit corporation, to receive millions of dollars a year from interest and penalties on collected delinquent real estate taxes and to spend that money as it sees fit, within its mandated mission.
Working with other nonprofits and benefiting from Cleveland’s assertive housing court, which has a reputation for smacking huge fines on banks and servicers responsible for crumbling properties, the land bank started gobbling up dozens of vacant and abandoned properties. Today, it has an inventory of about 1,000, with more than 100 flowing in every month from various sources.
“They have quickly gone from zero to being one of the most productive land banks in the country,” Alexander said.
The challenge remains to put those parcels to good use as quickly as possible. Some have been sold for pennies to churches or hospitals, such as the renowned Cleveland Clinic, that want to expand. Others are being redeveloped into rental properties or rehabbed for future sales or turned into community gardens. Even when there’s no immediate productive use, the razed lots are one less eyesore on the landscape. Frangos said eliminating run-down and abandoned buildings helps improve the value of neighboring properties.
Land banks and other local authorities aim to be strategic about where the demolitions take place, often trying to cluster them in “target areas” as part of larger efforts to stabilize neighborhoods.
In the Washington region, only Maryland has passed a law authorizing the creation of land banks. The measure was designed partly to help Baltimore deal with its glut of vacant and abandoned homes, but the land bank has yet to become reality.
A balance of interests
The donations keep coming, and not just in Cleveland.
At the end of August, the nation’s banks, along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, had an inventory of more than 816,000 foreclosed properties on their books waiting for a buyer, according to RealtyTrac. An additional 800,000 are working their way through the foreclosure process.
At Wells Fargo, Smith said, about a dozen asset managers “scrub these portfolios weekly” in cities such as Chicago and Milwaukee, looking for possible donations.
Rebecca Mairone, national mortgage outreach executive for Bank of America, said the company is expanding its donation programs to nearly a dozen cities, including Detroit and Chicago.
“It does balance the bank’s best interest with the community’s best interest,” she said.
In previous decades, Detroit, perhaps more than any other American city, saw such a vast swath of buildings torn down as the result of blight that some activists now urge that this land be returned to agriculture.
In Cleveland, much has changed since the first awkward meetings with the banks.
“My conversations [with banks] now are totally different than two years ago,” Frangos said. “We’re very comfortable with them, though there are still a lot of hard feelings in the community with big banks.”
Streets throughout Cleveland remain scarred by the crisis. Once-elegant homes sit empty and rotting, like ghosts of better times. A map in Frangos’s office marks the location of each foreclosure filing in recent years. No neighborhood has escaped untouched. With as many as 15,000 vacant and abandoned structures remaining and more on the way, the job at the current pace could take longer than a decade and cost $250 million for demolition and other expenses.
Frangos said he expects progress, not miracles.
“It is the root canal of community development that we’re doing,” he said, “and it’s not a quick fix.”
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Get the latest news from Post BusinessIt was the decade of the mega-heist, when stolen credit card magstripe tracks became the pork bellies of a new underground marketplace, Eastern European hackers turned malware writing into an art, and a nasty new crop of purpose-driven computer worms struck dread in the heart of America.
Now that the zero days are behind us, it's time to reflect on the most ingenious, destructive or groundbreaking cybercrimes of the first 10 years of the new millennium.
2000MafiaBoyOnce upon a time, "distributed denial of service attacks" were just a way for quarreling hackers to knock each other out of IRC. Then one day in February 2000, a 15-year-old Canadian named Michael "MafiaBoy" Calce experimentally programmed his botnet to hose down the highest traffic websites he could find. CNN, Yahoo, Amazon, eBay, Dell and eTrade all buckled under the deluge, leading to national headlines and an emergency meeting of security experts at the White House.
Compared to modern DDoS attacks, MafiaBoy's was trivial. But his was the cyberstrike that put the internet's security issues on a national stage, and inaugurated an era where any pissed off script kiddy could take down part of the web at will.
2002California Payroll Database BreachOn April 5, 2002, an unidentified hacker penetrated a California server housing the state government's payroll database, gaining access to names, Social Security numbers and salary information for 265,000 state workers from the governor on down. The breach itself was small potatoes, but when it emerged that the California Controller's Office had waited two weeks to warn the victims, angry lawmakers reacted by passing the nation's first breach disclosure law, SB1386.
The law requires hacked organizations to promptly warn potential identity theft victims. Its passage pulled the rock off the string of major corporate breaches that companies would have preferred to hush up. Today, 45 states have enacted similar laws.
2003SlammerIn 2003, fear came in 376 bytes. The lightning-fast Slammer worm targeted a hole in Microsoft's SQL server, and despite striking six months after a fix was released, the malware cracked an estimated 75,000 unpatched servers in the space of hours. Bank of America and Washington Mutual ATM networks ground to a halt. Continental Airlines delayed and canceled flights when its ticketing system got gummed up. Seattle lost its emergency 911 network, and a nuclear power plant in Ohio lost a safety monitoring system.
Slammer wasn't the biggest worm ever, but in its aggressive, relentless spread, it exposed the secret interconnections that corporations were foolishly allowing between important private networks and the public internet.
2004Foonet+++inset-left
Years before there was a Russian Business Network, a small ISP hosted in a suburban basement in Ohio gained the dubious reputation as the first black-hat hosting company. It was a safe spot for hackers and packet monkeys to attack an unsuspecting internet. Foonet's hosted clients included Carder Planet – the dedicated "carder forum" for credit card hackers – and its IRC servers were where legendary German hacker Axel "Ago" Gembe controlled his Agobot network of compromised Windows boxes. After two FBI raids, in 2004, Foonet's founder and some of the staff were indicted for a DDoS-for-hire scheme that collaterally slammed Amazon.com and the Department of Homeland Security. Foonet's owner, Saad Echouafni, skipped out on $750,000 to flee the country, and remains on the FBI's wanted list today. 2006The Los Angeles Traffic Signal AttackWhen Los Angeles traffic engineers went on strike in August 2006, the city decided not to take any chances: They temporarily blocked most access to the computer that controls 3,200 traffic signals throughout the City of Angels. Two of the striking engineers hacked in anyway. From a laptop, Kartik Patel and Gabriel Murillo picked four key intersections and changed the timing on the traffic signals so the most congested approach would hit long red lights. The timing tweaks wreaked havoc in a city already flirting with gridlock, according to the Los Angeles Times, snarling traffic at the Los Angeles International Airport, backing up the Glendale Freeway and paralyzing Little Tokyo and the streets of the downtown Civic Center. It evidently took several days for managers to figure out what was going on. In December 2009, the engineers were sentenced to probation. 2006Max Vision+++inset-left
In 2006, a former computer security researcher turned professional black hat weighed and measured the computer underground, and found it wanting. So in a two-night hackfest from his San Francisco safe house, Max Vision (aka Iceman) trained his guns on the online carder forums where hackers and fraudsters buy and sell stolen data, fake IDs and specialized underground services.
When he was done hacking in and wiping out their databases, he absorbed their content and membership into his own site, CardersMarket, turning it into the largest English-speaking criminal marketplace on the web – 6,000 members strong. The hostile takeover got the attention of the feds who'd thoroughly infiltrated some of the sites he hacked, and a year later FBI and Secret Service tracked Iceman to his hideout. He's now awaiting sentencing for stealing 2 million credit cards that rang up $86 million in fraudulent charges.
2008RBS Worldpay HeistThe first time we learned that the payment processor RBS Worldpay had been hacked, it sounded like no big deal: The company announced in December 2008 that it had seen fraud on only 100 of the 1.5 million payroll and gift card accounts compromised in the breach. But it turns out the hackers were able to raise the withdrawal limits on 44 of those cards to as high as $500,000. Then they dispatched a global army of cashers to slam the accounts with repeated rapid-fire withdrawals.
More than 130 ATMs in 49 cities from Moscow to Atlanta were hit simultaneously just after midnight Eastern Time on November 8, 2008, resulting in a one-day haul of $9.5 million in cold, hard cash. In November, the United States indicted four of the alleged ringleaders, who are in Estonia, Russia and Moldova. Good luck with that.
2005 - 2008Albert Gonzalez+++inset-leftIn a year already inundated with shark sightings and incidences, Hawaii took things to a new level this past month when four separate attacks occurred over a span of 30 days—three of them within the past week and two of them only a few hours apart.
The first was the well-publicised case of the spearfisherman who posted his injury on Instagram while being carted off to the emergency room. Then, last week, a surfer lost his leg while surfing Leftovers on the North Shore. As if that wasn’t enough, a swimmer off of Oahu’s Lanikai Beach had both feet nearly bitten off this past Saturday morning. He was fortunate to have been saved by passing kayakers who fought off the aggressive tiger shark, and was rushed to the hospital, where he is currently being treated for serious injuries. But a few hours later, another man was attacked by a shark and suffered bites to his left leg, this time at Waikiki Beach, one of Oahu’s most popular tourist attractions.
The swimmer who was attacked being helped to shore by a passing kayaker. © 2019 - Acacia Barnes/KITV
After numerous attacks over the past 12 months in North Carolina, Reunion Island, Australia, Hawaii, and California (Newport Beach was closed due to sharks yesterday for the second time this autumn)—plus the headline story of the Mick Fanning shark attack during the contest in South Africa—it would seem that we are in a period of heightened shark activity.
Great whites have been patrolling lineups in Southern California all summer, a six-meter great white was reportedly spotted in Bali this past week, and Kentucky Fried Chicken South Africa got buzzed by a big whitey this past week as well. Scientists have also reported that large numbers of tagged sharks seem to be relocating to foreign waters, leading many to wonder what exactly is causing all of this irregular behaviour.
One possible explanation, according to marine biologist Giancarlo Thomae, may be the developing El Nino event and the anomalous water temps that have been recorded throughout the Pacific Ocean over the summer, which may be resulting in changes in the migratory patterns of typical shark prey. Fortunately, water temps are finally starting to drop in California, so hopefully the shark population will mellow out as early winter swells start to fill in.
In the meantime, here’s wishing a speedy recovery to the latest shark attack survivors.The latest system software update for the PlayStation 4 appears to have had a terrible side effect for a number of customers: The console’s Wi-Fi no longer works.
Sony released the major firmware update, version 4.50, on March 9. That morning, after updating their PS4, a user on the PlayStation Forums started a thread about their new connectivity issue. “I updated my PS4 this morning and after the update it can not connect to wifi,” the user wrote, mentioning the error code NW-31297-2 — “could not connect to the Wi-Fi network because the Wi-Fi password is not correctly set on the PS4, or the wireless network is busy.”
The user said that they were “pretty sure the password is correct,” and added that their Wi-Fi was working as usual with other devices.
As of today, nearly two weeks later, that thread has ballooned to nearly 250 posts, almost all of them coming from people who are running into the same issue. At least one person went so far as to spend $30 on a Wi-Fi extender with an Ethernet port so they could keep using their PS4. “Oh, but the rage I felt for Sony when I was buying it,” the individual said. Of course, using a wired connection simply isn’t an option for some people.
Much of the anger in the forum thread comes from the problem itself, and the fact that a software update that was |
! To start us off, here'swith an introduction to theQ&A:As usual, we've sorted the Q&A responses into several general categories for easy reading:When asked about the release date of noted they would be released in 5.19:He later elaborated, noting they'll be released next week (during the week of October 5th):When asked aboutas a jungle marksman and if we can expect any more of that role/position combo,When asked ifQ applies on hits, noted it does not:also commented on the W Wolf attacks, noting they do not proc on-hits:When asked abouthaving a non-damaging ultimate,When asked about some quirks from development, shared that the initial version of Kindred's R was semi-global! commented on this again in response to a similar question:As for howpassive will work on the ARAM map,Last up, we have a few sets of questions and answers on various gameplay topics:When asked how longhas been in development,also commented on the choice of a Lamb & Wolf to representWhen asked about Wolf's shadowy design vs Lamb's,When asked about the concept of Yin & Yang inspiringlooks,As for the process of makinganimations,When asked aboutdance inspiration,When asked ifvisuals were inspired by Chiara Bautista's Artwork, also commented on the fan concept Dhama that circulated prior toreveal:also commented that Kindred was not transformed from the Ao Shin concept When asked aboutrelationship & interaction with death,As for if Lamb represents death for "good" people and Wolf for "bad",As for how"hunt" in the world,On "running" from death and trying to escapeAs forbeing present for all deaths and multiple places at once,As for how longhas been around relative to the game world, continued, commenting on whytakes the form of a lamb and wolf: also commented on the Pale Man story from the original teaser, noting it isn't a true representation oforigins:When asked ifhas an end or can die,As for if the two halves ofare "friends",also commented on how Lamb and Wolf feel when asked about a particular quote from the VO:As for if they are good or evil,When asked what time in history A Good Death is set,When asked about the dead figure inbase splash art,Next up we have various Rioters commenting onthoughts on specific champions and regions:As forthoughts on also commented on whatmight think ofWhen asked about the relationship betweenandWhen asked aboutattitude towardsas a character,When asked ifwas responsible for creating the Shadow Isles in some way,As for resurrection and champions likeorWhen asked how different cultures in Runeterra would react to Lamb and Wolf deaths,As for if each person meets their own version of Kindred on death,Last up we have a few group responses on lore related topics:When asked who wrote A Good Death When asked ifmasks can be removed,When asked if there will be summoner icons that are related toMore oncan be found here:HB 2414 and SB 2387 would make public school students use bathrooms designated for the sex on their birth certificates. (Photo: Getty Images / iStockphoto)
The House sponsor of a bill that would require students in public school grades K-12 and higher education institutions to use the restroom that corresponds with their sex at birth is killing the controversial legislation.
Rep. Susan Lynn, R-Mt. Juliet, said Monday she plans on delaying any action on the highly contentious measure in an effort to further study the issue.
"I have learned that our school districts are largely following what the bill says," she said while inside her office at the Capitol on Monday. "I am still absolutely 100 percent in support of maintaining the privacy of all students. But I'm going to roll the bill over until next year so we can work on those issues."
Lynn, who had been an outspoken proponent of the measure as it made its way through legislative committees, said school districts are protecting the privacy rights of all students and she was "confident that things will be OK” until next session.
The Republican lawmaker said the controversy surrounding the legislation, which included threats by some companies to withhold business from Tennessee, did not factor into her decision to halt the measure.
“I didn’t have one letter from one company saying that they were pulling out of Tennessee or anything because of this bill,” she said.
Earlier this month, Attorney General Herbert Slatery issued an opinion saying the state could be in jeopardy of losing more than $1.2 billion in federal Title IX funding if the bill became law. Title IX under federal law bars discrimination in education based on sex.
Lynn said the opinion did not address “exactly what we were looking for.”
The opinion came in response to two questions, which centered around the Title IX issue, that Reps. Mike Stewart, D-Nashville, and Harry Brooks, R-Knoxville, who serves as chairman of the House Education Administration and Planning Committee, asked Slatery to answer. Most schools in the state are offering accommodations to students.
She said if the question had been asked “more accurately” there would have likely been a different answer. Backers of the bill, including sponsors Lynn and Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, said the legislation was needed to protect the privacy of students.
“We just did want to protect children at the state level," Lynn said.
Lynn said that she talked about the controversial legislation with Gov. Bill Haslam, who expressed concerns about the Title IX funding.
.@SusanMLynn answering my question if she was pressured by @BillHaslam to pull back on legislation pic.twitter.com/MT8YQRF8gb — Joel Ebert (@joelebert29) April 18, 2016
“He indicated to me that he definitely supports the policy. It’s just the time line and the strategy is just a concern,” she said.
"It is no secret the governor had concerns about the legislation, and those were communicated to Rep. Lynn," said Jennifer Donnals, a spokeswoman for Haslam.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee praised Lynn's decision to kill the bill.
"Today’s move helps ensure that every child in Tennessee will be treated with respect and dignity," said Hedy Weinberg, the organization's executive director. "We will remain vigilant to ensure that all Tennessee children are treated equally under the law.”
Lynn's announcement comes as competing groups descended on Capitol Hill on Monday to continue the battle over the bill, while a panel of senators delayed taking action on the controversial legislation during an afternoon session.
Family Action Council of Tennessee President David Fowler backed the bill and thanked Lynn and Bell for sponsoring it.
"But we join the thousands of parents across the state who are profoundly disappointed that at this point in the process Rep. Lynn has decided not to proceed with a bill that would have simply protected the privacy of the children they have entrusted to our public schools," Fowler, a former state senator, said in a statement.
He said he trusts lawmakers will bring the proposal back next year, and his group would back the effort again.
"In the meantime, we would encourage citizens to monitor the policies of their local school systems and demand that their schools defend the privacy of students if threatened with lawsuits, as has already happened with one local school system," Fowler said.
The latest development came on a day when supporters and opponents descended on the Capitol to make their voices known.
About 30 pastors from the conservative Tennessee Pastors Network joined Fowler and his organization to show support for the controversial bill.
Around the same time, two transgender high school students — Henry Seaton and Jennifer Guenst — headed to Haslam’s office to deliver more than 67,000 signatures from Tennesseans, including nearly 6,000 people who identified as clergy or people of faith, who are opposed to the measure.
Fowler downplayed the possible loss of business and federal education funding and sought to distance Tennessee's proposal from similar legislation passed in North Carolina.
"Ours only applies to the bathrooms and locker rooms in our public schools and colleges that may be used by young people," he said.
As Fowler and the pastors led their event, Seaton and Guenst, who have both spoken against the measure in front of Senate and House committees, were joined by representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, the Tennessee Equality Project, the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition and the Human Rights Campaign, all of which have been highly critical of the proposed legislation.
“I’m a boy — I live my life as a boy, my friends know me as a boy, my parents accept me as a boy. I shouldn’t have to use the teacher’s bathroom because some politicians feel uncomfortable with who I am,” Seaton said in a statement.
Seaton said the legislation would “legalize bullying” and “stigmatize and humiliate” transgender students.
“That’s not what laws should do,” he said. “Personally, I think our elected officials should spend their time making sure that every student can be safe and feel welcome.”
Guenst said the current system, which allows schools to offer accommodations to students on a case-by-case basis, is working.
“I have been a public school student for two years and haven’t had any issues using the same restroom as other students — it’s this bill that would create a lot of problems for me and my friends,” she said. “It means a lot to me to be carrying this message of opposition from thousands of people to lawmakers.”
In recent weeks, opposition to the legislation mounted. Last week, executives from 60 businesses, including Cigna, Hilton Hotels, Dow Chemical Co. and Alcoa Inc., signed a letter that was delivered to the Republican leaders of both chambers expressing their concerns about the bill.
In addition to company executives, elected officials, musicians and businesses — including Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, Viacom and Miley Cyrus — have also criticized the measure.
Richard Locker of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis and Knoxville News Sentinel contributed to this report.
Reach Joel Ebert at 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.
Read or Share this story: http://tnne.ws/1So7uI0That Awkward Time Putin Called for Military Intervention in the New York Times
Russian President Vladimir Putin made a direct appeal to the American public in an editorial in Thursday morning’s New York Times. "The potential strike by the United States against Syria," he writes, "despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders. A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism…. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance."
But Putin seemed notably less concerned about civilian deaths and the second-order effects of military intervention when he took to the same opinion page in 1999 to make the case for intervention — in Chechnya. In an editorial titled "Why We Must Act," he defended Russian military action, writing that "in the midst of war, even the most carefully planned military operations occasionally cause civilian casualties, and we deeply regret that." Despite international concerns, though, he assured readers that the Russian counterinsurgency operation would not cause widespread harm to civilians. "American officials tell us that ordinary citizens are suffering, that our military tactics may increase that suffering," he wrote then. "The very opposite is true. Our commanders have clear instructions to avoid casualties among the general population. We have nothing to gain by doing otherwise." Because when the Russians stage a military intervention, it’s different.
Today, Putin is much more concerned about the civilian toll of military action, and questions the use of force entirely. "No matter how targeted the strikes or how sophisticated the weapons, civilian casualties are inevitable, including the elderly and children, whom the strikes are meant to protect," he writes — this time not as a reason for caution, but rather as a rationale for opposing intervention. Elsewhere in the world, he writes, "force has proved ineffective and pointless."
In 1999, Putin justified the "decisive armed intervention" in Chechnya as "the only way to prevent further casualties both within and far outside the borders of Chechnya, further suffering by so many people enslaved by terrorists." "[W]hen a society’s core interests are besieged by violent elements," he wrote, "responsible leaders must respond."
That’s not unlike the case President Obama made on Tuesday. The use of chemical weapons in Syria demonstrated "why the overwhelming majority of humanity has declared them off-limits — a crime against humanity, and a violation of the laws of war," Obama said. In that speech, the president laid out his case that the enforcement of the international ban on chemical weapons is, to borrow Putin’s words, one of society’s core interests. "As the ban against these weapons erodes," Obama said Tuesday, "other tyrants will have no reason to think twice about acquiring poison gas, and using them. Over time, our troops would again face the prospect of chemical warfare on the battlefield. And it could be easier for terrorist organizations to obtain these weapons, and to use them to attack civilians."
Putin claims in his editorial to be more interested in protecting the United Nations, where Russian obstinacy has consistently blocked Security Council proposals for sanctions. This week, the Russian delegation said it would veto a Security Council resolution to enforce the terms of a chemical weapons disarmament plan being worked out by Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva. "No one wants the United Nations to suffer the fate of the League of Nations, which collapsed because it lacked real leverage," Putin writes today. As for what leverage the United Nations — which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday had suffered a "collective failure to prevent atrocity crimes in Syria" — should apply to Syria, Putin did not address that in his editorial this morning.With the 2K Agreement Expiring, Should Sony Try to Make MLB PlayStation Exclusive?
Joel Taveras January 23, 2012 3:45:29 PM EST
In an industry where the word ‘exclusive’ means everything it came as no surprise when Take-Two interactive followed in EA’s footsteps of monopolizing multiplatform rights to a professional sport on consoles. In 2006, Major League Baseball (MLB) as well as the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) struck a deal that would make the MLB2K series the only baseball option that would be available on all the different platforms; an agreement that would run though the spring of 2012.
That expiration date is right around the corner and now the pressure rests on the shoulders of those at Take Two, especially when you consider that while their franchise managed to score such lucrative deal, the games — rarely if ever — met those high expectations. It would be one thing if the MLB2K series was on par with its amazing NBA counterpart in terms of quality and presentation, unfortunately it’s simply not the case. Year in and year out the developers at MLB2K have added features, functionality and mechanics, but they always wind up as the “good enough” baseball game on the market, and that’s especially the case for gamers on the PlayStation 3 who have another option.
It doesn’t matter what side of the fanboy fence your allegiance lies, if you’re a real fan of Major League Baseball, there’s no denying that Sony San Diego Studio’s MLB the Show series has completely trumped the efforts made by MLB2K. And that’s been the case every single year since the 3rd party exclusivity deal has been in place. If you need any further proof, you can look at the average Metacritic scores of both titles for the last 5 years, MLB2K 71.6 and MLB the Show 86.6. A 15 point difference, need I really say more?
Outside of sports, Take Two as a company has a lot going on this year. The Darkness II, Max Payne and BioShock Infinite are all set to hit store shelves in the first half alone. Then there’s also the XCom strategy title set for sometime in the 2012 calendar year (the shooter was pushed to 2013), and we certainly cannot forget about the 500lb gorilla in the room known as Grand Theft Auto V (though we don’t have a date yet). While all these titles will surely help Take Two’s bottom line, they’re also going have to open the war chest to market them all.
Will there be enough left over for Take Two to pursue another agreement with the MLB? Is owning the rights to “the second best” baseball game even worth it? These are the kind of questions that I’m sure that they’re asking themselves right now.
I have my doubts that the MLB will want an extension to the deal. Sure it’s just another revenue stream for the league but as such a large organization, would they continue to want a mediocre product representing the product that they put on the field? If they are shopping around for a similar agreement from someplace else, this is where Sony can come in and hit a home run.
I don’t think its an exclusive that’s ever been done before and I’m not sure about the logistics (maybe even legal hurdles) behind it; I mean we’re talking about the exclusivity of an entire sport here, but when you look at how strong of a product MLB the Show is and how well it represents the league, the players, and the experience, I’m sure that it isn’t too far outside of the realm of possibility.
In 2010, Sony added MLB TV as part of it’s connected services offering on the PS3 and it was well received by many. Now, with 2K’s exclusivity deal expiring, they’ll have the chance to make PlayStation the official platform for everything MLB. In other words, if you want to experience the MLB, the only way will be on PlayStation. The only question remains is whether or not Sony will be able pull the trigger on something like that.
It won’t be a walk in the park for Sony (or even Take Two again) as another variable comes into play here as well. EA Sports hasn’t produced a Major League Baseball simulation game in over half a decade, and something that I’m sure that they want to change. Their last effort, MVP Baseball 2005 was the king of the mountain when it released, scoring a 9.2 from IGN. But that series was snuffed out of existence when the 2K deal was made which leads one to believe that they’ll their piece of the pie back as well.
No matter how it plays out, it’s sure to be an interesting year for baseball games moving forward. Take Two has an important decision to make. Sony will have the opportunity to put an exclusive chokehold on the sport. And EA Sports can come out of left field (pun completely intended) and play spoiler to both of them. Yet the final decision lies with MLB and the direction they wish to go.
Play ball!Vice President Biden is doing everything he can to make sure people don’t forget that it’s not just Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonSanders: 'I fully expect' fair treatment by DNC in 2020 after 'not quite even handed' 2016 primary Sanders: 'Damn right' I'll make the large corporations pay 'fair share of taxes' Former Sanders campaign spokesman: Clinton staff are 'biggest a--holes in American politics' MORE who has an interest in the White House in 2016. He does, too.
After Clinton struggled to contain criticism of her lofty personal finances, there was Biden last week, highlighting his every-man status.
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“I don’t own a single stock or bond,” Biden said at a White House summit on working families last week. “I have no savings account.”
While numerous news reports later sought to disprove that fact — 2013 filings show Biden has a joint savings account with holdings ranging from $1,001 to $15,000 — it showed he was looking for an opening, observers say.
“It’s almost like he’s saying, or rather, screaming, ‘Don’t forget about me!’ ” said one former White House official.
Or as Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons put it: “When a political opportunity presents itself, it’s really hard not to swing at that ball.
“It’s hard to resist a moment to differentiate yourself,” Simmons added. “Politicians run for office; that’s what they know how to do. Until they’re not running, they’re always running for reelection. And until he decides not to run for president, he’s gotta be as forward-leaning as possible.”
To be sure, the vice president’s allies insist Biden hadn’t said anything last week that he hasn’t said before.
Earlier this year, for example, while speaking at the North American International Auto Show, he told the crowd that he “made a commitment in 1972 when I ran that I’d never own any stocks or bonds. I never have. That’s why I’m listed as the poorest guy in the Congress.”
The vice president has a solid friendship with both Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, according to sources on both sides. Biden had asked Bill Clinton for advice before entering the 2008 primary. And when President Obama was considering Clinton as secretary of State, Biden spoke up in favor of the decision. During her tenure at State, she and the vice president met for breakfast at the Naval Observatory whenever the two were both in town.
Still, political observers also couldn’t help and view things through a 2016 lens, when Biden posed for a selfie with singing sensation Katy Perry last week. The photo, after all, came a couple of days after the singer had posed for a picture with Clinton and also offered to write a 2016 campaign theme song. Clinton publicly tweeted at Perry to suggest that she had already written her one — her hit song “Roar.”
While the Perry incident may be chocked up to pure coincidence, it’s caused some to read between the lines.
“Nothing in politics is coincidence,” another former White House aide said. “Sure it was a fun moment, but it’s also a serious one.”
Biden, the former aide added, has always wanted to be president. And without the prospect of a Clinton candidacy, he would be the inevitable candidate, as most vice presidents are by tradition.
“It’s gotta be a little irritating for him because of the fascination with Hillary,” said Martin Sweet, an assistant professor of political science at Northwestern University. “It’s a really peculiar case. It has to be personally challenging for him.”
And, as one Democratic strategist surmised, “He knows what he’s doing.”
“The thing is, everyone — including Hillary — is trying to figure out how to handle this strange and awkward time. They’re all trying to keep their names out there and their options open.”
As 2016 inches closer, observers say it’ll be interesting to see how Biden ratchets up the rhetoric to keep his name in the mix. The vice president, who has made it known he’d like to run for president again, has keep a high profile in recent days. This week, for instance, he was at Obama’s side as the president spoke about how he would use executive action on immigration. And he also attended Obama’s announcement to tap Robert McDonald, as secretary of Veterans Affairs.
As one strategist said, “He’s making it clear he’s very much in the picture.”The American Civil Liberties Union said Friday it will challenge the Trump administration's latest travel ban, the first such legal action to be announced against the new ban.
The ACLU and other groups who had previously sued over the administration's ban on visitors from six majority-Muslim countries said in a letter Friday to a federal judge in Maryland that they want to amend their existing lawsuit. The groups say the latest version of the ban, the administration's third, also violates federal law and the Constitution.
Trump announced the latest restrictions last weekend after the previous ban expired. The restrictions are targeted at countries that the Department of Homeland Security says fail to share sufficient information with the U.S. or haven't taken necessary security precautions. The new restrictions impact citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen — and some Venezuelan government officials and their families — and are to go into effect Oct. 18. The prior ban also included Sudan but didn't include Chad, North Korea or Venezuela.
In their two-page letter, the ACLU and others say they want to amend their existing lawsuit to cover the president's latest proclamation and seek a preliminary injunction "or other relief" suspending the visa and entry restrictions in the proclamation.
Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior told the Associated Press in an email after the ACLU announced its intention to take legal action that the department "will continue to vigorously defend the President's inherent authority to keep this country safe."
Trump administration rolls out new travel ban restrictions
The travel ban continues to be a point of controversy for the Trump administration, although the issue has been overshadowed by a number of other issues since it first became a problem for the Trump administration at the beginning of his presidency.
The process for developing this travel ban was more rigorous than the two previous bans. The Department of Homeland Security worked with the State Department to issue standards for vetting individual travelers that each nation needed to meet, and gave all countries 50 days to reach those requirements. Then, Acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke gave those recommendations to the president, and Mr. Trump had a week to consider the countries that met and failed to meet those standards. Administration officials had hoped this ban would be more difficult to challenge in court.
This ban, unlike the previous bans, has no expiration date. Rather, it's a conditions-based ban, and countries with restrictions will remain restricted until they fulfill the standards set by the Trump administration.Ahmed Kamal, a medical student, was arrested by police and delivered to his family the following day via the mortuary. Ahmed had been sentenced to two years in absentia and only recently arrested and killed by Egyptian police, possibly tortured to death. Sometime in the past this may have been breaking news, causing outrage in Egyptian society, and perhaps even internationally. But in today’s Egypt, this is a repeated story, predictable in every way.
The state will cover up for its security apparatus, and as its ridiculous story is exposed, details may shift slightly until the whole ordeal is forgotten. If Giulio Regeni’s murder did not bring about any accountability for the Egyptian regime or its security bodies, it is highly unlikely that Ahmed Kamal’s murder will result in any better.
Security bodies will deny wrongdoing; forensics may end up fabricating a report like they did in the case of Khaled Said. Regime apologists at best will ask people to wait for meaningless investigations by the state. Even if the forensics report doesn’t appease state institutions and the evidence is found to be compelling, then arrests may be made, but only to silence public pressure. These arrests will not result in a condemning verdict, and if they do it will be repealed quickly.
The murder of Ahmed Kamal and the story that follows is not an isolated incident; it reflects the workings of a brutal regime whose institutions are complicit in crimes against Egyptians and works in perfect harmony to provide impunity to its members. This state of complicity and criminality is hard to digest even when witnessing it. Yet time and time again the regime has consistently proven that this systemic injustice is its modus operandi.
Police brutality is the government’s chosen means of looking out for its interests and enforcing policy. While political protests bore the brunt of re-establishing these means, the same will be applied to enforce harsh economic policies advocated for by Egypt’s ‘allies’.
An implicit agreement between the Egyptian government and the people was negotiated over the past six years, following the murder of Khaled Said whereby police brutality and government impunity became more or less accepted. Yet, even with the carte blanche provided by the regime’s supporters to use excessive violence, dire economic conditions may breech that agreement. Egyptians are angered by their struggle with the prices of basic goods, medicine, and cost of living.
Despite this anger, the people do not have the power, or perhaps the will, to attempt to change the regime or depose President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. Any such attempt may start a new wave of harsher economic conditions that the people are not ready to handle. The people have willfully given up their right to protest this regime. Many feel compelled to live with the consequences having deprived themselves of influence. But can we call the inability to remove Al-Sisi or influence his regime’s policies ‘stability’?
Egypt needs reforms in order to address its ailing economy, but these reforms need to be political rather than strictly by the numbers. It’s disingenuous and far removed from reality to claim that a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an answer to Egypt’s ailing economy. The incessant advocacy to impose IMF conditions, such as the value-added tax or lifting of subsidies, is far too reminiscent of the 1977 bread riots. Likewise, back then, subsidies were lifted causing a large wave of protests that left 79 dead and 566 injured. These austerity measures were taken without regard for the political backlash or the context which made these measures back-breaking to the average Egyptian.
Besides, the government is underperforming in most sectors, exhibiting even more incompetence than under Hosni Mubarak. No matter what the plan is, it is unlikely it can be executed efficiently, with the farfetched assumption these are the reforms Egypt needs.
What hope is there for a country whose economy is systemically worsened by pouring state money into a military economy that neither pays taxes nor contributes back to the state budget? How can any tax reforms be sustainable while the military continues to take money out of the economic cycle? What mechanisms or possible oversight could there be for a regime that has ignored its own laws as well as international treaties to further its own political and economic agenda?
Can any loan or condition stop the military from manipulating the market and muscling out competition to push forward its own products and services? What is there to address policies that favour the army’s air conditioning units, bottled water, and food products that cripple civilian competition? Can any condition be imposed to change the contracts that are being delivered directly to the army and revenue not being pumped back into the economy through taxes and parliamentary oversight?
For many in the Egyptian government, corruption is a way of life they’re not willing to give up. Economists advocating loan conditions fail to address these pressing issues that are key to Egypt’s structural economic problems. The present debate sidesteps some of the most important factors that are negatively influencing the economy. Some of these factors include political repression, lack of judiciary reforms, the police state, and military economic interests driving policy.
Ahmed Kamal is a recurring story, symptomatic of a security state that has turned criminal, motivated by narrow economic interests that favour an economic elite over the Egyptian populace. Ahmed won’t show up in the numbers punched up by experts, nor will the nonsensical story provided by the government be questioned.
The present regime has alienated numerous factions of society: doctors, lawyers, journalists, students, youth, businessmen, and even some civil servants. Meanwhile, Egypt holds its own future hostage. Youth are threatened constantly and barred from decision-making circles. Many are detained in jail, tortured or placed under solitary confinement without fair judicial process, and some, like Ahmed, are killed in police custody.
Egypt’s problems will not be solved by applying cosmetic reforms, they will only entrench Egypt deeper down an abyss, like a car stuck in the sand digging itself deeper when the accelerator is pushed hard. Further austerity, which comes hand in hand with state violence and repression, may cause the eruption of an already simmering street. What’s more, even if understated, Egypt cannot move forward as long as stories like Giulio Regeni and Ahmed Kamal and countless others persist. It will take real change and the unchaining of Egypt’s youth—its future—to dig it out of this hole that’s growing deeper by the minute.
Wael Eskandar is an independent journalist and blogger based in Cairo. He is a frequent commentator on Egyptian politics and has written for Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, Counterpunch, and Jadaliyya, among others. He blogs at notesfromtheunderground.netMichael McFaul, director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) at Stanford University, and Amy Zegart, co-director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at FSI where she also runs the Cyber Policy and Security Program, are also senior fellows at the Hoover Institution, also at Stanford.
In his last news conference of the year (and maybe last ever as president) last week, President Obama squarely assigned blame to the Russian government for stealing data from the Democratic National Committee and John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s former campaign chairman, with the intent of disrupting our electoral process and helping one candidate, President-elect Donald Trump. Obama also promised to respond but left out details about how and when.
With days left in office, Obama has few real options available. But as a country, we must begin to have a serious discussion about our short game and long game for addressing cyberthreats, both from Russia but also other actors, foreign and domestic. We must improve our capabilities to assign attribution, respond to attackers, resist future foes and deepen resilience for when we are assaulted again. In the long run, we also should to develop international norms for regulating cyber-activity.
In the short term, Obama and his administration must do all they can to build the public case regarding attribution. Our intelligence agencies agree that the Russian government stole and publicized data to influence our elections.
But many still doubt these intelligence assessments, including one important naysayer, the president-elect. Just as he did in September 2009 to expose the Iranian nuclear weapons program threat, Obama must declassify as much intel as he can safely, without compromising intelligence sources and methods. (President Kennedy did the same during the Cuban Missile Crisis.) Before leaving office, Obama also should sign into law the Protecting our Democracy Act, which establishes a bipartisan, independent commission, similar to the 9-11 Commission, to investigate foreign interference in the 2016 election. The goal should not be to relitigate the past but to prepare for the future.
In addition to quicker and more public attribution, the incoming Trump administration must articulate a new doctrine for response, applicable to Russia and other actors with serious cyber-capacity. U.S. intelligence agencies are paid to collect information about foreign leaders, including embarrassing and valuable information that they would prefer the world not know. U.S. policymakers need to start by making clear that we intend to identify what information foreign leaders value and hold its public release at risk if they cross cyber red lines. Individuals named publicly in response to a cyberattack should also be targeted for sanctions, including visa bans, asset freezes and blocking designated IP addresses from accessing all U.S.-based websites.
The last weapon in our arsenal is a cyber-counterattack, meaning the destruction of an opponent’s cyber-infrastructure or other assets. Ideally, we could communicate our tremendous capabilities in this domain to deter aggression against us, without using our incredible arsenal of cyber-weapons, much like we do with nuclear weapons now. However, some demonstrations of our capabilities may be necessary to make future deterrence credible.
These responses carry escalation risks into physical and economic conflict: What happens in cyberspace is unlikely to stay in cyberspace. Response policy needs to take these escalation dynamics seriously. But given the rising cyberthreats we face, doing nothing in the face of direct interference in a presidential election is looking riskier. Accepting bad behavior is the surest way to invite more bad behavior.
The third and fourth steps for the United States are cyber-resistance, as well as resilience. We need to work on making it harder and costlier for any cyber-adversary to succeed against us. Right now, our voting systems are a mess. Many states have online registries and voting systems that are exceptionally vulnerable to hackers. Fifteen states, including large battlegrounds such as Florida and Pennsylvania, lack paper voting audit trails in at least some locations. Our national voting system essentially leaves many doors wide open for bad actors to get in. This system needs to be upgraded, perhaps through federal subsidies. As for cyber-resilience, we need to put systems in place to recover more easily and quickly from all major breaches, including those involving elections. Paper ballot audit trails are a start. So, too, is public education so American voters no longer assume that anything leaked is accurate.
Eventually, President Trump might use his promised détente with Russian President Vladimir Putin to develop and strengthen international cyber norms. “Though shall not use stolen data to influence elections” could be the first paragraph of a new U.S.-Russia or international agreement on cyber norms and regulation.
Russia has developed some of the most sophisticated cyber-capabilities in the world and could have done more to disrupt the 2016 presidential election. Russian hackers have penetrated Pentagon systems, State Department systems and White House networks, accessing sensitive information such as the president’s daily schedule.
Other nations, including China, Iran and North Korea, also have capabilities to wreak havoc in our democratic process if they so choose. Thankfully, they haven’t yet. But their capabilities will only improve by 2020.
So far, our country seems unwilling to acknowledge the basic facts about new cybertechnologies or our cyber-vulnerabilities, let alone take the necessary measures to attribute, deter and defend against future attacks. Trump has an opportunity to get cyber policy right. If he doesn’t, cyber-interference in future elections — in the United States and around the world — is likely to become more frequent and severe.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
June 29, 2017, 2:56 AM GMT / Updated June 29, 2017, 11:44 AM GMT By Meredith Mandell and Justin Maffett
The Trump administration's travel restrictions blocking foreigners from six Muslim-majority countries and refugees fleeing persecution will take effect Thursday, following the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this week to temporarily uphold portions of the ban.
David Lapan, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, confirmed to NBC News Wednesday evening that the order "will begin to be implemented tomorrow and detailed guidance will be provided to DHS professionals."
A senior administration official told NBC News that it's likely the ban won't go into effect until the evening.
The high court's ruling allowed President Donald Trump to place a 90-day ban on foreign travelers from six countries — Iran, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen — as well as a 120-day ban on refugees fleeing persecution from any country when they have no "bona fide relationship" with an entity or person in the United States. The Supreme Court has granted full review of the travel ban and oral argument is set for October.
Related: Supreme Court Reinstates Much of Trump's Travel Ban, Will Hear Case in Fall
At least one Supreme Court Justice was skeptical that a temporary solution was workable. Justice Clarence Thomas in his dissent said that the Court’s “compromise” would “invite a flood of litigation until this case is finally resolved on the merits, as parties and courts struggle to determine what exactly constitutes a bona fide relationship.”
While it’s not clear how many travelers could be affected by the ban, State Department data suggests many if not most foreign travelers to this country have family connections in the United States.
For instance, of the 12,998 immigrant visas issued from |
referring to the concerns.
If the project makes it through all the approvals and if neighbours’ concerns are properly addressed, then construction could begin soon, he said.
In January 2011 the Drunkin’ Burrito went up in flames in what Windsor police considered to be an arson case. No one was hurt in the fire, according to Star reports, and firefighters estimated the damage to the business and some of the nearby units to be around $2 million.
Damage was so extensive that the property was eventually razed, leaving a vacant lot between the Awesome clothing store and the Crazy Horse Saloon.
bfantoni@windsorstar.com or on Twitter @bfantoni
[pn_facebook_like /]Image caption Dr Michael McBride has written to health professionals alerting them to the deaths
Police in Northern Ireland are investigating whether eight sudden deaths are related to drugs.
The deaths, seven in Belfast and one in the north west of Northern Ireland, were of people in their 20s and 30s.
The chief medical officer said those who took the tablets may have believed they were taking ecstasy.
Police have advised people to be particularly careful if they are offered green coloured tablets with a logo of a crown or castle on them.
They are waiting for the results of forensic tests before deciding on an appropriate course of action.
They have warned members of the public not to take controlled drugs, prescription medication that has not been prescribed to them and not to mix either with alcohol.
The chief medical officer, Dr Michael McBride, has written to various health professionals alerting them to the deaths.
He said that while details were limited at this stage, it appeared that a number of unmarked white tablets, may be involved, along with alcohol.
He said those taking the tablets may have believed that they were ecstasy, but that they had not yet been tested to establish what they were.
Owen O'Neill from the Public Health Agency said the news was a "worrying development".
"People don't really understand that synthetic drugs all have different effects and if you mix alcohol with it you are not aware, you are not totally in control and you may overdose or overuse," he said.
"There have always been risks associated with illegal drugs, there is no quality control in that business."Nevada Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval responds to reporter's questions about health care and the opioid epidemic after a session called "Curbing The Opioid Epidemic" at the first day of the National Governor's Association meeting July 13 in Providence, R.I. | Stephan Savoia/AP Photo Nevada governor undecided on health bill, will meet with Pence
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval on Friday expressed deep reservations about Senate Republicans’ latest Obamacare repeal bill, but he wouldn’t go as far as to say he opposes the revised legislation.
“My preliminary understanding is that, with regard to the Medicaid population, it is not any different or much different than the previous bill, which would cause me great concern,” Sandoval told POLITICO during the National Governors Association meeting in Rhode Island.
Story Continued Below
The moderate Republican said he will meet privately with Vice President Mike Pence, who will deliver a speech to governors later today. Earning Sandoval's support for the legislation is seen as crucial for securing a vote from Sen. Dean Heller, the most vulnerable GOP incumbent facing reelection next year.
The revised Better Care Reconciliation Act provides additional subsidies for people of lower income and makes tweaks to the GOP's Medicaid overhaul. But major cuts to Medicaid, the largest sticking point for several moderate Republicans, remain in the bill. Sandoval, who opposed the initial Senate bill, said the legislation's rollback of generous Medicaid expansion funding remains his biggest concern.
“I want to protect the 210,000 lives in Nevada that are living happier and healthier lives,” said Sandoval, adding he still needs to review the legislation with his staff. “That’s been my primary concern all along.”
Heller and several moderate Republicans from Medicaid expansion states — including Ohio’s Rob Portman, West Virginia’s Shelley Moore Capito and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski — have not yet taken a position on the updated legislation.
POLITICO Pulse newsletter Get the latest on the health care fight, every weekday morning — in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky, have said they will oppose a procedural measure to start debate on the bill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell cannot afford to lose another Republican vote.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, one of the most outspoken Republican critics of the GOP repeal effort, blasted the updated bill on Friday morning and urged congressional leaders to strike a bipartisan compromise.
"The Senate plan is still unacceptable," he said. "Its cuts to Medicaid are too deep and at the same time it fails to give states the ability to innovate in order to cope with those reductions."
This article tagged under: Donald Trump: Health CareGovernments that torture protect their torture doctors. Their medical communities help them do so. And that is exactly why torture doctors, including those who work for the United States, must be punished.
Torturing regimes need torture doctors. They routinely hire torture doctors to invent, monitor and conduct techniques like waterboarding and rectal feeding that crush the soul without leaving a tell-tale scar for a human-rights advocates to point to as evidence. Torture doctors watch the torture to keep alive those who are not supposed to die. They falsely certify “no signs of injuries” on medical records and “natural causes” on death certificates to protect their collaborators in torture from punishment – to protect the governments that pay them well and protect them from punishment.
President George W Bush’s regime tortured, and as the Senate’s report on the CIA makes clear, doctors and psychologists were hired to help every step of the way.
Torture doctors are not sadists like some character in a Saw movie sequel. Most are careerists who are aware that they are breaking the rules. Doctors should know the science behind their work; doctors who torture should know that torture – even under the euphemism “enhanced interrogation” – does not work. Any of the US doctors or psychologists quoted in or redacted from the torture report could have lived up to the ethical duties; they were not working under the threat of death or disappearance. As careerists, they lacked a larger vision of the consequences of their actions. The medical association codes condemning medical torture must be backed up by accountability – or else they are merely words on tissue.
The United States, its courts, its medical licensing boards and its medical associations must punish doctors who torture. People of vision in the mainstream medical community see through the lies to hold colleagues to account – like Physicians for Human Rights, which on Tuesday called out potential war crimes, or Psychologists for Social Responsibility, who have called out the two peers, James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, who made $81m to help design the CIA torture program.
Convicting, censuring, delicensing or suspending the torture doctors is not impossible. In fact, the United States is lagging behind the rest of the world in doing so.
I track torture doctors across the globe. I track the repeated revulsion and all-too-occasional but still increasing punishment, over the decades and even into this one, of those doctors who violate the oath to “do no harm”. In 1947, Nazi doctors were convicted, imprisoned and even executed for horrendous abuses and genocide. The Cold War allowed torture doctors to practice with impunity east and west, north and south. In 1975 in Greece, the home of Hippocrates and his oath, a torture doctor was finally called to account. Prisoners called Dr Dimitrios Kofas the “orange juice doctor” because he prescribed orange juice to prisoners, even when kicks to the kidneys had turned urine bloody orange. He was court-martialed and imprisoned... and now he is rumored to have resumed practice. After two doctors watched anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko die of torture in 1977, South Africa dragged its feet for eight years before finally giving two doctors slaps on the wrist.
The United States cannot drag its feet after allowing doctors to write off the death of Abed Hamed Mowhoush, who was beaten during American detention in Iraq until six ribs were broken. He was stuffed head-first into a sleeping bag that was wrapped in wire. A CIA case officer sat on him until he died. The doctor said Mowhoush collapsed during interrogation.
How can the US medical community fall asleep on basic injustice when medical boards and courts around the world have chosen to jail or revoke the licenses of their torture doctors decades ago?
The world has passed the United States by: The movement started in South America, where CIA-backed juntas brutally ruled. When freedom came during the 1980s, 12 torture doctors in Brazil, Chile and South Africa were punished. During the 1990s, 20 more doctors – from Brazil and then Serbia, Uruguay and Rwanda – were sent to jail or had their licenses revoke. During the first decade of this century, 34 doctors from Serbia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India and Rwanda were punished. Since 2010, 16 more doctors – from Italy, the United Kingdom, Guyana, Argentina and Rwanda – were jailed, or else had their licenses suspended or revoked.
Meanwhile, the United States, home of the Geneva conventions and a lighthouse of human rights, allows its torture doctors and psychologists to continue to be free, to practice, or even to spout off on TV news.
Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) “There were medical personnel there,” says man who interrogated KSM. #TortureReport #CIA #KellyFile pic.twitter.com/AMsVqSvOBo
When courts and medical boards in some countries move too slowly, civil society strikes back. Town councils have declared some physicians persona non grata. Hospitals and clinics have revoked privileges. Medical societies have revoked honors. Other groups name and shame torture doctors by naming their victims and posting of them pictures on websites and plastering indictments on the doctors’ homes and offices.
But in the United States, so-called “War on Terror” cases have brought a couple clinicians before state licensing boards that have mumbled about military orders. The American Medical Association touts its codes of conduct and makes sure to “remind physicians of their ethical obligations” – but calls for no punishment and no independent medical truth commission. The bravest it got was to ask the Defense Department to investigate itself.
For torture doctors, waterboarding is a payday with a pension – and zero accountability.
Not so long ago, the United States medical community could stand with and protect brave doctors who were resisting torture around the world. These days, to its shame, the community has sidelined itself in the struggle to protect the torture whistleblowers: In 2009, an Iranian doctor named Ramin Pourandarjani spoke out against torture in his country after government documents had clearly shown that US doctors were thoroughly part of the Bush-era system of medical torture. But he didn’t get the international support he deserved. Instead, Dr Pourandarjani was arrested – and died in custody. His family’s request for an autopsy was refused.
That is the price of the United States choosing to forsake human rights: a doctor dying in jail, for telling the truth about torture.Gonzalo Trujillo/Alberto Van Stokkum
Rabo de Peixe é um lugar onde, para sobreviver, é preciso ter um pouco de ambição e uma tonelada de sorte. A vida neste povoado da costa norte da ilha de São Miguel, pertencente ao arquipélago dos Açores (Portugal) e com apenas 7.500 habitantes, é um metáfora da sua geografia: selvagem, esquecida, cruel e indômita. Não há recursos, mas, bom, há wi-fi. Quando a pesca de artesanal dá uma pausa, o tempo se divide entre tragadas em baseados e horas mortas à beira de um quebra-mar de concreto. Ali é o lugar onde pensar em como abandonar este pedaço de terra inerte. Mas é uma via morta. Nunca nada acontece. Por isso, no dia em que tudo aconteceu, a ilha ficou arruinada. Tudo, neste caso, é um veleiro modelo Sun Kiss 47, de 14 metros de comprimento, que naufragou na costa açoriana em junho de 2001 transportando 505,84 quilos de cocaína com uma pureza superior a 80%. Em reais, pelo câmbio de hoje, uns 150 milhões.
A memória coletiva de Rabo de Peixe apela a histórias tão disparatadas como a de mulheres empanando carapaus com cocaína, ou senhores de meia-idade vertendo colheradas de droga no café com leite.
Era um dia de mar bravo. O vento veio numa rajada, e o mastro não resistiu ao impacto. Impossível continuar a travessia, e inviável acessar o porto com um navio forrado de droga até a quilha. Num gabinete de crise apressado e com uma tripla dose de pânico, a tripulação decidiu afundar os fardos no fundo do oceano e introduzir parte do carregamento numa gruta do norte da ilha, a poucos quilômetros da vila de Rabo de Peixe.
Uma estratégia impecável, não fosse o fato de a natureza ter um espírito livre. Os pacotes, como o mastro, não resistiram à fúria do vento, e o quebra-mar virou um cemitério de pacotes de cocaína. Eles começaram a encalhar, a notícia correu, e a caça ao tesouro teve início. Encaixar as peças daquela noite escuríssima é um mistério, mas as testemunhas repetem a mesma sequência: dezenas de pessoas – de adolescentes a senhoras com bobes e grampos nos cabelos – equilibradas sobre o concreto, à espreita do material.
A polícia conseguiu apreender 400 quilos de cocaína, numa operação sem precedentes no arquipélago. Mas o resto ficou nas mãos de uma população civil castigada pela escassez e pela ignorância, e isso deformou a ilha de forma irreversível. “A polícia sustentou que o iate transportava só 500 quilos, mas isso é absurdo. O navio comportava até 3.000 quilos de cocaína, e ninguém cruza o Atlântico cobrindo um percentual tão baixo do espaço disponível. Cem quilos de cocaína, mesmo que de pureza excelente, não destroem uma geração”. Quem fala é Nuno Mendes, jornalista que foi enviado especial do jornal Público, de Lisboa, para cobrir o incidente. “O consumo de coca até então era residual e só ao alcance de jovens de classe média-alta. Um produto de luxo eventual. O problema surgiu quando seu uso se democratizou e uma população muito empobrecida começou a consumir à vontade e a traficar esse material de forma espantosa.”
Esse espanto se resume numa imagem muito recorrente: o típico copo de chope com cocaína até a boca, que era vendido nas ruas por 20.000 escudos (aproximadamente 75 reais, pelo valor atual). Ninguém sabia o preço de mercado, nem a periculosidade de uma substância dessa pureza, mas, sobretudo, havia pressa em ganhar dinheiro. As internações por overdose colapsaram os hospitais da ilha, e o caos foi tamanho que as autoridades sanitárias decidiram intervir nos meios de comunicação para advertir sobre os efeitos do consumo dessa substância. “Durante dias, dedicamos muito espaço a isto nos telejornais. Médicos em primeiro plano, com o rosto transtornado, suplicando que se pusesse fim a essa loucura. Foram semanas de pânico, terror e descontrole absoluto”, recorda a jornalista Teresa Nóbrega, então coordenadora de jornalismo do canal público RTP Açores. “Ninguém estava preparado para algo assim. A prova é que continua sendo um episódio não superado, quase 20 anos depois”, acrescenta.
Imagens de Antoni Quinzi facilitadas pela policial. A imagem inferior direita corresponde a sua entrada em prisão. Gonzalo Trujillo/Alberto Van Stokkum
Sempre existem pontos cegos entre a realidade e a ficção, mas a memória coletiva de Rabo de Peixe apela a histórias tão disparatadas como a de mulheres empanando carapaus com cocaína em vez de farinha, ou senhores de meia idade vertendo colheradas de pó no café com leite. A expressão é que o humor é igual à soma da tragédia mais o tempo. Embora talvez não tenha transcorrido ainda o tempo prudencial, é quase impossível não sorrir, mesmo que de tristeza.
“Nunca tivemos acesso a estatísticas reais. No começo, a prioridade era frear a loucura, depois não havia médicos suficientes. Sempre faltou interesse. Contabilizamos 20 mortes e dezenas de internações por intoxicação nas três semanas seguintes ao desembarque. Mas foram dados não oficiais que reunimos com a ajuda de médicos e pessoal sanitário”, recorda Nuno Mendes, para quem o episódio se cobriu de um halo de secretismo para que não se transformasse numa questão de Estado e, sobretudo, não repercutisse internacionalmente.
Cena juvenil e cotidiana em Rabo de Peixe. Estes garotos sobreviveram para contar a história Gonzalo Trujillo/Alberto Van Stokkum
A polícia travava duas batalhas simultâneas: apreender cada grama de cocaína que ainda sobrasse na ilha e localizar o iate avariado que transportava a droga para a Europa. Depois de duas semanas de buscas exaustivas no porto de Ponta Delgada, a capital da ilha, aconteceu o milagre: a polícia encontrou um pequeno pacote na parede falsa de um iate atracado, envolvido em um papel de jornal: o nome do jornal e a data coincidiam com a embalagem de outros fardos apreendidos dias antes na praia. Os agentes detiveram o único homem que se encontrava no interior da embarcação, Antoni Quinzi, um siciliano de aspecto imponente, que não ofereceu resistência.
Sua intercessão foi crucial para o futuro da investigação e para a apreensão da cocaína que permanecia oculta. “Quando lhe contamos a ratoeira que a ilha havia virado, ele colaborou com informações importantes sobre a mercadoria que permanecia oculta na face norte”, relata João Soares, então inspetor-chefe da Polícia Judiciária. Foi ele quem deteve o italiano no iate, e duas semanas depois coordenaria a perseguição ao traficante após uma das fugas mais surrealistas – e ligeiramente ridículas – da história policial de Portugal.
Dez dias depois de ser preso, Quinzi saltou o muro do pátio da penitenciária, despediu-se da polícia com um aceno e fugiu numa Vespa que lhe esperava na estrada. Soares justifica a falha: “Uma ilha já é uma prisão. Ninguém foge de uma prisão em uma ilha”. Mas Quinzi fugiu. Seria detido duas semanas depois em um barracão no nordeste de São Miguel, com 30 gramas de cocaína e um passaporte falso. Transferido para a prisão de Coimbra, já no Portugal continental, acabou condenado a nove anos e 10 meses de prisão. Foi o único detido na operação. Ficou provado que sua principal missão era dirigir o barco da Venezuela até as Ilhas Baleares (Espanha).
Houve secretismo para que não repercutisse internacionalmente. "Contabilizamos 20 mortes e dezenas de internações por intoxicação nas três semanas seguintes ao desembarque. Mas foram dados não oficiais que reunimos com a ajuda de médicos e pessoal sanitário”, diz o jornalista português Nuno Mendes
“Era puro magnetismo. Muito alto, mãos imponentes e olhar triste. Soa a síndrome de Estocolmo, mas me dava pena. Dava a sensação de que se sentia extremamente culpado e não sabia como ajudar.” Catia Benedetti é professora de italiano na Universidade dos Açores e foi intérprete de Quinzi durante os interrogatórios e o julgamento, ocorridos em Ponta Delgada. O homem ainda é uma espécie de lenda na ilha. Todos o conhecem, mas ninguém nunca o viu. Hoje em dia, a pureza da droga ainda se mede segundo os parâmetros “do italiano”. Esse é a unidade métrica que se utiliza para determinar a qualidade da cocaína nos Açores, e a prova empírica de que a ferida, 17 anos depois, não está curada.
Um serviço ambulante de atendimento a dependentes percorre semanalmente São Miguel para distribuir metadona aos heroinômanos. E, apesar de este parecer ser um problema diferente do relatado acima, um está na origem do outro. “A pureza da cocaína produziu um efeito catastrófico. O efeito da droga era tão feroz que as pessoas começaram a consumir heroína para conseguir dormir.” Assim Suzete Frias, então diretora da Casa de Saúde de Ponta Delgada, resume esse drama social. Surgiu então um problema novo na ilha: a dependência em drogas. “Os filhos de classe média-alta se internaram em clínicas de desintoxicação no continente; a classe operária procurou a heroína.” Apesar de tudo, o ruído nunca foi excessivo. A tragédia foi como um pomposo – mas discreto – elefante na sala.
Paisagem característica da zona norte da Ilha de São Miguel dos Açores, onde o barco se escondeu Gonzalo Trujillo/Alberto Van Stokkum
Os Açores ficam no meio do oceano Atlântico, 1.400 quilômetros a oeste de Lisboa, e da terra firme é muito difícil escutar os bramidos desse elefante de ressaca, que há mais de 15 anos ataca tudo o que aparece na sua frente. Você acha que tudo seria diferente se tivesse ocorrido na Europa, Suzete? “Nada disto teria acontecido.”
As autoras desta reportagem, Rebeca Queimaliños (Pontevedra, 1982) e Macarena Lozano (Granada, 1982) estão em pleno processo de realização de um documentário sobre o tema. Fizeram várias viagens à região e já gravaram boa parte (ver trailer).Story highlights London police seek public's help in finding operator of drone that may have struck airliner
No one was hurt and the plane wasn't damaged, but authorities worry about potential for catastrophe
London (CNN) Did a drone hit an airliner trying to land at London's Heathrow Airport?
The pilot of a British Airways flight certainly thinks so, and now authorities would like to find out who might have been behind the weekend incident.
British Airways Flight BA727 from Geneva was approaching Heathrow on Sunday afternoon when what the pilot believed to be a drone struck the front of the aircraft, London Metropolitan Police said. The plane was 1,700 feet in the air at the time, police said.
The Airbus A320 landed safely, with none of the 132 passengers and five crew members on board injured, British Airways spokesman Michael Johnson said.
The plane was fine, too, he said.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought to convince President Trump in a telephone call that arming Kurdish fighters in Syria to fight the Islamic State would be counterproductive to the military effort and damaging to already strained ties between the United States and Turkey, American and Turkish officials said Wednesday.
One of Erdogan’s objectives in the call was to try to persuade Trump to abandon a military-backed proposal to arm Kurdish fighters for an assault on the militants’ self-proclaimed capital, the city of Raqqa. But Trump was noncommittal in Tuesday’s conversation, saying that additional consultations were needed on the Kurdish question, the officials said.
Senior Trump advisers have expressed doubts about the wisdom of arming the Kurds but have not ruled it out.
Turkey sees the Syrian Kurdish fighters as part of its own Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a group the United States and Turkey have labeled a terrorist entity. U.S. support for the Syrian Kurds soured ties between the Obama administration and Turkey and could also complicate the nascent relationship between Trump and Erdogan, which has so far been free of the rancor that characterized Obama’s exchanges with the Turkish leader.
Officials said the call was cordial and notably free of fireworks, amid strong indications that both leaders were trying to turn the page. Trump spoke broadly about the importance of strengthening ties with Ankara, U.S. officials said. Hours after the call, Turkey’s semiofficial state news agency announced that CIA Director Mike Pompeo was flying to Turkey this week in what amounted to a high-level sign of U.S. concern for the relationship.
The CIA declined to confirm Pompeo’s visit. Turkish officials made a point of telling local media outlets that it was Pompeo’s first trip abroad since he became director.
Erdogan has tried to convince the United States that Turkish-backed Arab fighters in Syria and Turkish troops can carry out the offensive on Raqqa instead of the Kurds.
Early Wednesday, Turkish-backed forces made significant advances toward al-Bab, a Syrian border town occupied by the Islamic State that Turkish forces have struggled to capture for months, Turkish officials and rebel commanders said.
The Turkish forces and their Arab allies in Syria — part of Turkey’s overall Syria intervention, known as Euphrates Shield — captured areas west and southwest of the town, including a hospital and a strategically important hill, the commanders said.
The timing of the military push close to the phone call appeared to be no accident, said Selim Koru, a political analyst at the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey, an Ankara-based think tank. With the United States watching, a “competition” was underway between the Turkish-backed forces and Syrian Kurdish fighters, who are allied with the Democratic Union Party in Syria, he said.
“Who is the better ground force against ISIS?” Koru said.
Entous reported from Washington. Karen DeYoung in Washington and Zakaria Zakaria in Istanbul contributed to this report.
Read more:
What Turkey was looking for when Trump called Erdogan
Turkey expects improved relations with the Trump administration
Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world
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President Obama got a big win today as a federal appeals court denied a Republican-led petition to block his administration’s clean energy plan.
Reuters reported:
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a brief order denying an application seeking to stay the rule while litigation continues.
The states, led by West Virginia, and several major business groups in October launched the legal challenges seeking to block the Obama administration’s proposal to curb carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
More than a dozen other states and the National League of Cities, which represents more than 19,000 U.S. cities, filed court papers backing the Environmental Protection Agency’s rule.
The rule aims to lower carbon emissions from the country’s power plants by 2030 to 32 percent below 2005 levels. It is the main tool for the United States to meet the emissions reduction target it pledged at U.N. climate talks in Paris last month.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement, “We are pleased that the court has rejected petitioners’ attempts to block the Clean Power Plan from moving forward while litigation proceeds. We are confident that the plan will reduce carbon pollution and deliver better air quality, improved public health, and jobs across the country. We look forward to continuing to work with states and other stakeholders taking steps to implement the Clean Power Plan.”
Congressional Republicans have been obsessed with killing Obama’s clean power plan. In December 2015, the House followed the Republican-controlled Senate by voting to kill the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. Republicans hate the plan because it would take steps to reduce carbon pollution from the nation’s existing power plants, and cut emissions on future new power plants.
President Obama has taken steps to protect the nation’s air and water from pollution. The crisis in Flint, Michigan should serve as a wake-up call to every American about the value of a clean and safe environment. On a nearly daily basis, Republicans are threatening the country’s basic rights to clean air and water.
The President got a big win today, but the fact that Republicans can’t trusted to provide the people that they represent with clean air and water should not be lost on voters as they head to the polls in 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:EXCLUSIVE: Dylan Sellers and PalmStar Media’s Kevin Frakes are pulling together a dramedy entitled The Starling which is a decided turn for actor Keanu Reeves who is coming off the $125M+ (and climbing) worldwide box office actioner John Wick 2. Reeves is in talks and Isla Fisher is in final negotiations to star in the feature film that will be directed by Dome Karukoski (Tom of Finland). The script, which is just a superb allegory written by Matt Harris, was once on the Black List of best, unproduced scripts.
The logline: A married couple lose a child and the wife goes into a recovery place to help her with overwhelming grief, leaving the husband at home alone. To help aid in her recovery, the husband decides to build a beautiful garden for his wife in their backyard, but as he does he is tormented by an aggressive, black starling. At his wits end with the relentless nature of the bird, he goes to see a veterinarian to find out if there is a humane way to get rid of it. The vet, the husband finds out, used to be a psychiatrist but gave it up to help animals instead. However, the quirky vet begins counseling the husband in a turn that neither of them really expected.
The theme of the story is how love can carry you through grief.
Shutterstock
The Finnish director Karukoski is an award-winning filmmaker who has worked both in film and TV and he is currently receiving critical praise in Scandinavia for Tom of Finland. He also directed Heart of a Lion, a film about a Neo-Nazi who falls in love with a woman who turns out to have a biracial child. That film from 2013 put him on the map around Hollywood as a director to watch.
The Starling is being produced by PalmStar’s Frakes and Sellers who both have relationships with Reeves. Frakes has worked with the actor on multiple films including the John Wick series while Sellers has a history with Reeves on Chain Reaction and The Replacements. Also producing is Buddy Patrick of Windy Hill Films (John Wick 2, The Alchemist) and Michael Bederman (Spotlight, Collateral Beauty). An early June start date is being planned.
Fisher’s previous credits include Tom Ford’s gritty Nocturnal Animals, the comedy Keeping Up with the Joneses and Arrested Development.
Sellers is the former president of TWC who oversaw such gems as St. Vincent and Southpaw. He launched his River Edge Films and formed a strategic partnership with the finance/production company PalmStar about two years ago. PalmStar, Sellers and Patrick are all together on The Alchemist.
This is not the first time that PalmStar has tackled this subject matter — it also produced and financed Collateral Beauty (with the aforementioned Bederman) which starred Will Smith as a father dealing with the death of a child. PalmStar also is in the midst of production on Catcher Was a Spy with Paul Rudd, Paul Giamatti, Jeff Daniels and Guy Pearce.
Reeves, who also has the romantic-thriller Siberia directed by Matthew Ross on his plate, is repped by WME and attorney Melanie Cook. Fisher is repped by UTA, Shanahan Management and attorney Warren Dern. Karukoski is repped by ICM Partners.Russian track and field athletes have been banned, with some exceptions, from the Rio Olympics this summer.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) unanimously voted to uphold the ban on Russian athletes Friday amid widespread allegations of state-sponsored doping.
“The Russian athletes could not credibly return to international competition without undermining the confidence” of athletes and others, said Sebastian Coe, president of the IAAF.
Rune Andersen, chair of the IAAF task force inspecting Russia, said that the “deep-seated culture” of tolerance to doping in Russia has not materially changed.
“Because the system in Russia has been tainted by doping from the top level down, we cannot trust that what we call ‘clean’ athletes really are clean,” he said.
The ban was first put in place following a report by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in November.
A follow-up report, released Wednesday, outlined numerous examples of continued doping violations on the part of both Russian athletes and officials. Some of these examples included athletes physically running away from doping-control officers in order to avoid testing, while others described instances of police and military intimidation aimed at WADA and other anti-doping officials.
The report also described one instance in which a female athlete was caught hiding a “container inserted inside her body (presumably containing clean urine).” The container malfunctioned and spilled, and the athlete later tested positive for banned substances.
WATCH: IAAF decision to ban Russian athletes from going to Rio explained in 80 seconds
However, there is still some hope for some individual Russian athletes. Some may be allowed to compete, not for Russia, but as a “neutral entity”, said Andersen, provided they can clearly and convincingly show that they have not been “tainted” by the Russian system. They would have to prove that they were subject to a reliable drug-testing regime run outside of Russia.
And, some individual cases of athletes who have made an extraordinary contribution to anti-doping may also be considered, notably that of whistleblower Yulia Stepanova. The 800-meter runner and her husband provided information that led to a broad investigation of doping in Russia. The IAAF task force is recommending that she be allowed to compete.
Russian reaction
The Russian Sports Ministry said it is “extremely disappointed” that the IAAF has ruled to uphold its ban on the country’s track and field athletes competing in international competitions, including the Olympics.
The ministry said Russia had done “everything possible” to be readmitted following its ban in November.
The ministry added, “We now appeal to the members of the International Olympic Committee to not only consider the impact that our athletes’ exclusion will have on their dreams and the people of Russia, but also that the Olympics themselves will be diminished by their absence.”
Speaking before the IAAF announcement, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that clean athletes should not be punished for doping. “There cannot be collective responsibility for all athletes or athletes of one federation if someone has been caught,” he said.
He also said that the Russian government has never been, and “cannot be” involved in organizing doping.
With files from the Canadian Press and Brian Hill, Global NewsAkhmetov called for workers at all businesses in the Donbas region, where he owns coal mines, steel mills and other businesses, to stage a peace rally at noon on May 20. He called on all people in Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk, where a separatist republic has also been formed, to join the action.
Nearly 15 percent of Ukraine’s 45 million people live in the two oblasts. It remains to be seen if Akhmetov’s more forceful backing of a unified Ukraine, if followed by strong actions, can help defeat the Russian-backed separatists who are now officially considered to be terrorists by Ukraine’s central government. His call for condemnation of the separatists comes days ahead of Ukraine’s decisive May 25 presidential election, expected to be won by fellow billionaire Petro Poroshenko.
“Just tell me please, does anyone in Donbas know at least one representative of this Donetsk People’s Republic? What have they done for our region, what jobs have they created? Does walking around Donbas towns with guns in hands defend the rights of Donetsk residents in front of the central government? Is looting in cities and taking peaceful citizens hostages a fight for the happiness of our region? No, it is not! It is a fight against the citizens of our region. It is a fight against Donbas. It is genocide of Donbas!” Akhmetov said in “an emergency statement” released late on May 19 addressed to “dear fellow countrymen.”
Akhmetov said that he “will not let Donbas be destroyed. I was born and am living here. That is why I am calling on everyone to unite in our fight: for Donbas without weapons! for Donbas without masks! for Donbas |
25. His name was Solomon. 2 Sam.12:24; 1 Chr.22:9.
His name was Jedidiah. 2 Sam.12:25. Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses. 1 Ki.4:26.
Solomon had 4,000 stalls of horses. 2 Chr.9:25. Solomon had 3300 supervisors. 1 Ki.5:16.
Solomon had 3600 supervisors. 2 Chr.2:2. Solomon's "molten sea" held 2000 "baths". 1 Ki.7:26.
Solomon's "molten sea" held 3000 "baths". 2 Chr.4:5. Solomon had thousands of horses. 1 Ki.4:26.
A King must not multiply horses to himself. Deut.17:15,16. Solomon had hundreds of wives. 1 Ki.11:1-3.
A King must not multiply wives to himself. Deut.17:17. There was no greater king before or after Hezekiah. 2 Ki.18:1, 5.
There was no greater king before or after Josiah. 2 Ki.23:24, 25. Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign. 2 Ki.8:26.
Ahaziah succeeded his father, who was thirty-two years old when he became king and who ruled for eight years. 2 Chr.21;20.
He was forty-two years old when he began to reign. 2 Chr.22:2. (Note that some versions have caught the error and corrected it.) God prohibits the making of idols. Ex.20:4; Deut.5:8, 9.
God commands idols to be made. Ex.25:18; Num.21:8, 9. Children are to suffer for their parent's sins. Ex.20:5; Ex.34:7; Num.14:18; Deut.5:9; Is.14:21.
Children are not to suffer for their parent's sins. Deut.24:16; Ezek.18:19,20. God prohibits the killing of the innocent. Ex.23:7.
God approves the killing of the innocent. Num.31:17; Josh.6:21; Josh.7:24-26; Josh.8:22-25; Josh.10:20, 40; Josh.11:15; 1 Sam.15:3. God inflicts sickness. Num.11:33; 2 Chr.21:14, 15.
Satan inflicts sickness. Job 2:7. Death to a false prophet. Deut.18:20.
Death also to a real prophet deceived by "God". Ezek.14:9. God remembers sin even when it has been forgiven. Ex.34:7.
God does not remember sin after it has been forgiven. Jer.31:34. God promised the land to the people. Ex.12:25.
God broke his promise. Num.14:30, 31. Sisera was sleeping when Jael killed him. Jud.4:21.
Sisera was standing and apparently, allowed Jael to kill him. Jud.5:25-27. Joshua captured Debir. Josh.10:38,39.
Othniel captured Debir. Jud.1:11-13. God sows discord. Gen.11:7-9.
God hates those who cause discord. Prov.6:16-19. The census count was: Israel 800,000 and Judah 500,000. 2 Sam.24:9.
The census count was: Israel 1,100,000 and Judah 470,000. 1 Chr.21:5. The two pillars were 18 cubits high. 1 Ki.7:15.
The two pillars were 35 cubits high. 2 Chr.3:15. 420 talents of gold were brought back from Ophir. 1 Ki.9:28.
450 talents of gold were brought back from Ophir. 2 Chr.8:18. Asa removed the high places. 2 Chr.14:2, 3.
Asa did not remove the high places. 1 Ki.15:14. Baasha died in the 26tth year of King Asa's reign. 1 Ki.16:6-8.
Baasha built a city in the 36th year of King Asa's reign. 2 Chr.16:1. Jehoshaphat did not remove the high places. 1 Ki.22:42, 43.
Jehoshaphat did remove the high places. 2 Chr.17:5, 6. Jehu's massacre was acceptable to God. 2 Ki.10:30.
Jehu's massacre was not acceptable to God. Hos.1:4. Jehu shot Ahaziah near Ibleam. Ahaziah then fled to Meggido and died there. 2 Ki.9:27.
Ahaziah was found hiding in Samaria, brought to Jehu, and was then put to death. 2 Chr.22:9. Ahaz was not conquered. 2 Ki.165.
Ahaz was conquered. 2 Chr.28:5. Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he began to reign. 2 Ki.24:8.
Jehoiachin was 8 years old when he began to reign. 2 Chr.36:9. (Some versions have corrected this) Jehoiachin reigned 3 months. 2 Ki.24:8.
Jehoiachin reigned 3 months and 10 days. 2 Chr.36:9. Jehoiachin was succeeded by his uncle. 2 Ki.24:17.
Jehoiachin was succeeded by his brother. 2 Chr.36:10. The father of Zerubbabel was Pedaiah. 1 Chr.3:19.
The father of Zerubbabel was Shealtiel. Ezr.3:2. God is near to all who call on him. Ps.145:18.
God is far away and cannot be found in times of need. Ps.10:1. God sometimes forsakes his children. Ps.22:1, 2.
God is always a present help. Ps.46:1. The righteous shall rejoice when he sees vengeance. Ps.58:10, 11.
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls or stumbles. Prov.24:17. God stands to judge. Is.3:13.
God sits to judge. Joel 3:12. Zedekiah watched his sons be put to death, then he had his eyes put out, and was left to die in prison. Jer.52:10, 11.
God promised Zedekiah a peaceful death. Jer.34:4, 5. Omri reigned 12 years beginning in the 31st year of Asa's reign. 1 Ki.16:23.
Omri died and his son began his reign in the 38th year of Asa's reign, making Omri's reign only 7-years. 1 Ki.16:28, 29.tank verb earlier than 1930
Military tanks were a major invention of the First World War: developed during 1915 and first put into commission in 1916, they immediately captured the interest of the public, and tank entered into numerous compounds and phrases. However, we have not found any WWI-era evidence of the verb tank in a military sense (e.g. ‘to attack with a tank’ or ‘to travel by means of a tank or tanks’). The first quotations we have at present are from the 1930s (the first a figurative use):
Hymie scrams right out of town with him and they start to tank the country, flinging out the old challenge to any father of fourteen at catch weights. 1930 Amer. Mercury Dec., p. 417/2 There was an old Hoover Who lived in a shoe. He had so many vet’rans, He didn’t know what to do. So he gassed them and tanked them, And burnt up their beds. 1932 B. E. F. News 17 Sept., p. 5/1 The city crowds cheered, the armies went tanking forward. 1939 H. G. Wells Holy Terror iii. ii. p. 271
Although there is plenty of earlier evidence for the verb tank relating to the noun meaning ‘large receptacle’, we find it surprising that there are no earlier uses of the verb relating to the military vehicle. Is there evidence we haven’t found yet?
* * *
To commemorate the centenary of the start of the First World War (1914–18), the OED is revising a set of vocabulary related to or coined during the war. Part of the revision process involves searching for earlier or additional evidence, and for this we need your help. Our first quotations are often from newspapers and magazines, and we know that there may well be earlier evidence in less-easily-accessible sources such as letters, diaries, and government records, many of which are now being made available in digital form for the first time.
Posted by OED_Editor on 30 January 2014 10.34
Comments: 3This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: The House of Representatives voted late Saturday night in favor of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, a bill that would expand healthcare coverage and bar insurance practices such as refusing to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions. On Sunday, President Obama called the 220-to-215 vote courageous and historic and urged the Senate to follow suit.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Given the heated and often misleading rhetoric surrounding this legislation, I know that this was a courageous vote for many members of Congress, and I’m grateful to them and for the rest of their colleagues for taking us this far.
AMY GOODMAN: The bill has been described as the biggest overhaul of the country’s healthcare system since the Medicare and Medicaid Act of 1965. House Democrats burst into applause as the crucial 218th vote was cast in favor of the bill. Two hundred nineteen Democrats and one Republican, Louisiana’s Joseph Cao, voted for the bill. The no votes included thirty-nine Democrats and 176 Republicans. Among those who voted no was Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich, a leading proponent of a single-payer, Medicare-for-all healthcare system.
Reproductive rights took a hit Saturday night when the House also passed an amendment to establish limits on the funding of abortions within the new framework that would be established by the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Speaking at a news conference, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she allowed the amendment to go to a vote as a way to seek, quote, “common ground.”
SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI: We have sought, in the course of the development of this bill, common ground in many areas, this being one of those. We did not reach the common ground yet that we hope to achieve; therefore, we had an amendment on the floor. We will continue to seek common ground.
AMY GOODMAN: Despite opposition from pro-choice Democrats, the amendment, which was initially proposed by Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak, was approved by sixty-four Democrats and all 176 Republicans.
Well, to assess what happened in the House and how the healthcare bill will move forward in the Senate, I’m joined now by two guests. Congress member Dennis Kucinich joins us from Cleveland, Ohio. He voted against both the Affordable Health Care for America Act and the Stupak amendment. We’re also joined in Washington, DC by the founder of the popular blog Firedoglake, Jane Hamsher.
And we welcome you both to Democracy Now! Before we go to the congressman, Jane Hamsher, just lay out exactly what this bill, that passed by a squeaker, 220-to-215, what exactly it mandates, if in fact it joins with the Senate and then it’s reconciled?
JANE HAMSHER: Well, we would get a bill that has a public option that would cover not a lot of people in it. But it would get rid of people being excluded for pre-existing conditions. It has a community rating, and it also has a provision that grants an endless monopoly on biologic drugs, sort of the drugs of the future, that mean that they will never come into generic form and will cost, in perpetuity, you know, fifty to eighty to a hundred thousand dollars a year and only be able to be available to people who can afford them.
It also has a provision barring any insurance company or a public option who offers insurance on the exchange from providing abortion services, which means that you would have to go to a private insurance company that wasn’t on the exchange in order to get a policy that covered it, effectively keeping poor people from being able to afford those policies. So it is a huge victory for Bart Stupak and the anti-abortion Democrats.
AMY GOODMAN: How many people now would be covered, would get healthcare, that don’t normally have it?
JANE HAMSHER: I believe that it’s going to cover approximately 95 percent of Americans, but that is with a mandate, and that assumes that people comply with the terms and do purchase insurance. But the mechanism for enforcement is still questionable as to whether that will work or not.
AMY GOODMAN: And explain the politics of the House, how exactly it passed 220-to-215. Who was for? Who was against?
JANE HAMSHER: Well, in the House, you had Democrats in the Progressive Caucus who were trying to decide whether they should take a stand at the last minute after Bart Stupak and the pro-choice — the pro-life Democrats decided to hold up the bill unless they got their amendment through. They wound up being supported by sixty-four members — sixty-four Democrats in order to pass it. And the Progressive Caucus decided that they were not going to take a stand at this point.
At this morning, we have Diana DeGette saying that she has forty votes in the Congress to be able to stop the bill from going through if it comes back from conference and has the anti-choice stipulations in it. But she hasn’t been joined by any of the pro-choice groups, NARAL and Planned Parenthood, who sort of laid around since July 1st, I believe, when Stupak first wrote his letter, and didn’t do anything about this. So, whether they’ll actually have the political will to carry through on this or not is questionable.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to go now to Cleveland to the home district of Congress member Dennis Kucinich. Congress member Kucinich, you voted no on the healthcare bill, one of the 215. Why?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Because it’s not the best we can do. It mandates people purchase private insurance. It is a $70 billion giveaway to private insurance companies and locks in this system that’s the problem, not the solution.
And so, I made every effort, right from the beginning, as you know, as a single-payer advocate. We couldn’t really make this bill single payer; that was taken off the table. But we did something else: We were able to get a bill in the committee passed that would protect the right of states to be able to have — to pursue a not-for-profit healthcare plan at a state level to shield it from legal attack. And that was taken out of the legislation after it had passed. It was taken out by the administration, which has whittled down the public option to the point of not having it truly compete with insurance companies.
So what you have here is people continuing to be at the mercy of the insurance companies, except in this case the government is going to subsidize the policies. People are still going to have premiums, co-pays and deductibles to deal with. And, you know, there’s really a great deal of question here as to what in the world we’re doing in creating a healthcare system that’s really based on the premises of private insurance.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you think it’s better than what we have now?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: No. Actually, it’s not, because it locks us into a for-profit system that the government subsidizes. It’s not going to save money in the long run. It’s not going to provide the kind of broad healthcare services the American people need. It’s going to limit the choices that people have over a longer period of time. And people will have to buy private insurance. I mean, what’s going on in this country? We’re told that the only choice we have is to buy private insurance, and with the robust public option being gone, it makes sure that there’s little competition with the insurance companies. This bill doesn’t effectively moderate what they can charge for premiums or co-pays or deductibles. It just says people have to have insurance. Well, insurance doesn’t necessarily equate to care, and care comes at a cost.
AMY GOODMAN: How do you compare the public option in the House bill with the Senate bill?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, that remains to be seen. I mean, Senator Baucus has had a couple different iterations. His first bill didn’t have a public option at all.
Keep something in mind. When Mr. Hacker first came out with his proposal for a public option, it was going to cover 129 million Americans. That really would compete in an exchange with private insurance. But that’s been whittled down to, depending on who you talk to, covering six to 11 million people. So only a fraction of Americans will have access to the public option, which means that there’s not effective competition with the insurance companies to drive down rates.
And the Senate, we’ll see what happens in the Senate.
But as far as the House bill that I was confronted with, Amy, I just felt that it increased privatization of the healthcare system. Requiring the purchase of private insurance, the government subsidizing it, it ends up being a redistribution of the wealth of this nation upwards, which lately seems to be the sole purpose of the government.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to turn to a clip about what we could expect from the Senate. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina declared on CBS’s Face the Nation that the bill would be, quote, “dead on arrival” in the Senate.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: The House bill is dead on arrival in the Senate. Just look at how it passed. It passed 220-to-215. It passed by two votes. You had forty Dem — thirty-nine Democrats vote against the bill. They come from red states, moderate Democrats from swing districts. They bailed out on this bill. It was a bill written by liberals for liberals. And people like Joe Lieberman are not going to get anywhere near the House bill. It cuts Medicare about $500 billion. It’s over a trillion dollars in new spending. It does have the public option. So the House bill is a nonstarter in the Senate.
AMY GOODMAN: Congress member Kucinich, your response?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, you know, making this about liberal and conservative is a phony argument, to begin with. I mean, when I heard the Republicans attacking this bill in the House as a government-run healthcare system, I said, “I wish.” I wish that it would have been a not-for-profit, single-payer, universal system. Nothing like that.
The fact that there’s a shrinking public option is not a credit to the bill. And the administration, obviously, was terrified that anything could be identified as being adverse to the insurance companies, which is why they took privatization, they took single payer off the table immediately, they knocked down the robust public option. And after an amendment that would have protected the right of states to pursue a single-payer system was passed by the Education and Labor Committee, the administration weighed in heavily and influenced the leaders of Congress to take it out of the bill.
I mean, American people are being locked into a for-profit insurance structure. And we have to ask ourselves, why is this the best that we can do? Why should we settle for this without fighting back? Why shouldn’t we insist that a robust public option is the only way to make sure that the American people really have a fighting chance with the insurance companies? As it is now, the government is going to be subsidizing the insurance companies.
And we’re being told all the time, Amy, that our options keep getting limited. We were told last year the only way people could get unemployment benefits is if Congress votes for war, the only way we can pass a hate crime is if Congress votes for war, the only way we can get housing is to give Wall Street a bailout. And that didn’t put people back in — most people back in their homes who lost them. You know, we’re going to get jobs by giving Wall Street a bailout; that didn’t work. Businesses are going to be helped by giving Wall Street a bailout; that didn’t work.
Our whole economy is being organized in a way that takes the wealth of the nation and sends it right to the top. And this healthcare bill is no different. And we’ve got to fight back, and that’s why I could not vote for this. If we were able to get a single payer — to protect the right of states to have a single-payer plan, maybe the bill would have been worth voting for. But that was taken out. So what are we left with? Private, for-profit health insurance, with the government subsidizing it.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you see, Congressman Kucinich, a way to get from where you’re talking about from here?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Yes, if we are able to get back in the bill a provision that says states will be shielded from legal attack by insurance companies if those states go with their own single-payer plan. I mean, states should have the right to do that. You have ten states which are actively involved in single-payer movements. And I fought to get that amendment in the bill to make sure that states would not be subject to the kind of legal attacks that are building by the insurance companies against efforts at local, county and state levels to have their own single-payer system, so they’re not strapped by the rising cost of insurance companies, their administrative costs, their profits, their stock options.
You know, we’re stuck with a model here. And we’re putting this model in place and keeping it there. That’s what this bill does. So the only way that I think we can get out of it — at least have the hope to — is to be able to have a path towards single payer at the state level. But the administration has been blocking this. And frankly, if I give my vote to that, what I’m essentially doing is putting a nail in the coffin of the single-payer movement. And I’m not going to do that.
AMY GOODMAN: What was the Weiner amendment? And what was the Kucinich amendment? And what happened to both?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, my amendment passed in the Education and Labor Committee, and it would have protected the right of states to pursue single payer by granting states a waiver from what is known as the Employment Retirement Income Security Act, which is currently being used in court by the insurance company to attack single-payer initiatives. My amendment passed the committee. It was taken out of the bill at the behest of the administration.
Mr. Weiner had a stand-alone bill that was a single-payer plan. I didn’t see the plan, but it was single payer, I’m told. And at the last minute, he decided to withdraw it, you know, for his own reasons, which I think had to do with wanting to support the larger bill. But the truth of the matter is that a single-payer bill in this climate, with all of the effort being made to shore up the interests of the insurance companies, would have been a tough ride.
I mean, we need a national campaign. You know, we’re years away from being able to pass a single-payer bill. The question is, what can we do in the meantime? There’s no question Congress could pass a stand-alone bill that would address the issue of pre-existing conditions. You know, we shouldn’t be held hostage on that issue to say, well, you just got to buy, you know, private insurance for the rest of your life. There are many things we can do to fix the system to make it more accessible to people until we get to the point of a single-payer system.
I’m not saying it’s — you know, that it’s my way or the highway, by any means, but we have to make sure that we protect the right of states to pursue single payer, which is what’s happening right now, Amy. But they’re going to be vulnerable to legal attacks if we don’t have states given the opportunity in the bill to get a waiver from the ERISA pre-emption, which, in effect, is the vehicle that insurance companies are using to attack state single payer.
So, you know — and the other thing is, with state single payer, that’s the real threat, not the public option anymore, because it’s so small. The state single-payer initiative is the real threat that the insurance companies have, because if they’re worried about action at a state level that would attack their profits, they’re going to be very careful about continuing aggressive pricing of their premiums, which, by the way, for the last four years, have had double-digit increases. So, you know, inevitably it’s an economic issue, as well as a social issue.
AMY GOODMAN: Explain —-
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: And I think -—
AMY GOODMAN: Congressman Kucinich, explain the Stupak amendment that seemed to come up at the very last minute.
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, I wish it hadn’t come up. I mean, it effectively removes any kind of insurance support and any federal subsidy for abortion. Now, I voted against the Stupak amendment. I think that we should do everything we can to make abortions less necessary, and I think the way to do that is through prenatal care, post-natal care, childcare, universal healthcare, a living wage. This is a very complex social issue. And I respect the right of people to make their own choices here.
But the Stupak amendment, I think, set us into a ferocious public battle over the abortion issue at exactly the time that we should be conciliating over the issue. We’re looking at another fight here. I don’t know how it contributed to the healthcare debate, but I voted against it. And I’m hopeful that, as Speaker Pelosi said, as they go to conference, there will be a way to achieve common ground. But I’m also hopeful that, as they go to conference, there will be a way to achieve protection for state single-payer initiatives.
AMY GOODMAN: Finally, Jane Hamsher, you’ve written a piece at Huffington Post that says, “Call Bart Stupak’s Donor PACS and Tell Them They’re Paying for His Anti-Abortion Activism.” What are you calling for here?
JANE HAMSHER: Well, one thing I’d like to correct in something Congressman Kucinich said is that the Stupak amendment does not end abortion subsidies, because that was already prohibited by the Hyde Amendment.
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Right.
JANE HAMSHER: This ends any company on the exchange from being able to provide abortion in the insurance package that it offers to women who are paying for it. That is something more extreme.
But, yes, I think that people should be calling Congressman Stupak’s donors and playing hardball. And to that end, I’d like to ask Congressman Kucinich — the reason that Congressman Stupak was able to do this was because the Republicans were voting in a bloc against it, against the legislation, and there were problems, which means that any thirty-nine Democrats can stop something. And there were probably twenty-five Democrats who will vote against anything. So, given the fact that there were eighty-three co-sponsors of 676, I believe, was there any attempt to get fourteen of them together to block any legislation from going through that didn’t have a vote on single payer or your state legislation?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: This thing, as it — the answer is no. And, you know, we’ve — you know, there were many Democrats who felt that they had to pass something. And so, those of us who took a strong stand on robust public option, and when it was whittled away, many voted for the bill. Those of us who took a strong stand on single payer, and when that was —- my amendment was taken out of the bill, they still ended up voting for the bill. I mean, people have to make their own choices here. And, you know -—
JANE HAMSHER: Right, but I would make the point that there is a real problem that we’re going to try and address in the single-payer infrastructure. If — for instance, when Congressman Rangel said that he would not become a supporter and people who had co-sponsored the bill said that they would not vote it on the floor, and there was no price exacted it. It’s eighty-three —-
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: And there was no what?
JANE HAMSHER: There was no price exacted for abandoning it. If it was the NRA or AIPAC, they would be yanking their chains very hard, and that didn’t happen.
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Your point is well taken.
JANE HAMSHER: I want to know why eighty-three co-sponsors -— among those eighty-three co-sponsors, there were not, you know, fourteen that could be found to join you in demanding that this actually got a vote on the floor.
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Yeah, you know, I got your point. I mean, unfortunately, there were many people who just didn’t want to fight that. They saw the administration had abandoned the state single-payer issue, and they didn’t feel there was any support for it. I mean, there’s this chemistry that happens, and people look around, and there’s only a few people really taking a stand on something, they may not desire to join.
So, you know, in the end, you know, I voted against a bill that, as someone who’s championing the cause of healthcare for all, who took it into two presidential campaigns, who addressed three platform committee meetings of the Democratic Party and said we have a single-payer plan, only to have the committee reject it, seeing the influence of private insurers in this Congress, I felt that my vote was the only way that I could make a statement about how this is not a state of affairs which is celebrating Democratic principles, Democratic economic philosophy, or the hopes of people to have real healthcare instead of having real health — instead of being forced to pay for insurance. So, I wish there would have been more people who would have stood with me. I think, as we go to conference, maybe that might change, but who knows?
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to leave it there. I want to thank you, Congress member Dennis Kucinich, speaking to us from his home district in Cleveland. He voted no on the healthcare bill that just passed the House. Jane Hamsher, founder of Firedoglake, speaking to us from Washington, DC.Xperia Z1 Compact disassembly guide
The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is a marvel of engineering in that it packs most of the Xperia Z1’s innards including the powerful chipset and 20.7MP camera sensor in a smaller chassis. The main compromise is a 4.3-inch 720p display instead of a 5-inch 1080p display, although we doubt in real life use you’d be able to tell the difference in pixel density between the two handsets.
To give you an idea of Sony’s engineering prowess, Russian site DGL disassembled the Xperia Z1 Compact and included a teardown video to show how it was done. They confirm in their write-up that the back cover is indeed plastic, which can be removed with heat from a hair dryer. Click through to find some disassembly pictures and teardown video (in Russian).
Xperia Z1 Compact disassembly
Once the case is opened, you can see the 2300mAh battery and NFC-antenna.
In previous Sony flagship devices, you could access the electronics as soon as the back cover was removed. In the Xperia Z1 Compact, to access the electronics you need to remove both the battery and another plastic partition first.
This plastic partition is mounted on double-sided tape, ensuring a water tight construction. It is impossible to remove this part without damaging the tape, therefore be aware your phone will no longer be water resistant. Another issue when removing the motherboard is that all connectors are located underneath it. This means trying to reconnect it is very tricky.
The back side of the motherboard is almost bare, unsurprising given the tight fit.
The front part is arranged tightly. You’ll notice the chipset covered with thermal paste.
Most antennas do not use latches and pads.
The handset uses two microphones to help with noise reduction. You can also see the main speaker here, the rear of the speaker is covered to protect it from water.
The Xperia Z1 Compact uses the same camera as its bigger brother.
Here you can see the headset jack towards the top right (where the white plastic piece sits).
The headphone jack in more detail.
Via DGL.ru.Confidence in the New Zealand news media appears to be low, according to new research.
In a telephone survey of 750 New Zealanders aged over 18 years, a quarter of respondents thought the media was inaccurate, almost a third (30 percent) said journalists were one-sided when presenting news, and half said the media was unwilling to admit mistakes.
The UMR Research survey found a general pattern showing that the older people were the less accurate or balanced they said the news was.
It also found that men were significantly more likely to say the media was unwilling to admit to mistakes than women.
UMR executive director Tim Grafton said the results did not come as a surprise as the media had fared poorly in past surveys.
"What was of most concern was how few people said the media was accurate and balanced in its news reporting," Mr Grafton said.
The survey, which was conducted September 24-27, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percent.The United States has the highest incarceration rate amongst any country in the world, including China, Iran, Russia or any other socialistic country. Of every 99 people in America, 1 of them is in jail. That is 1.6 million of your fellow Americans. This is an increase of 25,000 prisoners within the last year and an increase of 1 million in the last 20 years. The increase is blamed on mandatory sentencing, non-violent crime incarceration, and three strike policies.
Last year 49 billion dollars nationwide was spent on correction facilities, 4 times the amount spent 20 years ago. This is 60% of what federal and state governments spend on higher education, double the ratio for 1987. California taxpayers spend nearly 35,000 dollars per inmate for housing. One of the worst states, Oregon, spends 1.6 billion, which is nearly 10.9% of the state's general funds budget. Also in Oregon, 174 million more dollars are spent on jails than college education. College education is important because states with a higher college enrollment rate experience a lower violent crime rate. The top 10 college enrollment states averaged 276 violent crimes per 100,000 people, while the lowest 10 states averaged 440 violent crimes per 100,000 people.
Is America really a violent nation? In 2004, over half of the prisoners in state prisons were held for non-violent crime. This equals 640,000 non-violent crimes, 250,000 of which were for drug offenses. In Maryland, almost 70% of inmates are in jail for drug offences according to the Baltimore Sun. According to White House statistics nearly 40% of Americans have tried marijuana. Ninety-seven million people would be a lot of people to lock up. The problem with illegal drugs is the weakness of human nature. Everyone has vices, such as food, gambling, video games, tobacco, alcohol, and sex. How do you decide which vices are good and which are bad? Yearly deaths from alcohol and tobacco are 150,000 and 430,000 respectively. Illegal drugs, on the other hand, are estimated to have killed 28,000 people.
Alcohol and tobacco are drugs with health issues and society issues, like cancer, overdose deaths, and drunk driving. Instead of being illegal, cigarettes and alcohol are heavily taxed and the tax revenue is spent on state and federal programs. Tobacco and alcohol are produced in the US and create jobs. Their cost is relatively low because they are readily available compared to the black market of illegal drugs. Higher prices means more money is involved and more people are willing to put their life on the line.
Prohibition in the 1920s didn't work. It formed organized crime that was responsible for many violent crimes. The murder rate went from 1 person per every 100,000 in 1907 to 8 people per 100,000 in 1919 when the 18th amendment was passed. By 1933 when the amendment was reversed, this number was 10 in every 100,000. Fast forward to the 1991 and 6% of all homicides were related to drug manufacturing and trafficking. Even more outstanding is that 10% of federal inmates and 17% of state inmates in were in jail for crimes committed in order to obtain money for drugs. Today, gangs from Mexico and other countries illegally enter the United States to traffic drugs. These gangs are responsible for murders of rival street gangs with police and innocent civilians caught in the battle. Drug trafficking money also goes to support terrorist organizations or militias in foreign countries. There are few cases today where tobacco and alcohol have caused people to murder or smuggle them into the country. By outlawing drugs, America is increasing its violent crime rate, supporting gangs, spending billions of tax payer dollars, increasing illegal border crossings, removing citizens from society, and supporting terrorism.
The problem with mandatory sentencing and locking people up for non-violent crimes like drug offenses is that prison affects the rest of a person's life. Health care is poor in prisons with rampant diseases and viruses that spread through |
courts nationwide are sharply divided on the question whether an officer with probable cause to arrest a suspect for a misdemeanor may enter a home without a warrant while in hot pursuit of that suspect.
The Court however declined to answer the question and create a clear line. Instead, it simply found that the confusion, which will continue after this decision, was sufficient to preserve immunity:
We do not express any view on whether Officer Stanton’s entry into Sims’ yard in pursuit of Patrick was constitutional. But whether or not the constitutional rule applied by the court below was correct, it was not “beyonddebate.” al-Kidd, supra, at ___ (slip op., at 9). Stanton may have been mistaken in believing his actions were justified, but he was not “plainly incompetent.” Malley, 475 U. S., at 341.
Here is the per curiam decision.
We have not seen the response of the police to the lawsuit so this account is coming from the complaint without rebuttal or contradiction from the defendants.
Source: KOB
Kudos: Michael Blott
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FacebookNEW YORK -- Some quick thoughts on St. John's 82-60 win over Georgetown on Sunday at Madison Square Garden:
What it means: St. John's played its best game of the season, against the team that handed the Red Storm their worst defeat six weeks ago.
After an 0-5 start in the Big East, the Red Storm have now won five in a row and eight of their past nine games. They don't just look like an NCAA tournament team, they look like a team capable of doing some serious damage in the Big Dance.
St. John's improved to 17-9 overall, 7-6 in the Big East. Georgetown fell to 15-10 overall, 6-7 in the conference.
The turning point: St. John's jumped all over Georgetown this time around, scoring the first 15 points of the game. The Hoyas went more than six minutes before scoring their first point. Rysheed Jordan led the charge, with the first seven points of the game. The Red Storm shot 17-for-25 in the first half (68 percent), and led 46-28 at intermission.
St. John's extended its lead to as many as 20 (52-32) on a Jordan 3-pointer with 17:25 remaining. But Georgetown closed to within seven, 56-49, on an Aaron Bowen layup with 10:47 left. That's as close as things got. D'Angelo Harrison hit a huge 3-pointer on the very next possession to extend the lead back to 10, and the Red Storm put the game away from there.
Star watch: Harrison and Jordan finished with 24 points apiece. For Harrison it was his 12th game of the season with 20 or more points. For Jordan it was a career high, eclipsing his 18 points at Providence on Feb. 4.
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera had a team-high 15 points for Georgetown.
Number crunch: St. John's cooled off some in the second half but still shot 57.4 percent for the game (27-for-47). And the Hoyas came in ranked 27th in the country in field-goal percentage defense (39.5). Very, very impressive.
What's next: St. John's hosts Butler on Tuesday. Georgetown plays at Seton Hall on Thursday.You might recall that the United Nations Statistics Division launched UNdata about one week short of a year ago, which was an improvement on the previous United Nations Commons Database. UNdata provides a gateway into 22 United Nations databases and 66 million records. Yeah, it’s a lot of data, but what do we do with it? What does it mean? Progress: A Graphical Report on the State of the World is a modest attempt to make some sense of it all; and by all, I mean a small subset.
I took a step away from code, opened up Adobe Illustrator and R, and did my best to visualize important topics like mortality, population, energy, and environment. It’s amazing what you learn when you start digging into data. Did you know the average Niger woman will have seven children in her lifetime?
Some of the report is the graphs that you’re used to while a couple were for fun and experimental. Check it out, and let me know what you think (and if you find any mistakes).
A Note About the Data
If you want some real data to work with (as opposed to the clean, fake kind), UNdata is an excellent place to find it. It’s sparse, scattered, and oftentimes hard to figure out what the data are about – which is what you should expect. Although for some odd reason I wasn’t expecting it to be so tricky to navigate. In any case, you’ll notice that some of the pages show only select numbers for certain countries. It’s most likely because there wasn’t all that much data for that metric… or I just thought the factoid was interesting. More likely the former though. The further back in time you go, the more sparse the data gets.
Anyways, this was fun and I think I’ll do it more often. It was nice to get back to where it really all began for me. Any suggestions for the next series of graphics?In Pennsylvania, there are two companies called PA Child Care LLC and Western PA Child Care. You might think that these companies offer services and supports to kids to help them become productive adults. You’d be wrong.
These companies offered kickbacks to two Luzerne County, PA judges in exchange for these judges contracting with the company and sentencing 6,500 teenagers to spend time in two for-profit youth prisons these companies run. And although the two judges found guilty of accepting bribes are now serving prison terms themselves, the two private youth prisons remain open and continue to profit from incarcerating children in Pennsylvania.
PA Child Care LLC and Western PA Child Care are both subsidiaries of Mid-Atlantic Youth Services Corp, just one of the many for-profit companies making large sums of money from locking up kids.
Another major market player is Youth Services International (YSI), a company that has built a lucrative youth prison business despite a startling record of abuse in its institutions. A recent two-part investigation by the Huffington Post found that kids confined in YSI facilities “frequently faced beatings, neglect, sexual abuse and unsanitary food over the past two decades,” while public officials turned a blind eye to the company’s harmful practices. And other corporations – with similarly innocuous sounding names like Cornerstone, G4S Youth Services and Mid-Atlantic Youth Services – are profiting from operating youth prisons with troubled histories in at least 12 states. The notorious GEO group, that runs some of the most deplorable adult prisons in the U.S., also operates a youth division with 12 youth prisons in five states.
The juvenile justice system is meant to rehabilitate young people and offer services and supports so that they can become healthy and productive adults. Private for-profit prisons squarely undermine good juvenile justice practices because these companies’ business models predicate high incarceration and recidivism rates for kids so that they can continue to fill beds in their facilities. This might be the saddest profit motive ever.
Private prison corporations are focused on their bottom line, meaning they pay lower wages to facility staff and offer fewer services to incarcerated youth, and often with less public oversight. As a result, young people confined in private for-profit prisons are often subject to unsafe conditions, where violence and abuse are prevalent. The U.S. Department of Justice found that two private for-profit prisons were among those with highest rates of sexual victimization of youth of all juvenile facilities in the U.S. Of course, it is important to note that staff misconduct and abuse occur in state-run institutions as well. However, it is all the more deplorable when individuals and corporations are making money from young people’s suffering.
Incarceration hampers kids’ future life prospects and increases recidivism. Recognizing this, most states have dramatically reduced the number of children behind bars and embraced community-based alternatives to incarceration instead. And several private companies – including the goliath Correctional Corporation of America and a much smaller but also troubled company known as Community Education Centers -- have pulled out of the juvenile prisons business. On Wednesday of last week, the Georgia Department of Justice announced that it will end its contract with Youth Service International to operate the Paulding youth prison. This is good news but we need to call on every state to close all facilities that profit from incarcerating children.Josh Doughty has left Manchester United after just two years in the club's academy.
Canadian forward Doughty, 20, is understood to have departed last month but is still listed on the club website's Reserves section. Doughty was included in the Canada Under-20 squad earlier this week and was listed as 'unattached'.
Doughty barely figured in United's junior sides after he joined from Real Salt Lake in January 2015 and made just one substitute appearance for the U21s this term.
He was last involved in Nicky Butt's set-up for the Premier League International Cup draw with Middlesbrough in December but was an unused substitute.
Overall, Doughty started three U19 matches and one U21 fixture. His only appearance this term was as a substitute.
Doughty lined up in the same United youth team as first-team squad members Marcus Rashford and Timothy Fosu-Mensah, as well as promising local youngsters RoShaun Williams and Callum Gribbin.
United States youth international Matthew Olosunde became the second North American to join United in as many seasons when he moved to Manchester last year.
Tim Howard was the first American-born footballer to play for United in 2003 and Jonathan Spector debuted the following year.
Striker Kenny Cooper was also in the United academy between 2004-06.
Get all the latest Manchester United news first with our new app. Download it here now.The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s secret method for unlocking the iPhone 5c used by one of the San Bernardino shooters will not work on newer models, FBI director James Comey said.
“We have a tool that works on a narrow slice of phones,” Mr Comey said at a conference on encryption and surveillance at Kenyon University in Ohio late on Wednesday.
Mr Comey added that the technique would not work on the iPhone 5s and the later models iPhone 6 and 6s. The iPhone 5c model was introduced in 2013 and has since been discontinued by Apple as newer models have become available.
The Justice Department said in March it had unlocked the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone with the help of an unidentified third party and dropped its case against Apple, ending a high-stakes legal clash but leaving the broader fight over encryption unresolved.
Lean on Apple
As the technique cannot be used to break into newer models, law enforcement authorities will likely have to lean on Apple to help them access the devices involved in other cases.
The Justice Department has asked a New York court to force Apple to unlock an iPhone 5s related to a drug investigation. Prosecutors in that case said they would update the court by April 11th on whether it would “modify” its request for Apple’s assistance.
If the US government continues to pursue that case, the technology company could potentially use legal discovery to force the FBI to reveal what technique it used, a source said.
Apple and the FBI were not immediately available for comment.
The FBI began briefing selected US senators this week about the method used to unlock the San Bernardino iPhone.
ReutersCrackdown on News Leaks, Gulf Oil Spill News Blocked, Oil Leak Amount Minimized
Revealing News Articles
June 14, 2010
Dear friends,
Below are key excerpts of revealing news articles on Obama's crackdown on whistleblowers' news leaks, Gulf oil spill news blocked, the amount of oil leaked being minimized, and more. Each excerpt is taken verbatim from the major media website listed at the link provided. If any link fails to function, click here. The most important sentences are highlighted. By choosing to educate ourselves and to spread the word, we can and will build a brighter future.
With best wishes,
Tod Fletcher and Fred Burks for PEERS and WantToKnow.info
Special note: For an awesome, two-minute video detailing how poor countries are corrupted by economic hitmen to benefit the mega-corporations, click here. For a great one-minute parody by Saturday Night Live on drug advertising scare tactics, click here. For those with a deep interest in HAARP and its effect on human behavior, this article is well worth exploring. For an astonishing and inspiring four-minute video which is guaranteed to leave you grateful, see amazing Nic Vujicic at this link. And for another moving video, watch Declan Galbraith at 10 years old sing "Tell Me Why" at this link.
Obama Takes a Hard Line Against Leaks to Press
June 12, 2010, New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/12/us/politics/12leak.html
Hired in 2001 by the National Security Agency to help it catch up with the e-mail and cellphone revolution, Thomas A. Drake became convinced that the government's eavesdroppers were squandering hundreds of millions of dollars on failed programs. He contacted a reporter for The Baltimore Sun. Today, because of that decision, Mr. Drake, 53,... faces years in prison on 10 felony charges involving the mishandling of classified information and obstruction of justice. The indictment of Mr. Drake was the latest evidence that the Obama administration is proving more aggressive than the Bush administration in seeking to punish unauthorized leaks. In 17 months in office, President Obama has already outdone every previous president in pursuing leak prosecutions. His administration has taken actions that might have provoked sharp political criticism for his predecessor, George W. Bush. Mr. Drake was charged in April; in May, an F.B.I. translator was sentenced to 20 months in prison for providing classified documents to a blogger; this week, the Pentagon confirmed the arrest of a 22-year-old Army intelligence analyst suspected of passing a classified video of an American military helicopter shooting Baghdad civilians to the Web site Wikileaks.org.
Note: For key reports from reliable sources on government secrecy, click here.
Army Leak Suspect Is Arrested
June 8, 2010, New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/world/08leaks.html
The Department of Defense announced that Specialist [Bradley] Manning, of Potomac, Md., had been arrested and was under investigation [for leaking a video of a US helicopter attack on civilians in Baghdad to a whistleblower website, Wikileaks]. The leak of the helicopter video, which Wikileaks titled "Collateral Murder," caused serious consternation at the Pentagon, where senior officials are increasingly concerned about technology that makes it easier to anonymously post documents, photographs and videos online. But opponents of the Iraq war have said that the video provided irrefutable evidence of a military blunder, and that it should not have been classified. The episode also drew wide attention to Wikileaks, a once-fringe Web site that aims to bring to light secret information about governments and corporations. It was founded three years ago by Julian Assange, an Australian activist and journalist, and has published documents about toxic dumping in Africa, protocols from Guantanamo Bay and e-mail messages from Sarah Palin's personal account.
Note: In case the above video disappears, click here to view it on one of our websites. The only reason this event made news is because the two cameramen killed were Reuters staff. US forces then fired on an unarmed van with children in it, which was attempting to bring the dead and wounded out of the combat zone. How many innocent civilians are killed like this and never make the news? Please spread this important video and help others to wake up and work together to stop the cruelty of some of the US forces. The Pentagon is working hard to shut down Wikileaks, the organization which secured this powerful video.
Efforts to Limit the Flow of Spill News
June 10, 2010, New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/10/us/10access.html
When the operators of Southern Seaplane in Belle Chasse, La., called the local Coast Guard-Federal Aviation Administration command center for permission to fly over restricted airspace in [the] Gulf of Mexico, they made what they thought was a simple and routine request. A pilot wanted to take a photographer from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans to snap photographs of the oil slicks blackening the water. The response from a BP contractor who answered the phone late last month at the command center was swift and absolute: Permission denied. "We were questioned extensively. Who was on the aircraft? Who did they work for?" recalled Rhonda Panepinto, who owns Southern Seaplane with her husband, Lyle. "The minute we mentioned media, the answer was: 'Not allowed.' " Journalists struggling to document the impact of the oil rig explosion have repeatedly found themselves turned away from public areas affected by the spill, and not only by BP and its contractors, but by local law enforcement, the Coast Guard and government officials. Scientists, too, have complained about the trickle of information that has emerged from BP and government sources. Three weeks passed, for instance, from the time the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20 and the first images of oil gushing from an underwater pipe were released by BP.
Note: For revealing reports from major media sources on government and corporate corruption and collusion, click here and here.
BP chief Tony Hayward sold shares weeks before oil spill
June 5, 2010, The Telegraph (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/7804922/BP-chief-Tony-Hayward...
Tony Hayward cashed in about a third of his holding in the company one month before a well on the Deepwater Horizon rig burst, causing an environmental disaster. Mr Hayward, whose pay package is �4 million a year, then paid off the mortgage on his family's mansion in Kent, which is estimated to be valued at more than �1.2 million. His decision... means he avoided losing more than �423,000 when BP's share price plunged after the oil spill began six weeks ago. Since he disposed of 223,288 shares on March 17, the company's share price has fallen by 30 per cent. About �40 billion has been wiped off its total value. The spill, which has still not been stemmed, has caused a serious environmental crisis and is estimated to cost BP up to �40 billion to clean up. Mr Hayward, whose position is thought to be under threat, risked further fury by continuing plans to pay out a dividend to investors next month.
New Estimates Double Rate of Oil Flowing Into Gulf
June 11, 2010, New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/11/us/11spill.html
A government panel on [June 10] essentially doubled its estimate of how much oil has been spewing from the out-of-control BP well, with the new calculation suggesting that an amount equivalent to the Exxon Valdez disaster could be flowing into the Gulf of Mexico every 8 to 10 days. The new estimate is 25,000 to 30,000 barrels of oil a day. That range, still preliminary, is far above the previous estimate of 12,000 to 19,000 barrels a day. The higher estimates will... most likely increase suspicion among skeptics about how honest and forthcoming the oil company has been throughout the catastrophe. The new estimate appears to be a far better match than earlier ones for the reality that Americans can see every day on their televisions. As investors have fled BP stock over uncertainties about the company's future and its ability to pay what it will end up owing, BP has lost nearly half its market capitalization since April, and its bonds are now trading at junk levels. Credit Suisse estimates the cleanup costs could end up at $15 billion to $23 billion, plus an additional $14 billion of claims. Ira Leifer, a researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a member of the flow-rate group, said the new figures confirmed a suspicion he had developed, based on looking at satellite data, that the rate of flow for the well was increasing even before BP cut the riser pipe. "The situation is growing worse," Dr. Leifer said.
Note: For an analysis of the series of false estimates by BP and the US government of the size of the catastrophic Deep Horizon oil blowout, click here.
BP well may be spewing 100,000 barrels a day, scientist says
June 7, 2010, Miami Herald/McClatchy Newspapers
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/07/1668495/bp-oil-spill-seems-certain-to.html
BP's runaway Deepwater Horizon well may be spewing...100,000 barrels a day, a member of the government panel tasked with determining the size of the spill told McClatchy [Newspapers]. "In the data I've seen, there's nothing inconsistent with BP's worst case scenario," Ira Leifer, an associate researcher at the Marine Science Institute of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a member of the government's Flow Rate Technical Group, told McClatchy. Leifer said that based on satellite data he's examined, the rate of flow from the well has been increasing over time, especially since BP's "top kill" effort failed last month to stanch the flow. The decision last week to sever the well's damaged riser pipe from the its blowout preventer in order to install a "top hat" containment device has increased the flow still more -- far more, Leifer said, than the 20 percent that BP and the Obama administration predicted. Leifer noted that BP had estimated before the April 20 explosion that caused the leak that a freely flowing pipe from the well would release 100,000 barrels of oil a day in the worst-case scenario. The oil was not freely flowing before the top kill or before they cut the pipe, Leifer said, but once the riser pipe was cleared, there was little blocking the oil's rise to the top of the blowout preventer. Video images confirm that the flow of black oil is unimpeded.
Note: For an analysis of the series of false estimates by BP and the US government of the size of the catastrophic Deep Horizon oil blowout, click here.
BP Buys 'Oil' Search Terms to Redirect Users to Official Company Website
June 5, 2010, ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Broadcast/bp-buys-search-engine-phrases-redirecting-...
BP, the very company responsible for the oil spill that is already the worst in U.S. history, has purchased several phrases on search engines such as Google and Yahoo so that the first result that shows up directs information seekers to the company's official website. A simple Google search of "oil spill" turns up several thousand news results, but the first link, highlighted at the very top of the page, is from BP. "Learn more about how BP is helping," the link's tagline reads. A spokesman for the company confirmed to ABC News that it had, in fact, bought these search terms to make information on the spill more accessible to the public. Several search engine marketing experts are questioning BP's intentions, suggesting that controlling what the public finds when they look online for oil spill information is just another way for the company to try and rebuild the company's suffering public image. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal slammed BP for its PR efforts, saying in a statement, "Instead of BP shelling out $50 million on an ad campaign that promises to do good work in responding to this spill, BP should just focus on actually doing a good job and spend the $50 million on assistance to our people, our industries and our communities that are suffering as a result of this ongoing spill."
Note: For revealing reports from major media sources on corporate corruption and collusion, click here.
Disaster in the Amazon
June 5, 2010, New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/05/opinion/05herbert.html
BP's calamitous behavior in the Gulf of Mexico is the big oil story of the moment. But for many years, indigenous people from a formerly pristine region of the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador have been trying to get relief from an American company, Texaco (which later merged with Chevron), for what has been described as the largest oil-related environmental catastrophe ever. "As horrible as the gulf spill has been, what happened in the Amazon was worse," said Jonathan Abady, a New York lawyer who is part of the legal team that is suing Chevron on behalf of the rainforest inhabitants. Texaco operated more than 300 oil wells for the better part of three decades in a vast swath of Ecuador's northern Amazon region. Texaco came barreling into this delicate ancient landscape in the early 1960s with all the subtlety and grace of an invading army. And when it left in 1992, it left behind, according to the lawsuit, widespread toxic contamination that devastated the livelihoods and traditions of the local people, and took a severe toll on their physical well-being. The quest for oil is, by its nature, colossally destructive. And the giant oil companies, when left to their own devices, will treat even the most magnificent of nature's wonders like a sewer. But the riches to be made are so vastly corrupting that governments refuse to impose the kinds of rigid oversight and safeguards that would mitigate the damage to the environment and its human and animal inhabitants.
Medical Ethics Lapses Cited in Interrogations
June 7, 2010, New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/world/07doctors.html
Medical professionals who were involved in the Central Intelligence Agency's interrogations of terrorism suspects engaged in forms of human research and experimentation in violation of medical ethics and domestic and international law, according to a new report from a human rights organization. Doctors, psychologists and other professionals assigned to monitor the C.I.A.'s use of waterboarding, sleep deprivation and other "enhanced" interrogation techniques gathered and collected data on the impact of the interrogations on the detainees in order to refine those techniques. But, by doing so, the medical professionals turned the detainees into research subjects, according to the report... published on [June 7] by Physicians for Human Rights. "There was no therapeutic purpose or intent to monitor and collect this data," said Jonathan D. Moreno, a professor of medical ethics at the University of Pennsylvania. "You can't use people as laboratories."
Note: To read the full report from Physicians for Human Rights, "Experiments in Torture: Human Subject Research and Evidence of Experimentation in the 'Enhanced' Interrogation Program", click here.
Doctors Who Aid Torture
June 8, 2010, New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/opinion/08tue1.html
Disturbing new questions have been raised about the role of doctors and other medical professionals in helping the Central Intelligence Agency subject terrorism suspects to harsh treatment, abuse and torture. The Red Cross previously documented, from interviews with "high-value" prisoners, that medical personnel helped facilitate abuses in the C.I.A.'s "enhanced interrogation program" during the Bush administration. Now Physicians for Human Rights has suggested that the medical professionals may also have violated national and international laws setting limits on what research can be performed on humans. The group's report focused particularly on a few issues where medical personnel played an important role – determining how far a harsh interrogation could go, providing legal cover against prosecution and designing future interrogation procedures. In the case of waterboarding, a technique in which prisoners are brought to the edge of drowning, health professionals were required to monitor the practice and keep detailed medical records. Their findings led to several changes, including a switch to saline solution as the near-drowning agent instead of water, ostensibly to protect the health of detainees who ingest large volumes of liquid but also, the group says, to allow repeated use of waterboarding on the same subject.
Note: For lots more from reliable sources on the unlawful actions of US intelligence and military forces in the "global war on terror," click here.
The hijacking of the truth: Film evidence 'destroyed'
June 6, 2010, The Independent (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-hijacking-of-the-truth-film-evidence...
Six days after the bloody assault that left nine foreign protesters, mainly Turks, dead, nobody can recount with any conviction precisely what happened that night. The convoy of ships, whose passengers included writers, politicians and journalists, had been expected for weeks, with organisers loudly broadcasting their plans to run Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip and draw international attention to the situation there. From the beginning, it was clear that Israeli forces were concentrating in their largest numbers on the Marmara, a ship carrying some 550 peace activists. The remaining five boats were much smaller and easily commandeered. After the Marmara was subdued, the passengers silenced, and their recording equipment confiscated, Israel disseminated a carefully choreographed account of the events that night that would dominate the airwaves for the first 48 hours. Only as eyewitnesses, traumatised by their experiences, started to return to their home countries, were serious questions raised about the veracity of the Israeli version of events. Israeli commandos initiated the attack on the Marmara with stun grenades, paintballs and rubber-cased steel bullets. Next, the helicopters started their approach, hovering overhead as they tried to disgorge commandos.
Note: As revealed last week, Israeli commandos shot and killed the aid activists at close range, execution-style. Note that these key reports are appearing in the UK but not the US mainstream press.
Vast UFO Cover-Up a 'Cosmic Watergate,' Says Nuclear Physicist
June 8, 2010, Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/06/08/vast-ufo-coverup-stanton-friedman/
After half a century of investigation, a former nuclear physicist -- who worked on fission and fusion rockets for companies like Westinghouse and Aerojet General Nucleonics -- is convinced that not only are UFOs real, the government has known about them since 1947. "Some UFOs are intelligently controlled extraterrestrial spacecraft," Stanton Friedman told AOL News, calling the vast cover-up of their existence "the biggest story of the millennium." In 1958, UFOs caught his attention, and Friedman has since lectured about this subject at more than 700 colleges and professional groups in all 50 states and around the world. "After 53 years of investigation, I'm convinced we're dealing here with a cosmic Watergate," he [said]. "That means a few people within major governments have known since at least 1947 that some UFOs are alien spacecraft." In Friedman's new book, Science Was Wrong: Startling Truths About Cures, Theories, and Inventions "They" Declared Impossible, co-authored with Kathleen Marden, he wrote, "There's been no shortage of strong, negative proclamations from debunking groups and individuals who refuse to examine the evidence... to support the notion that some UFOs are of extraterrestrial origin.
Note: For the full article at AOL News, click here.
The 'July Effect': Worst Month For Fatal Hospital Errors
June 3, 2010, ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/WellnessNews/july-month-fatal-hospital-errors-study-finds/story?id=10819652
There is an old saying among some doctors -- do not let your friends and family schedule a surgery in July. July is the month when graduates, fresh out of medical school, report to residencies in teaching hospitals. Anecdotally, at least, it's been a time when medical errors peak. A new study decided to see if the so-called "July Effect" was real. Researchers from the University of California at San Diego investigated more than 62 million U.S. death certificates between 1979 and 2006. Of those, 244,388 deaths were caused by a medication errors in a hospital. Month to month, the statistics showed a relatively equal chance for a fatal medication error -- except at teaching hospitals in the month of July. The study found that fatal medication errors spiked by 10 percent in July in counties with a high number of teaching hospitals, but stayed the same in areas without teaching hospitals. David Phillips, [a professor of sociology at the University of California at San Diego, and] the lead author of the study, said... "There's something going on in teaching hospitals in July, and the most common thing people think of was residents starting." Residents are inexperienced, often sleep-deprived -- working 36-hour shifts in many cases.
Key Articles From Years Past
Eugenics and the Nazis -- the California connection
November 9, 2003, San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco's leading newspaper)
http://articles.sfgate.com/2003-11-09/opinion/17517477_1_eugenics-ethnic-cleansing-master-race
Hitler and his henchmen victimized an entire continent and exterminated millions in his quest for a so-called Master Race. But the concept of a white, blond-haired, blue-eyed master Nordic race didn't originate with Hitler. The idea was created in the United States, and cultivated in California, decades before Hitler came to power. Eugenics would have been so much bizarre parlor talk had it not been for extensive financing by corporate philanthropies, specifically the Carnegie Institution, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Harriman railroad fortune. They were all in league with some of America's most respected scientists from such prestigious universities as Stanford, Yale, Harvard and Princeton. These academicians espoused race theory and race science, and then faked and twisted data to serve eugenics' racist aims. Stanford President David Starr Jordan originated the notion of "race and blood" in his 1902 racial epistle "Blood of a Nation," in which the university scholar declared that human qualities and conditions such as talent and poverty were passed through the blood. The Rockefeller Foundation helped found the German eugenics program and even funded the program that Josef Mengele worked in before he went to Auschwitz.
Note: Josef Mengele's US-funded eugenics research laid the foundation for his experimentation on human subjects before and during World War II. He went on to participate in CIA-funded mind-control experimentation after that war. For more on Mengele, click here.
'Saucer' Outran Jet, Pilot Reveals
July 28, 1952, Washington Post
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/121378398.html...
Military secrecy veils an investigation of the mysterious, glowing aerial objects that showed up on radar screens in the Washington area Saturday night for the second consecutive week. A jet pilot sent up by the Air Defense Command to investigate the objects reported he was unable to overtake the glowing lights moving near Andrews Air Force Base. Methods of the investigations were classified as secret, a spoken said. "We have no evidence they are flying saucers; conversely we have no evidence they are not flying saucers. We don't know what they are," a spokesman added. [Three] radar screens in the area picked up the objects. A traffic control center spokesman said the nature of the signals on the radar screen ruled out any possibility they were from clouds or any other "weather" disturbance. The objects, "flying saucer" or what have you, appeared on the radar scope at the airport center at 9:08 PM. Varying from four to 12 in number, the objects appeared on the screen until 3:00 AM., when they diappeared. One jet pilot observed four lights in the vicinity of Andrews Air Force Base, but was not able to over-take them, and they disappeared in about two minutes. The jet pilot reported he had no apparent "closing speed" when he attempted to reach the lights he saw near Andrews Air Force Base. That means the lights were moving at least as fast as his top speed-a maximum of 600 mph.
Note: The above link to this article requires payment. For a free copy of the article, click here. For an abundance of media articles suggesting a major UFO cover-up, click here. For lots more reliable, verifiable information on UFOs, see our UFO Information Center.
Kenneth Ring: 'You Never Recover Your Original Self'
August 28, 1988, New York Times
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE1DB1E38F93BA1575BC0A96E948260
Probably the oldest mystery to vex mankind is what, if anything, occurs after death. For a decade, Kenneth Ring, a psychology professor and researcher at the University of Connecticut, has looked into the question through the near-death experiences of others. Mr. Ring... talked with hundreds of people between the ages of 18 and 84 who have come close to physical death. [His books] Life at Death [and] Heading Toward Omega both deal with near-death experiences and how they change people's lives. A near-death experience... often happens to individuals who find themselves on the verge of imminent biological death. It involves... a sense of the most profound peace and well-being that is possible to imagine. It's a sense of being separate from the physical body and sometimes being able to see it as though a spectator off to one side or from up above. These people have a sense of moving through a dark space or tunnel toward a radiantly beautiful white or golden light. They are absorbed in that light, having in some cases a panoramic life review in which virtually everything that they've ever done in their life they're able to see; perhaps meeting the spirits of deceased love ones or friends. And in some cases, they are asked to make a decision as to whether they would like to continue or go back to their body. The most powerful antidote to the fear of death is coming close to death... and remembering one of these experiences. After having a near-death experience, people believe the end of life isn't [the end]; they believe in some sort of life after death. [Those] who have a near-death experience almost totally lose their fear of death.
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, by way of the alleged perpetrator Frazier Glenn Cross. Yet for all their attempts to create a connection, the single tie is this:
Cross is believed to have been a frequent contributor to the VNN Forum. Out of 12,683 forum posts attributed to Cross, one single post was found to have mentioned “Jew journalist Max Blumenthal.” That single post contains a broken link to a page that once linked to a YouTube clip of a brief interview with Blumenthal. In that interview, Blumenthal explained how neoconservative supporters of Netanyahu in DC were hoping to sway the 2012 presidential election in their favor.
That is it. On the basis of that single strand of serendipity, Haaretz declared, “Kansas murderer admires prominent Israeli critic” and “Frazier Glenn Cross repeatedly praised controversial journalist Max Blumenthal.” Instant news. (For point of comparison there are 255 references on the forum to actor Kevin Bacon.)
Immediately after the Haaretz article went online, several commentators criticized Haaretz on Twitter. Blumenthal himself challenged Haaretz Managing Editor Simon Spungin to justify the piece. Initially Spungin made a slight alteration to the article but otherwise kept it intact and placed the onus on Blumenthal to prove the article wrong.
@MaxBlumenthal send me a mail detailing any falsehood and I will, of course, look into it. — Simon Spungin (@spungin) April 16, 2014
Eventually—and while we were preparing this report—Spungin removed the article from the Haaretz website, with no notice of correction or public apology. (A cached version can be found here.)
Questions remain, however: Who authored the article? And why did Haaretz find the article credible and newsworthy?
Haaretz did not explicitly blame Blumenthal for the Kansas shootings, but the timing, the accusations, and the pretense of relevance implied such. After all, would Haaretz have published an article headlined “Kansas Murderer Really Liked Chocolate”? The very act of publishing such an article at such a time would only be to connect the killer’s alleged influences to his motives for killing.
Applying Haaretz and Free Beacon’s arbitrary methodology, Rania Khalek noted that there were 11,500 mentions of Haaretz in the VNN Forum, and that Miller himself had cited Haaretz in roughly seventy forum postings, thus making Haaretz even more culpable in the Kansas shootings. In addition, Miller has linked to numerous writers and news outlets–including Thomas Friedman and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. In addition, he once wrote that David Horowitz, the conservative activist and publisher, is “one of those jewish neocon ‘new friends’ of the White man who actually throws Whitey journalistic bones from time to time, such as his book ‘Hatin Whitey.'” Horowitz is an ally of Blumenthal critic Ron Radosh, and Radosh refused to speak with Alex Kane for this article about Miller’s affinity for his friend saying over e-mail he knows his “enemies” and that, since he’s in Germany, he wouldn’t waste money calling him.
What’s clear is that the current right-wing campaign is a continuation of attacks against Blumenthal over his book Goliath. Protective of Israel’s image and worried that Blumenthal’s book could contribute to the changing debate over the country in the U.S., they’re throwing the kitchen sink at unflinching critics of Zionism.At some point over the next few weeks, the New York Jets will have to ponder this question: Geno Smith or Marcus Mariota? They have to be prepared, just in case Mariota falls to them with the sixth pick.
On Monday, owner Woody Johnson was asked that question as he met with reporters at the league meetings in Phoenix. His answer will surely draw attention.
"Geno is probably way ahead of him at this point, believe it or not, whether you guys [have] skepticism of that or not," Johnson said. "Certainly, [Mariota's] college career was good."
By saying Smith is "way ahead" of the Heisman Trophy winner, Johnson presumably was simply stating the obvious, noting his current quarterback has two years NFL experience and Mariota has... well, none. What Johnson's football people must determine, if they haven't already, is whether Mariota has a higher ceiling than Smith. If so, how much higher?
Adhering to the organization's public stance on the quarterback situation, Johnson was non-committal on Smith. He was asked if Smith is the right guy.
"That’s something we’re going to look at," Johnson said, "We’ve got from now until the start of the season to address every position, not only quarterback. We’re going to have competition at every position. Hopefully, that’ll bring out the best in them -- the quarterbacks and the rest of the positions."
The lukewarm assessment was a dramatic contrast to what Johnson said last October: "I think Geno Smith can be a franchise quarterback, I really do." That, of course, was in the early stage of the 4-12 season, and a lot happened over the final three months to change opinions.
The Jets traded for veteran journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick, so it looks like it'll be Fitzpatrick versus Smith in training camp. The trade doesn't preclude them from drafting Mariota, although there's a sense they might take a pass.
They're performing due diligence on Mariota. Instead of returning to New Jersey after the league meetings, the Jets' brass will hang out in the West and head up to Oregon for Saturday's private workout with Mariota.
Johnson said he has no idea what they will do with the sixth pick, adding, "We’re in the process of going through all the candidates.... I don’t know who it is at this point, whether it’s Mariota or anybody else."Bruce Herbert Glover (born May 2, 1932) is an American character actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of the assassin Mr. Wint in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. He is the father of actor Crispin Glover.
Life and career [ edit ]
Glover was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Eva Elvira (née Hedstrom) and Herbert Homan Glover.[2] He is of English and Swedish descent.[3][4]
Glover was drafted into the US Army serving from 1953 to 1955 where he served six months in Korea[5].
He began acting with numerous appearances on various television shows including My Favorite Martian (1963), Perry Mason: The Case of the Golden Girls (1965), The Rat Patrol (1966), Hawk (1966), The Mod Squad (1968), Gunsmoke (1969), Mission: Impossible (1970), Bearcats! (1971),[6] and The Feather and Father Gang (1977).[7] In 1978, he appeared on the Barney Miller episode: "The Prisoner".
In 1971, Glover and jazz musician Putter Smith portrayed the assassins Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, respectively, in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever.
Glover played a motorcycle gang leader known as Bach in the Adam-12 episode Log 103: A Sound Like Thunder (1969). He also played a redneck thug harassing well-meaning teenagers in the drama Bless the Beasts and Children (1971), was leaning on hustler James Coburn to repay his debts in Hard Times (1975), and contributed another icy performance as Duffy in Chinatown (1974). In addition, he appeared as "Captain Voda," a Soviet military officer, in "Doomsday, and Counting," an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man.
Glover also appeared as deputy Grady Coker in the film Walking Tall (1973) and the sequels: Walking Tall Part 2 (1975) and Walking Tall: Final Chapter (1977). He remained busy through the 1980s and 1990s with more guest spots on TV shows including "Hart to Hart" (1981), T.J. Hooker (1982), The Dukes of Hazzard (1979), CHiPs (1978), and The A-Team (1983). He also appeared in the films Ghost Town (1988), Popcorn (1991), and Warlock: The Armageddon (1993).
In the 1950s, Glover began to teach acting. In the 1970s, he conducted acting classes with "The Indian Actors Workshops" and had various acting studios around Los Angeles, California. In the 1990s, Glover added an additional level to his West Los Angeles residence to accommodate an acting studio.
More recently, Glover was interviewed by Chris Aable on the cable television show Hollywood Today (1995), and appeared in the films Night of the Scarecrow (1995), Die Hard Dracula (1998), and Ghost World (2001).
Selected filmography [ edit ]The Season 2 finale of “The Leftovers” ticked up from last week’s ratings, drawing a 0.5 in adults 18-49 (up 0.1) and just under a million viewers. Whether that’s enough to warrant a third season remains to be seen.
With “The Walking Dead” gone, “Into the Badlands” took a major ratings hit, dropping by more than 50 percent (2.5 to 1.1) from last week. It tied for third on Sunday with “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” which was up week to week. “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” (1.4) was the day’s top show in adults 18-49.
Fox News drew the biggest total audience for President Obama’s prime-time address, with 3.13 million for the 15-minute speech and 3.32 million for the full hour. CNN had slightly more viewers (745,000 vs. 708,000) in the key news demo of adults 25-54 for the speech itself but trailed FNC in both measures for the full hour.
Top 100 cable shows among adults 18-49 for Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015
Show Net Time Viewers (000s) 18-49 rating REAL HOUSEWIVES ATLANTA BRVO 8:00 PM 2986 1.4 SUNDAY MOVIE FAM 6:30 PM 2976 1.2 KEEPING UP KARDASHIANS ENT 9:00 PM 2311 1.1 INTO THE BADLANDS AMC 10:00 PM 2424 1.1 BIG BANG THEORY, THE TBSC 10:30 PM 2323 1.0 BIG BANG THEORY, THE TBSC 10:00 PM 2455 1.0 FAMILY GUY ADSM 11:00 PM 1885 0.9 BIG BANG THEORY, THE TBSC 9:30 PM 2451 0.9 FAMILY GUY ADSM 10:30 PM 1843 0.9 SUNDAY MOVIE FAM 10:00 PM 1674 0.9 ALASKA: THE LAST FRONTIER DISC 9:00 PM 3432 0.8 BIG BANG THEORY, THE TBSC 8:30 PM 2202 0.8 AMERICAN DAD ADSM 10:00 PM 1680 0.8 BIG BANG THEORY, THE TBSC 9:00 PM 2225 0.8 RICK & MORTY ADSM 11:30 PM 1446 0.7 AMERICAN DAD ADSM 9:30 PM 1522 0.7 BIG BANG THEORY, THE TBSC 8:00 PM 2041 0.7 90 DAY FIANCE TLC 9:00 PM 1850 0.7 BEYOND THE SHADOWS: FAM 9:30 PM 1259 0.6 HOMELAND S5 SHO1 9:05 PM 1740 0.6 SUNDAY MOVIE FAM 2:30 PM 1811 0.6 NFL COUNTDOWN L ESPN 10:00 AM 1376 0.6 90 DAY FIANCE: TELL ALL TLC 10:03 PM 1476 0.6 LIBRARIANS, THE TNT 8:00 PM 2242 0.5 CLEVELAND SHOW, THE ADSM 9:00 PM 1215 0.5 SUNDAY MOVIE FAM 4:45 PM 1629 0.5 SPONGEBOB NICK 10:30 AM 1916 0.5 ROBOT CHICKEN ADSM 12:00 AM 1114 0.5 GEORGE LOPEZ NAN 6:30 AM 1177 0.5 OBAMA ADDR: ISIS THREAT CNN 8:02 PM 2093 0.5 GEORGE LOPEZ NAN 6:00 AM 1121 0.5 TNT SUNDAY MOVIES TNT 5:00 PM 1291 0.5 HOLIDAY BAKING CHAMPION 2 FOOD 9:00 PM 1795 0.5 INTERSTITIAL BREAK SHO1 9:00 PM 1420 0.5 LEFTOVERS, THE HBOM 9:03 PM 993 0.5 MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES ADSM 12:15 AM 997 0.5 AMERICAN DAD ADSM 2:30 AM 887 0.5 SPONGEBOB NICK 10:00 AM 1751 0.5 LIGA MX L UDN 6:54 PM 1175 0.5 BIG BANG THEORY, THE TBSC 7:30 PM 1308 0.5 TEENAGE MUTAN NINJA TRT12 NICK 11:00 AM 1582 0.5 SPONGEBOB NICK 3:00 PM 1820 0.5 ALASKA: THE LAST FRONTIER DISC 8:00 PM 2036 0.5 SUNDAY MOVIE FAM 12:30 PM 1549 0.5 AMERICAN DAD ADSM 2:00 AM 881 0.5 SPONGEBOB NICK 7:30 AM 1208 0.5 TBS PRIME MOVIE TBSC 11:00 PM 852 0.4 ALVINNN!!! AND THE CHIPMU NICK 9:00 AM 1639 0.4 SPONGEBOB NICK 11:30 AM 1535 0.4 SPONGEBOB NICK 3:30 PM 1650 0.4 SPONGEBOB NICK 9:30 AM 1638 0.4 TOY STORY THAT TIME FORGO DSNY 9:30 AM 1842 0.4 AQUA TEEN HUNGER FOREVER ADSM 12:30 AM 885 0.4 SPONGEBOB NICK 7:00 AM 1071 0.4 SPONGEBOB NICK 2:30 PM 1644 0.4 ALVINNN!!! AND THE CHIPMU NICK 8:30 AM 1387 0.4 SPORTSCENTER 1AM L ESPN 12:30 AM 940 0.4 YOUR PRETTY FACE/HELL ADSM 12:45 AM 855 0.4 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS FOXNC 8:01 PM 3134 0.4 INTO THE BADLANDS AMC 9:00 PM 1167 0.4 WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE BRVO 10:00 PM 944 0.4 HALL ORIGINAL MOVIE HALL 8:00 PM 3200 0.4 FX MOVIE PRIME FX 8:00 PM 1163 0.4 FRIENDS NAN 11:30 PM 950 0.4 BIG BANG THEORY, THE TBSC 7:00 PM 1073 0.4 ALASKAN BUSH PEOPLE SPC DISC 10:00 PM 1657 0.4 POWER RANGERS DINO NICK 8:00 AM 1112 0.4 CFP RANKINGS SHOW L ESPN 12:00 PM 1071 0.4 TSUM TSUM SHORTS DSNY 8:25 AM 1566 0.4 CLEVELAND SHOW, THE ADSM 1:00 AM 768 0.4 MIRACULOUS: TALES OF LADY NICK 12:00 PM 1404 0.4 SPONGEBOB NICK 2:00 PM 1482 0.4 GUYS GROCERY GAMES FOOD 8:00 PM 1212 0.4 REAL HOUSEWIVES ATLANTA BRVO 7:00 PM 841 0.4 CLEVELAND SHOW, THE ADSM 1:30 AM 729 0.4 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE DSNY 8:00 AM 1527 0.4 SPORTSCENTER LATE L ESPN 11:00 PM 785 0.4 WORK OUT NEW YORK BRVO 9:00 PM 804 0.4 KEEPING UP KARDASHIANS ENT 8:00 PM 735 0.4 FROSTYS WINTER WONDERLAND DSNY 9:00 AM 1576 0.4 REAL HOUSEWIVES ATLANTA BRVO 10:30 PM 873 0.4 BAR RESCUE SPIKE 10:00 PM 819 0.4 SOFIA THE FIRST DSNY 8:30 AM 1530 0.4 PRES ADDRESS/ANALYSIS FOXNC 8:15 PM 3388 0.4 FRIENDS NAN 12:00 AM 804 0.4 NINA NEEDS TO GO DSNY 8:55 AM 1523 0.4 NFL INSIDERS: SUNDAY L ESPN 9:00 AM 798 0.3 AX MEN HIST 9:00 PM 1160 0.3 NCIS USA 9:00 PM 1777 0.3 ALVINNN!!! AND THE CHIPMU NICK 12:30 PM 1320 0.3 LAW & ORDER TNT 10:00 AM 1223 0.3 BOBBY FLAYS BBQ ADDICTION FOOD 12:00 PM 1067 0.3 90 DAY FIANCE: COUNTDOWN TLC 7:00 PM 939 0.3 TNT SUNDAY MOVIES TNT 2:30 PM 983 0.3 INTO THE BADLANDS AMC 11:00 PM 914 0.3 MICKEYS ONCE UPON A CHRIS DISJR 11:10 AM 1259 0.3 FLIP OR FLOP HGTV 12:30 PM 1132 0.3 HALL ORIGINAL MOVIE HALL 4:00 PM 1935 0.3 CLEVELAND SHOW, THE ADSM 8:30 PM 801 0.3 NCIS USA 8:00 PM 1789 0.3
Source: The Nielsen Company.Please enable Javascript to watch this video
ST. LOUIS (KTVI) - There's been talk that the Rams move is great news for the St. Louis Blues: freeing up more money for St. Louis sports fans to spend on hockey.
The Blues chairman/owner doesn't see it that way. Blues chairman, Tom Stillman, says he takes issue with the Rams claims about St. Louis.
Stillman seems as sad as anyone about Rams owner, Stan Kroenke, taking his team out of town.
“I am. A lot of people like to say this is going to be good for the Blues,” Stillman said. “But that’s not how we see it. We’re here in St. Louis for the long term. If something is not good for St. Louis in the long term, it’s not good for us.”
He understands Kroenke’s dilemma: a decade of losing teams, declining attendance, and a chance to cash in and start over in another market.
But the Blues were in far worse shape when Kroenke’s brother-in-law, Bill Laurie owned the team. The Blues were among the worst teams in the NHL. Crowds were not even large enough to keep all the concession stands open.
Stillman surfaced as a potential owner then, and years later would lead the group that now owns the team. But his eye has never been on moving out and cashing in. St. Louis, he says, is too good a market for that; most definitely a three team market. He says it’s on ownership to make it work.
“We have to build an organization and connection to the community that takes us through those periods when we do cycle down a little bit. Where the team on the ice isn’t winning as much, but we still have the connection and the loyalty because of what we’ve been doing and what we’ve been building,” Stilllman said.
He doubts anyone will take seriously the Rams assertions that the Riverfront Stadium proposal would lead to financial ruin, that St. Louis is dying a market. The Blues have proven otherwise, even in a 3 team town.
“I don’t get it. I don’t want to be anywhere else. I don’t care how big the market or all the money that’s waiting. This is where we want to be. This is a great market…we are St. Louis,” Stillman said.
More than anything, Stillman hopes St. Louis appreciates the efforts of Stadium Task Force chief, Dave Peacock, who Stillman says put his heart and soul into the stadium project for more than a year… still hard to believe for him that somehow it’s not enough.Last season, the Denver Nuggets built their team around the fact that, in Ty Lawson and Andre Miller, they had two point guards who could make sure the team was always playing fast and moving the ball. It appears that the Nuggets will be able to continue to use this strategy. From the Denver Post: “Nuggets sharpshooters (and fans) can rejoice. Assist machine Andre Miller has agreed to re-sign with the Nuggets, two sources said Sunday night. The 36-year-old point guard is arguably coach George Karl’s favorite player because of Miller’s ability to make the proper pass and fuel the offense. The sources confirmed that Miller will sign for three years. Financial terms were undisclosed. Last season, Miller averaged 9.7 points per game and 6.7 assists in 27.4 minutes off the bench, backing up starter Ty Lawson and other times playing alongside him. Miller was instrumental in the Nuggets’ Game 5 playoff win at the Lakers, which staved off elimination, thanks in part to Miller’s 24 points and eight assists.”ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- Some Florida amusement park visitors may enjoy space-themed roller-coasters, but the first vehicle they board at Orlando International Airport may be the most futuristic ride of their vacation.
Four hydrogen shuttle buses are part of the fleet at the Orlando International Airport.
The airport is testing four Ford shuttle vans equipped with internal combustion engines modified to run on hydrogen instead of gasoline.
"It's quiet, it doesn't shake like diesel, it doesn't have that diesel smell," said Rafael Sanchez, who has been driving the vans for a year. The quieter engine makes conversation inside the bus easier than in conventional vehicles.
"Hydrogen is one of the many technologies we are exploring, trying to become more of a green airport," said Ronald Lewis, director of airport operations.
Vehicles powered with hydrogen engines are different from the many vehicles across the nation that run with the help of hydrogen fuel cells -- which are the gold standard of green machines.
The use of hydrogen in internal combustion engines is far less efficient than in the fuel cells.
The modified engines aboard the Ford E-450 shuttle buses are 6.8 liter V-10s. The airport's fleet also includes three gas-electric hybrid vehicles and 24 biodiesel buses. The facility also powers its maintenance equipment -- such as lawnmowers and tractors -- with biodiesel.
But like many experiments with alternative fuels, the price is very high and the long-term outcome is unknown. Proponents of hydrogen technology have long had a chicken-and-egg dilemma over whether to build million-dollar fueling facilities or to wait until more vehicles are in use.
Energy companies are reluctant to pour money into expensive fueling stations without a lot of hydrogen vehicles around, but consumers are not likely to buy a vehicle without adequate places to fill up.
"It is clear nothing is going to displace gasoline or diesel for 20, 30, maybe 40 years," said John Lapetz, who has been working on alternative fuels at Ford for more than 20 years.
The Orlando project has several goals: To get average consumers acquainted with hydrogen and to acquire data on the buses' performance in a setting where they are in use almost nonstop.
Lapetz said it's an effort to use a technology that customers take for granted (the internal combustion engine), while preparing for the day when drivers can complete the divorce from fossil fuels.
At the Boggy Creek Hydrogen Fueling Station in Orlando, the hydrogen is produced on-site. "We are doing a process called steam methane re-forming, which is natural gas to hydrogen," said Puneet Verma, manager of biofuels and hydrogen at Chevron Technology Ventures, one of the players involved in the project.
During a careful fueling process, technicians check for leaks of the highly flammable hydrogen -- leaks both in the bus and the fuel pump.
Because a fossil fuel, methane, is used to make the hydrogen, the buses are about 12 percent cleaner than gasoline or diesel when their entire carbon footprint is measured.
"We view the hydrogen efforts as a technical success," said Verma. "This is the first time we have been able to demonstrate actual production of hydrogen at the station. It's not necessarily an economic success yet."
"The ultimate goal is hydrogen fuel cell cars," Verma said. "The hydrogen internal combustion engine buses are much less expensive to manufacture, but they consume a lot more hydrogen."
Verma said the buses are "valid transition technology" aimed at quickly building significant demand for hydrogen, which would then justify an expensive infrastructure.
The hydrogen test project also includes the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, Ford Motor Company, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Progress Energy and SeaWorld.
Hydrogen buses began shuttling SeaWorld employees in February from the park's outer parking lots to their workplaces.
"The environment is really an important part of SeaWorld's culture here," said Kelly Bernish, director of environmental health and safety at Busch theme parks SeaWorld, Discovery Cove and Aquatica.
Bernish described the venture as another opportunity for "employees to feel like they can impact the environment by using this kind of vehicle, that will lessen our footprint on the world."
SeaWorld's Discovery Cove animal training supervisor Jay Tacey said "somebody has to get the ball rolling. Until somebody takes that first step, there's always going to be the 'what if?' "
Airport Operations Director Lewis said being in on the hydrogen experiment early could pay off in the long run.
"We are hopeful that since they built the facility here, the only one in the southeast United States, that there will be a long-term usage for it."
All About Alternative Fuel Vehicles • Alternative Energy TechnologyPassage of bill to evacuate one settler site while retroactively recognising others meets with condemnation from UN and US
Israel’s parliament has voted to retroactively legalise thousands of illegitimate settler homes in outposts built on private Palestinian land, in a highly controversial move described by critics as a “land grab”. The measure, which passed in a stormy Knesset session late on Monday, has been met with international condemnation, and has already strained relations within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing rightwing coalition.
It comes in sharp defiance of a call on Sunday by the US secretary of state, John Kerry, who urged Israel again to rein in the construction of settlements on West Bank land.
The bill passed its first reading by 60 votes to 49, and still has to pass a further three votes before becoming law. During the debate, the opposition leader, Isaac Herzog, fiercely denounced the law by equating its adoption to “national suicide”. While the bill seems likely to have support to pass its further readings, it appears inevitable that it will be challenged in court.
Israeli critics and Palestinians have described the legislation as a land grab that would further distance prospects for a two-state solution to end the long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some high-profile political supporters, echoing that view, celebrated the vote by saying it opened the way to annexation of the West Bank and the end of any prospect of a Palestinian state.
Israeli ministers vote in favour of legalising outposts Read more
According to estimates by opponents – including the prominent anti-occupation group Peace Now – the new law, if finally approved, would effectively annex 55 illegal outposts and approximately 4,000 housing units in settlements and illegal outposts.
The vote follows weeks of fierce debate. Netanyahu warned at one point that the legislation could put Israel’s political leaders in the dock of the International Criminal Court in the Hague.
The law was promoted originally by Naftali Bennett, the far right leader of the Jewish Home party, and his allies, despite warnings from senior Israeli legal figures that it would be illegal. It was initially designed to prevent the planned destruction of the illegal Amona outpost, which is home to some 40 hardline settlers living in caravans, and which Israel’s high court had ordered cleared by December 25.
Under the deal, the 330 Amona settlers will be moved to a nearby site on land that Israel considers abandoned by its Palestinian owners, but land-ownership claims by Palestinians have already been filed with Israeli authorities. Amona, founded in 1995 near Ramallah in the West Bank, is one of around 100 outposts built illegally but tolerated by the Israeli government.
Faced with the threat of his coalition imploding over the issue, Netanyahu and other parties have been pushed to a compromise that would see Amona evacuated in exchange for parties agreeing to vote to legalise the other illegal outposts.
Following an agreement reached before the vote, Bennett, who along with other stridently pro-settler politicians has been emboldened by the election of Donald Trump as president, signalled that he believed the vote should mark the final end of the two-state solution. Bennett described the agreement and planned vote as a “historic day” on which the two-state solution had been buried.
“Today, the Israeli Knesset shifted from a path to establish a Palestinian state to a path of extending sovereignty to Judea and Samaria [as Israel calls the occupied Palestinian territories]. Let there be no doubt: the regulation bill is what will spearhead the extension of [Israeli] sovereignty.”
However, a clause originally in the law that would have retroactively overturned the court decision to demolish Amona, was removed as part of the deal. The new version of the legislation gives settlers usage rights to privately owned Palestinian land, but not ownership rights.
In a sign of Netanyahu’s growing weakness against the far right in his coalition, he apologised to the Amona settlers in a meeting of his Likud party. “I want to apologise to all those who were developing hope. We are working extremely hard in order to find a solution to Amona, and I believe that everybody who sits here understands the difficulties of the residents,” said at the meeting.
The vote was quickly condemned by the UN envoy for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, who said the legislation “has the objective of protecting illegal settlements built on private Palestinian property in the West Bank. It is a very worrying initiative. I encourage Israeli legislators to reconsider such a move, which would have far-reaching legal consequences across the occupied West Bank”.Wearables — Hype or Hope? Top 10 Trends in Wearables
Justin Lawler Blocked Unblock Follow Following Nov 16, 2016
Wearable technology has earned a poor reputation recently, with headlines suggesting that 50% of users give up on the new tech item purchased in 3–6 months.
While there’s been a good deal of disappointment, wearable technology usage is still very much in its early phases. New trends are emerging that will propel the growth of wearables into the mainstream. These new directions are being catalysed by the decisions companies are making, and in the fields, such as elite sports and healthcare, that they are most applicable to.
These trends can be found in sports and technology conferences, in communities like the Quantified Self and on sites following the latest product releases.
The following are some of the trends that will be driving wearable usage mainstream over the coming years.
1. Fashion
Until now, wearables have appealed primarily to fitness and tech users, partially due to their aesthetics. This is changing. With Samsung Gear S2, Fossil, and even Tag Heuer, the latest batch of smartwatches have real style, but with smart functionality.
There is smart jewellery available that combines alerts, NFC, and even heart rate monitoring. Ringly can notify users of phone calls, SMS’s or any other alerts. The Oura ring will even track your steps, heart rate, and sleep.
2. Invisible Wearable’s
Wearable technology is becoming increasingly invisible, removing the pain points of putting on devices every morning, and simultaneously making them more appealing to the non-techie.
At the One Zero conference in Dublin, speakers were talking about the importance of making the gathering of information from athletes as painless as possible. Smart fabrics are being widely used now to gather metrics from athletes during training. Companies like Hexoskin, Ralph Lauren, and Under Armour are investing heavily in this space.
Smartwatch straps have all the functionality of the latest fitness trackers but work with existing watches. Smart straps are being developed by big names (i.e. Mont Blanc) and Kickstarter start-ups, like uBirds.
3. Smarter Wearable’s
Wearable devices are becoming smarter, and the intelligence of apps is improving, as well.
Most of the latest wearables, such as the Jawbone Up3, Fitbit, and Pebble, are designed with built-in ‘idle’ detection. For desk-bound office workers, idle alerts are arguably better for overall health than the daily 10k step goal.
The apps in the wider ecosystem are getting smarter. New apps being released, like AddApp, integrate data from multiple devices, including your phone, and even social media accounts. AddApp analyzes the data to give you personalised suggestions that help you meet your goals.
What does the future hold? Increased personalised recommendations based on your habits and lifestyle, improved contextual recommendations (think pill reminders after dinner, as opposed to at precisely 7:00 PM), and more relevant data streams — like a suggestion to pack rain gear in the morning if rain is forecast for the evening.
4. More Sensors
Wearables are no longer just about measuring steps with gyroscopes. The latest devices have continuous video, heart rate, and stress levels.
In healthcare, continuous glucose monitors are revolutionising the management of Type 1 diabetes.
Skin patches are being developed to detect chemicals in the body. The ‘Chem-Phys’ patch will detect lactate levels in the body, which is useful for athletes, or patients with heart disease.
Ingestibles, small devices meant to be swallowed, allow internal examination of patients and are already available to measure the internal temperature. Jawbone is currently developing the next generation, yet to be released. Future generations could aid in treatment by monitoring reactions to medications.
5. Augmented Reality
Already used by the US Airforce for over thirty years, augmented reality is going mainstream. Pokémon GO is just the beginning. Augmented reality will revolutionise how we interact with just about everything, from navigation to personalised advertisements.
Google Glass may not have been a success mainstream, but it’s paving the way for the next generation. It has found useful niches, like being used by doctors to speed up access to patient records and improve communications from the emergency room to other hospital departments.
Microsoft HoloLense is the next generation of augmented reality glasses, currently in development, and should be shipping this month ($3,000).
Backed by Google, Magic Leap can superimpose 3D objects into the environment in incredibly dramatic ways and goes even beyond the capabilities of the Microsoft HoloLense.
6. Sports
Wearables were big at the One Zero conference on sports and technology, and how leveraging data from wearables are part of the strategy for many top ranking teams — from Rio 2016 to basketball. Mounir Zok from TeamUSA talked about some of the ways that the innovation department played a pivotal role in getting 121 medals for the country.
One of the top trends out of sports technology is smart fabrics, which can gather more detailed data from athletes — data like stress and exhaustion levels. Smart fabrics are also painless to use for the athletes, wearing them just like traditional sports clothing.
Smart sensors are being used to track everything, from bikes to synchronised divers, and even boxers. 3D sensors allow coaches to analyse the performance of the athletes to gain a better overall idea of where they need to improve.
These technologies are solving real world problems, not just improving performance, but also monitoring athlete stress levels. Overtraining is a major problem in sports and can take an athlete out of training for up to six months. There is also Sudden Adult Death Syndrome of players on the field. Monitoring stress levels in athletes will potentially reduce the chances of this.
7. Digital Health
Wearables are becoming increasingly prevalent in personal health care. It’s still early, but this area is set to explode over the coming years, as data streams monitoring 247 will be able to track patients conditions or even pre-emptively diagnose conditions.
Passive monitoring of patients is already diagnosing patients earlier than was possible before. The sleep sensor ResMed S+ has been out a while now, and can effectively diagnose sleep conditions, like sleep apnea.
Diabetes 1 patients now have continuous 24/7 glucose monitors that are changing the lives of people with diabetes. A growing movement is taking this technology further, ‘hacking diabetes’, DIY solution designs showing how to connect insulin pumps to continuous glucose monitors to reduce the need for self-injections. These ‘bionic pancreases’ are in development by individuals who are not waiting any longer for medical companies to develop similar products (which will still require passing FDA approval).
Wearable apps have also been developed for epileptic patients to monitor, and even predict seizures. Wearables have also been developed to monitor elderly in case of falling, drug adherence, or periods of inactivity.
With all these innovations in digital health, it’s also becoming more regulated. Apple has just recently introduced changes to the rules to the app |
some places.
Oil prices have been on this rise this year as OPEC reduces output by 1.2 million barrels per day in order to close the supply glut in international markets. OPEC’s compliance to the cuts has remained above 90 percent through the life of the pact, encouraging market fundamentals to recover over the course of 11 months. Last week, the bloc decided to extend the cuts through the end of 2018, guaranteeing price growth as long as members and their Non-OPEC allies continue compliance.
By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:AMD has officially launched their Radeon R9 290 graphic card today which is the second card to feature the GCN powered Hawaii GPU core. The Radeon R9 290 comes with the same Hawaii GPU which was featured on the R9 290X last month which currently dominates the $549 market range bringing absolutely stellar performance at a cheaper price range compared to its competition.
Hawaii Erupts Again – AMD Radeon R9 290 Rises From The Ashes!
With the launch finally taking place, its time to get down and talk about the specifications of the latest Hawaii graphic card briefly. You can see the reviews from various tech sites in the following links provided:
AMD Radeon R9 290X Review @ TechPowerUp
AMD Radeon R9 290X Review @ PCPerspective
AMD Radeon R9 290X Review @ Anandtech
AMD Radeon R9 290X Review @ HardwareCanucks
AMD Radeon R9 290X Review @ HardOCP
AMD Radeon R9 290X Review @ KitGuru
AMD Radeon R9 290X Review @ Semiaccurate
AMD Radeon R9 290X Review @ HotHardware
AMD Radeon R9 290X Review @ Hexus
AMD Radeon R9 290X Review @ LegitReviews
AMD Radeon R9 290X Review @ Computerbase
AMD Radeon R9 290X Review @ Sweclockers
AMD Radeon R9 290X Review @ TechReport
AMD Radeon R9 290X Review @ Expreview
AMD Radeon R9 290X Review @ VR-Zone
The Radeon R9 290 comes with 2560 Stream processors which means only 40 CU’s enabled on this Hawaii part. As for clock speeds, we are looking at 947 MHz max frequency which is yet again adjustable from the Dual BIOS switch with which you can enable Quiet mode or Uber mode depending on your usage. For memory, we have 4 GB GDDR5 VRAM running across a 512-bit interface that will pump out 320 GB/s bandwidth at a clock speed of 5.0 GHz.
The Radeon R9 290 will be powered with an 8+6 Pin power configuration which represents a TDP of over 250W. The display outputs include Dual-DVI, HDMI and Display port with Eyefinity compatibility and just like its bigger brother, it is supposed to run games at 4K resolution with ease. The Radeon R9 290 is available in the market as of now for a price of around $399.
The results we are looking at shows that the Radeon R9 290 is just a few percentages ahead of the GeForce GTX 780 at reference clocks but performance surpasses the GeForce GTX Titan when overclocked. The most notable thing here is that the temperatures between the R9 290X and R9 290 are same featuring the same cooler and has two profiles (Uber/Quiet Modes). The TDP of the card is around 250W and you can see the performance and Frame Rating test in the charts at the bottom of this article.
AMD Radeon R9 290 Series Specifications:
AMD Radeon R9 290X AMD Radeon R9 290 GeForce GTX 780 GeForce GTX Titan GPU Codename Hawaii Hawaii GK110 GK110 GPU Process 28nm 28nm 28nm 28nm Stream Processors 2816 2560 2304 2668 Base Clock 800 MHz 900 MHz 863 MHz 837 MHz Turbo Clock 1000 MHz 947 MHz 902 MHz 876 MHz VRAM 4 GB 4 GB 3 GB 6 GB Memory Bus 512-Bit 512-Bit 384-Bit 384 Bit Memory Clock 5 GHz (effective) 5 GHz
(effective) 6 GHz (effective) 6 GHz (effective) Power Configuration 8+6 Pin 8+6 Pin 8+6 Pin 8+6 Pin PCB VRM 5+1+1 5+1+1 6+2 6+2 Die Size 438mm2 438mm2 551mm2 551mm2 Launch Date 24th October 2013 5th November 2013 23rd June 2013 21st February 2013 Launch Price $549 $399 $649 $999
AMD Radeon R9 290 Performance Slides:Welcome to Official-Typing-Test.com - Measure your average typing speed with our free data entry tests. 1, 3, or 5 minute typing tests.
This site is designed to be the most realistic timed typing test on the internet. Prepare for your employment skills test by typing full sentences and real paragraphs. Unlike some other sites, you will not be forced to correct your errors or prevented from using the backspace key. You will not be alerted of your errors until the time is over, and we don't have a distracting WPM meter next to the test. Another feature of the test is the fact that the text you are typing does not line up with the words that you are reading. Typing games can be a great way to learn, but this is the place for adults and older children to judge their true WPM and accuracy.
Choose a link below to get started.
Sign Up or Log In if you want to save your scores and get your personal typing certificate.
Our WPM tests use over 20 paragraphs chosen at random, and your choice of 1, 3, or 5 minute timed typing tests. You can use a single space or double spacing after periods. When you are finished, any uncorrected errors will turn red and the correct spelling will be shown next to the error.
The 'Ten Key' data entry tests are for people who need to practice typing on the number pad. These tests measure your speed in KPM (keystrokes per hour), the standard for data entry employment tests.
All of our timed WPM tests use content that is free and not under copyright law in the United States. For more information on this, and to see how your WPM and accuracy are calculated, see our 'help' page.The rise of electric cars will give us new ways to accidentally offend others. An example is a recent incident of an electric car driver, in search of a charging station at which to recharge his car, unplugged another electric car while it was being recharged. The incident may have gone unnoticed with nothing more than an irritated post on a discussion forum, except that the victim was Forbes staffer Todd Woody whose ability to write an entertaining little rant made it into the news stream.
Woody is currently testing a Ford Focus Electric and had driven to Berkeley CA, where the car was plugged into a charging station while he waited at a Cafe. Upon receiving a text message the car had been unplugged unexpectedly, he went back to the parking garage to find a Coda electric sedan next to the Focus Electric, and that the Coda was now plugged into the charging station. The Coda in question was one of the manufacturer demo cars used by Coda of Silicon Valley. This led to some back-and-forth between Woody, and Coda's PR department, who apologized profusely for the incident. What's more important in this case is not the identity of who did what to whom, but the bigger picture status of electric car adoption, electric car recharging infrastructure, and the etiquette of electric car ownership. These sorts of incidents are already happening everywhere electric cars exist, and will happen more frequently as the numbers of electric cars increase.
The San Francisco Bay Area is the home to a lot of electric cars today, but electric car recharging infrastructure deployment is lagging behind other areas. One can see this simply by using smart phone apps like Recargo, and browse around the country looking at the number of charging stations in each metropolitan area. The SF Bay Area clearly has fewer than some other areas. In particular the cities of Berkeley, Albany and El Cerrito, an area whose residents are infamous for environmental sensitivity, have one and only one public recharging station. The one which Todd Woody was using that day.
See Tijuana to British Columbia in a Nissan Leaf in 8 days for another take on the state of electric car recharging infrastructure in California versus Washington State and Oregon.
The electric car recharging station infrastructure has a ways to go before there's enough coverage for even the current electric car owners, much less coming electric car owners. An etiquette for charging station usage will facilitate making the best use of electric car charging resources.
It's not just electric car owners who must learn the etiquette, it is also gasoline car owners. Electric car charging stations are parking spots in which a charging station is involved, and access to these parking spaces are just as important to electric car owners as is handicapped parking important to those with handicaps.
All electric cars should have preference over plug-in hybrid cars: While a plug-in hybrid car can use electric car charging stations, it is the all electric car owners who are absolutely dependent on access to charging stations. The plug-in hybrid car can recharge its battery pack from the gasoline engine. Owning a plug-in hybrid car is laudable, but ask ones self, which car owner has the deepest need for that charging station, the electric car owner, or the plug-in hybrid owner?
Non-plugin cars do not belong in electric car charging spaces and Hybrid cars are not electric cars: A non-plug-in car parked in an electric car charging spot is said to have ICE'd the parking spot (ICE: Internal Combustion Engine). These cars are unable to use the charging station, and block electric car owners from using the station. It seems that hybrid car owners are sometimes proud of owning their hybrid car, and have developed the idea that the phrase "electric cars" includes hybrid cars. While hybrid car ownership is laudable, a hybrid car parked in an electric car charging space blocks electric car owners from using that space. The plug-in hybrid cars (the Chevy Volt and Prius Plug-In) can use charging stations, but normal hybrid cars cannot.
Electric cars should be parked in an EV charging spot only while charging: An electric car owner may think electric car parking is some kind of privilege for electric car owners, but in reality it is a convenience for those who need to recharge their car. Owning an electric car does not give a right to park in an electric car charging spot, instead it is the need to recharge that gives that right.
When your electric car is done charging, move it so other electric cars can use the charging station: To reiterate, the need to recharge ones car gives the right to park an electric car in an electric car charging spot. Charging stations are still a scarce resource, and we must remember how to share.
This piece of advice might be easy to follow if you're at work, and can easily go outside to move your car. But what about an electric car parked in long term parking at an airport while the owner is away on a long trip? The car may be fully charged 3 hours after the owner leaves, and will occupy the charging station until the owner returns. There's not much we, an electric car owner taking an airplane trip, can do about this, instead it is up to the airport to provide enough charging outlets. Long term parking is one example of a perfect situation for slow speed 120 volt charging, and the extreme low price of 120 volt power outlets makes it easy to install dozens of these power outlets.
Place a notice placard in your electric car window: As a courtesy to other electric car owners, leaving a note in your car window giving your phone number can let them get ahold of you if there are concerns or problems. The EV Charger News placard is a good example: http://www.evchargernews.com/chargeprotocolcard.pdf
Look at indicator lights to see if a car is still charging before unplugging it: All the electric cars have lights indicating how fully recharged the car is. Unfortunately each automaker has its own idea of the best way to indicate how fully recharged a car is. Unfortunately in some cases the lights turn themselves off, making harder to determine if the car is recharging or if the lights are just off for some reason. In any case, the idea is to, before unplugging a car that's charging, to have an idea if the car is fully recharged yet. Unplugging a fully charged car is at most a minor annoyance.
Placing notes on cars who ICE an electric car charging space: Electric car owners sometimes get irate when a charging station is ICED. We sometimes wish to turn into the Incredible Hulk and start smashing things. An angry note left on a car might give a momentary rush of power, but will that nastygram help with relationships between gasoline and electric car owners? No.
Safety first: Be careful with how you run the charging cord, taking care to run the cord in a way to avoid others from tripping over it.
The legal status of any limits or control over electric car charging station usage is spotty at best. The etiquette over handicapped parking usage is well understood everywhere, with fairly uniform laws across the country. While California has a law concerning electric car charging station usage, most locations do not.
With this sort of etiquette we can share the electric car recharging stations until such time as the powers that be install enough stations.Posted by
Armen Bedakian,
April 14, 2013 Email
Armen Bedakian Twitter @ArmenBedakian
The Good
Earnshaw’s fifth and Richter’s debut worth noting
Goalscorer Earnshaw
Five goals in six games, leading the league in scoring alongside the LA Galaxy’s Mike Magee, is there any stopping Robert Earnshaw? His first “goal” was counted offside, which was evident on the replay, but that didn’t deter Earnshaw from scoring the exact same goal later on. Earnshaw’s ability to flick the ball over the goalkeeper is a wonderful trait.
Goalkeeping Bendik
What a performance! Bendik is a keeper, through and through, in both definitions of the word; he is an undeniable number one for Toronto FC, and a great pick-up in a trade that saw Ryan Johnson and Milos Kocic head over to Portland. Each save was thought out, every ball was handled with skill, and Bendik’s one flaw, his tendency to kick the ball out the sides without meaning to, seemed to occur less frequently, too.
Richter Impresses
Darel Russell had come under scrutiny in his first two games for Toronto FC – volley goal aside, of course – but Ryan Richter was strong on his debut for the club. Replacing Russell who went down with an injury, Richter took no time to adjust to the pace of the game, showing off his decent defensive capabilities and settling in well on the right hand side.
The Bad
Referee Sorin Stoica, Ladies and Gents
The Cards
Nine yellow cards, one red card, most of it the result of a game that was unnecessarily rough and most of which went to Toronto FC players. Consider that two thirds of the yellow cards were flashed toward Toronto FC red when the foul count between the two was 17 Philadelphia, 18 Toronto, and you see the huge disparity in terms of referee parity in this match. As for Morgan’s red card? That second yellow was a bit of a stretch.
The Calls
This match was not played in any traditional sense; much of the game was split up between free kicks, foul kicks, throw-ins and corners (for Philadelphia). The amount of dead ball situations made the whole encounter stale, and the referee’s refusal to play advantage for either side made for frustrated players throughout.
The Added Time
Why is it that when Toronto FC heads into the 90 minute mark with a lead, the added time sits at minimum four minutes? Watch any other game of football in Major League Soccer and you’ll see that this isn’t a normal trend; when the Galaxy hold a lead, the added time wavers between two and three. Also, five minutes means five minutes, not seven.
The Ugly
As Toronto FC fans experienced over the past two weeks, a draw can feel very different based on the order of goals. When down, a draw can feel like a late rally and, well, a victory. When up, a draw can feel like a blown chance and has the same bitter aftertaste as a loss. One point gained may be the optimistic way of looking at it, but against Philadelphia, a last-minute draw feels much, much more different than the one against Los Angeles.
For one thing, against the Galaxy, the game was well-contested and, in truth, Toronto were battling above their weight; against Philadelphia, Stoica turned the game of soccer into a game of NFL football, favouring his whistle for every challenge. It would not surprise me if Dan Dunleavy gave us a “Philadelphia, third down, trying for the Hail Mary!” before the goal.
Stoica doesn’t get marked into the ugly column: this particular game of soccer does. There was none of the movement, the skill or the fluidity of a game of soccer; this was an exercise in physicality and foul kicks.
This was an ugly game.
Quoteworthy
“The sending off was a major factor for us, it was a very inexperienced decision by the referee. The guys looking at the ball, he’s gone up, gone to header it, and nothing happened. Then again, he was just showing real lack of experience out in the middle, but I suppose that’s what happens.”
“Unfortunately, it was inexperience from the referee, probably cost us three points today.”
– Ryan Nelsen on Sorin Stoica, post-game.The National Weather Service is predicting another round of snow systems starting Friday and lasting through at least the weekend that could affect most of our state.
Our crews will continue to pre-treat highways and plow and treat roads during winter weather events. We prioritize the highest-traveled routes, working to keep at least one lane as clear as possible. That said, if heavy snow is falling, there's only so much we can do and it will affect roadways. Roads will be slick, bridges/ramps/overpasses will be icy, collisions will increase and traffic will be challenging: https://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2017/11/d...
That's where you come in. In conditions like this, travelers must be sure they and their vehicles are prepared for winter conditions.
What does that mean?
•Slow down. Seriously. We can't say this enough. Slow down. At these low temperatures, even if a road appears to be clear, it could be icy. With the low temperatures we've had this week, roads will also ice up quicker than normal once new rain or snow starts to fall. Other than not traveling at all, there is no better way to be safe in these conditions than lowering your speed and being cautious. And remember, 4-wheel drive and all-wheel drive doesn't mean you can steer or stop better on ice.
•In addition to slowing down, build in extra time for any travel. You and everyone else need to take it slow, so your normal commute time won't be enough. It's no fun leaving earlier than normal, but it's far better than worrying about your time while also dealing with snow and ice.
•If you can, think about adjusting or cancelling weekend travel plans. Consider heading home a little earlier than usual Friday to ensure you get there before any snow starts falling, for example, or delay weekend plans to later in the month.
•Be sure your vehicle is in good shape. Check your tires. Be sure you have a full tank of gas. Clear all the snow and ice off your vehicle, including your roof. Snow can fly off the back at other drivers or even fall forward and suddenly cover your windshield.
•Give each other space. Increase following distance, work together, signal your intentions. Work to keep everyone safe.
•Give road crews as much space as possible. This includes snow plows and emergency responders. It's safer for you and it's safer for them. And the safer they can work, the quicker than can get an incident cleared.
•Be patient. Traffic could be slow. Crews may take a while to get to your area. Everyone is working hard, everyone wants to get where they're going safely. Take your time, set realistic expectations and remember that it's always better to get somewhere safely than quickly.
Keep in mind that we don't maintain every road in the state. Our jurisdiction is primarily state highways. While we coordinate with partners in local cities and counties, we don't typically maintain city and county streets and roads. If you have concerns about those areas, please contact those local jurisdictions.
If you get in a collision, your vehicle stalls out or for whatever reason you get stuck on a highway, please don't abandon your vehicle. It is never safe to walk on a state highway, especially in icy and snowy conditions. If possible, pull off the highway or to a shoulder and wait for law enforcement or an emergency responder to come assist you. Abandoned vehicles also hamper our ability to plow and keep roadways clear.
If you are unsure of your ability to drive on snow and ice, go with that feeling and if at all possible, don't travel during these storms. The safest thing you can do is to stay off the roads.
We'll have crews working before and through any storms, but we also need your help. With some preparation and adjustments, we can all get through this weather event safely.
Tamara Greenwell
WSDOT Communications
360-905-2056The Book Thief
Young Adult
Ages 12 and up
By Markus Zusak
576 pages
Alfred A. Knopf
2006
Markus Zusak has published five books. I am the Messenger, published in 2002, received rave reviews and won multiple awards. The Book Thief, his most recent and even more highly regarded, has been translated into thirty languages. The book is broken into parts—each containing short chapters peppered with important information in bolded notes—making the nearly six hundred pages move swiftly.
Told from the perspective of Death, the story takes place in a fictional German town on the outskirts of Munich during World War II. Though it’s best not to get involved—Death is there to do a job, not get wrapped up in life—Death takes a special interest in the life of nine-year-old Leisel Meminger. It is through Death’s eyes that we experience the events of Leisel’s life.
Death first met Leisel when he came to take her younger brother Werner. The two were on a train with their mother who was taking them to their new home. No longer able to provide for them, she was surrendering her children to foster care. Their father had long since disappeared; the only clue to his absence was a single word, always whispered, “kommunist.” Because of Werner’s death, the shrinking, fractured family was forced to disembark at the next station and bury his body. It was at his funeral that the book thief, Leisel, acquired her first book, The Gravedigger’s Handbook, which had been dropped in the snow by a careless worker.
When Leisel first arrived at the home of her foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann, she refused to exit the car. Her new mama and papa could not seem more different from each other, in appearance or temperament. Rosa, a short, stout, rough and loud woman instantly resorted to yelling and swearing at the child; something Leisel must grow accustomed to. But tall and slender Hans, with his calm, soothing, patient words and kind, silvery eyes, was able to coax the small girl out of the car and into her new home.
Leisel’s days consisted of being teased at school (she could not yet read), adventures with Rudy Steiner (her classmate and neighbor who was constantly begging for a kiss, but who also became her best friend) and Rosa’s constant criticism. Rosa did the laundry and ironing for many of the local residents and Leisel was charged with pick-ups, deliveries and collecting the money.
As the beginning of the war approached, Rosa lost more and more customers as citizens were being urged by the government to spend less, tighten their belts and support the war effort. Among Rosa’s customers were the mayor and his wife; it was from their house that the book thief stole her third book. Her second book was not stolen as much as it was rescued from the fires of a book burning. These books come to mean everything to Leisel, and on a few occasions they come to mean quite a lot to some others as well.
Leisel’s nights were comprised of horrific nightmares, which returned the broken girl to the scene of her brother’s death and the loss of her entire family. But the nights were also filled with Hans’s comforting presence. He was determined to show Leisel love and devotion. He spent his nights by her side for as long as she needed him. If she slept, he slept—upright in a chair in her room. If she woke, he woke and would work to take her mind off the terrors that shook her. The two began to pass the wakeful times with reading lessons. They started with The Gravedigger’s Handbook.
Hans was a painter by trade and supplemented his meager income by playing accordion in the local pubs. As the war approached, Hans had trouble finding work, in part because he refused to join the Nazi party; no one wanted to be found patronizing a business owned by someone who was not a member of the party. Hans began to realize that by not joining the party he was drawing unwanted attention. Though he truly wanted no part of the new order, he decided to apply for membership. Everything about Hans’s life needed to appear perfectly normal, in the most unnatural of times, because he was about to do something extremely dangerous. Hans had agreed to hide a Jew.
Max Vanderburg was the son of a man who saved Hans’s life in World War I. Hans had vowed to repay the debt to that man’s family if ever there was an opportunity, and Max was that opportunity. This situation would put them all— Hans, Rosa, Leisel and Max—in grave danger. Hans made Leisel well aware of the dangers of being discovered and scared any thought of sharing the secret out of her. Things were difficult before, now the family had to make their meager food and fuel stretch to accommodate one more person. They built a hiding spot in the basement and did their best to make their lives appear as if nothing had changed.
Leisel saw a kindred spirit in Max and the two formed a bond. Like her, he arrived at the Hubermann’s door with nowhere else to turn; he’d lost his whole family, and he suffered from nightmares. Leisel began to spend many of her nights comforting and soothing Max, just as Hans had done for her.
Leisel’s small town saw a lot of the war. It was along the path to the Dachau concentration camp so they saw many Jews being transported, saw how they were treated and saw what happened to people who tried to help them. (Hans suffers quite a beating at the hands of some guards after trying to share bread with a clearly starved Jew.) The town was subject to several warnings of air raids. It was during these raids that Leisel’s books became so much more important.
During an air raid, residents were instructed to take shelter in their basements. If they did not have a basement, or if their basement was too shallow (like the Hubermann’s was) then people would gather in a neighbor’s basement. This often meant several people, adults and children, taking shelter in a small space for several hours waiting for a bomb to be dropped on them.
At Rosa’s encouragement, Leisel began reading aloud during these times. It mattered not what she read, just that everyone had something to focus on, something to occupy their minds and relieve them of their fear. Because they could not bring Max with them during the air raids, Leisel’s reading helped keep her mind off of him—alone, and unsafe—in their shallow basement. After the raids, upon her return home, she would share the events of the evening with Max, including detailed information on the weather and how the sky looked.
Death leads readers through Liesel’s life from 1939, at age nine, to 1943, at age thirteen. Leisel grows from a small, fragile child into a strong, capable girl. She forges friendships and acquires knowledge of things that no person should ever have to learn. Readers also come to understand how very much Hans and Rosa love her, though each expresses it in different ways.
Death briefly visits Leisel again in 1945. Tragedy struck her world with a vengeance during an air raid that provided the bombs the residents had prayed would never arrive. But something good happens, and then something surprising and wonderful happens. Death’s third and final encounter with Leisel occurs when she is an old woman, with a full life behind her. And that’s all I’ll say about it because this book is truly worth reading and I’d prefer readers to enter this world without certain information.
This glimpse of life during the war is about those not often considered: the ordinary citizens of a small German town forced to pledge their loyalty to their country and its quest for world domination. What of those citizens, those who had no allegiance to Hitler or the Nazi party, those who opposed the war, those who had no hatred for Jews? They seemed to only have two choices: fake it and live with the pain of guilt, or speak out and face imprisonment, torture, or death.
Zusak creates a riveting narrative, sprinkled with perfect scenes and poignant moments that readers will linger over and allow to roll through their minds and settle in. I found myself re-reading passages and trying to hold tight to the feelings they stirred in me. And in moments of pure literary perfection I found myself hovering in this world, side by side with these full and flawed and human characters, feeling their joy and terror and heartbreak and relief.
Buy the book!
IndieBound / Powell’s / AmazonSt. Cloud Tech High School ninth grader Hodo Nour talks about Snapchat and Facebook posts made about her that implied she is affiliated with the ISIS terrorist organization.
Updated: 6:25 p.m. | Posted: 12:54 p.m.
Hodo Nour posted the Snapchat photo on Facebook Used with permission
School officials in St. Cloud said Thursday they are responding to the concerns of St. Cloud Technical High School students who walked out of classes Wednesday to protest discrimination against Somali students.
District officials said staff have been meeting in small groups with students and parents. The school's principal, Adam Holm, also addressed the student body Thursday.
The walkout Wednesday followed a posting on Snapchat that showed a Somali student in a wheelchair. A caption on the photo suggested she belonged to ISIS, the terror group based in Iraq and Syria.
"Yesterday, during lunch, I had someone take a picture of me, and write a comment saying 'Disabled ISIS' on it," said Hodo Nour, the student in the photo. She broke her leg last month, and had been using a wheelchair to get around school. Nour stood outside Tech High School as she spoke in a video later posted to YouTube.
"It was not asked for," she went on. "Nobody asked to take a picture of me. It's very rude. And when the guy was confronted, he played it off like he didn't do anything at all."
Other video footage of the protest showed students complaining of repeated insults based on their faith and race, telling school officials that they didn't feel they were being protected or heard when they complained of their treatment by fellow students.
Tami DeLand, a district spokesperson, said that the protest prompted school officials to put Tech High School in "containment" briefly on Wednesday. She said it involved enhanced security, but that classes continued during the containment.
She also said that school officials are addressing students' concerns. DeLand said that the district has a strong policy for dealing with bullying among students, and that the policy might apply in this case.
St. Cloud Technical High School students gather outside the school Wednesday. More than 100 students and a few parents protested racially charged social media posts and other incidents. Dave Schwarz | St. Cloud Times via AP
"It's very clear-cut that the administration takes this seriously," DeLand said. "There is a systematic way, a procedure to go through, to do this, and that's how this will be handled and it's how all incidents like this will be handled."
Abdul Kulane, a Somali community leader and one-time St. Cloud City Council candidate, said district officials didn't have an immediate plan of action when he met with them Thursday, but that he hoped they would have a better response by next week.
"We want the students to be welcome in the school district... and we want this to happen to all the students, regardless of where they are from, their religion, regardless of how they appear and dress," Kulane said in an interview on MPR News. "Students are feeling that they do not belong to the school when they are bullied, and they were mocked and they were harassed on social media."
St. Cloud schools came under federal scrutiny several years ago over treatment of Somali students.
St. Cloud State University professor Luke Tripp said he sees more conflict as the predominantly white city sees a growing population of people of color.
"That's why there's such a clash, when you're dealing with 1950s kind of mentality here," Tripp said.
But school officials said the mentality is changing. Long time school board member and former chairman Jerry Von Korff said St. Cloud schools are listening to students and families. Von Korff said pushing back against racism is "one of our four primary strategic goals. That includes Somali students. That includes white students."
The district also put St. Cloud's Apollo High School in "containment" Thursday, in response to the incident at Tech High. Both schools have about 1,400 students. The district has about a 40 percent minority student population.
"It is important to remember that as a school community, our central role is to serve as educators," St. Cloud Area School District superintendent Willie Jett said in a news release Thursday. "In that role, we work every day to assist our students in navigating the complex issues of race and culture in a manner that increases awareness, understanding, equity and a sense of community for all students and families. It is also our responsibility to make sure that all students feel safe at school."
The Minnesota Department of Education said it was reaching out to the St. Cloud district "to see what resources we can offer to ensure this is properly addressed," said department spokesperson Josh Collins.
In an incident that St. Cloud police said was not connected to the protest, Tech student Redwan Mahamed Shire, 19, was arrested at the school Wednesday afternoon. Shire "pushed and threatened to assault a school security employee," St. Cloud Police Lt. Jeffrey Oxton said. The incident, he said, happened inside the school. Shire was later released.We’re just beginning to think up the security nightmares around self-driving cars (and those should make some good movies). But a thriller about a hacker takeover of large networks of connected personal medical devices might be just as scary.
And unfortunately, history has shown that if you can think of these scenarios, hackers will usually eventually make them real.
Stationary, wearable, implantable medical devices are already widely used in medicine, and with the advent of the so-called Internet of Things, a great push is on to get them all connected and talking.
When in good hands it will make them far more useful. In the wrong hands, access to — and control over — all those pumps, monitors, regulators, testers, filters, and so on could lead to a very bad day indeed for some unlucky (and unprotected) health system.
The current success rate of hackers attacks on health care industry targets doesn’t provide much reassurance.
A new study from the Atlantic Council, the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, and Intel Security raises these concerns, and more.
“Malicious actors could soon have the same hold here as they do elsewhere so that we could soon see a booming market in medical zero-day exploits, a security hole known to the attackers and for which there is no defense,” the report reads. “This is what the future will look like if security officials and health care organizations do not take the correct steps today.”
“Hacktivists, thieves, spies, and even terrorists seek to exploit vulnerabilities in information technologies to commit crimes and cause havoc,” write report authors Jason Healey, Neal Pollard, and Beau Woods. “… When a networked device is literally plugged into a person, the consequences of cybercrime committed via that device might be particularly personal and threatening.”
Lest you think this danger is far off in the future, remember that hackers have already carried out three successful attacks on large health providers in the past year. Community Health, Anthem, and Premera Blue Cross have each suffered major losses of patient data.
The medical and/or financial data of more than 120 million people has been compromised in more than 1,100 separate breaches since 2009, according to Department of Health and Human Services data.
The report gives the following directives to health care executives, security pros, and regulators:I can barely contain my excitement! A german firm called Tactics Group will be producing a “tacti-cool” version of the German WWII Fallschirmjägergewehr 42 (Paratrooper Rifle 42) aka. FG-42. It will feature all the accessories found on modern rifles.
The new FG-42 will feature polymer furniture, a spring-powered recoil reducing buttstock, AR-15-compatible pistol grip, picatinny rails a fancy muzzle brake. It will be chambered in 7.92x57mm Mauser, the same cartridge as the FG-42. The felt recoil is said to be reduced to about the same as a.223 Remington. The company is working on constructing a magazine with a higher capacity than the standard 20-round FG-42 magazine.
There will be two variants, a carbine model (pictured above) and a rifle length model.
This is the gun I deep down always wanted, I just did not realize it until now 🙂
[ Many thanks to TroubleShooterBerlin for emailing us the photos. ]In a scene straight from a Hollywood script, police in West Palm Beach, Florida have arrested a 19-year-old for pretending to be a fully-licensed doctor who performed medical exams and dispensed medical advice.
Last week, the Palm Beach Narcotics Task Force teamed up with the Florida Department of Health to investigate a complaint of an individual “practicing medicine without a license”, according to a release from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation revealed that the teen had opened a medical office in West |
CAIR’s intimidation tactics, the University cancelled screenings of “Honor Diaries,” a film which details the truth about the brutal violence against women in Muslim countries.
According to Megyn Kelly on the Kelly File, (a great video to watch) numerous screenings of the film have been cancelled due to demands from CAIR including a screening at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor originally scheduled for April 3, 2014.
CAIR and CAIR-MI often demand the cancellation of events they deem “Islamophobic;” a term meant to intimidate and force event organizers into cancellations.
Clearly, the reason for CAIR’s personal attacks on Thompson stem from the fact that as a public interest law firm, TMLC, has led the fight against the threat of Radical Islam and the Stealth Jihad in the courts.
Brooke Goldstein, a human rights attorney, in response to CAIR’s involvement in shutting down the “Honor Diaries” film said, “CAIR operates as the Islamic speech police. It goes around bullying and intimidating anyone who is brave enough to speak publically about the threat of Islam and Islamist terrorism and violence in the Muslim world.”
Goldstein continued, “CAIR has a systematic campaign to go around and target anybody who speaks publically about the threat of militant Islam as Islamophobic.”Cassia Herron lives about three miles away from the vacant plot of land on 18th and Broadway that, until a couple weeks ago, was expected to become a Walmart superstore.
She and thousands of others were looking forward to a place to shop for everyday items in West Louisville. The location was convenient to residents — drivers and bus riders alike.
But Herron was upset by what she calls the lack of transparency of the megachain’s plans to build in the area. And as a planner and community organizer, she says she didn’t like the suburban-style design in an urban locale. So she, and eight others, sued Walmart, arguing it didn’t confirm to city zoning standards.
“As a group, we supported the Walmart,” Herron says. “We supported the Walmart because we believe that West Louisville residents deserve access to retail options as everyone else does.”
Related Story Walmart Is Canceling Plans For A West Louisville Store
Walmart ended up backing out of the plan, of course. It cited delays associated with the lawsuit as a reason.
The West End Walmart was the second development in the area to be halted in three months. Plans for the West Louisville FoodPort were canceled in August.
So, what’s next for 18th and Broadway?
With the promise of a mega-retailer derailed, Herron says she’d like to see another option for the land.
Back to the Start
Another development tried to get footing in the area before Walmart: a mixed-use space called NewBridge Crossing Towne Center. The plan included restaurants, hotels, entertainment venues and housing.
Herron says she wants this type of space for the area in the future.
“The same way this community made sure the Yum Center was built or made sure the Omni was built,” Herron says. “We should have the same sense of urgency for 18th and Broadway to help developers do what’s right at that property.”
But when it comes to polished mixed-use spaces coming to the West End and places like it, it’s complicated.
Mariah Gratz is CEO of the real estate development firm Weyland Ventures, which has remade historic downtown buildings — such as Glassworks and the Henry Clay — into mixed-used spaces. Gratz says mixed-use spaces are more difficult to design and more complicated when it comes to building codes.
“It usually makes them more difficult from a financing perspective,” she says. “Everything about them is a little bit harder.”
That, combined with risk-averse banks, makes it difficult for mixed-use developments to places with relatively little economic activity. Those developments tend to go to neighborhoods that are already booming, partly because banks appraise based on comparable assets in an area.
In a neighborhood with little development, then, appraisers don’t have comparable developments to estimate value.
“It creates a waterfall, so you have to bring more resources to the table to show that this is something that makes sense,” Gratz says.
Those resources include money from developers, investors and incentives, like tax credits.
“What you really need to do is more of an effort around bringing federal, state and local funds to the table in order to minimize that risk taken on by the local bank,” Gratz says.
Finances Not the Only Issue
For some, race and poverty are also primary factors for why new developments don’t get traction in distressed parts of Louisville.
District 1 Metro Councilwoman Jessica Green is a lifelong resident of the West End. She says she was also looking forward to a retail option in the area and agrees there needs to be a sense of urgency for economic development in the West End.
“We really need to put our money when our mouth is,” Green says about investing in struggling areas of the city in our neighborhood. “There’s a tax on being poor and a tax on being black.”
That includes traveling outside the area to shop where money doesn’t start or stay in the West End.
“Until we are willing to stretch ourselves and go out on a limb like we are for other projects in the city to get those done, and incentives are provided and TIFs [Tax Increment Financing] are created,” she says. “This is the kind of thing that happens every day, and we gotta do the same thing for our more urban neighborhoods.”
With little development happening in West Louisville, banks unwilling to take a chance and new tax credits few, a mixed-use development may not be in the immediate future for 18th and Broadway. But there’s hope.
In 2015, the city was awarded $425,000 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to create a plan to revive Russell. This year, HUD granted Louisville Metro Housing Authority $1 million to continue that effort. And Russell is also a finalist for federal a Choice Neighborhood grant eligible for up to $30 million. That could go a long way in bringing new economic development to Russell and other West End neighborhoods.
“There’s a lot of movement in that area now,” Gratz says, adding that Portland is also seeing new investment.
Herron says she looks forward to West Louisville’s future. In an area slowly going through transition, simple assets such as a convenient place to shop are still lacking. But she identifies a much bigger resource missing from the area.
“I think one of the biggest things that’s lacking,” she says, “is identifying the people and the land of West Louisville as assets.”Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nouri Maliki said in his weekly TV address that ''Iraq is today facing a fierce terrorist onslaught''
Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has rejected calls for a national salvation government to help counter the offensive by jihadist-led Sunni rebels.
Such calls represented a "coup against the constitution and an attempt to end the democratic experience", he warned.
The US has led appeals to the country's political leaders to rise above sectarian and ethnic divisions.
Government forces have been unable to recapture the territory seized by the rebels this month.
Almost half of the 300 US military advisers assigned to help the Iraqi security forces have arrived.
Fighting was reported to have continued on Wednesday, with an attack by rebels on the Balad airbase, about 80km (50 miles) north of Baghdad.
Also on Wednesday, a suicide bombing outside the main market in the northern city of Kirkuk left at least two people dead and many more injured.
The city was seized by Kurdish peshmerga fighters on 12 June when the Iraqi army fled in the face of the rebel advance.
At least nine people were also killed in attacks in the town of Mahmudiyah to the south of Baghdad.
'Dangerous goals'
In his weekly televised address, Mr Maliki called on "all political forces to reconcile" in the face of a "fierce terrorist onslaught".
But the Shia prime minister gave no promise of greater representation in government for the minority Sunni Arab community, whose anger at what they say are his sectarian and authoritarian policies has been exploited by jihadist militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis).
Mr Maliki said forming an emergency administration that included all religious and ethnic groups would go against the results of April's parliamentary elections, which were won by his State of Law alliance.
"The dangerous goals of forming a national salvation government are not hidden," he said. "It is an attempt by those who are against the constitution to eliminate the young democratic process and steal the votes of the voters."
Mr Maliki committed to start forming a new governing coalition by 1 July.
Analysis: Richard Galpin, Baghdad
Mr Maliki used his weekly TV address to the nation to make it clear he will not be bulldozed into forming a government which does not take into account the result of the election in April.
He is signalling he intends following the normal constitutional mechanism for forming the new government in the coming weeks.
And that will give his alliance of Shia parties, known as the State of Law, the chance to build a coalition of its choice to secure a parliamentary majority and to select who will be the new prime minister.
It was Mr Maliki's political rival Ayad Allawi who raised the issue of a national salvation government which the prime minister has so firmly rejected.
But it seems Mr Maliki is also firing a warning shot across the bows of the international community.
The United States in particular has been putting intense pressure on him to ensure a new government is formed as quickly as possible, with a broad spectrum of politicians.
One Western diplomat has said it should be a matter of days not weeks.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Government forces have been unable to launch any strategic counter-offensives to drive the rebels back
Image copyright AFP Image caption The rebel offensive has displaced hundreds of thousands of people in northern and western Iraq
Image copyright AFP Image caption Thousands of Iraqi Shia have responded to calls to take up arms and defend their country
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who has just returned from a two-day visit to Baghdad and Irbil, said he would be going to Saudi Arabia on Friday to hold further talks on the crisis.
Mr Kerry said Mr Maliki was "following through" on commitments to move forward on the process of government formation.
Meanwhile, US and Iraqi officials have been quoted as saying they believe Syrian planes struck rebel positions around the border town of Qaim on Tuesday.
The jihadist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) group has been active in the conflict in Syria and now controls territory on both sides of the border.
Air strikes
The 130 US military advisers are setting up a joint military operations room with the Iraqi army in Baghdad and another in the north.
US officials have made it clear that this is not a "rush to the rescue", although the US advisers are in the position to call in air strikes against the militants if it is deemed necessary.
Their primary job is to assess the capabilities of the Iraqi forces and advise on what should be done, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Irbil.
The US intelligence assessment is that the Sunni rebels spearheaded by Isis are capable of holding the territory they have captured.
Iraqi forces have tacitly recognised that, our correspondent adds. They have been unable to launch any strategic counter-offensives.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Sunni fighters: "Baghdad will fall within a month"
They are mainly focusing on two things - harassing the rebels from the air, mainly with attack helicopters, and building up their deployment for the defence of Baghdad, where troop numbers have been doubled.
The Iraqi military's chief spokesman, Gen Qassim Atta, told a news conference on Wednesday that troops were in "full control" of Iraq's largest refinery at Baiji, which has seen repeated clashes in recent days.Dojo Data makes it possible to quickly create web application interfaces and then easily plug-in any data source. It provides an abstraction layer between the user interface and the underlying data source. This allows the user interface developer to focus on the UI without having to worry about database drivers, service endpoints, and unique data formats.
In this example, we will populate a dojox.grid.DataGrid with a JsonRestStore. Then, we’ll replace the JsonRestStore with an XmlStore to show the flexibility of decoupling the UI and your data source.
The data is represented in this JSON-like format:
dataItems = [ { "id": "AF", "name":"Africa", "type":"continent", "population":"900 million", "area": "30,221,532 sq km" }, { "id": "AS", "name":"Asia", "type":"continent", "population":"1 billion", "area": "25,428,192 sq km" }, { "id": "OC", "name":"Oceania", "type":"continent", "population":"21 million", "area": "15,928,294 sq km" }, { "id": "EU", "name":"Europe", "type":"continent", "population":"56 million", "area": "25,928,294 sq km" }, { "id": "NA", "name":"North America", "type":"continent", "population":"100 million", "area": "90,928,294 sq km" }, { "id": "SA", "name":"South America", "type":"continent", "population":"102 million", "area": "78,928,294 sq km" }, { "id": "AN", "name":"Antarctica", "type":"continent", "population":"998", "area": "102,928,294 sq km" } ];
Tip: You may validate your JSON at jsonlint.org.
JsonRestStore interfaces with a data service. For this example we’ll create a mock service. Notice “query” is a parameter but for simplicity, we are ignoring it and just returning all data items regardless of the query.
var mockService = function(query){ var d = new dojo.Deferred(); d.fullLength = dataItems.length; d.callback(dataItems); return d; };
Next, we’ll create the JsonRestStore, giving it a service function and target URL. Again, for this example we’ll ignore the “target” parameter. It is important when later developing with real RESTful services, but not for this simple example.
jsonStore = new dojox.data.JsonRestStore({ service: mockService, target: '/some/url' });
JsonRestStore is well-suited for larger data sets where you don’t want to (or can’t) efficiently transfer the entire data set to the client. JsonRestStore does great server-side interaction.
Finally, let’s declare a dojox.grid.DataGrid where we’ll display the data:
Name Population Area
We can also use the same JsonRestStore to populate a dijit.form.ComboBox:
It’s that easy to put the same data into different UI widgets!
Next, we’ll switch out the JsonRestStore for an XmlStore to show how easy it is to change data formats. The data file:
Africa 900 million 30,221,532 sq km Asia 1 billion 25,428,192 sq km Oceania 21 million 15,928,294 sq km Europe 56 million 25,928,294 sq km North America 100 million 90,928,294 sq km South America 102 million 78,928,294 sq km Antarctica 998 102,928,294 sq km
Then, we create the XML data store;
xmlStore = new dojox.data.XmlStore({ url: 'continents.xml', label: 'name' });
XmlStore is an “in-memory” store for reading XML data sources. It is provided by Dojo and is contained in the DojoX project. XmlStore is a read and write interface to basic XML data, a common data interchange format. The XmlStore is quite useful in that it can work with fairly generic XML documents. The store is designed so that you can override certain functions to get specific custom behaviors to occur when performing reads and saves.
Finally, plug it into the DataGrid.
Name Population Area
Also, update the ComboBox:
Both the Grid and ComboBox continue to work without any code changes to them. The only change needed was to declare the data source and specify it as the input to the grid. There were no issues with retrieving, parsing, and managing the data. The data store API did all the work!
There are many additional ready-to-use data stores, including CsvStore, FileStore, FlickrStore, JsonQueryRestStore, PersevereStore, ServiceStore, WikipediaStore, and more! See the dojox.data directory for a complete listing.
Dojo Data is a powerful, flexible tool. Data stores make it possible to fairly easily switch out both front-end components and back-end implementations without having to change much code. It can be just as easy to switch an existing Dijit with a new one, using the same data store. Multiple Dijits, charts, and grids on a page may also be powered by the same data store instance.
Additional related resources:With one side refusing to show up, opponents of copper-nickel mining on the edge of Minnesota's pristine wilderness packed a hearing Tuesday in the Twin Cities.
A group of 17 organizations that support the mining proposal boycotted the event, while speakers from a crowd of about 1,000 were unanimous in opposing copper-nickel mining in a watershed on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park.
It became their night to talk about the beauty and solitude of a wilderness that not only has become a tradition in some families for generations but supports thriving recreational and tourist businesses. One by one, speakers lined up in the event hall at St. Paul RiverCentre, urging federal officials to ban copper-nickel mining, which they say would threaten the northern forests and lakes.
The listening session was the second of three set up to gather public comment. The first hearing in Duluth in March also drew about 1,000, but they included both mine supporters and opponents.
The hearings are part of what may be a three-year study that will determine whether the federal government will ban copper-nickel mining for two decades in the Superior National Forest.
In December, during the waning days of President Barack Obama's administration, the federal government decided not to renew long-standing leases for mineral exploration on federally owned lands in the watershed and opened the longer-term review of whether to allow mining there.
In seeking public opinion, federal officials were inundated with 20,000 comments via e-mail, mail and phone calls during the first 30 days, prompting them to extend the usual 90-day comment period by another 120 days. Since then, federal officials have received "many tens of thousands more," said Jason Kirchner, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.
"The volume of comments tells how important this is to people everywhere," he said.
Those boycotting Tuesday's event say they'll continue to make their case for mining "loud and clear" at a hearing next week in Virginia, Minn.
"Why must the people with the greatest stake, whose jobs and regional economic viability are at risk, have to keep turning out for these charades?" the group said in a statement. "When was the last time federal agencies held a hearing Up North on projects in the Twin Cities, such as the Green Line or St. Croix River Crossing?"
Organizers of the listening session said they were disappointed by the boycott.
"We want to hear from everyone," Kirchner said.
Even proponents of the ban said they were disappointed the other side didn't show up, arguing it perpetuates divisive rhetoric.
"People who support the Boundary Waters are not anti-mining," said Adam Fetcher, a board member for the Save the Boundary Waters campaign. "I recognize that a lot of people are hurting on the Iron Range because of the economic changes. There are a lot of places to mine, just not near the Boundary Waters."
Bob Tammen of Soudan, who spent years working in the mining industry, spoke Tuesday against copper-nickel mining on the edge of the wilderness.
"It's just not worth destroying wetlands, because we don't have a good enough reputation restoring them when things go wrong," he said.
Mining as a method of economic development fails, Tammen said.
"I go back to all the places where I earned a decent paycheck in the mining industry and I don't see towns that are thriving," he said. Instead, automation has slashed mining jobs and towns have suffered as schools close and city parks are overgrown with weeds.
"Mining has failed to create healthy communities," Tammen said.
While mining proponents say the area is in desperate need of more jobs, those in favor of the ban are making a jobs argument as well. Some 200 outdoor businesses, from California-based Patagonia to Ely-based Piragis Northwoods Co., have formed a coalition to argue that northern Minnesota's pristine lakes and forests are an economic engine that deserve protection. Altogether in Minnesota, outdoor recreation generates $11.6 billion in consumer spending and 116,000 jobs, according to data from the national Outdoor Industry Association.
For now, only one company — Twin Metals Minnesota, a subsidiary of Chilean mining giant Antofagasta — is affected by the ban. It was actively exploring federal lands for copper-nickel as it developed a plan for a $2.8 billion underground mine and waste-storage facilities on the Kawishiwi River just outside the BWCA. Last fall, Twin Metals sued the federal agencies, claiming they had no right to deny the company's renewal of two mineral leases it's held for decades.
Mary Lynn Smith • 612-673-4788For all its intellectual might, Columbia seemingly cannot find a way to win a football game.
On a weekend in which the Ivy League will be front and center, with ESPN’s “College GameDay” broadcasting from the Harvard-Yale game in Boston, Columbia will take a 20-game losing streak into its season finale at Brown on Saturday. It is the worst stretch since the program, which has been associated with decades of failure, dropped 44 contests in a row from 1983 to 1988. The Lions have been outscored, 348-96, in nine losses this year, including six in the Ivy League.
The team’s woes are so severe that Lee C. Bollinger, the university president, sent a letter to football alumni on Thursday in which he promised a comprehensive review of the program while offering support for Coach Peter Mangurian, who has two years remaining on a five-year contract.
“Columbia football should be, and must be, competitive within the values of Ivy League athletics,” Bollinger wrote.
Bollinger announced the hiring of Rick Taylor, a former football coach and athletic director, to oversee the review. Bollinger said the need to revitalize the program, which won its only Ivy League title in 1961, would be a “key topic of conversation” in the pursuit of a new athletic director to succeed M. Dianne Murphy, who previously announced she would leave in June.Pin 126 Yum 126 Shares
Stuffed and Fried Zucchini Blossoms are unquestionably the best appetizer I’ve had so far. Blossoms are stuffed with cheese and shrimps then dipped into a batter and deep fried. What a combination! These are so good! Out of this world! Truly addictive! I need to make them more often. Well, until their season ends.
You can’t imagine how I was happy when I saw these lovely flowers at our local bazaar the other day. These are not very popular in this city, so I hadn’t had a chance of cooking with them before. I ate zucchini blossoms stuffed with spicy rice and cooked in a pot with olive oil just like other Turkish stuffed vegetables. They were amazing! I learnt that this is one of the two most well-known methods of cooking zucchini (or squash) blossoms. I was looking for some rare recipes though.
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So I asked friends at instagram and facebook what to make with zucchini blossoms. Two commonly suggested recipes were rice stuffed blossoms and deep fried blossoms. One of my facebook friends (Thank you Irina!)shared 3 different recipes that are all intriguing and I will try them later for sure. Those recipes reminded me of another recipe I had seen before on my favorite Turkish food blog, Dokuzuncu Bulut. I met the lovely woman behind that blog last summer and we became friends. She always shares unique recipes on her blog and the one for zucchini blossoms took my attention with the title: Karides ve Peynirli Kabak Çiçeği (Zucchini Blossoms with Shrimps and Cheese). Thank you Aslı Abla for this to-die-for appetizer and inspiring me for these shrimp cheese stuffed and fried zucchini blossoms!
I didn’t follow the original recipe though, I made some changes and made these Stuffed and Fried Zucchini Blossoms my way. First I cooked shrimps in a garlic tomato sauce and let it cool down. If you are interested, in the original recipe shrimps are boiled in water with bay leaf, lemon zest, salt and garlic until they turn reddish and drained.
Then comes the cheese mixture. You can use whatever cheese you like. I used a special Turkish cheese curd called ‘Lor’, which is low fat and saltless. You can replace it with goat cheese, feta or mozzarella. To give the cheese a little more flavor, I mixed it with a little lemon juice and chopped parsley. Add the cooked shrimps in this cheese mixture and stuff the flowers carefully. Try not to tear them when stuffing. Don’t worry if you tear though. Just gently squeeze it in your palm. It will be okay when dipped into the batter.
I prepared the frying batter using flour, beer, salt and chili powder as told in the recipe, but I changed the amounts since I had fewer flowers. Dip stuffed blossoms into this batter and deep fry. Serve hot.
I guarantee everyone in your family will be hooked by these shrimp cheese stuffed and fried zucchini blossoms when you try.
Stuffed and Fried Zucchini Blossoms ★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews Zucchini blossoms stuffed with shrimps and cheese. Then deep fried. Author: zerrin
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 2 Ingredients 10 zucchini blossoms, washed and dried well. Shrimp filling: 1 cup frozen shrimps
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tomatoes, pureed
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt to taste Cheese filling: 1 cup cheese of your choice (cheese curd, goat cheese, ricotta, feta or mozzarella)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon lemon, if you are using a saltless cheese Batter: 1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
3/4 cup beer
1 cup sunflower oil for frying Instructions Heat a pan over high heat and toss in the shrimps. Let them release water. Cook until they turn reddish and drain. Put 1 tablespoon olive oil in the pan and toss in the shrimps, pureed tomatoes and chopped garlic. Cook until the tomato sauce thickens. Season with salt. Let it cool down. In a medium bowl combine cheese, parsley and lemon juice. Add in cooked and cold shrimps. Prepare the batter whisking flour, salt, chili and beer. Set aside. Stuff zucchini blossoms carefully with about a tablespoon of filling mixture. Squeeze gently in your palm to give them firmness. Heat oil in a deep pot. Carefully dip each stuffed blossom into the batter and place into hot oil. Repeat with the rest. Fry until golden, for about 2 minutes. Transfer onto paper towel and serve hot.How much do you know? Test your knowledge of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Take the quiz
In 2010, doctors will diagnose more children with an autism spectrum disorder than with childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. The public television special "Decoding Autism" looks at the devastating neurodevelopmental disorder that leaves families heartbroken, vulnerable and desperate for answers.
The documentary highlights the efforts underway in New Jersey and New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Louisville and Sacramento, where researchers hope to gain insights that may lead to prevention, new treatments and even a cure.
"Decoding Autism" includes interviews with a number of families dealing with the challenges of raising children on the autism spectrum and features visits to schools specializing in educating children with autism.
Visit the website for the facts about autism spectrum disorder and get resources.
Preview: Decoding Autism
Decoding Autism: Early Detection
To view PDF documents, Download Acrobat Reader.Benzema not going to Arsenal, preparing Real Madrid extension, says agent [Le JDD]
French paper Le JDD produce some interesting quotes from Karim Benzema’s agent this evening.
The agent, Karim Djaziri agent, has moved to dismiss any talk of his player leaving Madrid, be it to Arsenal or anywhere else for that matter.
On the speculation from the British and Spanish press that a €45 million move interests Arsenal, Djaziri has said:
‘You can’t do anything about rumours. But I assure you: Karim won’t be going to Arsenal. No contact has even been made, and he’s obviously staying in Madrid. The probable arrival of Gareth Bale in no way threatens him. The two arrows, Cristiano and Bale, will play on the wings and Karim up top.’
‘We’re calmly working on an extension of three years; Karim could easily finish his career here at Real, the club of his dreams.’
Nipped in the bud then?
Maybe not: when you consider how out of favour Benzema has fallen with Madrid fans (video below), his long term future at Real is far from certain.
[gthumb id=”347194″ size=”large” autoplay=”1″]India's fiscal deficit during April-August touched 96.1 per cent of the budget estimate for the full fiscal year that ends on March 2018. The deficit was 76.4 percent of the full-year target during the same period a year ago. The surge in the current fiscal has been mainly due to the increase in expenditure.
In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit - difference between expenditure and revenue - was Rs 5.25 lakh crore during April-August, 2017-18, according to figures released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Friday. For 2017-18, the government aims to bring down the fiscal deficit to 3.2 per cent of the GDP.
In the last fiscal, it had met the deficit target of 3.5 per cent of the GDP. The CGA data showed that the government's revenue receipts worked out at Rs 4.09 lakh crore during April-August period, which works out to be 27 per cent of the budget estimate (BE) of Rs 15.15 lakh crore for the whole year. In the comparable period last fiscal, revenue receipts comprising taxes and other items were 28 per cent of the target.
The CGA data shows that the government's expenditure had been increasing on sequential basis and totalled Rs 9.5 lakh crore at Augustend or 44.3 per cent of the budget estimates.In the comparable period last fiscal, the expenditure was 40.5 per cent of the estimate.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is under pressure to bring the economy back on track, even if is at the cost of fiscal deficit. However, reports suggest that the Finance Minister is going to stick to fiscal deficit target and may sell bonds to raise funds for extra spending.
After the lowest GDP growth of 5.7 per cent in April-June quarter, economists and policy advisors suggested the government to take measures to put the economy back on the growth path. However, for that the government has to spend more and create demands.
The Finance Minister in February had budgeted to raise 5.8 trillion rupees in 2017-18 through bond sales to bridge the fiscal deficit of 3.2 percent of GDP. Earlier this week, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said that the government would leave the full-year borrowing target intact and sell bonds worth 2.08 trillion rupees between October and March.
"We do not foresee extra borrowing at this point in time, but we are conscious there may be a possibility," Garg said after meeting with the RBI officials.
(With inputs from agencies)The Lucien Yeomans “secret” that was almost lost.
Your developing world school needs almost-free machine tools?
Your developing world factory needs unavailable spare parts?
You need a complex part that is too expensive to have made?
Need to bootstrap a factory but only have a few bucks?
No problem!
You just need a metal lathe. Metalworking lathes are necessary to the production of almost everything but are very expensive. In 1915, special lathes made from concrete were developed to quickly and cheaply produce millions of cannon shells needed for World War I. Lucien Yeomans, the inventor, won the nation’s highest engineering award for it but sadly the technique was almost forgotten after the war. We re-discovered it as a way to quickly make inexpensive but accurate machine tools for use in developing countries and in trade schools and shops everywhere. We made modern construction practical by replacing the original poured, non shrinking metal with cement grout.
Credits
Design by Pat Delany, [email protected]
Drawings by Tyler Disney, flowxrg.com
Research by Shannon DeWolfe and David LeVine. Shannon found Yeomans after I had searched for years.
Dimensioned drawings and support at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/multimachi…
Many supporting files are at:
http://concretelathe.wikispaces.com/Curr…
The best machine tool reference site in the world is at: http://lathes.co.uk/Steeped in the folklore of infamous Mormon gun slinger Porter Rockwell comes one of Ogden’s Own’s newest products, the Porter’s Peach Liqueur. The peach flavor, a seasonal spinoff of the cinnamon whiskey Porter’s Fire, is a nod to the history surrounding Rockwell, who owned land along the Fruit Way north of Ogden. The peach flavor was too delicious to resist. “We tried the peach, and it was so good [that] we just had to move forward with it,” says Steve Conlin, Managing Partner of Ogden’s Own. “When you have something that tastes great, you have to come up with excuses of why not to put it on the market instead of why to put it on the market.” The timing was right for Porter’s Peach, which came out just in time for fruit season and also for different Peach Days celebrations across the state.
After seven years of being in business, Ogden’s Own’s success has come from building a loyal, local fanbase. For Conlin, this has to do with a branding that goes beneath the surface to really stand out. “We’ve kind of started a reputation now for paying homage to the Utah culture,” says Conlin. “We get that’s how people tie it back, get that it’s local and means something to them.” A name like Porter’s Fire automatically evokes an emotional response. It’s a name that Utahns who are familiar with Porter Rockwell’s story can relate to and that also sets Porter’s Fire apart as a product that is local to Utah.
Despite the fact that Porter’s Fire has only been out for about two years, the loyalty surrounding the Porter’s Fire label has helped the launch of Porter’s Peach immensely. “When we started with Five Wives, our first month of sales was roughly 60 cases. With Porter’s Peach, we’re probably around 80 in the first month, and a peach liqueur is nowhere as popular as a vodka would be in general,” says Conlin. Early in its launch, Porter’s Peach sold out quickly at certain liquor stores around the state of Utah. For Conlin, the early success of a launch like Porter’s Peach attests to the fact that Ogden’s Own’s support for other local businesses and events has reaped its benefits. “To know that we can launch a product with a very good support from our fanbase shows that we’re doing a good job of continuing to reach out into the market and make connections,” he says. “To continue to introduce products that people like—that’s the best kind of success. I’m proud of what we do out in the community.”
Creating such a stir around a new liqueur is something that requires a bit of strategy and luck on the part of the distillery, as liquor drinkers tend to not stray from their favorites as often as craft beer and wine drinkers would. Even with a loyal following, getting consumers to change the liquor they drink can create a unique challenge. “Even the most loyal of people, who like us and support us—it’s hard to get them to switch, because those habits are pretty deeply ingrained,” says Conlin. “If you go out to the bars, people are trained to order Fireball. To get them to make that mentality switch is really tough.” However, Conlin notes that once people have had Porter’s Fire, they tend to prefer the cinnamon whiskey with notes of vanilla over the ever-popular Fireball, which has a more sugary, candied effect.
In Utah, however, there is a positive trend that Conlin believes has helped people break their habits when it comes to choosing which liquor to drink. “I think there’s a drive here to support local,” he says. “I think people get it, that if they support local companies, they’re going to get support back. There’s a good mixology culture in Salt Lake. You’ve got Bar-X and Twist and The Copper Onion and all these higher-end establishments that really take pride in their cocktails.” This ever-increasing culture around liquor that is growing in Utah is also giving rise to more distilleries in Utah, setting the bar higher for Ogden’s Own. “We’re going through a huge shift,” says Conlin. “When we started, we were the second distillery. Now, there’s going to be a whole lot more … That makes things interesting, and there’s creativity out there.” Given the nature of Utah liquor laws, launch dates can be uncertain, and Conlin only wants to present new releases once everything, from branding to product, is perfected. It’s a strategy that has helped Ogden’s Own break through as a unique Utah spirit-maker in the mix of domestic, smaller distilleries in other states and larger, more well-known brands. Conlin especially prides Ogden’s Own with the success of Porter’s Peach despite the competition: “I guarantee you no one was thinking peach would be what we came out with next,” he says.
Porter’s Peach Liqueur can be found at local DABC liquor stores as well as Ogden’s Own’s retail location at 3075 Grant Avenue in Ogden. Conlin suggests the Peach Liqueur with an unsweetened iced tea, or a lemonade for those with an inclination towards sweetness. As far as what can be expected for Ogden’s Own in the future, Conlin aims to keep innovation alive with new products and to have fun |
begin{document} \maketitle \vspace{1em} \begin{minipage}[ht]{0.48\textwidth} Main Road 25\\ City 12345\\ State of Sabotage \end{minipage} \begin{minipage}[ht]{0.48\textwidth} Nonlandian\\ January 3rd, 2020\\ +12 34 56 789 \end{minipage} \vspace{20pt} \section*{Objective} Find a job. \section*{Professional Experience} \begin{tabular}{L!{\VRule}R} 2011--today&{\bf Work at company XY.}\\ &\lipsum[66]\\ \end{tabular} \section*{Education} \begin{tabular}{L!{\VRule}R} 2005--2007&{\bf MSc in Computer Science, Great University, Country.}\\[5pt] 2001--2005&BSc in Life Science, Great University, Country.\\ \end{tabular} \section*{Languages} \begin{tabular}{L!{\VRule}R} Klingon&Mother tongue\\ {\bf English}&{\bf Fluent}\\ French&Fluent (DELF 2010)\\ Japanese&Fair\\ \end{tabular} \bibliographystyle{plain}
obibliography{publication} \section*{Publications} \begin{tabular}{L!{\VRule}R} 2006&\bibentry{knuth2006art}\\[5pt] 1986&\bibentry{lamport1986latex}\\ \end{tabular} {\vspace{20pt}
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Additional Resources
Drop me a comment if you know of other resources and I will add them to the list.
Update
A few days after publishing this post, a vivid discussion took place with lots of interesting CV examples on hackerne.ws.
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Like this: Like Loading...It is Unpatriotic Not to Stand Up for 9-11 Truth
January 18, 2019
9-11 happened. And what happened in 9-11 is we didn’t have a strategy, we didn’t have bipartisan agreement, we didn’t have American understanding of it and we had instead a policy coup in this country; a coup – a policy coup. Some hard-nosed people took over the direction of American policy and they never bothered to inform the rest of us.
- Gen. Wesley Clark, October 3, 2007
In the aftermath of 9-11, Gen. Wesley Clark learned that people behind the policy coup planned to "take out" seven Middle Eastern countries in five years.
The "hard-nosed people" who took over the direction of American foreign policy post-9/11 was a cabal headed by dedicated Zionists, Paul Wolfowitz, Dov Zakheim, and Douglas Feith, seen here meeting with Israeli Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz at the Pentagon, January 18, 2002. Fellow Zionist Neo-Con Richard Perle was chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board from 2001 to 2003, before resigning due to conflict of interests. Perle had served on the advisory board since 1987.
We should take Gen. Wesley Clark very seriously when he says that 9-11 resulted in a "policy coup" in the United States. Gen. Clark should know. He was Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1997 to 2000.
A coup is "a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government" in which the ship of state is hijacked. Clark's "policy coup" means that the "direction of American policy" was hijacked and taken over by "some hard-nosed people" in the immediate aftermath of the terror atrocity of 9-11.
9-11 truth is an effort to regain control of our American republic by exposing the lies about who is really behind the terror attacks. The only way to remove the hijackers from the U.S. ship of state and rectify the policy coup is for a significant percentage of the public to stand up for 9-11 truth – and resist the lies about the terrorism that changed the world. Many people know that the government and media narrative about 9-11 is false but they are afraid to openly support the truth, a cowardly position which is both wrong and unpatriotic.
The evil masterminds behind 9-11 crafted the false narrative, an interpretation to go with their false-flag terror atrocity in order to carry out the policy coup and achieve certain goals. The false narrative is the "official" explanation that the media has presented to the public since Day One. It should be noted that the false interpretation we were given was not of American origin. As Wesley Clark said, "we didn’t have American understanding of it." Clark was saying that a foreign state interpreted 9-11 for us, although he was not so bold as to identify that state. From public statements, however, by its military and political leaders we can see that the foreign state that interpreted 9-11 for us was the Zionist state of Israel.
Ehud Barak gave the Israeli military interpretation of 9-11 on the biggest British television networks before the towers had all fallen on 9-11. He called for the U.S. to launch a global War on Terror, an Israeli stratagem promoted by Benjamin Netanyahu since the 1970s.
Ehud Barak, the former prime minister and defense minister of Israel, was the highest level Israeli to interpret 9-11, something he did on the BBC World and Sky television networks in London before the towers had finished falling in New York City. Barak's Israeli interpretation that Muslim fanatics were behind the attacks was seen around the world and his call for the initiation of the Zionist-designed "War on Terror" became, without question, the official narrative of 9-11 in spite of abundant evidence disproving his assertions.
Seventeen years later, the Israeli fraud known as the War on Terror drags on with the United States slogging away at great cost in a war that never ends. Last year the War on Terror resulted in the U.S. reportedly bombing nine nations across the Middle East and Africa. The cost of the post 9-11 wars is currently estimated at between $5.9 and $7 trillion (A trillion is a thousand billions or a million millions). President Trump said that despite costing the U.S. $7 trillion, the wars in the Middle East have achieved "nothing" for the American people.
This is clearly not a sustainable course. The choice is stark and simple: either we regain control of our national policy or we suffer the fate the hijackers have planned for us. To regain control of our national policy means correcting our political course with policies in our national interest and holding the policy coup hijackers accountable. To allow the people behind the policy coup to continue their devastation is to enable the 9-11 culprits and their cronies to get away with their crimes of terrorism – and to ruin our nation. This is why it is absolutely crucial and in our best interest as individuals and patriotic citizens to boldly stand up and resist the lies about 9-11 and the fraudulent War on Terror it brought us.
For a better understanding of 9-11 and the fraudulent War on Terror read
The War on Terror: The Plot to Rule the Middle East.
Available for a $20 donation, or get the complete set:
the Solving 9-11 set of two books and The War on Terror for $50.
Donate via bollyn.com or by PayPal to bollyn@bollynbooks.com
Get the Complete Set of Books for $50
December 12, 2018
SAVE MORE than 28% off Amazon's price for the set!
Get Bollyn's complete work on 9-11: the Solving 9-11 set of two books
and the War on Terror: The Plot to Rule the Middle East, for $50. (includes shipping to U.S. addresses)
Include mailing address and phone number for the shipping form.
(Canadian and other non-U.S. orders please add $15 for shipping)
Order by PayPal: bollyn@bollynbooks.com
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THE ANALYSIS OF THE 9-11 CRIME AND THE CULPRITS
Solving 9-11: The Deception that Changed the World
contains my analysis of the false-flag terror attacks of 9/11,
identifies the chief suspects, and explains why it was carried out.
THE ANALYSIS OF THE 9-11 CRIME AND THE CULPRITSSolving 9-11: The Deception that Changed the Worldcontains my analysis of the false-flag terror attacks of 9/11,identifies the chief suspects, and explains why it was carried out.
THE MOTHER LODE OF INFORMATION
Solving 9-11: The Original Articles Solving 9-11: The Original Articles
contains my original research articles in chronological order
from September 2001 thru May 2012.
THE PURPOSE OF THE CRIME
The War on Terror: The Plot to Rule the Middle East The War on Terror: The Plot to Rule the Middle East
explains the relationship between 9-11 and the fraudulent War on Terror
- the longest and most expensive war in U.S. history.
Chuck Baldwin Praises Bollyn's War On Terror Book
July 19, 2018
Updated with "What If Everything We’ve Been Told Is A Lie?" by Chuck Baldwin
If you don’t read any other book this year, read Christopher Bollyn’s The War On Terror.
- Chuck Baldwin
Pastor Chuck Baldwin on The War On Terror: The Plot To Rule The Middle East :
"I am VERY excited about a new book written by Christopher Bollyn entitled The War On Terror. I have read and reread it; and I believe this is one of the most important books written in recent memory. The book connects the dots between the 9/11 attacks and America’s perpetual “War on Terror.” This book needs to be read by every single American. If it was read and taken to heart by enough people, this book could literally change the course of history and save our republic. The full title of the book is The War On Terror: The Plot To Rule The Middle East.
- Chuck Baldwin, "Trump’s SCOTUS Pick: More Of The Same" 12 July 2018 The War On Terror: The Plot To Rule The Middle East What If Everything We’ve Been Told Is A Lie? by Chuck Baldwin, 19 July 2018
What if everything we’ve been told about 9/11 is a lie? What if it wasn’t 19 Muslim terrorist hijackers that flew those planes into the Twin Towers and Pentagon? What if the Muslims had nothing whatsoever to do with the attacks on 9/11? What if everything we’ve been told about the reasons we invaded two sovereign nations (Afghanistan and Iraq) is a lie? What if the 17-year-old, never-ending “War on Terror” in the Middle East is a lie? What if our young soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who have given their lives in America’s “War on Terror” died for a lie? What if G.W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump have been nothing but controlled toadies for an international global conspiracy that hatched the attacks of 9/11 as nothing more than a means to institute a perpetual “War on Terror” for purposes that have nothing to do with America’s national security? Would the American people want to know? Would the truth even matter to them? The sad reality is that the vast majority of Americans who would read the above paragraph would totally dismiss every question I raised as being unrealistic and impossible—or even nutty. Why is that? Have they studied and researched the questions? No. Have they given any serious thought to the questions? No. They have simply swallowed the government/mainstream media version of these events hook, line and sinker. It is totally amazing to me that the same people who say they don’t believe the mainstream media (MSM) and government (Deep State) versions of current events—which is why they voted for and love Donald Trump—have absolutely no reservations about accepting the official story that the 9/11 attacks were the work of jihadist Muslims and that America’s “War on Terror” is completely legitimate. These “always Trumpers” are dead set in their minds that America is at war with Islam; that Trump’s bombings of Syria were because President Assad is an evil, maniacal monster who gassed his own people; and that Trump’s expansion of the war in Afghanistan is totally in the interests of America’s national security. BUT WHAT IF ALL OF IT IS A BIG, FAT LIE? What if the Muslims had NOTHING to do with 9/11? What if Bashar al-Assad did NOT gas his own people? What if America’s “War on Terror” is a completely false, manufactured, made-up deception? What if America’s military forces are mostly fighting for foreign agendas and NOT for America’s national security or even our national interests? What if America’s war in Afghanistan is a fraud? What if the entire “War on Terror” is a fraud? The Trump robots have bought into America’s “War on Terror” as much as Obama’s robots and Bush’s robots did. Bush was elected twice, largely on the basis of America’s “War on Terror.” Obama campaigned against the “War on Terror” and then expanded it during his two terms in office. Trump campaigned against the “War on Terror” and then immediately expanded it beyond what Obama had done. In fact, Trump is on a pace to expand the “War on Terror” beyond the combined military aggressions of both Bush and Obama. But who cares? Who even notices? America is engaged in a global “War on Terror.” Just ask G.W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, The Washington Post, the New York Times and the vast majority of America’s pastors and preachers. They all tell us the same thing seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. Liberals scream against Trump, and conservatives scream against Maxine Waters; but both sides come together to support America’s never-ending “War on Terror.” But what if it’s ALL a lie? What if Obama and Trump, the right and the left, the MSM and the conservative media are all reading from the same script? What if they are all (wittingly or unwittingly) in cahoots in perpetuating the biggest scam in world history? And why is almost everyone afraid to even broach the question? Left or right, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, secular or Christian, no one dares to question the official story about the 9/11 attacks or the “War on Terror.” And those who do question it are themselves attacked unmercifully by the right and the left, conservatives and liberals, Christians and secularists, Sean Hannity and Chris Matthews. Why is that? Why is it that FOX News and CNN, Donald Trump and Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer and Ted Cruz equally promote the same cockamamie story about 9/11 and the “War on Terror?” Why? Why? Why? Tell me again how Donald Trump is so different from Barack Obama. Tell me again how Ted Cruz is so different from Chuck Schumer. They all continue to perpetuate the lies about 9/11. They all continue to escalate America’s never-ending “War on Terror.” They are all puppets of a global conspiracy to advance the agenda of war profiteers and nation builders. The left-right, conservative-liberal, Trump-Obama paradigm is one big giant SCAM. At the end of the day, the “War on Terror” goes on, bombs keep falling on people in the Middle East who had absolutely NOTHING to do with 9/11 and the money keeps flowing into the coffers of the international bankers and war merchants. All of the above is why I am enthusiastically promoting Christopher Bollyn’s new blockbuster book The War on Terror. Of course, Bollyn is one of the world’s foremost researchers and investigators into the attacks on 9/11. He has written extensively on the subject. But unlike most other 9/11 investigators, Bollyn continued to trace the tracks of the attacks on 9/11. And those tracks led him to discover that the 9/11 attacks were NOT “the event” but that they were merely the trigger for “the event.” “What was the event?” you ask. America’s perpetual “War on Terror.” As a result, Mr. Bollyn published his findings that the attacks on 9/11 were NOT perpetrated by Muslim extremists but by a very elaborate and well financed international conspiracy that had been in the planning for several decades. Bollyn’s research names names, places and dates and exposes the truth behind not just 9/11 (many have done that) but behind America’s “War on Terror” that resulted from the attacks on 9/11. IT’S TIME FOR THE TRUTH TO COME OUT! And Christopher Bollyn’s investigative research brings out the truth like nothing I’ve read to date. His research connects the dots and destroys the myths. Mr. Bollyn’s research is published in a book entitled: The War On Terror: The Plot To Rule The Middle East. I mean it when I say that if enough people read this book, it could change the course of history and save our republic. This is written on the book’s back cover: The government and media have misled us about 9/11 in order to compel public opinion to support the War on Terror. Why have we gone along with it? Do we accept endless war as normal? Are we numb to the suffering caused by our military interventions? No. We have simply been propagandized into submission. We have been deceived into thinking that the War on Terror is a good thing, a valiant struggle against terrorists who intend to attack us as we were on 9/11. Behind the War on Terror is a strategic plan crafted decades in advance to redraw the map of the Middle East. 9/11 was a false-flag operation blamed on Muslims in order to start the military operations for that strategic plan. Recognizing the origin of the plan is crucial to understanding the deception that has changed our world. Folks, 9/11 was a deception. The “War on Terror” is a deception. The phony left-right paradigm is a deception. FOX News is as much a deception as CNN. The “always Trump” group is as much a deception as the “never Trump” group. America has been in the throes of a great deception since September 11, 2001. And this deception is being perpetrated by Republicans and Democrats and conservatives and liberals alike. I do not know Christopher Bollyn. I’ve never met him. But I thank God he had the intellectual honesty and moral courage to write this book. I urge readers to get this explosive new book. If you don’t read any other book this year, read Mr. Bollyn’s investigative masterpiece The War On Terror: The Plot To Rule The Middle East. Again, I am enthusiastically recommending this book to my readers, and I make no apologies for doing so. The truth contained in this research MUST get out, and I am determined to do all I can to help make that possible. I am confident that after you read this book, you will want to buy copies for your friends and relatives. The book is under 200 pages long and is not difficult reading. However, the facts and details Bollyn covers are profound and powerful. I have read the book three times so far and I’m not finished. Frankly, Bollyn’s book made so many things make sense for me. His book dovetails and tracks with much of my research on other topics. Truly, his book helped me get a much fuller understanding of the “big picture.” What if everything we’ve been told about 9/11 and the “War on Terror” is a lie? Well, Bollyn’s book proves that indeed it is.
Source: chuckbaldwinlive.com/Articles/tabid/109/ID/3766/What-If-Everything-Weve-Been-Told-Is-A-Lie.aspx
The War On Terror: The Plot To Rule The Middle East is available for a $20 donation by PayPal to bollyn@bollynbooks.com
The complete set of all three books: the two Solving 9-11 books, "The Deception that Changed the World" and "The Original Articles," and The War On Terror: The Plot To Rule The Middle East, is available for a $50 donation by PayPal to bollyn@bollynbooks.com
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Are the California Fires Cyber Terrorism?
November 12, 2018
Wildfire Fallout: California Utility PG&E Stock Plummets
Did Foreign Hackers Sabotage California Power Lines?
Smoke from the wildfire near Malibu
Photo by Grant Denham
If you look for the origin and the cause of the Camp Fire that destroyed the town of Paradise, California, and the ongoing fires near Los Angeles you will find that in both cases the fires began in places where there had been unexplained malfunctions along transmission lines just before the fire was reported.
The question has to be asked: Were these fires caused by hackers attacking the utility grids in an act of cyber warfare?
The following is an extract from today's article, "PG&E trading halted as stock plummets most in 16 years on wildfire fallout"
The wildfires in northern and southern California have sent shares of the state’s two largest utility owners falling the most since the power crisis more than a decade ago.
Trading in PG&E Corp. was briefly halted Monday after shares plummeted more than 37 percent. The stock has fallen as much as 48 percent in two days of trading since the Camp Fire broke out north of San Francisco last week...
Investors are concerned about utility liabilities associated with the fires. Authorities are investigating electrical equipment as one of several possible causes of the so-called Camp Fire, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco. A PG&E transmission line in the area went offline 15 minutes before the blaze was first reported, and the company reported finding a damaged transmission tower near where investigators say the fire began.
Edison’s Southern California Edison utility said late Friday a power outage occurred near the suspected starting point of one of the fires near Los Angeles and that a sensor detected a disturbance in its equipment two minutes before the blaze was reported. The company said there had been no determination of origin or cause and that it will cooperate with the investigation.
The wildfires have destroyed more than 6,700 structures and could cost the state, insurers and homeowners at least $19 billion in damages, according to an estimate by Enki Research.
Source: "PG&E trading halted as stock plummets most in 16 years on wildfire fallout," by Joe Ryan, Bloomberg, Nov. 12, 2018
WHO MIGHT BE ENGAGED IN SUCH CYBER TERRORISM?
Unit 8200 of the Israeli military would have to be at the top of the list of suspects behind any false-flag hacking operation. Unit 8200 is the largest unit of the Israeli army and its specialty is hacking into computer networks.
Israelis like Amit Yoran have made a career out of hacking into energy and utility networks, as I explained in Chapter VII of Solving 9/11, "The Architecture of Terror." The following extracts explain who Amit Yoran is and how his company Riptech hacked into energy company networks around the world...
Amit Yoran is an Israeli hacker who made a career out of hacking public utilities. Before 9/11, he served as a Network Security Manager at the Department of Defense and was responsible for maintaining operations of the Pentagon's network. Yoran also served as an officer in the United States Air Force [as the Director of Vulnerability Programs for Dept. of Defense's Computer Emergency Response Team].
AMIT YORAN'S "ETHICAL HACKERS"
"Mr. [Amit] Yoran is chief executive of Riptech, a U.S. company that employs 'ethical hackers' to test vulnerability of networks, including those of utility companies," the Irish Times reported on October 5, 2001. "He [Yoran] says his teams have had success in disrupting utilities' power networks, in Europe particularly," according to the article, which was aptly titled, "Welcome to the Art of Electronic Warfare." The Yorans' company hacked into the computer networks of dozens of energy companies, the Los Angeles Times reported on August 20, 2001:
Riptech Inc., a security company in Alexandria, Va., has tested security for dozens of energy-industry clients. In every case, the firm penetrated Internet-connected corporate networks and often hopped from those networks into supposedly sealed grid-control systems, according to Riptech's president, Amit Yoran.
A hacker in the "grid-control systems" of a energy company could easily cause a malfunction that could cause a fire. This is a possibility that needs to be taken into consideration in the investigation of these wildfires that are reported to have been ignited by malfunctions in the power grid.
See more at:
"Hacking U.S. Energy Grid: Is Israel setting Russia up?" Bollyn.com, March 16, 2018
www.bollyn.com/is-israel-setting-russia-up/
"The Architecture of Terror: Mapping the Network Behind 9/11," Chapter VII, Solving 9-11: The Deception that Changed the World, 2012
www.bollyn.com/the-architecture-of-terror-mapping-the-network-behind-9-11
Fake News? The Question is Who is Real News?
November 1, 2018
Tons of molten metal poured from the East Corner of the South Tower for seven minutes before the building was demolished. The evidence of molten metal produced during the demolition of the Twin Towers is one of the crucial aspects of the crime that the controlled media has not addressed - in 17 years!
Several of the alleged hijackers of 9/11 turned up "alive and well" - after the crime in which they supposedly perished. Why would the U.S. media - a supposedly free press - not investigate these claims? Would a truly free press accept a story with such glaring holes?
A video image of the plane striking the South Tower shows a white-hot hole caused by a projectile fired from beneath the aircraft just before impact. Why would the media ignore such an important piece of evidence? Is this what an honest news outlet would do?
A burning white-hot piece of the projectile was seen coming from the building with great momentum. The dark oxides it produced are indicative of a burning uranium warhead. Why has the news media ignored this evidence?
Last Monday, President Trump tweeted:
"There is great anger in our Country caused in part by inaccurate, and even fraudulent, reporting of the news. The Fake News Media, the true Enemy of the People, must stop the open & obvious hostility & report the news accurately & fairly."
The next day, CNN's Editor-at-large, Chris Cillizza, responded:
"Who, exactly, is the fake news? What outlets are the enemy of the people?"
While White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders chose not to name any of the "Fake News Media" outlets when asked, I can offer some some help on this matter.
Since the terror atrocity of 9/11 occurred seventeen years ago there has not been a single mass media outlet that has honestly addressed the evidence of that horrific crime. Furthermore, there has not been a single media outlet that has exposed the lies about the fraudulent War on Terror which followed in its wake, a war which is now the longest and most expensive in U.S. history.
Simply put: Any major media outlet in the U.S. that has not, in seventeen years, addressed the crucial evidence of 9/11, such as the evidence of explosives and molten metal, cannot honestly be called a real news outlet. Using this criteria we should re-phrase the question and ask: Who, exactly, is real news among the mass media outlets?
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The War on Terror: The Plot to Rule the Middle East
The Israeli Origin of the War on Terror
October 21, 2018
How Zionist Terrorists Tricked the U.S. into Waging War for Israel
“With Sharon’s backing, terrible things were done. I am no vegetarian, and I supported and even participated in some of the assassination operations Israel carried out. But we are speaking here about mass killing for killing’s sake, to sow chaos and alarm, among civilians, too. Since when do we send donkeys carrying bombs to blow up in marketplaces?"
– Mossad officer, quoted in Ronen Bergman’s Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations
The War on Terror doctrine was launched at an Israeli conference in July 1979. The terrorism conference/propaganda offensive was hosted by the Jonathan [Netanyahu] Institute and was organized by Menachem Begin, the self-proclaimed "Father of Terrorism," and included the most notorious Israeli masterminds of terrorism. Just three months earlier, the Israeli military created an underground terrorist organization in Lebanon that killed thousands of people with car and truck bombs over the next four years. The theme of the Begin/Netanyahu propaganda offensive, however, was that the Soviet Union was behind international terrorism. Understanding this important part of Israeli history will help one grasp the true nature of the fraudulent War on Terror. It also explains why the Zionist-controlled media is constantly fueling hostility between the United States and Russia.
The 9-11 false-flag terror operation and the War on Terror that followed in its wake will certainly go down in history as one of the most costly and evil frauds in history. The invasions and military operations that have been carried out in the aftermath of 9-11 have cost trillions of dollars and destroyed millions of lives, yet the origin of the War on Terror is not well understood by the public.
The fact that the origin of the fraudulent War on Terror is not well known is the main reason it has been able to go on for more than 17 years with virtually no resistance from the public. I wrote a book entitled The War on Terror: The Plot to Rule the Middle East (2017) in order to try to rectify the apathy that is caused by general ignorance of the fraudulent nature of the war.
To grasp the utter fraudulence of the War on Terror it is helpful to go back to its origin in Israel when it was launched at a four-day "international propaganda offensive" at the Jonathan [Netanyahu] Institute before a select group of people in July 1979.
In the summer of 1979, a group of powerful and influential people joined to launch an international propaganda offensive to promote and exploit the issue of 'international terrorism.' The propaganda 'blitz' originated in Jerusalem. The conspiratorial network included present and former members of the Israeli and United States governments, new right politicians, high-ranking former United States and Israeli intelligence officers, the anti-détente, pro-cold war group associated with the policies of Senator Henry M. Jackson, a group of neoconservative journalists and intellectuals associated with Commentary magazine, and reactionary British and French politicians and publicists.
This 'anti-terrorist' propaganda campaign was and is being conducted in a style reminiscent of wartime 'psychological warfare' by journalists serving as conduits and spreaders of misinformation originating in Jerusalem.
It can be rightly said that the War on Terror was born at the Jerusalem Conference on International Terrorism in July 1979. The conference was arranged by the Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, the former terrorist head of the Irgun, along with Moshe Dayan, and hosted by Benjamin Netanyahu and his father Ben-Zion at an institute called the Jonathan Institute.
Menachem Begin, who became Israel's prime minister in 1977 had a long history of terrorism, including the bombing of Jerusalem's King David Hotel in 1946.
There is very little written about the Netanyahu Institute conference on terrorism since it was not a public event but rather a kind of conspiratorial "propaganda offensive" that included "seven hundred invited foreign journalists, influential friends of Israel, and top-ranking members of the Israeli military, diplomatic, and intelligence establishment."
Four former chiefs of Israeli military intelligence participated in the conference. Shimon Peres, head of the opposition party at the time, also participated. George H.W. Bush, who was a presidential candidate at the time, attended and spoke on the final day of the conference.
The purpose of the conference was to launch a new construct to be promoted by the global media: the doctrine of waging war on terrorism, i.e. the War on Terror.
The only published material I have found about this conspiratorial conference organized by Menachem Begin, the self-proclaimed "Father of Terrorism," is a master's thesis written in 1982 by Philip Paull at San Francisco State University, entitled International Terrorism: The Propaganda War. The quoted material in this article comes from this thesis.
It should be noted that the Jerusalem conference that brought us the War on Terror was in fact an Israeli "propaganda offensive" organized by the most notorious Zionist masterminds of terrorism: Menachem Begin, Moshe Dayan, and Shimon Peres, along with the heads of Israeli military intelligence.
Among other terrorist crimes, Menachem Begin was responsible for the bombing of the King David Hotel in 1946 and the massacre of the entire Palestinian village of Deir Yassin in April 1948. Moshe Dayan was minister of defense when the Israeli military attacked the defenseless USS Liberty on June 8, 1967, killing 34 crewmen and wounding 174. Both Dayan and Shimon Peres were involved in the Lavon Affair in the summer of 1954 when a group of Egyptian Jews were recruited by Israeli military intelligence to plant bombs inside American and British civilian targets in Egypt: cinemas, libraries, and American educational centers.
The Israeli terrorists who arranged the "propaganda offensive to promote and exploit the issue of 'international terrorism'" at the Jerusalem conference in July 1979, had certainly not changed their evil ways. Just three months before the conference, the Israeli military chief-of-staff, Rafael Eitan, had established an Israeli underground terrorist organization called the Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners, which carried out bombing operations in Lebanon from 1979 through 1983.
Many of these Israeli bombings involved truck and car bombs. It was toward the end of this period of Israeli terror bombings in Lebanon, in which thousands were killed, that two truck bombs struck the barracks housing "peacekeepers" of the Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF), killing 241 U.S. Marines and 58 French soldiers on October 23, 1983. According to Caspar Weinberger, United States Secretary of Defense at the time, there is no knowledge of who carried out the bombing that resulted in the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.
Caspar Weinberger, Secretary of Defense, said there is no knowledge who carried out the bombing that resulted in the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima. So, who did it?
Thanks to Ronen Bergman's recent book, Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations (2018), we now know that Rafael Eitan, the Israeli chief-of-staff, was running a massive terrorist bombing campaign using car and truck bombs in Lebanon at precisely the time the U.S. Marines were killed. Furthermore, according to former Mossad agent Victor Ostrovsky, in his 1990 book By Way of Deception, Israeli intelligence knew the specific time and location of the bombing that killed the Marines but only gave general information to the Americans before the attack, which was worthless.
Paull's thesis, International Terrorism: The Propaganda War, examines how the Netanyahu Institute used misinformation to exaggerate the terrorism threat. One of the main points of the misinformation was to link terrorism to the Soviet Union. In this way the Israelis could delegitimize the Palestinian Liberation Organization in the West as a puppet of Moscow.
A key conference slogan, 'The PLO-Moscow Connection,' for example, has helped to brake the momentum of the Camp David accords. Extending the Camp David spirit would have meant a partial recognition of the PLO's legitimacy by the Begin administration. The 'Moscow-PLO Connection' denied the PLO any semblance of legitimacy labeling it a mere puppet of Moscow, 'terrorists' manipulated by the KGB.
The Jerusalem Conference also helped to revive the anti-Soviet alliance between Israel and the United States by charging the Soviets with responsibility for 'funding, training, and equipping international terrorism.' This new charge helped keep the United States and the Soviet Union at each other's throats, thus preventing them from agreeing on a diplomatic solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East. (Paull, p. 95)
Although the Zionist masterminds behind the War on Terror no longer blame Russia for being behind international terrorism, their reason for blaming the Soviet Union, i.e. Russia, has not changed.
As Paull wrote:
The Israeli conference organizers in turn, could use [Sen. Henry] Jackson and the Commentary group around Podhoretz to help prevent a pro-Arab tilt in Washington, keep United States armaments flowing to Israel, and most important, maintain anti-Soviet hostility in Washington. Relaxation of superpower hostility could trigger a thaw in U.S.-Soviet relations, and a settlement in the Middle East which would include the Palestinians would then be conceivable. This was a development the Begin administration wished to avoid at all costs. (Paull, p. 16)
In 1979, the arch-terrorist Menachem Begin and his fellow Likud extremists wanted to "maintain anti-Soviet hostility in Washington" in order to prevent "a settlement in the Middle East which would include the Palestinians."
In 2018, Begin's Likud party is still in power in Israel. Today, the Likud is headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, who hosted the conspiratorial terrorism conference back in 1979. This is why the Palestinians are still locked out of any political process and why the Zionist-controlled media continues to spew anti-Russian propaganda – four decades after the War on Terror was born at the conference at the Netanyahu Institute.
The Key Zionist Control Points of 9/11
July 30, 2018
People often ask: What are the key points |
plateau. It is worth noting that the sequential irradiation method presented herein yields a cumulative damage that is similar to that of simultaneous multiple particles’ irradiation. 22 6, 30191 (2016). 22. A. H. Mir, M. Toulemonde, C. Jegou, S. Miro, Y. Serruys, S. Bouffard, and S. Peuget, Sci. Rep., 30191 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep30191 irradiation methodology, that is, irradiation by sequential or simultaneous energetic particles. Note that applying a thermostat to the system can have spuriouson the dynamics of thecascade. To alleviate this issue, a spherical region with a radius of 20 Å is created around the impacted zone within which atoms are treated in the microcanonical () ensemble. Outside the spherical region, atoms are maintained at a constant temperature of 300 K by a Nosé-Hoover thermostat.Further, acascade involves atoms moving with high velocities. This results in excessive collisions, which could potentially lead to numerical errors in the time integration of the equations of motion. To avoid such errors, a variable time step is used for the whole system, which ensures that any atom in the system is not displaced by more than 0.05 Å during one time step. Following the collisions, the relaxation of thecascade is simulated for 15 ps with the variable time step, which allows the temperature and energy of the system to converge after each collision. The system is further equilibrated in the isobaric () ensemble at 300 K and zero pressure for another 5 ps, using a constant time step of 0.5 fs. This enables the system to reach its equilibrium density and energy after thecascade associated with a single PKA. Thus, a total simulation time of 20 ps is used per PKA to ensure the full relaxation of the system underThe process is continued with different PKAs, until bothand density show a plateau. It is worth noting that the sequentialmethod presented herein yields a cumulative damage that is similar to that of simultaneous multiple particles’Hence, the results presented herein do not depend on themethodology, that is,by sequential or simultaneous energetic particles.
A large region of the crystal lattice is affected during each ballistic cascade. Consequently, an appropriate minimum system size needs to be determined for a given deposited energy per PKA to avoid potential spurious self-interactions arising from the periodic boundary conditions. However, extremely large system sizes might be computationally prohibitive. Thus, a minimum system size is determined for a given incident energy by using the following methodology. First, we accelerate each of the atomic species present in the pristine quartz (Si and O atoms) in randomly chosen directions with the desired incident energy. The maximum atomic displacements corresponding to a time interval of 1 ps, in each of these cases, are recorded. Finally, the system size is chosen to be at least twice as large as the maximum distance among all the recorded ones. In the present case, the initial system size is obtained as a 10 × 10 × 9 α-quartz supercell comprising 8100 atoms (2700 Si atoms and 5400 O atoms). Choosing the system size based on the methodology presented here is found to decrease the system size significantly as compared to previous studies, wherein an arbitrarily large system size was chosen.LAND O'LAKES, Fla. -- A massive sinkhole that swallowed up two homes and a boat last month is growing, Florida officials announced Saturday.
Pasco County officials during a news conference that a large chunk of the hole's edge has collapsed. Two more homes in Land O'Lakes, a Tampa suburb, have been condemned.
Authorities said they couldn't determine if the sinkhole was still active, but geologists would make that determination, CBS affiliate WTSP-TV in Tampa reports.
Sinkhole that swallowed two FL homes could still be expanding
The sinkhole, which opened up July 14, is now about 260 feet wide at its widest point.
Officials said their main priority is to remove debris from the sinkhole and decontaminate the water, WTSP-TV reports.
They aren't sure what caused the destabilization, but think seismic vibrations from trucks and construction equipment around the hole could be to blame.
Dump trucks are scheduled to bring in boulders Saturday to try to stabilize one side of the sinkhole so a small barge can be brought in. Authorities hope to create a boat ramp so they can work from the barge, which will float on water in the sinkhole.
However, Kevin Guthrie, assistant county administrator of public safety in Pasco, said widening was expected with increased activity and there's no reason to believe the hole is active.
Dump trucks are bringing in lime. boulders attempting to stabilize one side of the sinkhole so a small barge can be brought in. @10NewsWTSP pic.twitter.com/8ZNQR92zRP — Shannon Valladolid (@ShannonMarieTV) August 5, 2017
The Tampa Bay Times reports that resuming sinkhole cleanup, contractors have begun dumping truckloads of crushed limestone and boulders into the hole to stabilize one side. On Sunday, workers will push a small platform barge equipped with an excavator into the void to begin removing debris from the middle.
Guthrie said when cleaning the sinkhole, the top priority is to be deliberate and methodical to ensure no one gets hurt.
"If we have to slow down, we slow down," he said. "Speed is not of the essence here."
Guthrie said the cleanup will take two to three weeks barring any more problems with the hole's edges.
The Pasco County Commission awarded Ceres Environmental Services the $640,000 contract early last week to clean the sinkhole. Contractors began picking debris off the surface Thursday before having to halt on Friday.
Officials are also still waiting on results from the Department of Health after testing area wells for contamination.
The sinkhole opened July 14, destroying two homes and forcing the evacuation of another nine people. Five of those homeowners were allowed to return two days later. Not all have, fearing more problems with the massive pit outside their homes.
Crews have brought in earth to stabilize the banks. Once the edges are stabilized, workers hope to remove debris.An organizer of an upcoming march to commemorate slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov has been severely beaten in Russia's Urals city of Chelyabinsk.
A member of the opposition PARNAS party, Aleksei Tabalov, wrote on his online blog that Vyacheslav Kislitsin was attacked by unknown men in Chelyabinsk on February 26.
According to Tabalov, Kislitsin was hospitalized with numerous wounds, a broken rib, and heart problems.
Tabalov quoted Kislitsin as saying that city police officers were among the attackers.
Tabalov says the attack was connected to the planned march to commemorate Nemtsov on February 27.
Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead near the Kremlin on February 27 last year.
"We absolutely connect this attack to tomorrow's demonstration to commemorate Boris Nemtsov, of which Vyacheslav Kislitsin…is the organizer," Tabalov wrote.
The regional branch of the Interior Ministry did not immediately comment on the alleged attack. Kommersant cited an unidentified law enforcement source as saying that Kislitsin's claims, according to preliminary information, are inaccurate.
With reporting by KommersantWashington (CNN) President Donald Trump isn't a man who gets too bogged down in rules. Especially when it comes to how he lives his life or runs his White House.
But, he does have a few rules. And these two might be the most important:
1. Family first. Always.
2. Staff getting bad press for the boss isn't staff for long.
Which brings us to Jared Kushner, who is both a senior adviser to Trump and the President's son-in-law.
Kushner, whose portfolio is so broad that he's been described as the "Secretary of Everything," was widely regarded as the one untouchable staffer in the White House due to rule No. 1. Kushner was family -- he's married to Trump's daughter, Ivanka -- before he was ever a member of the Trump staff.
Then last week happened. Kushner, according to The Washington Post, sought a secret backchannel with the Russians in a December meeting with ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The Post reported that the FBI, which is in the midst of an ongoing investigation into Russia meddling into the 2016 election and the possibility of collusion with some elements of the Trump campaign found that meeting to be of "investigative interest."
JUST WATCHED Hayden: 'I've been a back-channel', but this was 'bad idea' Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Hayden: 'I've been a back-channel', but this was 'bad idea' 05:07
The details are complicated as to what Kushner knew and what he was trying to do. (Nota bene: The FBI has never said Kushner is a target of their investigation and Kushner has volunteered to testify in front of congressional committees looking into Russia and the 2016 election.) The point is that a weekend Donald Trump was hoping would be dominated by positive chatter about his nine-day, five-country foreign trip was instead all about Kushner.
Trump, publicly, remains entirely supportive of his son-in-law. "Jared is doing a great job for the country," he told the Times Sunday night. "I have total confidence in him." And, Kushner -- and Ivanka -- are " laying low, " certain that he will survive this episode.
A source familiar with Kushner's White House duties told CNN's Jim Acosta Tuesday that the senior adviser isn't giving up any part of his vast portfolio, including Middle East peace and streamlining government.
Kushner "has a strong team around him working on every part of his portfolio," the source said.
But privately, the picture is less clear.
This, on Kushner, comes from Politico:
"Some allies and aides say Jared Kushner, a top adviser who is under scrutiny for his business ties and communications with Russian officials, is also on shaky ground, even though Trump is unlikely to let his own son-in-law go."
Then there is the fact that Trump seems increasingly frustrated by how the Russia story is blotting out all other conversations about his administration and what he believes to be a number of underreported successes.
And the fact that we know that Kushner isn't exactly the most beloved figure in the White House, having already had a very public run-in with senior strategist Steve Bannon back in April
This is the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object: An angry Trump looking for someone to blame for the ongoing Russia story settles on the one person who has always been deemed un-fireable in his White House.
JUST WATCHED McCain fires back at WH defense of Kushner Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH McCain fires back at WH defense of Kushner 01:37
Count me as skeptical that Kushner is going anywhere -- if for no other reason than Donald Trump listens to Ivanka Trump more than he listens to anyone else in the world. Firing her husband -- or publicly demoting him -- is a sure-fire recipe to break that most important bond for Donald Trump.
But that doesn't mean the current Kushner conundrum won't have consequences. Trump might not be willing -- or able -- to get rid of Kushner, but if past is prologue he will find some staffer (or maybe a few) to project his frustration onto.
While stories of potential staff shakeups seem like a weekly occurrence in this White House, Trump's mounting ire -- and the likelihood that its source can't be easily eliminated -- may create the right conditions for an actual senior staff shuffle.
Kushner will almost certainly survive if such a shuffle comes to pass. But he will have been the catalyst of it. And while he likely will remain, it may be as damaged goods in the eyes of his father-in-law, AKA the President.Image copyright Twitter Image caption Trump re-tweeted cartoon of himself as the internet meme Pepe the frog, with the caption "Can't stump the Trump"
A disparate group of provocateurs is challenging conservative orthodoxy from the right. They hate political correctness and love Donald Trump - but their critics say they're nothing but bigoted white nationalists.
There was a moment when the phrase "alt-right" first started to get real traction in the mainstream media.
It began with a tweet by US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. It showed an image of his opponent, Hillary Clinton, alongside a six-pointed star containing the words: "Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!"
Image copyright Twitter
It wasn't long before Trump's critics zeroed in on the six-pointed star - said to resemble a Star of David - and the pile of money. They immediately accused the Republican nominee of using dog-whistle tactics, playing on old stereotypes about Jews, money, and corruption.
The candidate himself denied the allegations - although he deleted the tweet, later reposting the image with a circle replacing the star.
Anthony Smith, a journalist for the website Mic, got a tip that the image had appeared on 8chan, an extreme message board with many users who self-identify as members of the alt-right movement.
At first Smith was sceptical that he'd be able to stand the story up. The message board is fast-moving, threads get deleted quickly, and it's difficult to search for and find images. But within an hour, he had his answer.
Image caption The Clinton meme had first appeared on the 8Chan message board
"Sure enough I found it, and I was able to confirm that it was on this board before it was on Trump's Twitter feed," he says.
Smith's story was picked up by the BBC and other news outlets, and many picked up on the link between the image and the amorphous movement known as the alt-right. But what is it, what do its members believe, and what influence are they having on mainstream politics?
As a disparate, mostly online phenomenon that lacks a cohesive structure or any sort of central organisation, it's tough to pin down. But observers of the movement - both critics and supporters - agree on a few things.
The alt-right is against political correctness and feminism. It's nationalist, tribalist and anti-establishment. Its followers are fond of internet pranks and using provocative, often grossly offensive messages to goad their enemies on both the right and the left. And many of them are huge supporters of Donald Trump.
The Briefing Room on Radio 4
Hear more about the alt-right on The Briefing Room - you can download the podcast here.
In a speech last night, Hillary Clinton lambasted Trump for his ties to what she called the "emerging racist ideology known as the alt-right" and said her rival was "helping a radical fringe take over the Republican Party".
Iain Davis, who lives in Surrey and runs several alt-right social media accounts, says the movement includes a whole range of people, from libertarians, men's rights activists, Christians and traditionalists - as well as neo-nazis.
"There's all these ideas happening in there," says Davis. "This community works over multiple different social media platforms and networks, and there are all sorts of figures and faces involved in it."
They can be particularly vicious towards their perceived enemies. According to Time magazine "trolling has become the main tool of the alt-right". They pejoratively call liberals "social justice warriors" or SJWs, and establishment conservatives are dubbed "cuckservatives" - a portmanteau that the Southern Poverty Law Centre says refers to "cuckolding", a racially-charged genre of pornography.
Image caption An alt-right meme attacking former Bush adviser Karl Rove as a "cuckservative"
Davis says his opposition to immigration from Muslim countries drew him into the movement, and he is an enthusiastic participant in many online spats.
"SJWs will ostracise you, they are very happy to call you 'racist' in their own tight definition of the word, find out where you live, find out who you work for, and make sure your employer gets you fired," he says.
"We are very interested in seeing this kind of behaviour ended. That's one of the things that I like about the alt-right, we are responding to this online bullying, even though we get accused of this online bullying ourselves."
As a nebulous movement, exact numbers are hard to come by, but Smith, the journalist, traces the alt-right to a speech given by an obscure right-wing philosopher, Paul Gottfried, shortly after the election of Barack Obama in 2008.
In it, Gottfried called for "an independent intellectual Right, one that exists without movement establishment funding" and declared: "Our group is also full of young thinkers and activists, and if there is to be an independent Right, our group will have to become its leaders."
"At its core it identified black radicalism, radical feminists, open borders activists, these are the enemies, the enemy is progressive society, the enemy is political correctness," Smith says. "From there in the wake of America electing its first black president, all of a sudden you see these people rising from the shadows and organising in a way they haven't organised before."
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Milo Yiannopoulos has become a figurehead for the alt-right
Perhaps Gottfried did not imagine that his idea would be taken up by a merry band of social-media savvy pranksters. One of the alt-right's figureheads today is Milo Yiannopoulos, technology editor for the website Breitbart. Yiannopoulos is a huge fan of provocation - he hosted a somewhat controversial event at the Republican National Convention and recently made the news for getting banned from Twitter after he was accused of orchestrating abuse directed at Ghostbusters actor Leslie Jones.
In a guide to the alt-right that he co-authored with Allum Bokhari, Yiannopoulos detailed the movement's factions, including "intellectuals", "natural conservatives" and "the meme team", mostly young activists with a penchant for trolling.
Yiannopoulos acknowledges that the alt-right has attracted some out-and-out racists - but he denies that this is a main theme of the movement's political philosophy. White supremacists are a marginal force, he argues, and culture and specifically Western civilisation, he insists, are the key motivators for the group.
"The real racists… are very serious, are deep into studies and data attempting to prove that some races are smarter than other races - they're really dorky," he says.
Image copyright Getty Images
Yiannopoulos and other commentators on the alt-right consistently attack the sort of "identity politics" that they say are perpetuated by liberals.
"If the left insists on breaking people up like this, then yeah, why can't white guys say, you know what, we did most of the good stuff in the world."
But critics point out the contradiction in this approach.
"So the answer is to replicate that (racial) obsession and extend it to white people? That's ridiculous," says Cathy Young, a libertarian columnist and writer. "The alt-right is going to alienate a lot of reasonable critics of political correctness who are going to see the anti-PC rebellion as associated with these white-identity people."
Oliver Lee Bateman is a freelance journalist, and in the course of writing for Vice Magazine he got to know two dozen or so alt-right activists in the US. From that sample, he developed a rough profile of alt-right activists.
"They're college students who might be bright but don't feel like they fit in or they feel like they've been put upon," he says. "If they're in their 30s, they feel like the country is changing or they're losing their country. They're often people who work completely boring bureaucratic or programming jobs. They don't want to put their names or faces out there.
"I quickly realised that the folks I was talking to were among the most articulate and educated in this group. But there's a level below them, they're running these gross hate group pages," Bateman says.
"And when Trump came along and began saying things like I'm going to build a wall, or that Saddam Hussein was a good guy, he killed terrorists, they liked that."
The movement has branches in other countries too, including the UK, albeit on a smaller scale.
"It's nowhere near as big as the American scene," says Iain Davis. "And I'm not surprised, because we are the nation that fought fascism, we pride ourselves on the fact we went and bashed Hitler. And it's [the alt-right] always going to be associated with a National Socialist element, when in truth we're closer to the kind of conservatism that was around 30 or 40 years ago."
The movement has gained attention in parallel with Trump the politician - so the big question is, will it survive if Trump loses? Yiannopoulos argues the alt-right is bigger than one man.
"The vast majority of people in this movement believe in principle over ethnicity, freedom of speech, libertarianism and free intellectual inquiry. If the effect of Trump and the effect of the alt-right is to make the unsayable sayable again, wonderful."
Orthodox conservatives will take heart from the victory of US House Speaker Paul Ryan over businessman Paul Nehlen by a wide margin in the Republican primary for the speaker's district. Ryan accused his opponent of belonging to the alt-right while attacking Nehlen's rhetoric as "dark, grim, indefensible".
Image copyright Getty Images
But Trump's victory suggests the establishment have little room for complacency.
"The alt-right probably is here to stay," says Young. "I think that after Trump, it may recede to a more marginal role.
"But after everything that's happened this year, I have completely given up on making any kind of predictions."
Follow @BBCNewsMagazine on Twitter and on FacebookLondon, United Kingdom - Whenever the stand-off between Julian Assange and British authorities seeking to extradite him to Sweden to answer sex assault allegations finally ends, it seems unlikely to involve a car chase.
The narrow streets around the Ecuadorian embassy, from which the fugitive WikiLeaks founder has not emerged since claiming asylum there one year ago, are a permanent traffic jam of oversized limousines favoured by the local diplomatic community, and chauffeur-driven saloons queued up outside the neighbouring Harrods department store.
Across the road from the embassy in the west London district of Knightsbridge, a small cluster of dedicated Assange supporters have maintained a daily vigil for each of the 365 days that the Australian has been inside.
Most days they number just a handful, standing on the pavement with small banners reading "Free Assange", "Safe Passage" and "Don't Shoot the Messenger", handing out leaflets to curious passers-by for a couple of hours or so each afternoon.
"This is just symbolic, but I think it is important to remind people that Julian is still here inside the embassy," Clara Torres, a nurse originally from Chile, told Al Jazeera.
For Torres, Assange's claim to asylum has a deeply personal resonance. She fled to the UK in 1978 after her ex-husband had been held as a political prisoner for two years under Augusto Pinochet's military rule.
"Asylum is very strong for me. This is the last thing a human being runs to. It is the only way to escape persecution. It was the last resort for him to run into exile," she said.
Assange faces extradition over sex assault allegations [EPA]
Assange sought asylum a year ago after exhausting legal options within the UK to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations of sexual assault made by two women.
He denies the allegations and says he believes he would face subsequent extradition to the United States where Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of leaking confidential diplomatic and military cables to WikiLeaks, is currently facing a court martial that could see him jailed for life.
Torres said the UK should allow Assange to go to Ecuador, just as China last year allowed Chen Guangchen to travel to the US after the dissident had taken refuge in the US embassy in Beijing.
"China let one of its residents go to America and it's supposed to be the worst country in the world for human rights. And even Pinochet let thousands of Chileans go through the embassies to other countries."
Vilifying whistleblowers
Standing alongside Torres, Jim Curran, an Irish civil liberties activist, said he had been campaigning against extradition proceedings for nearly 40 years since the height of the Irish Republican Army's (IRA) campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, when the UK used its extradition treaty with Ireland to have suspected fighters rendered into its custody.
He said he saw parallels between Assange's case and that of Colin Wallace, a former British soldier who exposed details about covert operations and a secret black propaganda unit in Northern Ireland, and alleged links between British intelligence agents and loyalist paramilitary groups.
Wallace was wrongly jailed in 1980 for allegedly beating a man to death, but the conviction was eventually overturned.
"We had whistleblowers in Ireland in relation to atrocities that the British government carried out against Irish Republicans. Some of them were British people like Colin Wallace and they were vilified by the establishment. I suppose people who expose malpractice by any government in any country, they get vilified."
Curran said he was concerned Assange would be shifted on to the US from Sweden as soon as the country's legal system had dealt with the sexual assault allegations against him, pointing to the country's past involvement in the US prisoner rendition programme.
"Until it signs up at the International Criminal Court, I do not believe that anybody should be extradited to the United States of America. " - Jim Curran, Irish civil liberties activist
Sweden was censured by the United Nations' Committee Against Torture in 2006 over the rendition of two Egyptian men, Ahmed Agiza and Muhammed Alzery, to Egypt in 2001. But it subsequently halted cooperation with rendition flights and paid substantial damages to the pair.
But he said: "While Sweden is an admirable country and has given great help to people campaigning against war and refuseniks and asylum seekers and refugees, that seems to have been deteriorating under the current government."
‘State terrorism’
Curran said his support for Assange was primarily motivated by concerns over the UK's current extradition arrangements. He said he opposed both the European arrest warrant system, which requires all European Union member states to detain and transfer suspects wanted elsewhere in the EU, and all extraditions to the US.
"Until it signs up at the International Criminal Court, I do not believe that anybody should be extradited to the United States of America," he said.
But he added: "Assange has focused international attention on what I call state terrorism and that is very important. I believe in freedom of speech and a free press. I believe all governments should be transparent in what they do because they are responsible to voters and taxpayers, and they shouldn't be engaging in clandestine operations."
Assange has been accused by some critics of inspiring the sort of devotion among his acolytes usually associated with cult leaders.
"The problem is that WikiLeaks … has been guilty of the same obfuscation and misinformation as those it sought to expose, while its supporters are expected to follow, unquestioningly, in blinkered, cultish devotion," Jemima Khan, one of many former supporters to have fallen out with Assange, wrote in the New Statesman magazine earlier this year.
But Torres rejected Khan's criticism: "I don't agree with her. They're trying to deface his character, and saying horrible things. I don't think he is the Messiah or anything like that. He is just a very brave and intelligent man."
Long haul
Speaking to Al Jazeera's Listening Post this week, Assange said he would be "reasonably surprised" if his situation at the embassy had not been resolved within two more years. But Ricardo Patino, Ecuador's foreign minister, said after talks on Sunday that Assange had told him he was prepared to remain inside for another five years if necessary.
Assange prepared to stay five years if necessary [Getty Images]
Lance Rolls, a researcher originally from New Zealand and a regular attendee at the vigil, said the situation was a "poor reflection on UK society".
"I was here the day after I heard he'd gone into the embassy, and I wanted to be there to be a witness. And these guys have been here for him now all through the winter and the snow."
Like others at the vigil, Rolls stated that Assange should answer the allegations he faces, although he said he should be given the opportunity to do so in a third country where he would not be at risk of extradition to the US.
But he added the efforts of whistleblowers such as Manning and Edward Snowden, currently hiding in Hong Kong after revealing details of US surveillance programmes, had exposed bigger concerns.
"As a society we are getting smothered and we are getting controlled, especially with all the technology. Where we are heading, we have got to be very careful."
Follow Simon Hooper on Twitter: @Hooper AJThe European Nations Cup no longer serves the rugby ambitions of his national side, Georgia captain Mamuka Gorgodze has declared.
The European Nations Cup no longer serves the rugby ambitions of his national side, Georgia captain Mamuka Gorgodze has declared.
After a dominating ENC campaign – the second division of European rugby after the high-profile 6 Nations – and following on from their strong, head-turning performance at last fall’s Rugby World Cup, Gorgodze told Eurosport RugbyRama the time has come for Georgia to at least face the likes of Canada, the USA, Japan, Tonga or Fiji on a regular basis.
Gorgodze in action vs. Tonga at the Rugby World Cup. (Photo by Harry Engels/Getty Images)
“I think now we have to play at another level. Maybe not the 6 Nations but something between the A Tournament (6N) and the B Tournament (ENC). I don’t have a solution but we should play teams like Japan, Canada, the United States or Tonga or Fiji. We are still a minor team but we have potential. Tournament B, with all the respect I have for the other teams, today, it no longer serves us,” the backrower said. Gorgodze, who plays his club rugby in France for Toulon, has won 65 Georgia caps in his career.
Georgia lost to Canada 16-15 in a warmup match before the Rugby World Cup, but also defeated Tonga at the RWC. The went undefeated in the 2016 ENC, conceding just 33 points in 5 games and defeating Romania 38-9 in their finale. Russia, Spain, Portugal and Germany were the other squads in this year’s instalment.
Before last September’s Canada vs. Georgia match, played in Esher, England, the two countries had last met in Nov. 2013 in Tblisi, a 19-15 victory for the home side. Georgia last visited Canada in 2012, when the Canadians won 31-12 at Swangard Stadium.
Full French text here:
Après une très belle Coupe du Monde, la Géorgie a survolé le Tournoi B. Que retenez-vous? M.G: Je pense que désormais, nous devons jouer à un autre niveau. Peut-être pas le 6 Nations mais quelque chose entre le Tournoi A et le Tournoi B. Je n’ai pas de solution mais on devrait affronter des équipes comme le Japon, le Canada, les Etats-Unis ou encore les Tonga ou les Fidji. On est encore une petite équipe mais on a du potentiel. Le Tournoi B, avec tout le respect que j’ai pour les autres équipes, aujourd’hui, cela ne nous sert plus à rien.
pjohnston@postmedia.com
twitter.com/risingaction
facebook.com/tryandtackleTABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE
I've been sentenced for a D.U.I. offense. My 3rd one. When I first came to prison, I had no idea what to expect. Certainly none of this. I'm a tall white male, who unfortunately has a small amount of feminine characteristics. And very shy. These characteristics have got me raped so many times I have no more feelings physically. I have been raped by up to 5 black men and two white men at a time. I've had knifes at my head and throat. I had fought and been beat so hard that I didn't ever think I'd see straight again. One time when I refused to enter a cell, I was brutally attacked by staff and taken to segragation though I had only wanted to prevent the same and worse by not locking up with my cell mate. There is no supervision after lockdown. I was given a conduct report. I explained to the hearing officer what the issue was. He told me that off the record, He suggests I find a man I would/could willingly have sex with to prevent these things from happening. I've requested protective custody only to be denied. It is not available here. He also said there was no where to run to, and it would be best for me to accept things.... I probably have AIDS now. I have great difficulty raising food to my mouth from shaking after nightmares or thinking to hard on all this.... I've laid down without physical fight to be sodomized. To prevent so much damage in struggles, ripping and tearing. Though in not fighting, it caused my heart and spirit to be raped as well. Something I don't know if I'll ever forgive myself for. (1)
The letter excerpted above was one of the first to reach Human Rights Watch in response to a small announcement posted in Prison Legal News and Prison Life Magazine, two publications with a wide audience in U.S. prisons. Having been alerted to the problem of prisoner-on-prisoner rape in the United States by the work of activists like Stephen Donaldson of the organization Stop Prisoner Rape, we had decided to conduct exploratory research into the topic and had put a call out to prisoners for information. The resulting deluge of letters--many of which included compelling firsthand descriptions such as this--convinced us that the issue merited urgent attention. Rape, by prisoners' accounts, was no aberrational occurrence; instead it was a deeply-rooted, systemic problem. It was also a problem that prison authorities were doing little to address.
The present report--the product of three years of research and well over a thousand inmate letters--describes the complex dynamics of male prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse in the United States. The report is an effort to explain why and how such abuse occurs, who commits it and who falls victim to it, what are its effects, both physical and psychological, how are prison authorities coping with it and, most importantly, what reforms can be instituted to better prevent it from occurring.
The Scope of this Report
This report is limited in scope to male prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse in the United States. It does not cover women prisoners, nor does it cover the sexual abuse of male prisoners by their jailers. Human Rights Watch investigated the problem of custodial sexual misconduct in U.S. women's prisons in two previous reports and the issue has been a continuing focus of our U.S. advocacy efforts. (2) As to custodial sexual misconduct against male prisoners, we decided not to include that topic within the scope of this report even though some prisoners who claimed to have been subject to such abuse did contact us. An initial review of the topic convinced us that it involved myriad issues that were distinct from the topic at hand, which is complicated enough in itself.
Even though the notices that Human Rights Watch circulated to announce our research on prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse were written in gender-neutral language, we received no information from women prisoners regarding the problem. As prison experts are well aware, penal facilities for men and women tend to differ in important respects. If the problem of prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse exists in women's institutions--a possibility we do not exclude--it is likely to take somewhat different forms than in men's prisons. (3)
For several reasons, the primary focus of this report is on sexual abuse in prisons, rather than jails. (4) Most importantly, all of our information save a handful of letters came from prison as opposed to jail inmates. Many of these prisoners did, however, describe sexual abuses they had suffered when previously held in jails, allowing us to gather some information on the topic. Nonetheless, the bulk of our prisoner testimonies and documentation--and all of the information we collected from state authorities--pertain specifically to prisons. Already, with fifty separate state prison jurisdictions in the United States, the task of collecting official information was difficult; obtaining such information from the many thousands of local authorities responsible for city and county jails would have been infinitely more so. Yet we should emphasize that our lack of specific research on jails should be not interpreted as suggesting that the problem does not occur there. Although little research has been done on sexual assault in jails, the few commentators who have examined the topic have found the abuse to be similarly or even more prevalent there. (5)
It is evident to Human Rights Watch, even without having completed exhaustive research into the jail context, that the problems we describe with regard to prisons generally hold true for jails as well. This conclusion derives from the fact that most of the risk factors leading to rape exist in prisons and jails alike. We therefore believe that our recommendations for reform are largely applicable in the jail context, and we urge jail authorities to pay increased attention to the issue of prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse.
While this report does not deal specifically with juvenile institutions, we note that previous research, while extremely scanty, suggests that inmate-on-inmate sexual abuse may be even more common in juvenile institutions than it is in facilities for adults. (6) Indeed, a case filed recently by the U.S. Justice Department in federal court to challenge conditions in a Louisiana juvenile institution includes serious allegations of inmate-on-inmate rape. (7)
Finally, our choice of U.S. prisons as the subject of this research, over prisons elsewhere in the world, in no way indicates that we believe the problem to be unique to the United States. On the contrary, our international prison research convinces us that prisoner-on-prisoner rape is of serious concern around the world. We note that several publications on human rights or prison conditions in other countries have touched on or explored the topic, as have past Human Rights Watch prison reports. (8) Interestingly, researchers outside of the United States have reached many of the same conclusions as researchers here, suggesting that specific cultural variables are not determinative with regard to rape in prison. (9)
Methodology
The report is primarily based on information collected from over 200 prisoners spread among thirty-seven states. The majority of these inmates have been raped or otherwise sexually abused while in prison, and were therefore able to give firsthand accounts of the problem. Numerous inmates who were not subject to sexual abuse also provided their views on the topic, including information about sexual assaults that they had witnessed. A very small number of inmates who had themselves participated in rape also contributed their perspectives. Much of the information was received via written correspondence, although Human Rights Watch representatives spoke by telephone with a number of prisoners, and personally interviewed twenty-six of them. Prisoner testimonies were supplemented by documentary materials such as written grievances, court papers, letters, and medical records.
Prisoners were contacted |
is well above 1st year uni level, and extends far into graduate level. But I think it is a good book to read even if you don't follow all the dense maths, it certainly gives you an idea of what you can expect to study if you are thinking of continuing on to a physics degree, or thinking about further study after your first degree.
The Fabric Of Reality - David Deutsch
Recommended by Pulse. This is going to be at a high level mathematically so only for the mathematically interested or those already at university I would say. "It is a very dense book, but also a very extensive one. It touches on parallel universes, the nature of mathematics, time travel and virtual reality amongst many others. Highly recommended."
The Fifth Essence - Lawrence Krauss
Recommended by Archduke. A really good read; no maths whatsoever, but still challenging and interesting. Whilst primarily about Dark Matter, it covers a real breadth of subject matter; Gravitation, light/ether/Michelson and Morley, Big Bang and Nucleosythesis, Particle Physics, Relativity and Gravitational Lensing, Super-symmetry...everything really. A really refreshing view away from A Level which always seemed to be modularised with little or no interrelation between different parts of Physics.
Quantum Physics
In Search of Schrodinger's Cat - John Gribbin
Again, not completely accurate and a little out of date now, but a compelling read for all that. It was this book that awoke my enthusiasm for the world of the quantum, which has remained ever since. It's all just so bizarre. The book is basically a history of quantum physics and how it came about, with some good analogies and a final discussion on how it is used in every day life.
Schrodinger's Kittens - John Gribbin
The sequel to the above, discussing the developments of quantum since the late 80s when the above was written. It mainly covers entanglement, doing quite a reasonable job of explaining it I must say. It focuses more on the ideas behind entanglement and what this means. I think there is a small section on quantum computing also. Not as good as the above book but readable and interesting nonetheless for those with an interest in quantum.
QED - The Strange Theory of Light and Matter - Richard Feynman
Recommended by eventhorizon. Feynman has encapsulated this utterly baffling topic in just 4 short lectures/chapters, and QED is a very good read even for the lesser informed of us out there. He refrains from the torrent of maths and formulae that other books might throw at us, and more focuses on the actual method behind his calculations, whilst giving us a unique insight into his though processes. Feynman even brings himself down to the reader's level, and reassures us that it's quite alright to not really understand QED, since "not even I do - nobody does". The level of the content is such that most people with even a slight interest in Physics or the Quantum will be able to grasp, and simple diagrams with descriptive annotations aid this greatly. A brilliant read.
The new quantum universe - Hey and Walters
Recommended by Robob "A good book on quantum physics"
Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You - Marcus Chown
This is a very simple, very easy to read and understand book. It is quite short and gives you foundation understanding of quantum theory for those who are not quite sure where to begin. A great read for those who want to become interested in the subject or who already know a bit about it but want to know how to explain it. Many simple analogies used too.
Quantum - Manjit Kumar
This tells the history of quantum physics from Plank's famous equation through to Bell's thereom. It tells the story of the arguments between Einstein and Bohr as they try to describe the atomic world. There isn't much maths in the book as it is more of a novel narrating the history of the quantum.
How to teach Quantum Physics to your dog - Chad Orzel
Orzel explains the key theories of QP. From quarks to gluons to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, it is an entertaining way to grasp basic QP.
Relativity
Relativity is quite hard to read up on as the subject is necessarily complex and mathematical (especially general relativity). There are not in my experience that many books out there pitched at a level readable by A Level students. The best you can do is to read the astro books above, which do talk and discuss relativity at reasonable length. Books on time travel are another possibility.
Special Relativity - A. P. French.
This is really a degree level text book, fairly widely used from what I can gather, but it is just about readable and understandable as a reading book. The maths is kept to a relative (no pun intended) minimum. I wouldn't recommend it to those not totally confident with maths and physics, as it is quite an advanced read.
Relativity - Albert Einstein
Recommended by jazznaz. Makes sense to read about the topic from the man himself. The ideas themselves are fairly simple to understand, but the book is not written very concisely, so at times it can be difficult to get through the wordy parts to extract the relevant information, but if you've got the patience, it's a rewarding read. This book is verging on philosophy in nature.
Spacetime Physics - Edwin F. Taylor and John Archibald Wheeler
A book written by one of Hawkins' tutors and it is a very good read. Quite mathematically in-depth, yet it is quite enlightening. I was recommended it by a physics teacher, who is one of the most highly respected physicists in the country.
Why does E=mc^2? - Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw
This book derives the famous equation by first explaining the notions of light and space and then shows the equation's applications. It also has a few chapters on particle physics and quantum theory. The book is not very maths-heavy but after the first read I had to go back and read it again taking notes to understand it fully.
Electromagnetism
Finding books on electromagnetism of a pop science nature is nigh on impossible. Electromagnetism necessarily requires high level of mathematical skill and understanding, on topics not covered at A Level (such as vector calculus and multiple integrals to name but two). If anyone can find any I'll include it, but in short I would avoid EM like the plague as it is enough to put anyone off physics for life if you aren't careful. You'll meet it soon enough at uni if you go on that far.
Chaos
Not really deserving of its own sub-heading but I couldn't really fit it in anywhere else. There are quite a few books on it and the useful thing about it is that the mathematics are unsolvable analytically so that the books are very qualitative and therefore suitable for A Level reading.
Does God Play Dice? - Ian Stewart
I read this book at the end of my first year of university but I think you could read it at an earlier age and still make sense of it. It's nicely laid out in a very pop science vein (more so than Gleick below). It's got some nice pictures and discusses most areas of chaos and the associated topography. If you are interested in chaos then it's worth a read but it probably won't prepare you much for uni as it's not really studied extensively (if at all) in a degree level course.
Chaos - James Gleick
This is somewhat of a classic text on chaos which always seems to be recommended. It might be better if you know something about chaos theory beforehand because I didn't know anything about it at all. Although it really tells the story of how the theory was developed rather than talking about the theory itself.
General
Feynman Lectures In Physics (Vol I-III) - Richard Feynman
These are the classic lecture series books produced by Feynman which every degree student likes to claim to have read. I would not advise purchasing them (they are expensive) or indeed reading them cover to cover, but they do offer a different perspective of things and Feynman is unparallelled in his ability to explain. Make no mistake, these are degree level books, although they would not be useful as a core text book in any degree course you do. If you want lighter reading I suggest the extracts below. I really include these to try and discourage you from buying them at A Level. The extracts are far more suitable (and cheaper).
Six Easy Pieces/Six Not So Easy Pieces - Richard Feynman
These are the best bits from the above lectures in physics. The first is clealy simpler to read than the not so easy ones, as should be obvious from the title. I would definitely advise reading 6 easy pieces, just for the discussions of quantum theory. Feynman sees things differently too everyone else and his analogies are excellent.
The Meaning of it All - Richard Feynman
I've never actually read this one, I'm not even sure what it's about. However, it was recommended to me by people in the know about these things, before I applied to uni, and with Feynman you really can't go wrong. The only reason I haven't read it is that for thin book (as with all Feynman books) it isn't cheap.
A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
Recommended by dark_link. A really interesting read that tells the story of science, right back from the beginning when the philosophers were thinking about the stars, to the latest theories on unifying quantum mechanics with general relativity. its filled with all sorts of anecdotes and really makes you interested in how all these discoveries came about!
Hidden Unity in Nature's Laws - John C. Taylor
A fantastic account of developments in physics starting with Newton's work and getting as far as String Theory. Following a historical but ultimately detailed and scientific tack, physics is presented in a very accessible and clear manner with the interesting quirk that most of the (mathematical) equations are expressed in words. I found the level of the mathematics to be low enough to make a relaxing read, but high enough to support details of the main ideas. This book is so good that I've struggled to read more on subjects such as relativity without wishing for the clarity and precision of Taylor's writing.
Fizz: Nothing is as it seems - Zvi Schreiber
A newer book with an unusual approach - Fizz tells the history of physics from Aristotle to Hawking through a fictional story about a young woman who time travels to meet the likes of Galileo, Newton and Einstein. Within the storyline, the book discusses many fundamental concepts of both classical and modern physics. This provides interesting historical context for physics students, and brings the great physicists to life in a more personal way as real historical people. (Currently exclusively from Amazon and the publisher.)
Historical & Casual Reads
Great Physicists - William H. Cropper
I love this book. I take it to uni with me every term as it's great to just dip into. It covers nearly every possible area of physics in surprising detail. It even gives explanations of some advanced mathematical topics such as vector calculus. It's set out as a biography of around 30 key physicists, arranged by area of physics and discussing in depth the lives of these greats and the detail behind what they discovered. I highly recommend this one as an excellent mixture of physics and background interest.
Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman? - Richard Feynman
First things first, this book has little or nothing to do with physics and I believe you could quite easily read this with a GCSE knowledge of physics. This is not a book on physics, but a collection of extracts and anecdotes from one of the greats (and certainly one of the great characters), Richard Feynman. I love this book, the style is witty and it gives a real insight into the mind of a great man. He got up to a surprising amount, from safe cracking at Los Alamos to painting to time out in Brazil. Don't kid yourself that you'll gain physics knowledge from it, but as a stand alone entertaining read it's an awesome read.
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out - Richard Feynman
A book along the lines of "Surely You're Joking", but this time instead of being a compilation of conversations the great Feynman had with his friend Ralph Leighton, the book consists of talks and interviews that Feynman did during his life. From the famous television interview that the book took its name from, talks given in Japan about the future of computing, to why Feynman thinks Physics is the bees knees, this book both shares some interesting Physics with the reader and gives an insight into the mind of the incredible, bongo playing genious that is Richard Feynman.
A Level Standard Texts
Recommended by frixis
Pacific Physics
(I guess that's only available in asia or something) It's not really good on the theory part but it has lots of practice questions.
A Level Physics - Roger Muncaster
Another reference book my teacher recommended. This book is much longer than most A Level physics texts, it was written about 20/30 years ago for the physics syllabus' of that time, this is seen by some as a good things because it still has the maths which has now been removed from the A Level physics course. However will be harder than most A Level texts and much of it will not be relevant for the exam, I would only really recommend this if you are aiming to get a deeper insight into the physics because you are thinking of studying physics at university.
Accessible Physics - Azzopardi and Stewart
The theory is explained in a nice easy understandable concise manner - best theory explanation so far.
Advanced Physics - Oxford University Press.
A great reference book for A Level physics, even if it does go a little bit too far in some places. Great layout which is really easy to understand, pretty much the only physics book you will need for A Level. In fact many students at university still look to this book for guidance.
Original content taken from TSR.
This is an opinion piece written by an editor of the TSR wiki. This may be entirely subjective, or indeed, false.
Also seeThis is the player Jefferson expected to be when he left Oklahoma in 2013, although no one drafted him. This is the player he knew he was when he hit restricted free agency this March, although the Cardinals gave him the lowest tender and no other team signed him to an offer sheet.
If only every week of the year was a game week.
“I hate free agency,” Jefferson said. “I hate all that. If it was a perfect world, I wish we could all just stay with the team where you go. Obviously it doesn’t work that way. Obviously I didn’t get what I wanted this offseason, so that does fuel me -- still being overlooked and undervalued. It’s my year to show.”
The pending unrestricted free agent has proven plenty so far, taking over as a chief play-maker in the secondary as safety Tyrann Mathieu returns slowly from a torn ACL. Jefferson has been around the ball constantly, recovering a fumble, bringing down ballcarriers and even harassing quarterbacks on the blitz.
“I’m honestly just going out there playing football a lot smarter than I have been and a lot more aggressive than I have been,” Jefferson said. “I just feel more comfortable.”
Much of that came from his offseason preparation. Jefferson dropped weight to get faster and dropped social media to study more.
“I’ve always thought he was a great tackler; I’ve always thought he was underrated in coverage,” Mathieu said. “I think he’s really putting it all together this year. He had a great offseason. I think he’s got like six percent body fat, so he’s been really focused. It’s a big year for him. A contract year, he’s got a son now -- he’s got a lot of different things motivating him.”
Jefferson is aware of the pivotal offseason coming up, but now he’s back in the comfort zone of the regular season, focused on the jewelry he can earn regardless of the size of his next contract.
“I’m happy, beyond blessed, to be in the situation I am now,” Jefferson said. “I worked my tail off, and it’s only been two games so I’m not getting hung up on what the stats are now. I’m just trying to get a Super Bowl ring and do what I can do to help this team.”
EVAN MATHIS WON’T PLAY AGAINST BILLSThis film is such a beautiful exploration of a unique friendship; the special connection Elliott shares with the little extraterrestrial is precious. It's difficult to review a movie that was a cultural touchstone of one's childhood, because there are personal memories enmeshed with the movie itself. Although kids no longer dress as E.T. for Halloween or recite his famous line, "E.T. phone home," the kind extraterrestrial remains one of the most recognizable creatures in movie history, and that is due to director Steven Spielberg's genius. Not only is the movie a fantastic sci-fi adventure with unforgettable images (the flying bicycle scene alone is worth the cost of a rental), but it's also a touching family drama (divorced mother trying to raise three kids without her ex's help; children who are wary of trusting adults).
The performances, especially the kids -- Thomas, 6-year-old Drew Barrymore as Elliott's baby sister Gertie, and Robert Macnaughton as his older brother Michael -- are exceptional and genuine. Dee Wallace, who a year later also played a besieged mother in Cujo, perfectly captured the frustration and at-times insanity of single parenting, which in the early '80s was an unconventional family structure in movies. John Williams' score soars, and the special effects are still dazzling, even if younger audiences are used to much slicker by now. After more than 25 years, E.T. continues to tug at heartstrings and prove Spielberg is a master storyteller.So, how long does it take to learn guitar?
Unfortunately, there is no straightforward answer to this question. And thank heaven for that. The reason why any instrument holds any value is because it’s never the same experience for everyone. And just like it would be impossible to select a single, ultimate guitarist of all time, it would be impossible to tell you how long your learning curve is going to take exactly.
The truth about learning guitar, and this might surprise you, is that you never stop. If you really love it for what it is, and when you find your unique sound, there will always be something new around the corner.
But this is probably not what you want to hear, especially since you have yet to discover the magic within those six strings, attached to a hollow piece of wood.
You probably want a more realistic answer before you go out and buy the first guitar you see. So, in light of helping you estimate a time-frame for when you should have this versatile instrument figured out, consider the following thoughts.
Your Perspective On Learning
The best place to start would be with your personal views on learning. In other words, at what level do you consider yourself “taught”?
For example, some beginners feel they reach this point when they are able to fluently switch between chords while strumming with a consistent rhythm. Others might see it as being able to properly press a chord, as well as knowing which combinations work well.
If you consider how long it takes to tune your ear to the instrument, whether you make music theory a strong part of the process, and effortlessly going from one chord to the next, at what point do you consider yourself amply taught?
Your Motivation And Dedication To Learn
Now that you have established your level of learning, and the targets you’ve set for yourself, it’s time to look at your motivation and dedication to learn.
If you are a family man with limited time, it means your progress could be slow. Of course, you could be a guitar prodigy and master it in one night, but that’s the true beauty of learning an instrument – you never know what’s going to happen. Alternatively, you can be a student with too much time on your hands, which will probably help you progress a little faster.
However, talent alone won’t carry you all the way through. A little bit of logic, a lot of passion and attention to detail are all crucial elements that speak to how quickly you’ll learn. If you don’t put in the time and effort, you are not likely to see great results in a short amount of time.
The Bottom Line
Everything comes down to you. If you practice hard enough, you can impress your friends in a week. Or, you can move at a more comfortable pace and really master the basics, which provides you with a stronger platform to explore from.
So, you get to decide how long it takes to learn guitar.
Useful links on this are here:
https://www.learnguitars.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-learn-the-guitar/
https://www.learnguitars.com/online-guitar-lessons/
Visit the homepage hereIt will take a week to learn if the secret settlement made between the Canadian government and U.S. Steel will be unsealed, after both sides submitted arguments at Superior Court Monday.
While lawyers for U.S. Steel argue the deal is privileged and protected information, lawyers for the steelworkers union and City of Hamilton say it would be "fairness 101" to disclose the deal during bankruptcy protection and amidst the potential sale of the Hamilton steel plant.
If we're going to have a fair settlement, all that information needs to come out.' - Bill Ferguson, USW, Local 8782
"They waived any right to secrecy over this agreement," argued United Steelworkers' (USW) lawyer Ken Rosenberg.
At issue are the details of an out-of-court settlement reached between the two sides, after the government took legal action against U.S. Steel for not fulfilling its obligations set out when Stelco was purchased in 2007.
With the plant idled, and pensions hanging in the balance, the federal Industry Department sued in 2009.
2011 settlement
But in 2011, a secret out-of-court settlement was reached. Details of how U.S. Steel was let off the hook for pulling steel production out of Canada have been withheld from the steelworkers union and City of Hamilton.
One section of the Investment Canada Act could open the documents up to the public proceedings of the Canada's Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCCA) court case, which is being heard in Superior Court in Toronto.
It all depends on how you read it and who is at the table, the court heard Monday.
In the section titled "privileged information" in the Investment Canada Act, companies, Canadian or not, do not have to give up privileged information.
There are a number of exceptions, including exception "d" under Section 36, which was argued at length Monday. The exception reads, "Information the communication or disclosure of which has been authorized in writing by the Canadian or the non-Canadian to which the information relates."
Decision in a week
Union lawyers argued U.S. Steel Canada president Michael McQuade essentially shot himself in the foot by noting that a settlement did exist in a letter denying the release of the settlement, and said the terms of the agreement prevented him from disclosing the 2011 deal.
"Once you disclose, you can't then hide from partial disclosure," Rosenberg argued.
"They (U.S. Steel) have the right to disclose and they're choosing not to… Once they're in for a penny, they're in for a pound."
On the flip side, lawyers for U.S. Steel argue for a separate subsection of the exclusions to privileged information that allows any "officer or employee of Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province" to be forced into disclosing information.
Superior Court Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel will weigh the minutia of the law, he told the court, and is expected to release a written decision next week.
What he will not have to consider is what is in fact in the settlement that would be pertinent, which was also argued Monday.
The union and city made the case they have no idea what information is in the settlement, which would largely govern how the plant is being run now, and what obligations it may have which would impact how the plant is liquidated or sold.
Closer than ever
U.S. Steel lawyers, meanwhile, called the union's request a "Catch-22" by forcing the disclosure of the settlement to prove their case that it is privileged information.
Still, after nearly three and a half years, the USW is as close as they have ever been to seeing the secret agreement, something they say they need for any upcoming negotiations, bankruptcy creditor dealings or a sale of the plants in Hamilton and Nanitocoke.
"If we're going to have a fair settlement, all that information needs to come out," said Bill Ferguson, president of USW Local 8782, which represents workers at the Nanticoke operations of U.S. Steel.
"We don't know until we get the disclosure. This whole thing is about fair play."Oak Ridge National Laboratory is testing a ‘deep-learning supercomputer in a box’ as it looks ahead to machines that automatically find insights in data.
In an age when cars park themselves and computers talk at their human users, Mallikarjun (Arjun) Shankar of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) acknowledges that high-end research computation also seems on the verge of, if not intelligence, at least remarkable ability to train itself to assemble and interpret massive amounts of spoken, written and visual data.
That’s owed to an evolving computational field called “deep learning,” says Shankar, ORNL Advanced Data and Workflow Group leader. Enabled by mathematical ideas called artificial neural networks, deep learning offers “computational techniques to understand backgrounds and structures and data,” he says. This information, some of it initially hidden, emerges like art on a painter’s canvas as these networks grasp more insights into the information they’re focusing on.
The goal: employ this high-speed wizardry to search swaths of available information better than previous techniques have, finding learning patterns at the speed of data input. Multiple national labs, including ORNL, are working with major universities in deep learning quests to resolve scientific challenges ranging from understanding cancer to enabling fusion power.
Last fall, ORNL bought what the manufacturer calls “the world’s first deep-learning supercomputer in a box.” This box, the NVIDIA DGX-1, is already exchanging data with the much more massive Titan supercomputer at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OCLF), a DOE Office of Science user facility. Both machines have graphics processing units (GPUs) that deep learning thrives on.
NVIDIA GPUs will also be vital components of Summit – the next-generation supercomputer at OCLF – which will have at least 10 times’ Titan’s calculating speed, enough to label it a “pre-exascale” machine when it is assembled next year. Exascale computers will perform a quintillion (1018) calculations per second.
Shankar also directs ORNL’s Compute and Data Environment for Science (CADES) program, which offers researchers access to data-intensive resources such as the DGX-1. He thus has a long perspective on data-handling history.
“Statisticians have been doing data analysis for over a hundred years,” he says. “Scientists in the second half of the 20th century became interested in how to make a computer do it well. In the 1970s and 1980s, ways to deploy methods to understand patterns and information in databases were developing, and that was called ‘data mining.’ Then ‘machine learning’ became the term everybody gravitated to.”
Machine learning gives computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed to do so. Deep learning, which has evolved rapidly over the last decade, is a part of machine learning that boosts flexibility in computer programs’ self-training power.
GPU processors, it turns out, ‘are really well designed’ for a mathematical feature of neural nets.
Shankar thinks none of this is artificial intelligence, a term he says has become loaded since Massachusetts Institute of Technology computer pioneers Marvin Minsky and John McCarthy first used it in the 1950s. Back then, “there was this thinking that computers and algorithms would work to become sentient in a sense,” he says. “That never really played out, so people lowered their expectations. We reset our targets to say we want a computer that doesn’t have to be reprogrammed when it gets new data.”
For the past 15 years or so, computers have gotten bigger and faster. Now, “these neural networks are able to do things more powerfully that don’t need that much hand-holding. It almost feels like you can construct a neat neural network and give it test data and then” – on its own – “it can start recognizing more information.”
Although an artificial neural network invokes brain physiology, the network is “just equations, which means all software,” Shankar says. But there’s a nuance in their mathematics. The networks frequently take the form of matrix multiplications to produce new matrices from previous ones, largely using linear operations.
Like all software, neural nets run on processors. GPU processors, it turns out, “are really well designed” for a mathematical feature of neural nets: matrix multiplications, which produce new data matrices from previous ones.
“When you play video games or do image processing kind of work, you do this sort of matrix shuffling. A system like the DGX-1 has really powerful GPUs with really high bandwidth connections accelerating these matrix operations.”
At the outset, building a neural net can be as simple as joining a one and zero in a linear combination, he says. The nets initially train on targeted input data that helps them refine their system parameters so they can identify desired patterns in new data. What emerges are large collections of tutored nets set up to extract additional new information on their own from fresh text, audio, image or video data. Thus, they can be used to predict simulated outcomes based on historical data.
One ambitious project is CANDLE, for cancer distributed learning environment. It seeks to address some objectives of a federal cancer moonshot initiative, whose goal is to enlist deep learning to increase by ten-fold the productivity of cancer investigators. Led by Argonne National Laboratory in collaboration with Oak Ridge Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos national laboratories, plus the National Cancer Institute (NCI), CANDLE is using deep learning in three different ways.
The first searches NCI cancer treatment-related molecular data for telltale genetic signatures at the DNA and RNA levels. A second probes how key proteins interact to set up conditions for cancer. “The behavior of these molecules is notoriously hard to understand as they twist and turn and lock-in,” Shankar says. “It takes thousands and millions of (computer processor) hours to simulate a set of molecules moving around for 10 milliseconds.”
A third sifts millions of patient records to create an automated database of things like metastases and cancer recurrence. A study led by ORNL’S Health Data Sciences Institute and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, found that deep learning neural nets originally developed for computer vision performed consistently better than previous methods for extracting cancer information from electronic pathology reports.
Meanwhile, some of Titan’s GPUs are being used to evaluate a completely different kind of problem.
Investigators from Princeton University, ORNL and Stony Brook University are probing whether deep learning can help scientists better predict the causes and occurrence of millisecond-long energy disruptions that are hampering efforts to develop magnetically confined fusion power reactors such as in England’s Joint European Torus.
The learning data can enable complex fusion experiments to conclude gracefully without expensive damage to the experimental facility.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is supported by the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. DOE’s Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.A US Air Force fighter jet pilot survived with minor injuries yesterday after ejecting from an F-15 which crashed just 100 yards from houses in a Lincolnshire field.
The military aircraft went up in flames after coming down at about 3.30pm as it was flying over Weston Hills, near Spalding - with locals describing a 'horrible acrid smell' after the crash.
RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk confirmed last night that the incident involved one of its $30million F-15 fighter jets and that the pilot - from the 48th Fighter Wing - had ejected from the aircraft.
Scroll down for video
Blaze: The military aircraft went up in flames after coming down around 3.30pm as it was flying near Spalding
Escaped: The US Air Force fighter jet pilot has survived with just minor injuries after ejecting from the F-15
Flames: The crash took place in an isolated rural area and no premises have been affected, police said
Aerial view: The crash site was about 100 yards away from properties according to residents of Weston Hills
A police spokesman said the pilot suffered minor injuries and left the scene in a helicopter.
Members of the public contacted emergency services yesterday afternoon to report they had seen a jet come down in a field. Thick, black smoke was seen rising from the site.
Local resident Andrew Woodger saw the crash while travelling in a car driven by his wife near his home, following his release from Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge after kidney treatment.
The 62-year-old told MailOnline last night: ‘We saw this aircraft lazily spirally down. I said “he's not going to get out of that”. And then it crashed 100 yards from our home.
‘It was falling like a leaf, just floating really. There was no fire as it was falling - it was only when it crashed that the flames were there. There was a horrible acrid smell - we kept the windows shut.’
His wife Carol, also 62, told MailOnline: ‘It's been a rather eventful day. You could see the aircraft coming down. I was shaking for a long time afterwards. I'd say it was only about 100 yards from us.
Fire brigade: Police have asked the public to avoid the area in Lincolnshire while investigations are ongoing
Fire: Members of the public contacted emergency services to report they had seen a jet come down in a field
Putting out the blaze: Police said the pilot suffered minor injuries and left the scene in a helicopter
Response: Residents near the crash site said they heard the plane's engine 'cut out' before crashing
‘We get the odd jet shooting over us, because RAF Holbeach is not far from us. We've been very lucky, there's a school nearby. I'm just so glad the crew are safe - watching it was such a bad dream.’
I'm just so glad the crew are safe - watching it was such a bad dream Carol Woodger, witness
The crash took place in an isolated rural area and no premises have been affected, police said.
But there were reports that nearby Weston Hills Church of England Primary School had been evacuated after the incident.
A spokesman for the school said they could not comment but that everyone was fine. Search and rescue helicopters were also called from RAF Leconfield and RAF Valley, but were not needed.
Shaun Gough, whose twin five-year-old daughters are pupils at the school, told the BBC that part of the wing had landed in the field nearby.
A US Air Force fighter jet, believed to be an F15, has crashed in Spalding, Lincolnshire during an exercise
A spokesman for Lincolnshire confirmed that one military aircraft was on fire in a field
SmokeL Local resident Andrew Woodger took this picture of the wreckage following the crash this afternoon
Members of the public contacted emergency services around 3.30pm this afternoon to report that they had seen a jet come down
He said: 'When my wife went to the school to pick up my daughter she said the black smoke was blowing across the car park and into the school.
It was falling like a leaf, just floating really Andrew Woodger, witness
'The wing is in a field about 400 yards from the school. [I'm] just glad nobody has been hurt. I've seen a Sea King helicopter land and pick somebody up. I'm guessing it's the pilot.'
A cordon remains in place and officers are guarding the scene. Police have asked the public to avoid the area while investigations are ongoing.
A spokesman said people had been driving to the scene which could hamper investigations. The USAF spokesman from the base said the area was a popular spot for its aircraft to fly on training exercises.
A helicopter, believed to be a Sea King, was seen flying away from the scene
The jet from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk (shown on the map) came down in a field near Spalding, Lincolnshire (shown on the map)
A radar map of flightpaths close to the crash site in Spalding, Lincolnshire, shows a number of aircraft circled the scene in the aftermath of the crash. Another F15 from RAF Lakenheath air base can be seen leaving the area with the call sign Jungle, top right
RAF Lakenheath confirmed one of its jets went down in Lincolnshire and said it was'relieved' that the pilot was able to eject
F-15 fighter jet: This is a file photograph of the plane that crashed into a field in Western Hills, Lincolnshire
He could not confirm how many aircrafts had been flying there yesterday, or why, but said: 'The pilot ejected and is safe.'
$30MILLION AIRCRAFT CAPABLE OF 1,875MPH: US AIR FORCE F-15 JETS F-15s are manoeuvrable tactical fighters, designed so one person can perform air-to-air combat. They can reach speeds up to 1,875 mph, according to the Air Force website. The website said each unit costs nearly $30million (£19million) and the Air Force has nearly 250 F-15s. The first F-15A flight - the first model - was made in July 1972. They were designed by McDonnell Douglas and first used in the Vietnam War. They are now among the most successful modern fighters. The F15-C - one of the most used in the Air Force - is 63ft long and has a 48ft wing span.
In January, four U.S. Air Force crew members based at Lakenheath died when their helicopter hit a flock of geese and crashed during a training mission.
The police spokesman said: 'The plane has come down in an isolated rural area and no premises have been affected.
'A cordon has been put in place and the public are advised to avoid the area as the plane is alight and the fumes may be hazardous.
'The pilot appears to have escaped with very minor injury and has left the scene by helicopter.'
Residents nearby the crash site said on Twitter that they heard the plane's engine 'cut out' before crashing to the ground.
User @bigtommmm said: 'I heard a planes engine cut out over Spalding then 10 minutes later it's crashed in west one hills woah.'
Adrian Done tweeted: 'working in Spalding and an army plane has just crashed in the next field'
And Lucy Chesworth |
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⇒ このショップのレビューを見る 総合評価 条件に満たないため総合評価は表示できません。 ヒロシ1961さん 50代/男性 評価 5.00 投稿日：2018年10月09日 オクトーバーフェストイベントに ２５名で知人宅の庭でオクトーバーフェストのイベントを行いました。ドイツビールは３種類、うち２種類をこちらのショップで購入しました。計３９リットル：満足できる内容でした。5リットルサーバー缶いいですね〜 最高です。 グラスに注ぐ楽しみがあります。２５名で３缶で十分な量でした。ドイツソーセージも４種類１０ｋｇ！深鍋で沸騰したら火を止めて、茹でてから、ホットプレートで焼きました。マスタードはドイツ... …続きを読む イベント 友人へ はじめて
このショップの人気商品ランキング 位 円 件)In a major shakeup to the health care system, the government of Saskatchewan is moving to a single health authority for the province.
It says it will reduce the 12 existing health regions to a single administrative entity by the fall.
Having a new board in place then will be only the start of a process that will result in better administration and less duplication, Health Minister Jim Reiter said Wednesday as the results of an advisory panel report were announced.
Reiter insisted Saskatchewan will not make the same mistake Alberta did, amalgamating health regions too rapidly and before management structures were in place.
"We want to do this quickly but it is important to do this right," he said.
The government will accept all of the recommendations from the three-person advisory panel appointed in August to study the structure of health-care administration, Reiter said.
Besides moving to a single health authority, the panel also recommended more consolidation of services, from diagnostic imaging to the dispatch of emergency medical services.
The government says it is consolidating administration, not centralizing services for people in the province.
The goal is for patients to receive the same or better care, Reiter said, adding that patients don't really care about the management structure of the health care system as long as the services are there.
The province will be working with unions as the consolidation process takes place, he said.
"The existing contracts, obviously, are going to be respected."
A spokesperson for CUPE, which represents 13,000 employees in Saskatchewan's health care sector, expressed skepticism that the overhaul will accomplish its aims.
"Today's announcement creates more uncertainty for frontline workers and for rural communities across Saskatchewan," Gordon Campbell, president of the CUPE health care council, said in a news release. "It is also questionable that any cost savings will result."
Financial implications unclear
The process will mean financial savings for the government, but it's not currently possible to pinpoint a total dollar figure, Reiter said. Later in the day, a ministry spokeswoman said early estimates peg the savings at $10 million to $20 million by 2018-19.
The government is struggling to deal with a billion-dollar deficit. However, its ongoing work aimed at cutting costs is separate from today's health administration announcements, Reiter said.
On the other hand, it only makes sense that as the system consolidates accounting, information technology, legal services and other non-medical services, there will be savings, he said.
In the first year, however, he said costs will likely be slightly higher due to severance payments. Reiter could not offer more information about job losses or changes.
Danielle Chartier, the NDP's health critic, said Wednesday's announcement is a betrayal of everything the Saskatchewan Party promised in the last election.
"When the Sask. Party talks about consolidation, everyone knows they mean cuts — cuts to health care centres, cuts to frontline health care workers, and cuts to the care Saskatchewan people deserve," Chartier said in a news release.Caring on Stolen Time: A Nursing Home Diary Caring on Stolen Time: A Nursing Home Diary Our bodies’ need for a short respite was pitted against our residents’ immediate bodily needs. Either choice we made, we blocked out something deeply human—either our care for our own bodies or our care for others. Caring should not feel like stealing time. Graphic by Imp Kerr
I work in a place of death. People come here to die, and my co-workers and I care for them as they make their journeys. Sometimes these transitions take years or months. Other times, they take weeks or some short days. I count the time in shifts, in scheduled state visits, in the sham monthly meetings I never attend, in the announcements of the “Employee of the Month” (code word for best ass-kisser of the month), in the yearly pay increment of 20 cents per hour, and in the number of times I get called into the Human Resources office.
The nursing home residents also have their own rhythms. Their time is tracked by scheduled hospital visits; by the times when loved ones drop by to share a meal, to announce the arrival of a new grandchild, or to wait anxiously at their bedsides for heart-wrenching moments to pass. Their time is measured by transitions from processed food to pureed food, textures that match their increasing susceptibility to dysphagia. Their transitions are also measured by the changes from underwear to pull-ups and then to diapers. Even more than the loss of mobility, the use of diapers is often the most dreaded adaptation. For many people, lack of control over urinary functions and timing is the definitive mark of the loss of independence.
Many of the elderly I have worked with are, at least initially, aware of the transitions and respond with a myriad of emotions from shame and anger to depression, anxiety, and fear. Theirs was the generation that survived the Great Depression and fought the last “good war.” Aging was an anti-climactic twist to the purported grandeur and tumultuousness of their mid-twentieth-century youth.
“I am afraid to die. I don’t know where I will go,” a resident named Lara says to me, fear dilating her eyes.
“Lara, you will go to heaven. You will be happy,” I reply, holding the spoonful of pureed spinach to her lips. “Tell me about your son, Tobias.”
And so Lara begins, the same story of Tobias, of his obedience and intelligence, which I have heard over and over again for the past year. The son whom she loves, whose teenage portrait stands by her bedside. The son who has never visited, but whose name and memory calm Lara.
Lara is always on the lookout, especially for Alba and Mary, the two women with severe dementia who sit on both sides of her in the dining room. To find out if Alba is enjoying her meal, she will look to my co-worker Saskia to ask, “Is she eating? If she doesn’t want to, don’t force her to eat. She will eat when she is hungry.” Alba, always cheerful, smiles. Does she understand? Or is she in her usual upbeat mood? “Lara, Alba’s fine. With you watching out for her, of course she’s OK!” We giggle. These are small moments to be cherished.
In the nursing home, such moments are precious because they are accidental moments.
The residents run on stolen time. Alind, like me, a certified nursing assistant (CNA), comments, “Some of these residents are already dead before they come here.”
By “dead,” he is not referring to the degenerative effects of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease but to the sense of hopelessness and loneliness that many of the residents feel, not just because of physical pain, not just because of old age, but as a result of the isolation, the abandonment by loved ones, the anger of being caged within the walls of this institution. This banishment is hardly the ending they toiled for during their industrious youth.
By death, Alind was also referring to the many times “I’m sorry,” is uttered in embarrassment and the tearful shrieks of shame that sometimes follow when they soil their clothes. This is the dying to which we, nursing home workers, bear witness every day; the death that the home is expected, somehow, to reverse.
So management tries, through bowling, through bingo and checkers, through Frank Sinatra sing-a-longs, to resurrect what has been lost to time, migration, the exigencies of the market, and the capriciousness of life. They substitute hot tea and cookies with strangers for the warmth of family and friends. Loved ones occupied by the same patterns of migration, work, ambition, ease their worries and guilt with pictures and reports of their relatives in these settings. We, the CNAs, shuffle in and out of these staged moments, to carry the residents off for toileting. The music playing in the building’s only bright and airy room is not for us, the immigrants, the lower hands, to plan for or share with the residents. Ours is a labor confined to the bathroom, to the involuntary, lower functions of the body. Instead of people of color in uniformed scrubs, white women with pretty clothes are paid more to care for the leisure-time activities of the old white people. The monotony and stress of our tasks are ours to bear alone.
The nursing home bosses freeze the occasional, carefully selected, picture-perfect moments on the front pages of their brochures, exclaiming that their facility, one of a group of Catholic homes is, indeed, a place where ”life is appreciated,” where “we care for the dignity of the human person.” In reality, they have not tried to make that possible. Under poor conditions, we have improvised for genuine human connection to exist. How we do that the bosses do not understand.
We CNAs also run on stolen time. It is the only way that the work gets done. When I started my job, fresh out of the training institute, I was intimidated by the amount of work required, the level of detail and thoroughness that each task required. I held on to my care plans tightly. My residents’ specific transfers, their diets, their habits, whether or not they wore hearing aids or glasses, their shower schedules, whether they needed alarm mechanisms when they were in their wheelchairs, whether or not they needed footrests, hand splints, blue boots, catheters, portable oxygen tanks set to level 2, or was it 3? All this information had to be absorbed. Harder still was trying to figure out how to cram the schedules of eight residents with different transfer methods, including the use of machine lifts, toileting needs every two hours or less, unpredictable bodily functions, two hours for meals, and one shower per shift, into an eight-hour day.
Under poor conditions, we have improvised for genuine human connection to exist. How we do that the bosses do not understand.
I received a lot of help and support from the other new hire, Saskia, and the two other CNAs who were in the same unit. Jess and Maimuna counseled, “Don’t rush. It’s OK. If you rush, it gets harder and you forget things.” Never mind that we were still always running down the hallway trying to get the work done. As long as in our minds we kept a grip on our stress levels and took deep breaths, we would be less anxious and more careful with the residents.
The worst was when there were episodes of Clostridium difficile (C. diff), a bacterial infection that spreads easily among residents on antibiotics. The clearest symptom of C. diff infection is loose bowel movement, or diarrhea. My second week of work, five of the residents I was assigned to had bouts of C. diff. No matter how much mental stamina and mindfulness I tried to keep, for a week, I was a running around like a chicken without a head. Cleaning, scrubbing, changing soiled diapers, bed pans, machine transfers, dressing the resident, undressing the resident, changing the bed sheets. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Nevertheless, the work made me appreciate my co-workers, whom I was just getting to know. Saskia and I bonded over many episodes of diarrhea distress, and my growing friendship with her gave me access to a wealth of knowledge about workplace dynamics. The trust we built and solidarity we offered one another during the hectic times on the job immersed me in relationships with other Ethiopian co-workers who similarly offered advice about the ins and outs of the work. Saskia, the college graduate from Ethiopia, newly arrived in America, was full of excitement to live the American Dream. This nursing home job was meant only to be her first stop and I, an Asian immigrant who had lived here for the past ten years, was one of her first non-Ethiopian friends. As Saskia translated the hard-learned lessons shared over break times in Amharic, I learned to appreciate the importance of “having eyes on my back.”
Over time, I would also learn that reporting the health hazards, safety violations, and broken equipment to the overworked staff nurses or the arrogant charge nurses was useless. Only when someone got injured would it matter. Unless the state inspectors were conducting their annual visit, no one updated the care plans, gave us crucial information about new residents, thought it important to train us in health precautions, or bothered to fix faulty wheelchairs in a timely manner.
We had to push hard, ask relentlessly, and document, document, document our attempts, so that when some avoidable accident did happen, we would not be blamed. Too many times, we had to strain our backs and arms to compensate for lack of equipment and training. We had to fight and argue to get protective gear even when our residents had bouts of C. diff. “You just have to be careful it [the diarrhea] doesn’t splash on you. You don’t need a protective gown now,” or, “Are you sure it’s C. diff and not just diarrhea? You know you only get the protective gowns when it’s C. diff.” For a cheap, protective paper gown and an ever cheaper mask, one had to be ready to have a standoff with the charge nurse.
When Jess and I complained one too many times over a two-month period about a faulty automated machine lift that was dangerous to us and the patients, we were called into the Human Resources office for being disrespectful toward upper management. According to Sabrina, the lanky white woman who was the Human Resources director, we were inappropriately expressing our viewpoints in public. “Chain of command,” she reiterated. We were supposed to be thankful that it was only a written warning.
I had been baffled at and shocked by the degrading insinuations of our stupidity and management’s lack of concern for the well-being of the residents; now I was seething with anger and resentment.
Caring for eight residents and giving a shower to one of them every shift was not easy, but with multitasking, lost break times, help from other co-workers, and unending brisk walking throughout the shift, it was doable. Back then, even as we complained about our lost break times and our exhausted bodies, we grudgingly gave them up to complete our tasks. We looked forward every day to the time when we could sit down and sign off on our charts at the end of the shift, chat with one another and the residents, and clock out.
In October, things changed.
Roseanne, the new director of nursing services (DNS) announced that instead of four CNAs on the floor, we would now have three. The fourth CNA would be the shower aide. Showers that had once been distributed among the different shifts would now all be completed in the day shift. Three CNAs take on the residents that four CNAs used to care for.
“It’s not that different from what you have now,” she said, smiling. “I am new here and want to improve things. It’s more efficient this way. Come to my office if you have any concerns.”
“Is it possible to hire another person to work as a full-time shower aide? We really need four people on the floor,” I blurted out.
“No. If we hire one more person, we will have to cut all your hours. Would you want that? Come talk to me if you have any more questions.”
My co-workers and I exchanged looks. If we went in to her office one by one, we would be targeted. It was a trap.
Back in the dining room later that day, Lorena, the administrative assistant, agreed to talk to Roseanne on our behalf.
We wanted to back her up. By the end of the week, all twenty-five of the dayshift CNAs had signed a petition against the new staffing ratio. We calculated that the new plan would leave us with a mere twenty-five to thirty minutes of care for each resident per eight-hour shift. We were determined to make the case that it was neither safe for us nor the residents for us to be so rushed on the job.
When eight of us marched down the shiny bright hallway, into the boss’s office, the few short steps marked a longer journey. For the first time, we were going to speak up collectively. We were all nervous. We did not know how this would go down.
Our answer came the next day, when the director of the nursing home called us all to a huge meeting.
“If you form unions, we will have no choice but to fire all of you.”
End of meeting.
Before this, we had been willing to sacrifice break times to get the job done. Now we realized that no matter how much we worked, no matter how much we gave up to make this place more livable for the residents, in the eyes of management we were expendable, the easily replaceable pillars of the nursing home industry.
When we were calculating the time it took to complete our work, we found out that we were required under labor and industry law to have two paid fifteen-minute breaks, in addition to our unpaid thirty-minute lunch. Failure to provide those breaks by the employer constituted a violation of labor law.
To the outsider, fifteen minutes might seem short and insignificant. For us, it meant that we could take a short break from the mind-numbing cleaning, from the brisk walking, from being at the beck and call of the nurses. There is always more, more, and more for a CNA to do. The job never ended, unless we left the floor. Those short breaks made a difference between a stressed-out, flustered attitude and a calm, patient compassion. It was incredibly important. And we were determined not to give it up anymore.
“Go for break! I’ll take over here,” we would remind one another. Supporting one another going on break in the midst of the chaotic workload became our symbol of mutual aid. Battling that inner voice urging us to tough it out and actually taking that break was also sign of solidarity with other co-workers to set the pace on the job at a reasonable rate, so they, too, could take their breaks without being targeted as less efficient. Without this kind of self-regulation, we would all be pushed to work as fast as the fastest CNAs, even if doing so were unsafe.
So we took our mandatory breaks.
But the inner turmoil didn’t end. Every day, we asked ourselves, “Can I squeeze in fifteen minutes of break time and be done in time?” Call lights were going off, residents were asking to be toileted, the required daily vital signs log was still incomplete. The one automated machine lift that six CNAs used was free right when it was time for the break.
Our bodies’ need for a short respite was pitted against our residents’ immediate bodily needs. Having to weigh this moral dilemma every day was mentally exhausting. Either choice we made, we blocked out something deeply human—either our care for our own bodies or our care for others. Caring should not feel like stealing time.
CNAs are often told that we are the “eyes and ears of the nursing home.” But we are more than that. Our emotions and psychological well-being are also the sacrificial lambs of the nursing home bureaucracy.
It is one thing to relate to anxious family members, understandably concerned and worried about the condition of their elderly loved ones. That takes empathy and endurance on our part, but it is a welcome human challenge. Similarly, cleaning up soiled diapers and diarrhea mishaps takes patience and experience.
It is another thing entirely to have to tell anxious family members that we need to go for a break, and have them judge that our rest is mutually exclusive with the well-being of their loved ones. We are then labeled as the “selfish, lazy, immigrant workers” who somehow have different care and hygiene standards from the superior white society. We are reminded of that especially when these family members march off to confirm the latest discovery of this predominantly foreign character flaw to the white bosses.
It is one thing to be doing menial labor that is meaningful even if tiring. It is another thing to be cleaning up crap under the pressures of charges who ask why you aren’t done yet. After all, ten minutes to thoroughly and gently clean a resident who has soiled her diaper is more than enough. Taking longer would mean you are too slow (and so not suitable for this job) and susceptible to being fired; taking longer would suggest that maybe you are slacking and intentionally wasting time to reduce your workload. This ticking time clock obliterates any dignity from the work, the worker, and the resident. It degrades us all.
I try to embrace the challenges of empathetic caring, while rejecting the pressure to work like a machine in the name of management’s definition of care. What’s hard is the murkiness between them.
Empathy stretches the boundaries that constitute who we are, enabling us to embrace the commonality in all human experience, especially experiences that we may not personally undergo. For a front line healthcare worker, it is empathy for another’s pain—the desire to alleviate suffering—that distinguishes our work from jobs that involve the production of inanimate objects, such as manufacturing. Factory workers and CNAs both keep society running; our work is not more important than theirs, but it is different. The factory worker’s alienation comes from producing a product in ways over which she has no control and that will be distributed to, and consumed by, people she will never meet; her production is dictated by her bosses’ profits, not by human needs. If the boss forces her to speed up and the product ends up becoming unsafe, she may never see what will happen to the consumer who is hurt by it. For CNAs, our alienation comes from the fact that we interact with the people affected by our labor, and we do see what happens to them when we can’t care for them the way we know we should. In the face of this contradiction, we need to nurture and develop our sensitivity to empathy, so we remain open enough to respond flexibly and justly to a patient’s needs.
The nursing home attempts, in its own warped way, to drill a superficial empathy into us. The bosses always end their service training with the motto, “Now, treat the residents like you would your own parents. You wouldn’t want them to have to wait for their call lights to be answered!”
But rather than be inspired, I, along with many of my coworkers, snigger cynically.
By invoking our distant family members, managers invade yet another space in our psyche, trivializing the obstacles that so many of the workers encounter. Much of my time with co-workers is spent talking about distant family members: reminiscing, discussing the burdens and challenges of trying to bring them over to America to join us, or worrying about supporting them with our meager salaries.
We discuss organizing ourselves to demand more staffing, so we won’t have to rush, so that we will actually have time to provide our residents with the care that we believe our own families deserve. Yet the managers themselves have made it clear that if we organize ourselves we could be fired, which could have a devastating impact on our ability to care for our own families. The fear of losing the income to list in that damned Form 864I Green Card Application to bring our families over weighs on our spirits. We are torn from family, and yet our shameless bosses try to milk our love for family to serve the speed-up.
We are not the only ones who lament the loss of agency in the nursing home environment. In fact, our infantilization by the bosses is only a reflection of the way the elderly and people with disabilities are treated. Genuine support for the elderly and thoroughness of care that respects their self-determination would require more labor-time, labor that the bosses are unwilling to pay for, and in many cases the resident’s own families couldn’t afford because their own wages are not high enough. The ticking time clock and the money-saving blueprints don’t allow for human agency or rhythm.
As workers, we find ourselves in a crossfire: on the one side, an unyielding, brutal bureaucracy overworks us, and on the other side, residents genuinely need our assistance. Every decision related to our work is filled with an exaggerated moral dilemma between how refusing the former will affect the latter.
Our infantilization by the bosses is only a reflection of the way the elderly and people with disabilities are treated.
To silence the daily moral ambiguity of whether or not to prioritize our own needs or the needs of the residents, many of us erect walls in our hearts and minds to block out emotions that we cannot handle.
“I don’t care anymore, it’s not my fault. I know someone needs me, but it’s not my fault. I can’t be there for them.”
We blame the bosses. Once, twice, and then too many times. Over time, this rationale kills what is tender and living in us. Over time, it is used to justify actions that are not even consequences of management’s policies. It is used instead to mask sloppy hastiness, by giving it pseudo-political cover.
Some erect walls so high that even painful screams cannot shake us. “It’s not my fault,” is sufficient rationale for the mistreatment of residents. Being too tired, too pissed off, erases the daily moral choices of our job. “What do you mean I’m rough? There are no bruises. No bruises, no evidence.” Their walls are so thick that even the rebukes of fellow workers cannot penetrate. Fear of punitive action is the only limit that remains.
Others have built lower, thinner walls and recoil at the pain we cause through rushing; we bring home guilt about the bedsores that develop on the residents’ skin as a result of improper care. The cringe on a resident’s face as we approach reminds us to slow down. The chiding of other co-workers to be gentle reignites our conscience.
Some say that the longer you work at the job, the higher those walls become. I think of people like Alind and Maimuna who prove that wrong. I know what has kept them going for so many years has been the combination of individual conscience and the support and recognition of their work from their communities inside and outside the workplace, including religious communities. Their communities continually inspire them and hold them accountable to good care for the elderly.
There is a need for moral accountability that even extra time and labor will not buy. Most of my co-workers share a set of values and principles, a work culture that emphasizes the well-being of our residents. The workplace rumor mill points out and vilifies those who fail by these unwritten standards. Yet, there is no space to talk about this openly, because any talk of accountability is monopolized by managerial power and exercised with racism and cold harshness. Left on our own, we could hold each other by our common standards, create sustainable conditions for the work, and not allow each other to harm residents. But for now, whatever methods of accountability we do have remain hidden in whispers, glances, and conversations in Amharic that the bosses won’t understand.
The deadline we had given to management for a meeting about staffing ratios came and went, with no response to our petition. So, in our weekly meetings, some of us devised Plan B. We would publicize the abject working conditions in the nursing home. Our flier stated, “Our working conditions are the elderly’s living conditions.” We hoped family members would support us. Fearing retaliation, we sought help from friends and contacts, to distribute the leaflet we created. The flier was to remain anonymous so it wouldn’t be linked to us.
It was a Sunday when our friends and supporters stood outside the doors of the nursing home to hand the flier to the family members and volunteers attending Sunday services with their elderly relatives.
Some were sympathetic, others not so. Some people saw this as a unionizing effort and worried about how that would increase the medical fees they would have to pay.
“This is all unfounded,” said the nursing home’s paid pastor, as he shooed our supporters away from the front door. One of the nice white women in pretty clothes tore down the posters on light poles and sign posts that lined the perimeter of the home. The new DNS and other administrators drove in from their suburban homes for an emergency Sunday evening meeting.
Inside, we were anxious. We did not know what to expect. We hoped this action would make the bosses rethink their new policy.
We did not anticipate the level of psychological pressure that management would exert. They had clearly sought the advice of union-busting manuals and experts. It was something I, personally, and we, collectively, had not prepared for.
A few days later I was called to Sabrina’s office, where she, another administrator, and my charge nurse played good cop, bad cop.
“We are trying to help you. People have thrown you under the bus by naming you. Why do you want to protect them? They don’t deserve it. You don’t have to sacrifice yourself like this. If you tell us their names, you won’t be the only one taking the blame.”
“If you don’t tell me who the others are, we will fire you.”
“Are you going to let the others off for ratting you out?”
“You know, you and all the other people involved are breaking federal law by doing this. You are exposing the conditions of the private lives of the residents. You are violating HIPA. This is illegal. You can be fired and jailed. You can lose your license.”
My refusals and denials invoked only fiery glares.
“Sign this. Otherwise you will be fired.”
The document stated that I had been in violation of company policy for distribution of unsolicited material.
I wrote on it that I was being forced to sign and threatened with my job over a collective job action.
When I went home that day, I cried. Then, I went to the National Labor Relations Board to submit a complaint. Weak as labor law is, maybe it could save me my job.
The bosses saw this as a mainstream union’s effort from the outside, in part because mainstream unions have been leaders in public labor actions, and in part because they could never believe that we on our own, could organize. They thought that they could smother years of resentment from overwork and disrespect with lottery prizes of Snickers and Kit Kat bars in our monthly staff meetings. They thought they could buy us off with $50 vouchers so we would trip over each other to become the Employee of the Month. They thought they could win our hearts over the way they win the public over with banners saying “We love our CNAs” hung over the doors of the home. So when we decided to change things on our own, they were not prepared
What got me through management’s attempts to isolate me from my co-workers were the relationships we had built with one another before the organizing. Our friendships consisted of more than risky political actions. They consisted also of support and solace, advice on how to handle relationships, how we planned to return to our home countries to visit our families, and how we each adapted to America. At other times, we talked about U.S. imperialism in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Tunisian revolt and Egyptian uprising. “We need Tunisia here, in this workplace!” Alind would joke.
They thought that they could smother years of resentment from overwork and disrespect with lottery prizes of Snickers and Kit Kat bars in our monthly staff meetings. They thought they could buy us off with $50 vouchers so we would trip over each other to become the Employee of the Month.
Those days of running around like a chicken without a head, of sharing a culture of solidarity so each of us could go on our breaks, of each of us taking up extra tasks so someone else who had a long day could rest—those moments of mutual aid and solidarity paid off. When labor struggle is low, a militant can only count on her reputation. This is hard because reputations are such subjective things—someone might like you while another might not for some random reason. In a workplace where gossip is rife, and where the stress on the job creates many opportunities for misunderstandings and tension among co-workers, it’s hard to have a clean reputation.
That said, reputation is always rooted on some fundamental issues: How are you on the shop floor? Were you able to put aside personal drama to help out a co-worker? Are you the type that talks smack about co-workers? Are you the type that sucks up to the boss or do you handle things outside, to talk things out with your co-workers? Do you bear grudges? Do you think about other people when you do your work? Do you take out your stress on your co-workers and on the residents? Building the relationship bonds that can withstand the attacks by management means that in our everyday lives we have to strive to be better people, deserving of respect from one another, accountable to one another. This requires daily emotional and mental resilience and discipline.
To me, this is in part what Karl Marx meant when he said that in the process of class struggle, the working class will transform itself. We can only truly succeed if we are also transformed into better human beings who are good to one another. This transformation has stakes, in the context of class struggle. You can’t fake it because people see through fronts all the time.
The few organizers and I earned the name “chigri fetari,” or troublemaker in Amharic. I am sure some people said it sarcastically, but others said it in a respectful and endearing way, a term for those who resist. I remember vividly how the workplace became polarized. I had friends, and I also had haters. The period when the bosses cracked down on me by following me on my job, inspecting every small thing I did, selectively enforcing every small rule at the workplace, writing me up for taking my break five minutes early, or when I was back from break a few minutes late, was extremely stressful. “Why won’t they just fire me?” I asked myself a few times. But I was too proud to quit on my own. Jess, Maimuna, Saskia and others, knowing that I was being especially targeted, helped me pick up the slack and warned me when the bosses were coming.
In the meantime, Sabrina, the Human Resources director, showed us how “divide and conquer” works. To Benny, a relatively timid Ethiopian coworker, she offered help with the immigration process for him to bring over his entire family. This was unprecedented. She made sure we all knew about this by giving him the paperwork in the dining room where we all gathered.
To Joanna, the Filipina co-worker who had snitched and offered our names to management, she gave a pay increase and flexible hours.
The price of organizing was exorbitant, both mentally and emotionally. We now had mandated break times that we were each allocated to. Instead of an uneven distribution of staffing ratios where someone would have nine residents while another would have twelve residents to care for, we now all had ten residents each to care for. The shower aide, previously required to give ten showers a shift, now had seven. Were these changes victories? It was an ambiguous situation. On my end, I was lucky I still had a job.
“Use labor law as a shield, not a weapon,” is a slogan I have often heard in labor organizing circles. It gets at how labor law in the United States is no substitute for collective action by politically conscious, courageous workers. At times, labor law even serves to suppress militant action. |
that's because movie studios can slap websites with heavy fines if they play too much of a new film, but the release of secret State Department cables isn't treated the same way under the law.
Legal experts said the First Amendment makes it hard for the government to go after media outlets that published the secret documents. And WikiLeaks and the hackers who support it argue that the controversial website is a media outlet, too.
Rasch, the former Justice Department prosecutor who now directs cybersecurity at the Virginia company CSC, said the U.S. government and industry have to take matters into their own hands.
"Cybercrime occurs transnationally," Rasch said. "It occurs everywhere at the same time. But we are divided into political borders. And so hackers can act at the speed of light, and prosecutors and lawyers act at the speed of law."
The U.S. military has already made it harder to access certain computer databases thought to be the source of the latest WikiLeaks documents.
But that, experts said, is only the first step.
Copyright NPR 2019.Oklahoma imprisons women at a higher rate than any other state — and one reason, according to the author of a recent criminal justice report commissioned by the state's governor, is a law that turns some battered women into criminals.
The law is known as "enabling child abuse." It doesn't punish women for actually committing child abuse but rather for not intervening to stop their violent partners from harming their children. Often, the women are themselves victims of the men, who batter them too.
The sentences can be harsh. A recent BuzzFeed News investigation found that 28 mothers in 11 states were sentenced to 10 years or more behind bars, despite evidence that they were battered, and despite not being accused of committing the abuse.
"Laws like that are keeping people in prison when they may actually be simply in need of help," said Adam Luck, a Harvard graduate fellow hired by Gov. Mary Fallin to examine how, among other things, the state might reduce its prison population.
In Oklahoma, the punishment for enabling child abuse is the same as child abuse itself: up to life in prison. BuzzFeed News found two cases in which the battered mother received more prison time than the man who abused her and her child. In one case, the mother was sentenced to 30 years in prison for allowing her boyfriend to commit abuse; the boyfriend was sentenced to only 2 years behind bars.
Luck's report, published in July, does not discuss the enabling child abuse law, instead focusing more generally on ways to pare down the state's prison population. Oklahoma puts more people in prison per capita than all but two states, and more women in prison than anywhere else in the country.
In 2012 state lawmakers took aim at the problem, passing a bill meant to create prison alternatives and screen offenders for substance abuse and mental health issues. Gov. Fallin's administration has yet to implement many of the reforms the law was supposed to bring about, but has said she still plans to follow through. Luck spent 10 weeks studying the law and other potential policy changes before delivering his report in July of this year. A key pro-reform advocate told The Oklahoman that Luck's work was a hopeful sign of Fallin's intentions.
Luck recommends in his report that lawmakers explore ways to "delineate dangerous versus non-dangerous crimes as well as violent versus nonviolent crimes." He also recommends tweaking sentencing law to allow non-violent offenders earlier parole.
In an interview with BuzzFeed News, Luck said the enabling child abuse law is "definitely something that can fit into the reform that takes place."
He compared the plight of battered women under the law to that of people with drug addiction under other laws, saying that in many cases it's worth looking at alternatives to prison. Enabling child abuse and other laws that incarcerate people with mental health or substance issues form "the root" of Oklahoma's high female incarceration rate, Luck said.
Luck is a native Oklahoman and graduate student at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Gov. Fallin's administration commissioned Luck's report, which is called "Criminal Justice Reform in Oklahoma: Analysis of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative and Recommendations For Steps Forward," as part of a fellowship program where Harvard scholars offer policy advice to various state governments.
In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Fallin spokesman Alex Weintz said that Luck's report was a "starting point" for policymakers as they consider reform. "The governor and her staff are considering all of Luck's recommendations as we move forward," Weintz said.
Weintz did not state a position on the enabling child abuse law but said Fallin is committed to changes "which we believe are'smart on crime.'"
Fallin's goal, Weintz said, was to "separate truly violent criminals who represent a threat to their communities from non-violent criminals," and to make sure that "the punishment truly fits the crime."
Email the author of this story at alex.campbell@buzzfeed.comMAHWAH -- Fearing an influx of Orthodox Jews from New York State, the Township of Mahwah introduced two hateful and discriminatory ordinances that illegally targeted that community, the state Attorney General's office alleged in a stunning complaint filed against the town on Tuesday.
The harsh public rebuke of both the actions of Mahwah's elected officials and the anti-Semitic sentiment of some residents likened the conduct of the town to the actions of "1950s-era white flight suburbanites who sought to keep African-Americans from moving into their neighborhoods."
The nine-count complaint, filed in Bergen County Superior Court, seeks a return of more than $3.4 million in state Green Acres grants received by Mahwah and an injunction blocking the two ordinances.
"This is an extensive complaint... but the bottom line is very simple -- the township council in Mahwah heard the angry, fear-driven voices of bigotry and acted to appease those voices," Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino said in a statement.
The first ordinance, which went into effect at the end of July, limited the use of Mahwah's recreational facilities to New Jersey residents.
The second, which was introduced but not passed, was the expansion of an existing ordinance that banned signs on utility poles, amended to include any "device or other matter." It effectively would have banned the formation of an Orthodox Jewish religious boundary known as an eruv, which is designated by white piping called "lechis" on utility poles, the state alleged.
"I repeatedly warned the council of these consequences for months," Mahwah Mayor Bill Laforet said Tuesday.
The religious boundary, which in this case extended from Rockland County, allows Orthodox Jews to do everyday things such as carry house keys or push baby strollers outside of the home on the Jewish Sabbath.
Despite approval from the utility company, the township ordered that the lechis be removed. A group called the Bergen Rockland Eruv Association and residents from Rockland County filed a federal lawsuit in August to allow the lechis to stay.
A ban on an eruv, or threats to have it removed, is "tantamount" to housing discrimination because it could prevent Orthodox Jewish families from living in Mahwah, according to the complaint (which can be read at the end of this story).
Many residents have come out in support of the township's decision, creating Facebook groups and online petitions.
Here's what you need to know about the eruv dispute brewing in North Jersey A town's order to remove a religious boundary has led to a federal lawsuit. Here's what you need to know.
But the complaint takes Mahwah's residents to task for their alleged behavior.
The council, the state says, was "influenced largely" by the "vocal anti-Orthodox Jewish sentiment" from some residents on social media and in public meetings.
"I was wondering if there are any thoughts and procedures in place to keep the Hasidic Jewish people from moving into Mahwah?" one resident asked at a June 29 council meeting. "They have chased us out of two towns we lived in and now they are buying up houses in Suffern."
"I don't know if you noticed, but the Hasidics have been making themselves very comfortable in our town parks," said another.
A third suggested people bring their dogs to town parks in an effort to "scare them away."
Residents also called Mahwah police to report that people who appeared to be Orthodox Jews were using parks, though the callers did not allege that the people were doing anything wrong, the complaint says.
The ugly, anti-Semitic comments attributed to Mahwah residents The state attorney general dropped a bombshell complaint against Mahwah, ripping into the township for an alleged pattern of discrimination against an Orthodox Jewish community.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) commended Porrino on Tuesday and said the ordinances violated "the letter and spirit of the US and New Jersey constitutions as well as state anti-discrimination laws."
"An eruv is a constitutionally permissible religious accommodation that allows one segment of a community to go about their lives while adhering to their core religious beliefs," said Joshua Cohen, ADL New Jersey regional director. "Attorney General Porrino's action sends the strong message that the religious freedom of all faiths in Mahwah should be protected against intolerance or exclusion."
The state alleges in its complaint that council President Robert Hermansen received an email from a Mahwah resident not of Orthodox Jewish faith who was concerned that her mother, a New York resident, wouldn't be able to take her grandchildren to the park in Mahwah.
Hermansen allegedly responded that the resident's mother shouldn't worry and that the park ordinance was not intended to "address her situation," according to the attorney general's news release. Hermansen went as far as to suggest a neighborhood watch, writing in a social media post that "the goal is to have everybody working together to make sure that our poles stay clean in Mahwah," according to the complaint.
Hermansen took a swing at Porrino in an interview on Tuesday.
"I find it absolutely appalling that the attorney general is making an inference about my email without even calling me to find out what I meant," he said. "To me, this is nothing more than a witch hunt."
Hermansen, a former Republican county freeholder, said that he felt the complaint against Mahwah was politically motivated and designed to help Democrat Phil Murphy's chances of being elected governor.
"I believe this has everything to do with trying to get Phil Murphy and [Laforet's] council candidates elected," he said. "Am I shocked that the mayor of Mahwah is backing Phil Murphy after having received a $2,600 check from him? Not really."
Hermansen's comments come hours after Laforet, an independent, lashed out at Hermansen in a statement.
"It has been a lonely and painful struggle for me and my family these past several months, having to deal with a reckless and oblivious council president, Rob Hermansen," Laforet said. "He personally led his council mates to this action by the state's highest law enforcement official, and is most accountable.... His race-baiting bantering has now bitten him back. His disgraceful behavior is now worsened by the severe potential financial penalties facing the township's taxpayer.
"But, I am sorrowed by the loss of reputation for Mahwah which is as diverse, tolerant and welcoming a community that you can find in NJ."
Hermansen, however, says it was Laforet who, in the spring, pushed the council to pass the resolutions - even sending emails on the topic.
"The fact that he is now out trying to blame the council for his missteps is absolutely ridiculous," the council president said. "We did not do these on our own and we did not do these without advice from our attorney.
"I would like to remind everyone how ordinances get done. The township attorney writes the ordinance based off what they deem is good law. We pass the ordinance on the advice of our legal counsel."
The complaint alleges that the parks ordinance and the amended sign ordinance are "abuses of municipal power" and violate the First, Fourth and 14th Amendments of the Constitution.
"To think that there are local governments here in New Jersey, in 2017, making laws on the basis of some archaic, fear-driven and discriminatory mindset, is deeply disappointing and shocking to many, but it is exactly what we are alleging in this case," Porrino said. "Of course, in this case we allege the target of the small-minded bias is not African-Americans, but Orthodox Jews. Nonetheless, the hateful message is the same."
The state seeks more than $3.4 million it claims Mahwah received and used in state Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres grants to purchase and maintain its parks.
The land acquired in the state program cannot be restricted based on religion or residency, the attorney general's office said.
"What's been happening in Mahwah with respect to the township's parks ordinance is not in accordance with the original intent of the Green Acres Program," DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said. "As such, it is unacceptable, and it cannot be allowed to stand."
Lechis exist in more than 20 towns in New Jersey, including East Brunswick, Englewood and Fair Lawn. But other towns, such as Upper Saddle River, are also fighting the issue.
"Our message to those public officials in Mahwah who are leading or following this misguided charge is meant to be loud and clear: We intend to hold you accountable," Porrino said in the statement. "Our message to local officials in other towns who may be plotting to engage in similar attempts to illegally exclude, is the same: We will hold you accountable as well."
Mahwah has introduced other rules or laws to protect against the Orthodox Jewish "invasion," including a "no knock" ordinance proposed on Sept. 14, 2017 that was created in response to rumors of door-to-door home purchase solicitations by "members of the Jewish faith," the complaint alleges.
The park ordinance was roundly criticized by local law enforcement, including by Mahwah Police Chief James Batelli, who publicly questioned how he and his force would be able to enforce the rule without violating constitutional rights.
Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal backed Batelli and responded in a letter to the chief that he thought the park rule "raises numerous constitutional concerns" and told him to not enforce the ordinance.
The lawsuit maintains that enforcing the ordinance would "subject affected persons to an unreasonable search."
Batelli went as far as to email council members over the summer to let them know that regardless of what some others might have thought about his decision, he determined that damage to the eruv would be investigated as a bias crime.
The correspondence was revealed in a response to an NJ Advance Media records request that included hundreds of pages of emails, many of them redacted due to "attorney-client privilege."
"I fully understand that there are differing opinions on this issue and I have received comments from people both agreeing and disagreeing with me, but as a law enforcement official this is not a decision I make based upon public opinion or sentiment," Batelli wrote in an email in August to council members, the town lawyer and Mayor William Laforet.
Hermansen, the council president, also objected to the eruv vandalism being treated as a hate crime, the complaint alleges.
Vandalism to the lechis occurred three times over the summer. In September, Batelli released a photograph of two people police had identified as suspects in the hopes that someone would come forward with more information.
In an interview on Tuesday, Batelli said that he thought the complaint "spoke for itself."
"Throughout our country, officials have to answer for their actions through these types of civil complaints," Batelli said. "Several months ago, I expressed my concerns about the ordinance that the council had submitted for enactment. From here, we'll have to see the response from the township."
In an interview on Monday, before before the attorney general's complaint was made public, Batelli said his department was "very close" to identifying both parties believed to be involved in the vandalism.
NJ Advance Media reporter S.P. Sullivan contributed to this report. He may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter.
Sara Jerde may be reached at sjerde@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SaraJerde.
Have information about this story or something else we should be covering? Tell us: nj.com/tipsSyracuse, N.Y. -- It will be Boeheim vs. Boeheim when the Syracuse Orange opens up the 2017-18 college basketball against Cornell.
Syracuse will host its long-time rival on Nov. 10, according to a report from Jon Rothstein of CBSsports.
Syracuse will open the 2017-18 season against Cornell on 11/10 at the Carrier Dome, per a source. -- Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 11, 2017
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim will be entering his 42nd season as the head coach of the Orange.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the court, Boeheim's son, Jimmy, will be beginning his freshman season at Cornell. Jimmy Boeheim committed to Cornell after graduating from Jamesville-DeWitt High School and then attending New Hampton (N.H.) Prep last year.
Last year, Syracuse beat Cornell 80-56 at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse leads the all-time series 91-31.
Syracuse basketball's 2017-18 schedule: What we know so farDespite the heat and humidity, many fans came out to SpartaCon II held in Waldorf MD.
The biggest message during the weekend was for all to stay hydrated especially for those who took part of the gladiatorial workshop.
Again, with the size of the con, it was really great for fans to have a chance to interact with guests from the show such as Liam McIntyre, Ellen Hollman, Jenna Lind, Manu Bennett, Dustin Clare and so many more. These guests didn’t just sit behind their tables, they got up and walked the con, they participated in different workshops during the course of the weekend and even attended the after party and mingled with fans.
It was really wonderful for kids as the guests interacted so well. As a matter for fact, one of my fellow PCUers, Doug T., who attended had a story to share:
While waiting in line to get Manu Bennett’s autograph & a pic, the couple right in front of me were having difficulty comforting their crying son (about 5-6 years old) while also trying to get a pic with Manu.
Manu turns to his handler, gets a Jolly Rancher from her, and gives it to the young boy. He then spoke softly & calmly to the little dude, gave him a hug, & took a video with him (instead of just a selfie). He took his time with the child, making sure that the boy felt better & left with a smile.
Beyond that, he greeted everyone with a smile & enthusiasm, despite having only one meal & no other breaks all day, and talked with me about his experiences not only on Spartacus, but also on Arrow & The Hobbit.
Such a GENUINELY nice guy!
There were so many other stories as well that came from this show and that is one thing I love about it is that if you are lucky and you have time, you don’t just get a moment to say hi and bye, you can have conversations. I had a chance to talk to Stephen Dunlevy as we talked a bit about Penny Dreadful. I couldn’t spoil it for him as he is on Season two. We also talked again with Ellen Hollman and they are just so happy being together! I also talked to fellow Manchester United supporter Christian Antidormi about footy and what we hope for the season and so much more.
Another funny moment was Manu Bennett talking over the loudspeaker as if he was the voice of a god to would be gladiators and as many looked around searching for the source, we find him casually in the bleachers.
There was also a costume contest that PCU, took part of and we would like to thank all of those who partook and hopefully more will come out next year.
Also, the panels going through the day was a great way to listen to funny stories and anecdotes from the actors and well as finding out who the gamers are. (Hint! Liam is an Xbox One S guy!)
The panels are so entertaining that, if I could suggest something for the next show, it would be to either take some of the show’s most popular episodes or even some sword and sandals epics and do a MST2K viewing format.
All in all this was a great 2nd year con and I can only imagine what will come in 2017. This is a great con to come to if you are a fan of the show and also you aren’t looking for the hustle and bustle of shows like NYCC.
For more information, click here.
AdvertisementsIt was while screaming downhill, past hundreds of other cyclists who were slowly climbing in the opposite direction, that the thought crossed my mind. “Huh,” I thought. “This is a thing.”
That was on the weekend as I happily rode the Highwood Pass for the first time, a local highway that, for a few weekends a year, becomes a haven for, as I discovered, scores of fellow cyclists. But seeing so many people on this route made me realize something else: It’s rather amazing what people will do to find a good car-free route to ride their bikes.
First, some background. The Highwood Pass is just another highway, but it has some special qualities. It’s called the highest paved route in Canada, and it cuts through some achingly beautiful alpine scenery in the eastern slopes of southern Alberta’s Rocky Mountains. It happens to be near where I live.
For years, I’ve heard about a special moment on the pass. The road is closed to motor-vehicle traffic during winter to offer a respite to wildlife during times of year when food is more scarce (the route passes through a provincial park). It also receives a shit-ton (for you Canadians, the metric version of that would be “shit-tonne”) of snow, so I’m sure there’s a snow-clearing budget officer somewhere who breathes a sigh of relief every autumn when the gate is lowered to close the road.
That makes for a unique situation. For a short time each spring, usually just a weekend or two, there’s a window of opportunity for cyclists between the time the gates remain closed to cars and enough snow has melted to make the road passable on a bike.
The result: Hundreds of people on bikes flock to the area for a chance to ride the pass without any cars.
It’s a wonderful experience for cyclists. Arriving early gives a rare chance to enjoy a quiet highway, with stunning mountain vistas and wildlife sightings. Arriving a little later gives an opportunity to take part in a communal bike-friendly atmosphere as all kinds of people unload their bikes at the gate and start climbing.
While the early riders tend towards the MAMILs (middle-aged men in Lyrcra, God bless them), by midday, while descending the pass, there were innumerable women, families and kids heading upwards, including at least one hearty grandmother pedalling her way up the mountain on a shiny new e-bike.
What made it all possible was one thing: A lack of cars. If the road was open to vehicle traffic, the number of people enjoying the ride that day would dwindle to a handful of those brave and hearty souls who feel confident in their ability to stick to the shoulder of the highway while innumerable vehicles blow by at freeway speeds.
While I was delighted with the opportunity to undertake this ride, it also struck me as a little sad that such opportunities weren’t more common. I’m not naive enough to think that a highway, built with millions of taxpayer dollars, would ever be turned over exclusively to cyclists, but the fact that so many took advantage of a tiny window of opportunity to enjoy a safe ride free of cars is telling.
Many jurisdictions enable road closures for specific bike events, for everything from ciclovias to gran fondos, that draw innumerable people on bikes. It’s proof there’s a hunger out there for safe bike routes, whether they are recreational of functional. This little highway during this one weekend was just another manifestation of that desire.
For me, on a more visceral level, it took me about half the ride before I realized I could stop my subconscious habit of glancing over my shoulder to see if a car was coming up from behind, which prompted a simple thought that, I’m willing to bet, was shared with many others that day. “This,” I thought, “is pretty nice.”
Also published on Medium.Editor’s note: This post was originally published on August 31, 2011. We are republishing it for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
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As founder of The Great Animal Rescue Chase, I have the pleasure of meeting hundreds of incredible heroes, but this one caught me off guard. Your hair will stand on end as you read the story of this man and this dog who picked one another up time and time again. Be sure to look for the link at the end of the story to see more photos. May we all one day have the chance to love this deeply….
By Don Hill of Georgia
I was in Augusta, Georgia where I had been for several weeks cleaning out my mother’s home following her recent death as a result of numerous health issues and complications. On this Sunday, my final day there, as I was just about an hour from leaving to return to the foothills of the northeast Georgia mountains and my five rescue dogs almost four hours away, I walked out into the front yard to take one last look at the home of my parents and I saw in the front yard what appeared to be a very old dog that was in obvious distress. He would walk in a semi-circle, then fall to the ground, then struggle back to his feet and do it again. I saw him do this same thing at least three times as I walked over to him.
This was to be by far my easiest rescue because this poor old boy was in no shape to run from me, but also the most heartbreaking. This sad, unneutered male was in just the worst shape of any dog I had ever seen in my many years in animal rescue. He was emaciated, dehydrated, his right eye was swollen shut and draining puss, both ears were severely infected and draining as well, his body was covered with open sores, he was infested with fleas and his front nails were almost four inches long. All his teeth were worn down level with his gums, I assume from years of chewing at a cable or chain used to confine him and the pads on his feet were extremely worn and cut.
When he saw my shadow he flinched and fell to the ground as if he were about to be beaten
As I got close to him, he didn’t appear to hear me approaching but when he saw my shadow, he flinched and fell to the ground as if he were about to be beaten and he cowered. I sat on the grass with him and stroked him and talked softly to him until he stopped cowering, trying to assure him that no one was ever going to hurt him again and that his suffering was going to end. I wanted to show him that he had nothing to fear from me.
I estimated his age at 10 plus; the vet that treated him later determined he was close to 15. I picked him up in my arms and carried him into the carport where I had a small utility trailer packed with things from my mother’s house I was taking with me. There was some dry dog food and some stainless steel dog bowls in one of the boxes as well as some old blankets and towels so I made him a bed then put him on it as I mixed some of the dry food with water to soften it, knowing he would have a hard time eating it otherwise with his teeth in the condition they were in. For several hours I gave him food and water in small quantities due to his condition, not wanting him to eat or drink too much too fast but trying to build his strength some and get him home where the following morning I could take him to my vet and end his suffering humanely.
Bringing Roadie home – he laid his head across my thigh
Leaving him was never an option once I had found him. I made him a bed on the front seat of my Jeep, picked him up and laid him on it. I hitched up the utility trailer and began the drive home wondering if this now soundly sleeping old boy would make it back to the farm. Just a few miles down the road, he lifted his head and looked at me with the one big brown eye he could open as if to say thank you, then laid that head across my right thigh where it stayed the entire ride home and he went back to sleep.
He made it back to the farm with me where I bedded him down comfortably in an empty stall in the barn, wanting to keep him isolated from the other dogs there until I could take him to the vet’s office first thing the next morning. I carried him into the vet’s office and laid him on the examination room table, fully expecting to allow the vet to send this poor sweet old man on to a better place. He opened his one good eye and reached out and touched me with his paw and I knew right then and there that this poor old boy was going to break my heart.
The veterinary exam. What would they find?
My vet examined him and when he was done he told me that the ear infections were the worst he had ever seen and he was almost positive this old guy was totally deaf as a result. We discussed all the heath issues and he asked me what I wanted to do. He told me that right now he couldn’t see anything wrong that couldn’t be treated and that he felt the dog could fully recover without too much stress or pain and have a good quality of life but he warned me that because of his advanced age, even if we decided to treat all his issues, this old boy may only have six months or maybe a year left and it was up to me. He saw me hesitate as I looked down on this poor old man I had found and then he said “Let’s test him for heartworm. He’s way too old to go through treatment. Let’s see if he’s positive or not and then you can decide.” I said okay. I had named him “Roadie” because that day I found him it was obvious he had been on the road a while.
As I waited for the results of the heartworm test, I was trying to figure out where I was going to get the money to treat all his other problems should he be heartworm negative. I picked up my cell phone and called a close friend of mine who wishes to remain anonymous. He had founded a disaster response animal rescue group in the wake of Hurricane Katrina called Kat 5 Animal Rescue. I told him everything about Roadie and he said he would help me with the expenses to treat Roadie if the vet and I determined he could be restored to a good quality of life.
Free of heartworm, Roadie wants to live
My vet came back in and said “Roadie has a lot of problems right now but heartworm isn’t one of them.” He obviously knew I was concerned about the costs involved and he told me if I wanted to treat this sweet old man he would give me every possible discount. I asked him to leave me alone with Roadie for a few minutes so I could try to make the right decision. As I stood there stroking Roadie’s matted dirty coat, I realized that he had been put in my path for a reason and be it only six months or maybe a year, I was going to do everything in my power to show this old man who had suffered a lifetime of neglect and abuse that somebody loved him and cared about him before he left this world — full well knowing that when that time came, I would be crushed with grief.
So Roadie was going to be treated. He stayed at the vet’s office for five days where he was put on IV fluids and antibiotics, his flea infestation was dealt with, his draining infected ears were cleaned, and he was given a medicated bath. All of his issues were addressed and it took almost two months, but he recovered fully.
The best months of his life…even playing ball at his old age
Roadie lived on the farm with me and my other dogs and the horses for seven months happy and full of life. He played with his favorite ball and slept in my bed every night until that morning I had been dreading came. I awoke that Friday to take Roadie and the other kids out but he couldn’t get up and stand on his feet and I thought well he is just having a bad day, so I helped to his feet and outside to do his business and continued to do so over the weekend. By Monday, his legs couldn’t support his weight even with my assistance, so just as I had seven months earlier, I carried him into my vet’s office and my vet told me it was time. I held him in my arms and cried as Roadie left this world, but as he looked at me just before the lights went out behind those big beautiful brown eyes, I knew in my heart that Roadie knew I loved him as I knew he loved me.
I took Roadie back to the farm and my friend who had helped with the vet bills for Roadie then helped me bury him on the farm with his favorite ball. I went to the house and sat with my other dogs for comfort and cried for days just as I am now, telling his story. I can honestly say knowing everything I know now that I would do it all over again. You see, just weeks before I found Roadie, I had lost my mother, and Roadie, without me even knowing it at the time, had helped me through some of the darkest days of my life focusing on him and not the recent loss of my mom. I will never forget him or the special gift he gave me and rarely a day goes by that I don’t think of him playing with his ball or my other dogs and walking as fast as he could to try to keep up with them that I don’t smile or sometimes still shed a tear. I have a magnet on my Jeep that looks like a dog’s paw print and it says “Who Rescued Who?”
I’ll let you decide.
See More PHOTOS of Roadie
Photos courtesy of The Great Animal Rescue ChaseDIGG THIS
The web loves nothing more than a good brawl, so people often write me to ask me to respond to a critic of LRC or the Mises Institute. There’s certainly no shortage of them, and they come from the left, the right, and everything in between. My first thought on the request is that the archive speaks for itself, and a response would amount to little more than reprinting. And yet the criticisms in themselves are interesting because often they come from people who liked one thing we said and then felt betrayed by another thing we said, so we get praise for the first thing and attacked for the second thing.
There is a response to make that covers all these critics but first let me give you a better feel for what I’m talking about. Let’s say that we run an article exposing how the corporate elites are working in league with the government to make profits from war and destruction. The left cheers. The next day we attack the idea of a new tax on corporations or some federal antitrust action, and come to the defense of big business. The left screams betrayal and announces that our side of the debate has sold out.
On a much lower level, the same happens concerning party politics. We attack Republicans and Democrats cheer. Then we attack Democrats and they scream at us for failing to back the party to the end.
The same happens on the right. One day we attack the organized victim lobby for pushing for government privileges for blacks, or gays, or women, or for using “multiculturalism” as a moral imperative to curb the right of free association. The right celebrates that we have enlisted in the culture war! The next day we attack Christians for demanding coerced prayer in coerced school or for backing surveillance in the war on drugs. Then the Christian right says that we have sold our souls to the Devil.
Another example of a more complicated topic concerns immigration. Throughout modern history, the state has used immigrants as a tool to ratchet up power for itself. This takes the form of requiring tax-funded services like public schools and medical services, or in browbeating the citizens while enforcing anti-discrimination law. Nor are citizens under these conditions permitted to notice the rise in crime that accompanies some immigration or the demographic upheavals that people resent. The result of immigration waves is to diminish liberty for American citizens.
At the same time, anti-immigrationist sentiment can also be used by the state to expand its power. In the name of a crackdown, the state invades the rights of business and demands documentation of every employee. It sends its bureaucrats all over the country and works toward a national ID card. It makes it virtually impossible for corporations to hire people, even temporary workers, from other countries, all in the name of national security or stopping immigration. The state is happy to whip up nativist frenzy in the name of loving the homeland in order to enhance its power. This harms productivity and makes us all less free.
So you see the problem here. The state uses both pro- and anti-immigration sentiment in its favor. So to battle this problem, the libertarian will be sympathetic with one point of view in one political context and another point of view in a different context. It really depends on what kind of rhetorical apparatus the state is using at the moment. The groups that deserve support are those that are resisting the state. It is not unusual to see those very groups won over by the state at a later stage of development of statism, in which case libertarian sympathies have to change.
Murray Rothbard noted this his entire life. When he was young, the resistance league was found among the remnants of the Old Right that opposed the New Deal and wartime planning. But then the right was won over by the warfare state, and his sympathies changed to the point that he sided with the New Left against the state. But of course the left then gained power and its ideologues sold out, and the right went into resistance mode again. Murray chronicled the shifts while they took place while maintaining a hard and fast adherence to principle.
Let’s look at recent political history to see how this works. In the 1990s, the right was the resistance. It battled Clintonian socialism and warfare internationalism. It resented the regime’s tendency toward centralization and its relentless putting down of the cultural attachments of the American bourgeoisie. The resentment was felt intensely by the middle class, which swept George Bush into power on the promise of cutting government and a less belligerent foreign policy.
But the middle class had been bamboozled yet again, and the very cultural impulses that the Clinton regime attacked were used by the Bush regime as a means of expanding its domestic and international empire. Christianity was invoked not as a reason to resist the state, but rather to obey it in all things, |
Langivine, D-R.I., said there would be no justifiable reason to do so. He also blasted the DNC for not being more forthcoming with information that could help intelligence officials get to the bottom of electoral interference by a foreign power.
“This is the first I’ve heard of the fact that it was actually destroyed, so I’d have to get further information about that, but also as to why it would be destroyed in the first place – that’s certainly unfortunate if that’s the case,” Langivine told WND.
“I don’t understand why the server would be destroyed,” he continued. “The most effective thing would have been to have all relevant materials preserved so that we can look at all the chain of evidence or any indicators that would have substantiated the hacking.
“I want the FBI to do its work thoroughly and without the outside influence,” Langivine said. “I have high confidence in the House and Senate investigations happening right now. I hope they will be able to look at all relevant material. I hope the FBI has access to all the relevant information they need as well.”
While admitting it would be egregious if the DNC did, in fact, destroy the server, Langivine insisted Trump colluded with Russia during the election.
“There’s no doubt that this is not a witch hunt. There is a there there,” he told WND, citing reports that several intelligence agencies believe Russia interfered in the election.
“They did engage in a cover influence campaign to influence the outcome of our elections,” Langivine said. “We need to understand how they did it to make sure that they can’t do it again.”The EU warned Tuesday that two widely used insecticides, one of which has already been implicated in bee population decline, may pose a risk to human health.
The neonicotinoid insecticides acetamiprid and imidacloprid “may affect the developing human nervous system,” the European Food Safety Authority said, the first time such a link has been made.
As a result, experts wanted “some guidance levels for acceptable exposure … to be lowered while further research is carried out to provide more reliable data on developmental neurotoxicity (DNT).”
The EFSA said its opinion was based on recent research and existing data on “the potential of acetamiprid and imidacloprid to damage the developing human nervous system — in particular the brain.”
The research suggested the two insecticides “may adversely affect the development of neurons and brain structures associated with functions such as learning and memory,” the EFSA said in a statement.
“It concluded that some current guidance levels for acceptable exposure … may not be protective enough to safeguard against developmental neurotoxicity and should be reduced,” the EFSA added.
Earlier this year, the European Union restricted the use of a series of insecticides made by Swiss chemicals giant Syngenta and its German peer Bayer on concerns they were responsible for a catastrophic decline in bee populations
In May, it banned for two years the use of imidacloprid — cited in Tuesday’s action — and clothianidin produced by Bayer, along with thiamethoxam made by Syngenta, to treat seeds or be sprayed on soil or plants and cereals which attract bees.
In July, it restricted the use of fipronil, made by Germany’s BASF, for similar reasons.
Bee numbers have slumped in Europe and the United States in recent years due to a mysterious plague dubbed colony collapse disorder (CCD), sparking concerns crop pollination and so food production could be put dangerously at risk.
It is estimate bees account for some 80 percent of plant pollination by insects.
The companies involved insist that their products are not at fault and Sygenta and Bayer said in August they would take legal action against Brussels.
Bees have a much greater economic value than is widely known, according to a scientific probe into strawberry-growing published on WednesdayScientists have found evidence that the ice volcanos of Ceres erupted continuously about four million years ago, giving insight into the still mysterious nature of cryovolcanism. The bright material in the basin of Ceres' Occator crater is believed to be mineral salts deposited by cryovolcanic eruptions that occurred some 30 million years after the crater itself formed from an impact. The findings suggest that Ceres has had an active geologic history with cryovolcanic eruptions occurring for an extended period of time.
A cryovolcano is a volcano that spits out water ice, ammonia, or methane liquids as opposed molten rock. They've been detected on various icy moons within the solar system, from Uranus's Miranda to Jupiter's Ganymede. But the cryovolcanoes of Ceres, a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, are special. Ahuna Dome, the largest mountain on the dwarf planet—standing about two and a half miles high—is a "volcanic dome unlike any seen elsewhere in the solar system," as revealed by data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft.
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute were able to learn about Ahuna Mons by studying another of Ceres' notable points, the Occator crater. Fifty-seven miles in diameter and as deep as Ahuna is tall, there has always been a sense of brotherly familiarity between the two points. Both are relatively young and differ in composition from the rest of Ceres. Now, the Max Planck Institute has determined that the mysterious white substance within the Occator has origins in Ahuna Mons, which in turn has origins in Occator.
"The large impact that tore the giant Occator crater into the surface of the dwarf planet must have originally started everything and triggered the later cryovolcanic activity," says Andreas Nathues, Framing Camera Lead Investigator for Max Planck. After the disruption, rock was reshuffled on the planet and moved closer to the surface. The lower pressure near the surface allowed water and dissolved gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, to escape through what eventually became a volcano. This geological process on Ceres eventually created a dome within Occator that "contains the brightest material on Ceres," says Max Planck scientist Thomas Platz.
Occator and Ahuna in the same shot. Occator has the bright white material in it, Ahuna is the bump on the far right. NASA-JPL
Information from Dawn's Visual and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (VIR) show that the material, which scientists have called Cerealia Facula, is rich in certain salts. "The age and appearance of the material surrounding the bright dome indicate that Cerealia Facula was formed by a recurring, eruptive process, which also hurled material into more outward regions of the central pit," says Nathues.
The research team believes the eruptive process wasn't one giant incident, but rather a series of smaller explosions over an extended period of time. Similar domes have been found on Ganymede, leading scientists to believe that they share a definite relationship to the cryovolcanic activity on Ceres. It's unclear if Ceres is still cryovolcanically active in its subterranean crust beyond Dawn's detection.
When approaching Ceres, scientists were not expecting any geologic activity at all, let alone insights into cryovolcanism. Much like the ocean of Enceladus, the ice volcanoes of Ceres offer a powerful example of how space exploration can reveal wonders that no one had even considered.
Source: Max Planck Institute for Solar System ResearchInvestors are worried about the latest headlines reporting inflation in China, but average people here have felt the effects of unreported inflation for the last two years, and especially the last 12 months.
You have already heard of a few items in China whose prices have spiraled out of control — houses, for one; garlic, for another — but at least not everyone needs to buy a house, and not everyone absolutely needs to eat garlic. But you'd like to eat eggs and pork, right, and cook them using some oil? (Maybe with some garlic). Or you'd like your restaurant to do that for you without raising its prices.
To make this picture clearer, the valuable blog China Hush gives a visual rundown of how much less of this stuff you can buy for 100 yuan ($15) compared to the same time last year. The most eye-popping number: 30 fewer apples. See their whole list, with price changes included.
Of course, inflation is more than a food story, and has far broader macroeconomic implications than that — the food price increases should force us to look at causes, and you can't escape the huge growth in China's money supply in the last two years as a primary and worrisome cause. In any case, food is where consumers feel it and talk about it.
In Beijing, gripes about food prices have been simmering for a while, and so too the perception that inflation was much higher than was being reported. Food price increases are only one factor in the consumer price index, of course, but even the 10% reported increase in food prices in the last year might seem low to some. Forbes China Tracker contributor Patrick Chovanec captured this well in a prescient post in August, "China's KFC Index," in which he questioned the official figures that kept hovering around 3%:
How does my KFC experience in Beijing compare? A year ago, my standard meal cost RMB 21.50. A couple of months ago it rose to RMB 25.50. Today, for the first time, it set me back RMB 28.50. For those keeping track, that's a 32.6% price hike in a single year.
As Chovanec pointed out, KFC is not a premium-priced product like Starbucks — it is mass-market in China, available in lower-tier cities, more popular than McDonald's. Between the KFC Index and the much more pricy apple cart, inflation has been a real problem on the ground in China for longer than the official numbers claim.Richard Dubé, the Vice President of Brewing Operations at Christian Moerlein, is leaving the company effective immediately.
Richard came to Christian Moerlein with a very extensive brewing background including working at Labatt and Boston Beer Company as well as teaching at the prestigious Siebel Institute of Technology, one of the best brewing schools in the country.
Richard began working with Moerlein in 2012 opening and brewing at the Moerlein Lager House. He tweaked all the recipes that Moerlein had been contract brewing and bottling and in my opinion he drastically improved them. Initially these improved recipes were only available on premise at the Lager House on the Banks.
Just over a year after his arrival Christian Moerlein ended their contract brewing and opened their own production brewery in Over-the-Rhine. Once Moerlein was making all of its own beer Richard’s recipes became the base recipes for all Moerlein beers. Be it bottle or draft, the Lager House or La Rosa’s, if you were drinking Moerlein beer after March 2013 you were drinking a recipe from Richard. After reinvigorating the brand and helping launch the Moerlein production brewery in OTR he was promoted to the Vice President of Brewing Operations for all of Christian Moerlein.
This is obviously a huge loss for Christian Moerlein but I want all our readers to rest assured that Richard has hand-picked a great team of brewers at Christian Moerlein. I have faith that this team will continue to execute Richard’s recipes in excellent fashion.
As far as what the future holds for Richard himself, we don’t yet know. I got the impression that he is going to relax and spend some time with his family and perhaps run the Grand Canyon again (yeah… he’s in his 50s and ran down and backup the Grand Canyon. Just thinking of that makes me tired). What I do know is that in the past he has said his wife is not willing to move again. What does that mean? It mean’s Cincinnati has a fantastic brewer who isn’t going anywhere and won’t be able to sit still for long. No one knows what Richard is going to do but whatever he does will be in Cincinnati and will be delicious.
This is coming on the day of the celebration for the rebirthed Christian Moerlein’s 10th anniversary (for more on the full history of Christian Moerlein Brewing Company start my series here). Tonight at the production brewery in OTR they are having a celebration including some of their 10/161. 10/161 is the Christkindl that’s been bourbon barrel aged in Woodford Reserve barrels and is, in my opinion, very delicious.
Updated: Late last night I reached out to Moerlein CEO Greg Hardman and received his response this morning:
We appreciate the contribution Richard Dube made in assembling our team of talented brewers as we have a strong team of innovators that will continue to drive our commitment to craft brewing. As we have enjoyed tremendous growth at our Over-the-Rhine brewery in a short period of time, Christian Moerlein will continue to strengthen its position in the craft beer category. We do wish Richard the best of luck as he pursues other endeavors and thank our team for their continued creativity and commitment to our beers and our brand.No computer can generate truly random numbers purely by computation. The best they can do is to generate pseudorandom numbers, which are a sequence of numbers that appear random but are not.
To a human observer, these numbers are indeed random. There will be no short repeating sequences, and, at least to the human observer, they'll present no clear pattern. However, given enough time and motivation, the original seed can be discovered, the sequence recreated and the next number in the sequence guessed.
For this reason, the methods discussed in this article should probably not be used to generate numbers that must be cryptographically secure.
Pseudorandom number generators must be seeded in order to produce sequences that differ each time a new random number is generated. No method is magical — these seemingly random numbers are generated using relatively simple algorithms and relatively simple arithmetic. By seeding the PRNG, you're starting it off at a different point every time. If you didn't seed it, it would generate the same sequence of numbers each time.
In Ruby, the Kernel#srand method can be called with no arguments. It will choose a random number seed based on the time, the process ID and a sequence number. Simply by calling srand anywhere at the beginning of your program, it will generate a different series of seemingly random numbers each time you run it. This method is called implicitly when the program starts up, and seeds the PRNG with the time and process ID (no sequence number).Onedrawingdaily has been encouraging us all to follow his lead and draw every day (http://onedrawingdaily.com/2015/01/29/why-dont-you-start-drawing-every-day-take-the-challenge/). That was my intention with my new pencils and sketchbook when Nina and I began this blog (https://methodtwomadness.wordpress.com/2014/07/31/in-the-news/). I have been drawing a lot more but–I confess–not every day.
I decided to try to spare at least 15 minutes each day and draw the same thing for a week. I pulled out all my old drawing class tricks: don’t pick the pencil up off the paper,
don’t look at the paper while drawing,
draw with your left (or non-dominant) hand. That’s the drawing at the top on the right.
These are not masterpieces by any means, but I’ll repeat once again what one of my drawing teachers told me (after “draw draw draw”). You do 100 drawings and throw 99 out–but the 100th! So…95 to go before I start to worry.THUNDER BAY, ONT.—Kenora’s Conservative incumbent Greg Rickford stole his northern Ontario seat from the Liberals in the last election by 2,051 votes. Since that narrow victory, the electoral district that is home to some 42,000 registered voters has been showered with nearly $40 million in federal infrastructure funding, according to figures compiled by the Liberal party and provided to the Toronto Star.
It’s about $12.5 million more than was received by the closest opposition-held riding in the region and second only to Industry Minister Tony Clement’s riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka. Some $50 million was earmarked for the riding to pay for G8 legacy projects, including 33 projects advanced by Clement himself. Be it coincidence or political calculation, Rickford’s Kenora riding also sits squarely on the Conservative’s list of 30 ridings that are at risk of being lost or possible to steal away. The list of so-called targeted ridings is central to Conservative Leader Stephen Harper’s national campaign, which started the election holding 143 seats, a dozen short of a majority government. That list is filled with races in Quebec, British Columbia and Ontario, but dominated by Toronto-area ridings including the Conservative-held seats of Thornhill (Peter Kent), Julian Fantino (Vaughan) and Mississauga-Erindale (Bob Dechert).
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In Ontario, the seats they hope to win are mostly held by Liberals. There’s Brampton-Springdale (Liberal Ruby Dhalla), Eglinton-Lawrence (Liberal Joe Volpe), Ajax-Pickering (Liberal Mark Holland) and Mississauga South (Liberal Paul Szabo). So focused are the Conservatives on this frequently updated list of 30 races across the country that, according to Tory Senator Marjory Lebreton, these are the only ridings in which the party is conducting opinion polling to gauge voter intentions. National polls such as those published in the media are handy for the public, she said, but the real races are being fought street by street, largely in the suburban enclaves of the country. If you haven’t seen a high-profile Conservative visiting your local Tory candidate, your riding is simply not in the mix. The Barrie-area riding of Simcoe-Grey is high on the Conservative party’s list. Former Conservative MP Helena Geurgis is running there as an independent against Kellie Leitch, who took the party’s candidacy when Guergis was ousted from caucus over unsubstantiated allegations of fraud, extortion, drug use and involvement with prostitution. Nova Scotia’s Defence Minister Peter MacKay was among the first to show up in support of Leitch, a long-time Tory organizer, once the election was called last month. He was followed by Conservative Senator Hugh Segal, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, former Ontario Premier Bill Davis and Minister of State for Seniors Julian Fantino.
A local newspaper dubbed the stream of Conservatives coming into Guergis’ riding “the tour of top Tories.” But the same thing is occurring across the country, whether it be Immigration Minister Jason Kenney securing ethnic votes in the GTA or retiring Treasury Board President Stockwell Day jetting across the country to boost a local candidate’s profile. “I think Stock’s actually doing more campaigning than he’s ever done before,” Harper remarked Saturday at a rally in Burnaby, B.C.
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The message Conservatives are sending in these swing ridings is that the world is filled with uncertainty and the best way to cope with that is to cast a vote for someone who will be in government and be able to deliver for the riding. Montreal Tory Senator Larry Smith unravelled that message two weeks ago in one of the few verbal gaffes of the campaign so far. “It’s normal that you are going to focus on the areas with the people that do support you. That’s part of political life,” the former CFL chairman said, noting that government-funded infrastructure and other projects have been concentrated in Conservative-held ridings in recent years. Harper disavowed Smith’s remarks earlier in the campaign, but the style of his daily announcements and rallies suggest that his party’s attention is aimed at giving maximum profile to the 30 target ridings. Each visit follows a carefully calculated script designed to highlight the vulnerable or hopeful Tory before ceding the spotlight to the Prime Minister. In Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar, it is incumbent Kelly Block who introduces Harper; in Guelph it is hopeful candidate Marty Burke. In Etobicoke North, Priti Lamba warms up the crowd, and in Burnaby-Douglas a seat vacated by the NDP’s Bill Siksay, it is Ronald Leung, draped in a Vancouver Canucks hockey sweater. Then Harper takes to the stage, reading nearly the same speech each night from a teleprompter. There is only one message and it is the country’s need to reject an unstable coalition of opposition parties led by the Liberals in favour of a “strong, stable, national, majority Conservative government.” The Tories have invested much time, buckets of money, and considerable thought into ensuring the voter response works out in their favour.
Read more about:Kickstarter is just the beginning for SolSource...visit the SolSource product website now. To inquire about retail partnerships, distribution, or other business, please click here to contact us via our website.
If you would like to keep in touch, follow our updates, and learn about new product developments, click here to signup for our newsletter and follow us below:
Website: www.OneEarthDesigns.com
Twitter: @OneEarthDesigns
NEWS!
Meet SolSource
Cook in your own backyard using nothing but the sun! SolSource is powerful, durable, and easy to use. It was designed and tested with nomads on the Himalayan Plateau, and now we’re bringing it to you.
Use SolSource to grill, steam, bake, boil, or fry your favorite foods. You don’t need to wait for the coals to get hot, or worry that your gas tank will run out. With SolSource, you can cook anything under the sun.
Proven performance
Everyday, SolSource cooks food for large Himalayan families. It withstands sand storms, wind, snow, and -40 degree temperatures. We've used it around the world, from grilling Kobe beef on the streets of Japan to making popcorn on the Mall in Washington, DC. Just point it towards the sun and start cooking. As long as you can see your shadow, you are good to go!
Powerful: heats up fast and can grill hamburgers in minutes
heats up fast and can grill hamburgers in minutes Versatile: use SolSource to grill, steam, bake, boil, or fry
use SolSource to grill, steam, bake, boil, or fry Durable: base holds up to 40 lbs and withstands the elements
base holds up to 40 lbs and withstands the elements Easy to use: patented user interface provides safety, comfort, and ease of control
patented user interface provides safety, comfort, and ease of control Responsible: Manufactured with care for people and the planet; 100% recyclable
Here's a brief look (in 42 seconds) at how to set-up SolSource:
Peer reviewed
Hear what others have to say about SolSource:
“I think this is the new trend for barbecuing. I love that it doesn’t leave carcinogenic black carbon bits on the food. It is also so fast and easy to clean.” – Madeleine, marketing professional from France
“I’ve been looking for a reliable way to cook with the sun for a while. I’ve tried a lot of solar cookers in my time. The SolSource is definitely the most powerful and durable.” – Cody, Self-described survivalist from Texas
“Because it cooks so fast, I don’t need to adjust it or worry about it. It doesn’t interrupt my schedule and it only takes a few minutes to heat up, much faster than charcoal or yak dung.” – Norbu, Himalayan farmer
Choice
Last 4th of July American BBQs generated more CO2 on that single day than many African nations produce in an entire year. SolSource generates zero emissions while still grilling your steaks to perfection. For every SolSource you back, you offset the carbon footprint of four Americans.
SolSource is designed to create net positive environmental impact over its lifetime. In 2012, we became a certified B Corp for our commitment to bringing measurable benefit to both people and the planet. We earned a top B Corp score because of our equitable and environmental practices in all aspects of our business operations, including manufacturing.
How SolSource was born
Our core mission is to bring innovative energy solutions to people around the world. We began this quest working with rural Himalayan families to help find a solution to meet their energy needs. Five years and thirteen prototype generations later, we’ve created a product that people love and significantly improves their quality of life. Right now, many families rely on SolSource for their daily cooking needs. SolSource saves them time and money, reduces their exposure to harmful stove pollution, and preserves the environment.
Why Kickstarter?
After building and testing many generations of SolSource prototypes with Himalayan families, interest flooded in from people around the world--particularly the US! That got our creative juices flowing - why not empower everyone to harness the sun for cooking?
We’ve invested years of our lives and our own money to create SolSource. Next, our challenge is the incredibly high cost of setting up a production line in China. We need to meet minimum order quantities with our awesome manufacturing partners and fill shipping containers to bring SolSource to the world.
By backing our Kickstarter project you’ll help us fund the first production run and enable people around the world to cook with the sun. Our goal of $43,000 will cover the significant costs of tooling and production line setup, materials, making the components, labor for assembly, and shipping.
About Our Team
We are a small, dedicated, and multi-national team of foodies, outdoor enthusiasts, and nomads. Many of us grew up in the US and have always kept nature close to heart. SolSource is our best attempt to close the loop of people and planet, enabling us all to connect with the world around us in a way that makes our lives healthier, happier, and surely more full!
On the professional side, we are a team of engineers, designers, and scientists who, combined, have decades of experience designing and manufacturing consumer products. Our team holds more than one hundred patents from prior careers. We’ve been working on SolSource for more than five years together with villagers in the Himalayas. We already have two patents granted for our award-winning innovations. For more information on our team and work, stop by our website at: www.OneEarthDesigns.com.
REWARDS
Become a backer now and be among the first to receive SolSource! For all of our backers, we will create and share a personalized thank-you video in recognition for your support. Let us know if this purchase is a gift and we’ll do our best to meet the deadline, in-style!
Personalized Video: $5 To thank you for your support, we'll create a personalized video to serve as a lasting memento of what you made happen!
Backstage Pass: $20 We'll send you a custom engraved 4gb bamboo USB drive filled with behind-the-scenes footage of our work. Plus, get access to our team to post questions, comments, and contribute to the design. (Add $15 to SolSource reward levels to receive a USB drive in addition.)
Solar Chef Apron $40 Grab this sporty SolSource apron to show your support during those backyard solar BBQs. (Add $35 to SolSource reward levels to receive an apron in addition.)
SolSource $249 For a limited time, be one of the first to get a SolSource to sun-power your cooking, grilling, baking, and more!
SolSource: Burning Man 2013 Edition $324 - Get a pre-production SolSource in time for Burning Man, delivered to you directly on the playa. The extra charge is for air freight rush delivery. Note: this SolSource will come in "blue" with some aesthetic details varying from the units that will ship in October.
SolSource + Grill Kit $349 Get a SolSource plus our custom grill plate, a protective cover, and an apron.
SolSource Factory + Office Tour $2,500 Come to our factory as the first SolSource roll off the line. Meet our R&D team and see where we spend days (and nights!) making SolSource a reality.
Birth of SolSource Himalayan Tour $4,500 Travel with our founders to the Himalayas and migrate with the nomads and stay in a traditional yak-hair tent. Learn how the SolSource started and what it's doing to improve lives on a daily basis.
Stretch Goals!
Stretch Goal #1 - $117,000: Solar grill hood - Achieved!
Stretch Goal #2 - $130,000: Solar alignment aid - Achieved!
Stretch Goal #3 - $140,000: A surprise gift - Achieved!
Manufacturing & Production Schedule
We’ve worked hard to identify outstanding manufacturing partners that align with our values. We manage our supply chain directly to ensure quality and timely delivery. We've already worked with our partners to produce prototypes of SolSource for Himalayan families. Become a backer and join us as we manufacture SolSource. You’ll receive photo and video updates throughout this Kickstarter project.
Here is the timeline we anticipate for bringing SolSource to life -- and shipping yours to you!
June / July: Finalize SolSource design and open molds
Finalize SolSource design and open molds August: Setup manufacturing and conduct quality control checks
Setup manufacturing and conduct quality control checks September: SolSource comes off the line and starts shipping
SolSource comes off the line and starts shipping October: SolSource arrives at your home by Columbus day!
Fine Print
Product specifications
Materials: Black steel base and plastic reflective panels
Diameter: 4.3 ft
Weight: 40 lbs
Capacity: 20L stockpot
Assembles in less than 30 minutes with simple tools, which are included
Shipping
The cost of shipping is already included for all Kickstarter backers in the Continental US or Hong Kong. For other locations, please see below for the additional shipping charges:
Canada: $50
Hawaii: $50
Australia: $200
Philippines: $150
Thailand: $150
Japan: $150
If your country is not listed above, it probably means shipping will be $300+. Please contact us to get a shipping quote for your address. Note that we cannot predict nor are responsible for any tariff, tax, VAT, or other charges you may incur for international shipments to your location.
THANK YOU TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND BACKERS!Jason Miller/Getty Images Jairus Byrd.
The New Orleans Saints went into free agency in March with virtually no cap room.
They came out of free agency with the consensus No. 1 free agent, Buffalo Bills safety Jairus Byrd, who they signed on a six-year, $54-million contract.
They were able to pull this off because of two things: 1) they backloaded the money in Byrd's contract, which could be crippling down the line, but lets them stay under the salary cap this year, and 2) they traded, cut, or let a number of role players leave in free agency.
The Saints went all in. They decided Drew Brees only has a few years left, the roster is good enough now to compete for a Super Bowl, and the window for this team to win it all is rapidly closing. So they went for it and signed Byrd, salary cap be damned.
Now they're 1-3 after getting destroyed by the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. History says 1-3 teams miss the playoffs 85% of the time. To make matters worse, some of the role players they were forced to let go of are playing exceptionally well.
Here are the main guys they let leave. Some of them are tearing it up elsewhere:
Darren Sproles, running back (traded) — Traded for a 5th-round pick. Now ranks 6th in the NFL in total yardage for the Philadelphia Eagles, with three touchdowns.
— Traded for a 5th-round pick. Now ranks 6th in the NFL in total yardage for the Philadelphia Eagles, with three touchdowns. Malcolm Jenkins, safety (free agency) — Signed with the Eagles for three years, $16.5 million. Has three interceptions in four games and a touchdown.
— Signed with the Eagles for three years, $16.5 million. Has three interceptions in four games and a touchdown. Lance Moore, wide receiver (cut) — Signed with Pittsburgh. Injured for much of training camp but he's making his way back.
— Signed with Pittsburgh. Injured for much of training camp but he's making his way back. Brian de la Puente, center (free agency) — Signed with Chicago. Started three of four games.
— Signed with Chicago. Started three of four games. Roman Harper, safety (cut) — Signed with Carolina. Started all four games, with one touchdown.
They lost depth and productivity at a number of key positions. None of these guys are stars (although Sproles is playing like one now), but they matter. It hurts that they have to play Khiry Robinson and Pierre Thomas when starting running back Mark Ingram got hurt instead of someone like Sproles.
There's also an opportunity cost here. Safety wasn't exactly the most pressing need for New Orleans going into the offseason, cornerback was. Instead of keeping Jenkins and paying a starting-level cornerback a decent salary, the Saints paid Byrd $54 million and took a flyer on Champ Bailey. When Bailey was promptly cut, they were left with a hole at one of the league's most important positions.
Because of the way the Byrd deal is structured, the Saints are going to be in salary cap hell for the foreseeable future. They already have $160 million in cap dollars committed for 2015, and $140 million committed for 2016. For better or worse, this is the team they have to work with for the next few years.
More From Business InsiderBritish Muslim social and political activist
Anjem Choudary (Urdu: انجم چودهرى; born 18 January 1967) is a British Islamist and a social and political activist convicted of inviting support for a proscribed organisation, namely the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, under the Terrorism Act 2000. He was previously a solicitor and served, until it was proscribed, as the spokesman for Islam4UK.
With Omar Bakri Muhammad, Choudary helped form an Islamist organisation, al-Muhajiroun. The group organised several anti-Western demonstrations, including a banned protest march in London for which Choudary was summoned to appear in court. The UK government banned Al-Muhajiroun and Choudary was present at the launch of its intended successor, Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah. He later helped form Al Ghurabaa, which was also banned. Choudary then became the spokesman for Islam4UK. He has been denounced by mainstream Muslim groups,[6] and has been largely criticised in the country's media.
A critic of the UK's involvement in the wars in Iraq (2003–2011) and Afghanistan (2001–2016), Choudary praised those responsible for the 11 September 2001 and 7 July 2005 attacks. He supports the implementation of Sharia law throughout the UK, Poland and India.[7][8][9][10] He marched in protest at the Jyllands-Posten cartoons controversy, following which he was prosecuted for organising an unlawful demonstration. During a protest outside Westminster Cathedral in 2006, Choudary told demonstrators that the Pope should be executed for insulting Islam.[11]
On 6 September 2016, Choudary was sentenced to five years and six months following conviction for inviting others to support the proscribed organisation ISIS.[12] He was subsequently released on parole (licence) in October 2018.[13]
Early life [ edit ]
Born in London on 18 January 1967,[14] Anjem Choudary is the son of a Welling market trader and is of Pakistani descent.[15][16] He attended Mulgrave Primary School, in Woolwich.[17] In 1996, Choudary married Rubana Akhtar, or Akhgar, who was then 22 years old and had recently joined al-Muhajiroun, which he led at the time. She later became the group's head of women.[18] The couple have four children.[15]
He enrolled as a medical student at the University of Southampton, where he was known as Andy, but failed his first-year exams. While attending university, he was reputed to have indulged in drink and drugs. Responding to claims that he was a "party animal" who joined his friends in "getting stoned", in 2014 Choudary commented "I admit that I wasn't always practising... I committed many mistakes in my life.".[19][17][20]
He switched to law and spent his final year as a legal student (1990–1991) at Guildford, before moving to London to teach English as a second language. He found work at a legal firm and completed his legal qualifications to become a lawyer.[21]
Choudary became the chairman of the Society of Muslim Lawyers, but was removed from the roll of solicitors (the official register of legal practitioners) in 2002.[why?][15]
Jihadist military training in Britain [ edit ]
On 7 November 1999 the Sunday Telegraph reported that Muslims were receiving weapons training at secret locations in Britain. Most of those who trained at these centers would then fight for Osama Bin Laden's International Islamic Front in Chechnya, while others would fight in such places as Kosovo, Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir. The report identified Anjem Choudray as a key figure in recruiting for these training centers.[22][23][24]
Organisations [ edit ]
Choudary embraced Islamism and, with the Islamist militant leader Omar Bakri Muhammed, co-founded al-Muhajiroun,[15] a Salafi Wahabi organization.[25] The two men had met at a local mosque, where Bakri was giving a tafsir (an interpretation of the Qur'an).[26] In 2002, following a bazaar organised by al-Muhajiroun (advertised by leaflet and word of mouth), Choudary gave a talk on education at Slough. His lecture outlined his ideas for a parallel system of Islamic education in the UK and included elements of the group's ideology.[27] In the same year, although they were refused a permit by the then Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, on 25 August the group held a rally in London. Choudary was summonsed to Bow Street Magistrates' Court in January 2003, on charges which included "exhibiting a notice, advertisement or any other written or pictorial matter", "using apparatus for the amplification of sound", "making a public speech or address" and "organising an assembly".[28]
In 2003 or 2004 he organised an Islamic-themed camping trip, at which Bakri lectured, on the 54-acre (220,000 m2) grounds of the Jameah Islamiyah School in East Sussex. Advertised by word-of-mouth, the trip was attended by 50 Muslim men, most |
enDpg6CGc — NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 22, 2015
The controversy is also deeply ironic when it comes to Swift
To be sure, Swift's remarks are particularly rich, considering she's nominated for a video for a song widely rumored to be about her apparent blood feud with fellow pop singer Katy Perry. (The rumor goes that the two fell out over backup dancers, of all things.)
Perry herself seemingly responded to this aspect of the situation, if obliquely, a day later.
Finding it ironic to parade the pit women against other women argument about as one unmeasurably capitalizes on the take down of a woman... — KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 22, 2015
But it's also interesting to see Swift — normally such a controlled presence on social media, to the degree that even her personal moments feel carefully vetted — have such a human response to something she saw as a personal attack. It's hard to say what Swift will gather from the whole thing — but one lesson she'll almost certainly learn is to think twice before hitting the tweet button.
Taylor Swift apologizes
On Thursday morning, two days after this kerfuffle began, Taylor Swift apologized for misunderstanding the tweet. She tweeted out a public apology to Minaj saying she misspoke:
I thought I was being called out. I missed the point, I misunderstood, then misspoke. I'm sorry, Nicki. @NICKIMINAJ — Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 23, 2015
Minaj responded in kind:
That means so much Taylor, thank you. @taylorswift13 ❤️❤️❤️ — NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 23, 2015
The important thing is that the Ed Sheeran video is awful
It just is.
Update: Added additional Twitter responses from Minaj and Perry, as of Wednesday, July 22.
Update 2: Added Swift's apology and Minaj's response.U-18 MNT
CHICAGO (Jan. 23, 2017) — U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team head coach Omid Namazi has called 28 players for the program’s initial training camp of 2017. The camp, which will run Jan. 23-30 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., marks the beginning of the second year of the group’s U-18 cycle, which consists of players born Jan. 1, 1999 or later. The team last gathered at a joint domestic training camp with the U.S. Under-19 Men’s National Team in November.
“The purpose of this camp is to identify new talent and expand our pool of players,” Namazi said. “For this camp, we have invited back some of the core players that we’ve identified through the last year. More than half of the players are either newer players we are inviting back to see how they’ve developed since our player identification camp last January, or brand new players who have never been invited to a previous Youth National Team camp.”
Namazi has set up a few games for the team during the week against the U-17 National Team players currently in Residency at IMG Academy. The games will provide opportunity for the U-18’s to prove themselves against a talented and cohesive side. The camp as a whole will provide supplemental player development to the players in the pool outside of their club environments.
The U-18’s next meeting will be a domestic camp in March when the team will begin preparations for the Slovakia Cup, set to take place in April in Trnava, Slovakia.
Development Academy Ties:
Of the 28 players called into this camp, 24 have spent time in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Twenty-three currently play in the Development Academy.
The two players who have spent the most time in the Development Academy are New England Revolution forward Justin Rennicks and LA Galaxy goalkeeper Eric Lopez, both of whom have been involved since the 2012-2013 Academy season.
Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Eric Lopez (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.), Trey Muse (Seattle Sounders; Tukwila, Wash.), Alec Smir (NC Fusion; Greensboro, N.C.)
DEFENDERS (10): Jose Alfaro (Chicago Fire: West Chicago, Ill.), Jonathon Esparza (Club Tijuana; Chula Vista, Calif.), Daniel Jones (New England Revolution Academy; West Hartford, Conn.), Jack Maher (Scott Gallagher; Caseyville, Ill.), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union; Bear, Del.), Jake Morris (Seattle Sounders; Kirkland, Wash.), Stirling Russell (Seattle Sounders; Bellevue, Wash.), Aedan Stanley (St. Louis Scott Gallagher SC; Columbia, Ill.), Angel Uribe (Club Tijuana; San Diego, Calif), Aristotle Zarris (LA Galaxy; Casa Grande, Ariz.)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Abdi Faris (IMG Academy; Bradenton, Fla.), Christian Cappis (Texans SC Houston; Katy, Texas), Jose Carranza (D.C. United; Manassas, Va.), Andrew Paoli (San Jose Earthquakes; San Jose, Calif.), Brian Perez (Club Tijuana; San Diego, Calif.), Brandon Servania (FC Dallas; Brimingham, Ala.), Noah Verhoeven (Vancouver Whitecaps; Surrey, B.C)
FORWARDS (8): Shaft Brewer (FC Dallas; Sacramento, Calif.), Griffen Dorsey (Colorado Rush; Evergreen, Colo.), Ernesto Espinoza (Club Tijuana; Chula Vista, Calif.), Will Inalien (Portland Timbers; Taramac, Fla.), Justin McMaster (Philadelphia Union; King of Prussia, Pa.), Alfred Perez (Weston FC; Miami, Fla.), Emanuel Perez (CASL; Garner, N.C.), Justin Rennicks (New England Revolution Academy; Hamilton, Mass.)benjamin Posted by May 28, 2012
The final showdown in the ongoing financial war is appearing imminent. The 140 nation BRICS alliance is preparing to offer to buy up all cash US dollars and replace them with a new currency backed by a basket of commodities, including precious metals, according to multiple sources. After that move, any money printed by the US Federal Reserve Board crime syndicate would not be accepted as currency by the 140 nation group. This would force an end game for the criminal cabal that illegally seized power in the United States. Before that move, though, there will be a 5-day bank holiday in Europe followed by the end of the Euro and the re-introduction of old national currencies like the Deutschemark and the Drachma, Rothschild family sources say.
The situation, however, remains highly volatile and there are signs of dangerous end-game maneuvers by the cabal.
In Japan, the attempt by the cabal controlled media to create panic over the nuclear terrorism at Fukushima, is being accompanied by renewed threats of nuclear terror. The deep sea drilling ship Chikyu Maru has been spotted off the shore of the Rokkasho Mura nuclear complex in Aomori Prefecture Japan, according to Japanese military intelligence. The ship is crewed by Americans and brainwashed Japanese slaves.
Rokkasho Mura is the location of a giant plutonium processing complex that has already produced enough plutonium to manufacture 5000 nuclear weapons. Sending the Chikyu Maru to drill tactical nuclear warheads into the seabed off the shore of Rokkasho Mura is a cabal attempt to blackmail the planet with a nuclear holocaust.
Shoichiro Kobayashi, adviser to Kansai Electric Power, and Yoshiyasu Sato, adviser to Tokyo Electric Power and both members of the Rothschild crime syndicate’s Trilateral commission will be taken in for vigorous questioning about their knowledge of this renewed terror threat. They are expected to sing like canaries and point their fingers directly at the Rockefeller gangsters behind these latest terror threats.
Message to the Rockefeller family: Remove David, David Junior, Nicholas and J. from all responsibility and hand over control of the Rockefeller syndicate to the female members of that family. If you do not, every single descendant of John Rockefeller will be hunted down and eliminated from all levels of existence forever.
While we are at it, we would also like to kindly request that the Du Pont family remove all carcinogens and infertility causing chemicals from their product lines in Japan and elsewhere.
Sources in the Japanese underworld are also now reporting that the Inagawa Kai and Yamaguchi Gumi yakuza gangs are split between those who are still working for the committee of 300 and those who want to restore Japanese independence. The talk is that top committee of 300 traitor slaves Yasuhiro Nakasone and Junichiro Koizumi are headed for punishment from heaven.
Question for Nakasone: “What was in all those blue boxes your people loaded into a submarine and sent to your North Korean homeland?” Was it documentary evidence of your crimes or were you sending Japanese plutonium to North Korea?
The other people on the crime list in Japan are Hisashi Owada from the International Court of Justice and Eiji Katsu from the Ministry of Finance. Owada’s daughter, Princess Masako, recently tried to poison the Japanese Emperor, according to families inside the Royal Household Agency.
The Emperor recently returned from England where he discussed the White Dragon Society, among other subjects, with the Queen. A representative of the emperor asked for a meeting with a representative of the White Dragon Society on May 26th, but the between was abruptly postponed by the Emperor’s side. We do not know why.
We trust the Emperor and the Queen agreed to purge the Satanists from the committee of 300 and support a massive campaign to end poverty and stop environmental destruction. Hand written letters will be delivered to both parties requesting support for such a campaign and requesting their voluntary appearance before a truth and reconciliation committee.
Returning to the situation in Europe, we notice most of the reporting about the “financial crisis,” there leaves out the elephant in the living room, i.e. the 140 nation BRICS alliance.
The link to the following map explains the real reason for the crisis:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cumulative_Current_Account_Balance.png
Basically, Europe has maxed out its credit card with the rest of the world. The region as a whole needs to negotiate a restructuring of its debt to the rest of the world. The rest of the world is asking for an end to ceaseless warmongering in return. The only European country other than Germany that has enough money to solve the crisis without reference of the rest of the world is Russia. Give Putin a call.
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the longest serving Finance Minister in the G8 and a direct participant in the financial negotiations of the past few years, explains the situation very clearly in this op-ed:
http://www.fin.gc.ca/n12/12-054-eng.asp
Basically, he is saying the Europeans need to take their medicine just like all other countries that went to the IMF for money in the past had to.
The firing of the head of the Vatican bank last week and the turmoil in the Vatican are more signs of the end of an era in Europe.
The situation in the US is also coming to a head. A very senior US agency source asked that the following information be spread far and wide:
President Obama’s social security number 042-68-4425 belonged to a John Paul Ludwig born in 1890. Obama’s grandmother, Madelyn Payne Dunham, worked in a probate office in Hawaii where she had access to social security numbers of deceased individuals. Because Ludwig never received Social Security Benefits, there were no benefits to stop, therefore no questions were ever raised.
Dunham, knowing her grandson was not a US citizen, because he was born in Kenya and became a citizen of Indonesia upon his adoption, she scoured the probate records until she found someone who died who was not getting benefits and selected Mr. Ludwig’s for Obama, the agency official explained.
Detailed, indictable criminal evidence against Henry Kissinger was also provided by sources in Indonesia. Basically, Kissinger was involved in the murder of 14,000 Indonesians in Papua New Guinea to facilitate gold mining by Freeport, a company Kissinger advises. Kissinger gets $500,000 a year from them as a board member and gets another $500,000 in consulting fees.
In any case once the corporate government of the US is put out of business, the Renminbi will become the currency of the world. The date given by two insiders for this event is September 16th. We again remind readers that many dates have come and gone without predictions turning true so please remain skeptical and only believe 100% when you actually see it happen.
However, it is true that China has been systematically buying up all natural products like trees, copper, farmland or anything tangible to back a reality based currency.
source »»
One of the significant sources of funds for the Cabal is the healthcare industry which registered a whopping $2.7 trillion in 2011, and are projected to soar to $3.6 trillion in 2016, in the US alone. We believe that this is just a conservative figure.
You can join the fight against the Dark Cabal and accelerate its demise just by boycotting Big Pharma. You can effectively do this by downloading “Towards Healthcare Emancipation“, a fully illustrated do-it-yourself instructional eBook that will help you in implementing all eClinik methods that would negate the use of expensive medicine, avoid radioactive diagnostics and treatments in completely defeating cancer, AIDS and all other parasitic diseases. These methods, when faithfully followed, work 100% all the time. Find out more about this here.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Old-fashioned fun beside the sea in Blackpool
Britain's most popular seaside resort has spent millions on regeneration but the tourist authorities aren't marketing it to foreign visitors. Are they a little bit ashamed, or are there genuine obstacles?
In the 1950s a week or two by the seaside was the highlight of the year for the ordinary Briton.
But the jewel of Britain's seaside towns, Blackpool, once an ideal destination for low-cost family fun, has struggled to maintain its identity in the years after low cost air travel and holidays in the sun became more affordable.
The families were joined by hen parties, stag groups and drunken day trippers, and Blackpool became a byword to some for an aggressively cheap kind of experience.
But the seaside town - popularly associated with "kiss me quick" hats, candy floss, and sticks of rock - has spent years smartening itself up and is currently undergoing a multi-million pound facelift.
Find out more Fast Track, BBC World News' travel programme, is broadcast on Saturday and Sunday Watch reports from Fast Track
Visitor numbers have risen to 13 million a year - making it more popular than the Taj Mahal or the Statue of Liberty.
But the number of overseas tourists remains low, at less than 1% of the total recorded numbers, according to VisitBritain. So is Britain keeping its favourite resort a secret for good reason, or could more foreign tourists be persuaded to visit?
It has a famous tower, three piers, a spectacular festival of lights, and the Pleasure Beach - the UK's most popular amusement park.
But its reputation took a battering when it went through "a bit of a low patch", admits Alan Cavill, assistant director of tourism for Blackpool Council.
Up until the mid-1980s Blackpool attracted 17 million visitors a year but during the 1990s this number fell to 10 million, at least in part because of the competition from budget airlines and foreign package holidays.
Cavill now believes people within the UK are rediscovering the resort. "Something like 65% of all people in the UK have been here at some point during their lives - and whether they like it or love it, they're giving it another chance and realising it's not the same Blackpool they visited a few years ago."
But he acknowledges it hasn't done a very good job of promoting itself abroad.
"We're not famous for overseas visitors - but now we've got some internationally recognised brands here, like Madame Tussauds, and the Blackpool Eye, to rival the London and Sydney Eye."
A marketing company is now trying to promote Blackpool in the same way as Florida markets itself to the rest of the world.
"Some brands forsook Blackpool for years as they didn't see it as a family resort, or upmarket enough - the fact that we now have Nando's and a Pizza Express opening is a big thing for the town," says Cavill.
There are around 1,700 hotels in Blackpool and 57,000 bed spaces
Blackpool extends its holiday season with an annual lights festival, the Illuminations - 10km of decorative lights and tableaux which light up the seafront until early November
It takes 22 weeks to put the lights up and nine weeks to take them down
Prime Minister David Cameron has urged attractions in the UK to work hard to encourage foreign tourists to visit, particularly the growing middle class in China. But might Blackpool appeal to them in the same way that London or Bath does?
It's not a question VisitBritain can easily answer. Despite repeated calls and emails to ask why Blackpool is not being promoted to international visitors, a satisfactory answer is not immediately forthcoming. VisitBritain's press officers seem genuinely puzzled by the question.
Spokesman Mark Di-Toro goes so far as to say that Blackpool is among the top 40 or 50 locations for foreign visitors but admits that "it's not that well known abroad as yet - there's been a lot of regeneration and it's an area we do promote but mainly for domestic tourists".
Jimmy Zhang from Titicaca Travel, a Chinese travel company specialising in trips to the UK, says that Blackpool has not been a popular request as part of an itinerary for Chinese tour groups.
"It's just not as well known as Edinburgh or the Lake District," Zhang notes.
"Blackpool's main attraction is the seaside and Chinese people don't come halfway round the world to see the sea - they want to see historic buildings, Oxford and Cambridge, Stonehenge or Stratford upon Avon. They want to go to Manchester because of the football club."
The Chinese tourist market is growing rapidly, driven by burgeoning affluence.
"Once they have been to Europe they want to visit the UK as well - they're really interested in its history," says Zhang.
Strolling along Blackpool's seafront, a high tide lashing up the steps and huge seagulls hovering above on the look-out for discarded chips, you will encounter a few foreign tourists, but they are a small minority.
Bruce, from Newfoundland, Canada, is on a two-week trip to England and said he wanted to see Blackpool after Jack and Vera Duckworth visited it on the British soap opera Coronation Street.
"It's beautiful and very busy - but I think unless you're a fan of Coronation Street, Canadians don't know about it - it's not promoted in Canada, but of course the American amusement parks are. I've been walking along the promenade and enjoying the smell of Blackpool - cotton candy, French fries and salty sea air."
Image caption The observation platform at the top of the Grade I-listed Blackpool Tower features a skywalk
Much of Blackpool's £300m regeneration project is concentrated on restoring its iconic heritage buildings - the Blackpool Tower and the art deco Winter Gardens.
Claire Smith opened a boutique hotel in Blackpool four years ago, and believes the regeneration of Blackpool's seafront has brought back confidence to the town, and a new type of visitor.
"When Lancashire lost its mill towns, potteries and mining works and factories closed down people started coming to Blackpool en masse, the prices of B&Bs went down and so did the quality - it only takes two seasons for somewhere to look tired and shabby - and the guests were of a lesser quality."
But she says with the arrival of global brands people are seeing the changes. "We've cleaned our act up. It will attract more families - Blackpool has always been about the mods and the rockers, the stags and the hens, and I think that will stay. But it's also about fun - embracing the new of the future and the good of the old."
There is a general consensus that people don't come to Blackpool for art galleries and sophistication but for fun and popular culture. Richard Ryan has been managing Blackpool's Illuminations since 1999 and says he thinks Blackpool is Britain's "guilty pleasure".
"People can be snobby about Blackpool but we need to remove some of that guilt - it did have a tacky period but so did all of Britain's seaside resorts," he added.
Blackpool is maybe seen as a bit wild and dangerous for southerners - you won't see it featured in the Guardian - it's about eating fish and chips as you walk down the street Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen, Interior designer
He thinks a lot of the negative perceptions of Blackpool come from people in the south of England. "There is a place for everybody, the lord of the manor can come and so can his butler. It won't do any harm to attract a 'higher class' of visitor - but we also have to be mindful of our constituency, not alienate them."
Not all is bright in the northern resort. Although only 13.5 miles square, Blackpool is one of the country's most densely populated towns, with 142,000 residents.
The local economy is highly seasonal, with many low-paid jobs and the large stock of low-cost, privately rented accommodation means there is a constant flow of people moving into and out of Blackpool. Poverty levels are high - Blackpool is the sixth poorest area in the country.
Interior designer Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen has been helping create Blackpool's Illuminations for the past five years. He says that although Blackpool became a byword for blue collar binge drinking it was originally created by the Victorians as "a genteel, artistic resort".
"Blackpool's architecture is about edifying entertainment. It's incredibly elegant but also shows that it's a place where design can have a bit of a laugh."
In order to be recognised internationally he believes Blackpool must work very closely with Liverpool as a tourist destination - in the same way that Brighton is seen as a day trip or weekend away for people visiting London.
"Blackpool is maybe seen as a bit wild and dangerous for southerners - you won't see it featured in the Guardian - it's about eating fish and chips as you walk down the street. It has a real and palpable energy that's outside snobbery."
He thinks that in general Britain needs to rethink its image abroad.
"It isn't about blokes with bowler hats and umbrellas - it isn't bath buns and whippets, we need to provide a vision of Britain that is multi-hued. If tourists are going up to Edinburgh, why not stop off in Blackpool? These are not long distances for someone visiting from Asia or the US to travel."Creator: Corey K.
License: Creative Commons: Attribution, Share-Alike
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)
Class Prerequisites: Introduction to x86
Lab Requirements: The Linux VM provided below. Or any Linux VM with the provided vulnerable software examples installed.
Class Textbook: "The Shellcoder's Handbook: Discovering and Exploiting Security Holes" (2nd edition) by Chris Anley, John Heasman, Felix Lindner, Gerardo Richarte
Recommended Class Duration: 2 days
Creator Available to Teach In-Person Classes: Yes
Author Comments:
Software vulnerabilities are flaws in program logic that can be leveraged by an attacker to execute arbitrary code on a target system. This class will cover both the identification of software vulnerabilities and the techniques attackers use to exploit them. In addition, current techniques that attempt to remediate the threat of software vulnerability exploitation will be discussed.
This will be a lab driven class where specific software vulnerability types in particular environments are discussed and then exploited in a lab setting. Examples of lab components of the class as well as specific topics covered include:
•Shellcode development
•Stack overflow exploitation
•Heap overflow exploitation
•Static source code analysis
•Defeating non-executable stack protection
The class will help students be more aware of the specific details and mechanisms of software exploits we see in the wild. This knowledge will enable the students to better analyze their own software for vulnerabilities in an effort to produce more secure code.
Class Materials
Slides (255 slides)
-zip password = “Exploits1”, accounts are student/student and root/root
-md5 = c7e628f55b3416c280b949e2292ba98e
-about 1.4GB compressed, about 5GB uncompressed
Full quality downloadable QuickTime, h.264, and Ogg videos at Archive.org:
Full qualityQuickTime, h.264, and Ogg videos at Archive.org:
Day 1 Part 1 (58:59, 687 MB)
Day 1 Part 2 (39:51, 494 MB)
Day 1 Part 3 (59:07, 704 MB)
Day 1 Part 4 (34:36, 340 MB)
Day 1 Part 5 (36:19, 381 MB)
Day 1 Part 6 (56:25, 636 MB)
Day 2 Part 1 (44:21, 465 MB)
Day 2 Part 2 (51:41, 586 MB)
Day 2 Part 3 (1:02:23, 679 MB)
Day 2 Part 4 (1:05:22, 657 MB)
Day 2 Part 5 (1:09:50, 791 MB)
(9:38:54 total, sans lab time)
The videos are useful for students, but also more useful for potential instructors who would like to teach this material. By watching the video, you will better understand the intent of some slides which do not stand on their own. You are recommended to watch the largest size video so that the most possible text is visible without having to follow along in the slides.
Revision History:
07-07-2012 - Uploaded full quality downloadable videos to Archive.org
06-20-2012 - Day 2 videos uploaded to Youtube
05-16-2012 - Day 1 videos uploaded to Youtube
06-07-2011 - Initial class content upload
If you have used and modified this material, we would appreciate it if you submit your modified version for publishing here, so that all versions can benefit from your changes.[van id=”weather/2015/10/15/winter-weather-outlook-noaa-chad-myers-lklv.cnn”]
Welcome rains could be on the way to drought-stricken California. But Boston, where the last of a 75-foot snow pile didn’t completely melt until July, should watch out — yet another snowy winter is possible for much of the eastern seaboard.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s outlook for winter, issued Thursday, points to a strong or even record El Niño through the winter.
El Niño — a warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean — began in March and has been steadily strengthening. It has already led to an extremely busy hurricane season in the Pacific, while contributing to a dud of a season in the Atlantic.
Forecasters anticipate even more impacts over the United States this winter, as El Niño is likely to generate a strong ridge of high pressure in the Northwest and Plains. This would will result in above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation.
Another likely result: A strong southern jetstream, which is likely to bring welcome rains to California, as well as heavy rains and possible flooding to parts of the Gulf Coast and Florida.
“We have more confidence in the forecast this year, compared to other years with the strong El Niño,” said Mike Halpert, deputy director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. “El Niño is normally a positive for the U.S. in the winter. It can lead to milder than normal temperatures in the north, and beneficial rains to California.”
Temperature Forecast
Much of the country’s northern half is forecast to have above-normal temperatures, while much of the southern half is expecting below normal temperatures.
This could lead to a lower snow pack in the west, with rain falling in the mountains, where typically you would have snow.
If the forecast is correct, the weather would lead to lower heating costs in the Midwest and Northeast, and more snow and ice in the Southeast.
Precipitation Forecast
There are good chances for above-normal precipitation over the southern tier. This is particularly good news for California, still in persistent — and, in some cases, record — drought.
An active southern jetstream could lead to a steady stream of storms across the South. This could have wide-ranging impact, such as a higher severe weather and tornado threat for the Gulf Coast and Florida.
It could also bring snow to southern cities like Atlanta, Charlotte, and Raleigh, while also making conditions ripe for Nor’easters, which can bring big snows for many Northeast cities like New York City and Boston.
Dry conditions in the Pacific Northwest could exacerbate an already severe drought, while Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit may get a welcome break from Old Man Winter.
The growing El Niño
Last year, there was no strong signal to help forecasters make their winter outlook. This year’s strong El Niño makes it easier — it is expected to have a major influence on weather patterns not only in the United States, but globally.
History shows what El Niño commonly brings. This year’s El Niño is already strong and is getting stronger. The latest forecast shows that, this winter, El Niño could peak near or at record levels, with a 95% chance that it will continue through winter.
The benchmark El Niño year was 1997, which saw significant U.S. impacts. Mudslides in southern California, flooding in the Southeast, a big Northeast ice storm, and tornadoes in Florida highlighted the active winter of ’97-98.
California relief
If the forecast is correct, California could be the big winner.
The state, plagued by a record four-year drought, is in desperate need of rain and snow. NOAA’s outlook for this winter says there is a likelihood of above-normal rain amounts for southern California.
“The greatest impact on the drought in California, would be to have the heavy rain fall in the northern part of the states and in the mountains, but the best signal for El Nino is for heavy rain further south,” said Alan Haynes, a hydrologist with the California Nevada River Forecast Center.
How much rain would it take to nudge California out of the drought? The short answer is a lot.
NASA calculated at the end of 2014 that more than 11 trillion gallons of rain would be needed to end the drought, and the drought has only worsened since then.
A recent NOAA publication entitled “How deep of a precipitation hole is California in?” shows that the state would require as much as 200% to 300% of normal precipitation in the next year, depending on the area of the state, to eliminate the deficit.
“Our wettest year on record in California was in 1983, when we saw nearly twice the normal amount of precipitation. Even if this year has more rain than that, we wouldn’t get rid of the drought entirely,” Haynes said.
NOAA’s October-January drought outlook, also released Thursday, does call for some improvement over California’s southern half through January, but little change in the north.Late Thursday afternoon Michael Fischer sent out a campus wide email warning Trinity students of the repercussions of attending any parties thrown by the group formerly known as Pi Kappa Alpha.
An investigation conducted by the dean of students resulted in the discovery of parties thrown at an off campus location.
“In the course of this ongoing investigation, we have learned that multiple events/parties have been held at 1011 Bitters Road,” the email from Fischer said. “We have further learned that these events/parties may have been hosted under the auspices, intentional or perceived, of Pi Kappa Alpha or athletic teams, including baseball.”
The former Trinity fraternity was previously embroiled in a dispute with the administration, resulting in their suspension and the loss their charter over the course of the past two years, after recommendation by Greek Council. Greek Council additionally released a statement following the email from Fischer.
“About a year ago, Greek Council made the recommendation for the University to review the charter of Pi Kappa Alpha. After that recommendation, Greek Council effectively removed themselves from any and all jurisdiction over the organization. We remain committed to our 13 organizations that are recognized by Trinity University, and who, in turn, commit themselves to upholding the values and safety of our community,” said Jake Spitz and Rebecca Prager, co-chairs of Greek Council.
Additionally, Fischer warned the student body of the dangers of attending any off campus parties held by the fraternity.
“After attending an event/party, underage students were referred for care for severe alcohol consumption after returning to campus,” Fischer said. “For your own safety, please consider this a warning to avoid attending formal or informal events/parties at this location.”
No further information has been released regarding the fraternity or the next steps of the University.ABOUT THAT CNN POLL…. It’s likely that much of the polling on health care reform is going to change. As the policy, instead of the process, takes center stage, and the nature of a historic victory creates a new narrative, public attitudes will be subject to change.
But in the meantime, CNN has released its latest pre-vote survey. At face value, the results are a mixed bag for Democrats.
On the one hand, the public still doesn’t trust Republicans. Asked who they trust more to handle changes to the health system, respondents preferred President Obama to congressional Republicans, 51% to 39%. Asked which party respondents trust more, the results were closer, but Dems still edge the GOP, 45% to 39%.
But that headline still reads, “CNN poll: Americans don’t like health care bill.”
A majority of Americans have a dim view of the sweeping health care bill passed by the House, saying it gives Washington too much clout and won’t do much to reduce their own health care costs or federal deficits, according to a new poll released Monday. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll found that 59 percent of those surveyed opposed the bill, and 39 percent favored it.
But as we’ve been talking about for a year, the nature of the opposition counts.
In this case, the follow-up question asked, “Do you oppose that legislation because you think its approach toward health care is too liberal, or because you think it is not liberal enough?” Looked at this way, 39% support the bill, 43% oppose it, and 13% want the legislation to be more liberal.
So, when CNN tells you 59% oppose the Democratic proposal, this is not to say that 59% have bought into the right-wing demagoguery and think Republican criticisms have merit. On the contrary, one could look at the same results and say that a 52% majority either support the Democratic plan or want it to be even more ambitious in a liberal direction.
This is not to say that public attitudes are entirely accurate; they’re not. Much of the country is still deeply confused about the plan and what it hopes to accomplish. A 70% majority, for example, said they expect reform to increase the deficit, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
But Republicans assume that voter attitudes on health care are on their side. If this poll is any indication, the GOP is misreading the opinion landscape. For a party that has suddenly decided that public opinion polls are the single most important factor in shaping public policy, Republican officials really should take a closer look at what they’re citing.The declaration increases interoperability of the commons for games, hardware designs, and more
In January we officially opened a public consultation (blog post) on CC BY-SA 4.0 unilateral compatibility with GPLv3, in accordance with our ShareAlike compatibility process and criteria. Following additional months of detailed analysis, discussion and deliberation with the Free Software Foundation and other stakeholders, we are very pleased to announce that we have added a declaration of one-way compatibility from CC BY-SA 4.0 to GPLv3 to our compatible licenses page!
Put simply this means you now have permission to adapt another licensor’s work under CC BY-SA 4.0 and release your contributions to the adaptation under GPLv3 (while the adaptation relies on both licenses, a reuser of the combined and remixed work need only look to the conditions of GPLv3 to satisfy the attribution and ShareAlike conditions of BY-SA 4.0).
This doesn’t mean that you should apply GPLv3 to your revised BY-SA 4.0 work — in most cases it makes sense to release adaptations under the same license as the original, even if not required (e.g., in the case of CC BY or CC0) to facilitate ongoing collaboration with the “upstream” and peer “forks”. But if your use case calls for or requires (in the case of remixing CC BY-SA 4.0 and GPLv3 material to make a single adaptation) releasing a CC BY-SA 4.0 adaptation under GPLv3, now you can: copyright in the guise of incompatible copyleft licenses is no longer a barrier to growing the part of the commons you’re working in. We hope that this new compatibility not only removes a barrier, but helps inspire new and creative combinations of software and culture, design, education, and science, and the adoption of software best practices such as source control (e.g., through “git”) in these fields.
Increasing Interoperability
Since 2005 Creative Commons has been working to increase the legal interoperability of the commons — roughly the ability to use works in the commons together, usually in the form of adaptation, without legal barriers. This has meant retiring little-used CC licenses that were incompatible with other licenses — meaning works under the now-retired licenses could not be remixed with works in the commons under more popular licenses. It has meant working with other license stewards and user communities to migrate projects to licenses compatible with those used for the largest pools of relevant works, as when we worked with the Free Software Foundation and the Wikimedia community to facilitate the latter migrating from the GNU Free Documentation License to CC BY-SA 3.0 as its default license. It has meant working with governments to use and mandate broadly used licenses, or the least ensure that government-specific licenses are compatible with broadly used licenses, most often CC-BY.
Finally, this long-term push for increasing interoperability meant developing an explicit mechanism for declaring compatibility between CC BY-SA and similar share-alike or copyleft licenses. Absent such a mechanism, works under different copyleft licenses cannot be used together to form an adaptation, as copyleft licenses typically require that adaptations be released under the same license as the original work. We first introduced the mechanism in CC BY-SA 3.0 (200 |
, as if he'd been playing alongside Captain Tsubasa until last year. But that's not who Asensio is or where he comes from. He's 21 years old and his journey thus far has been equal parts predestination and equal parts pain and darkness. Both have contributed to take him this far.
Where do you want to start? The manifest destiny part?
OK. His parents named him Marco -- as in van Basten, the epitome of the graceful, lethal center-forward, who announced his painful retirement from the game following his umpteenth knee operation at just 30 years of age. It was Aug. 17, 1995, and Maria Gertruida Willemsen was four months pregnant with Asensio.
When Asensio was 9, his parents ran into Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid president, and introduced themselves: "Mr. President, this is our son, Marco, and one day he will play for Real Madrid." Florentino himself tells the story.
When Asensio was 18, Rafa Nadal -- who, like Asensio, is from Mallorca and saw him tear up the Spanish second division -- called Florentino, urging him to sign his fellow islander right away. (Yes, all celebrities, legendary tennis players and billionaire club presidents included, know each other.)
At 20, Asensio was one of the last players cut from the defending European champions, Spain, despite having just one season of top-flight football under his belt. Vicente del Bosque called him one of the brightest talents in Spain; nobody disagreed.
Yet there's a flip side, too, one that is not just about a precocious youngster playing up two or three age groups and making his professional debut at 17.
Ex-pros like to tell stories of all the sacrifices -- the blood, sweat and tears -- they made in the name of football. And, yes, it takes hard work to get to the top. No pain, no gain. But Asensio is on a different level to most. As a boy, he suffered from a developmental dysfunction that meant every time he stepped on the pitch to play, the joints in his legs and ankles would flare up angrily. Doctors told his family there was no cure: The issue would resolve itself as he grew older and his body developed.
Adrenaline and the sheer love of football kept him going but he was literally playing through pain, something his father would reveal years later. When Asensio's games ended, there were times when the inflammation was so extreme, he couldn't even walk and had to be carried home.
To someone else, it might have seemed like a his maker was a sadist who enjoyed playing the cruelest of jokes: imbuing a child with an inexhaustible love of football as well as the skills to play it better than most, but at the price of excruciating physical pain.
That was physical pain. A few years later, Asensio took on a different sort of pain when his mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She died when he was 15 and unless you experienced something comparable at a similar age, there is no way to begin to understand the sense of loss and grief.
These are the experiences that forged him. It doesn't mean they necessarily made him what he is today, but in a sport where everyone has a foundation myth, a backstory meant to help us understand where they came from, this is his. And perhaps the early adulation did accustom him to the cameras and pressure of playing for Real Madrid. And maybe the pain and loss contributed to the mental toughness we see out there today, the confidence to play with abandon.
Whatever the case, this is the present. And what's evident is that Asensio isn't just Real Madrid's future, he's a big part of the here and now. The fact that he leapfrogged Lucas Vazquez (who did go to Euro 2016) and James Rodriguez to a place on the bench in Cardiff speaks volumes -- as does the fact that Real Madrid didn't push out the boat any further on Kylian Mbappe. Maybe the Monaco wunderkind, despite all the stories of Cristiano Ronaldo posters on his wall, really did want to go home to Paris to be part of the "project" and there was nothing more Real Madrid could have done. But knowing Asensio was around definitely softened the blow.
If Asensio felt nerves, whether for Real Madrid or for Spain -- witness his demolition of Italy in the World Cup qualifier earlier this month -- he doesn't show them. Last month, I spoke to a veteran scout who looked at him long and hard when he was at Mallorca and followed him both on loan at Espanyol and later at Real Madrid.
"Sometimes, with young players at smaller clubs, they're the main man and they're happy to carry the team. They thrive on the responsibility and they stand out because they're simply better than those around them," he told me. "Then, they move up and suddenly there's half a dozen guys ahead of them. Some shrink away and get spooked. Others defer to the stars and end up playing within themselves. They rarely take risks and focus on executing and making the senior players better.
"Asensio is a different type entirely. He works for the team but at the same time, the way he plays, he doesn't look like he has any doubt that he belongs alongside Bale or Ronaldo. He approaches the game as if he was their equal. If anything, he's even better now that he's surrounded by better players."
That's what's so exciting about Asensio. You appreciate the present and he's increasingly important in the here and now, but you marvel at the possibilities ahead. Thirteen (chuck in Isco as well) into 11 doesn't go and by the end of the year, he may well end up coming off the bench more often than he starts. But the anticipation for the day when this team is built around him only whets the appetite further.If you’re a climate hawk, or even a climate hobbyist, this graph should look familiar — it’s the warming trend over the last 100-odd years. Except the guy who busted this out at the House climate science hearing yesterday was brought in by the Republicans to debunk global warming. (The black line is his data.) Haha, whoops!
This graph is the result of physicist Richard Muller’s project to get maximally accurate temperature data. Climate change deniers assumed that his skepticism about existing temperature data meant he was on their side (well, that and he’s also been spreading misinformation about the “Climategate” emails). The Kochs were so convinced of this that they donated $150,000 to his lab — which makes it all the more delightful that Muller is now all “thanks, suckers, here’s the same data everyone else already had.” (Okay, he put it like this: “We see a global warming trend that is very similar to that previously reported by the other groups. … I believe that some of the most worrisome biases are less of a problem than I had previously thought.” But you know what he meant.)
Muller was one of the only scientists the Republicans brought in — among their five experts were an economist, a lawyer, and a professor of marketing. But hey, when there are so few scientists who are actually on your side, you have to go with what you’ve got. And evidently, even that doesn’t always work.Gordon F. Sander is a journalist and historian, and the son of two German-Jewish emigres. He is the author of The Frank Family That Survived and numerous other books.
Anxious to find precedents for the frightening and ultimately deadly white nationalist, “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, some media outlets have likened the images of the recent mayhem in Virginia to the chilling ones of the German-American Bund rally that filled Madison Square Garden on February 20, 1939, with 22,000 hate-spewing American Nazis.
That rally, the largest such conclave in U.S. history, shocked Americans at the time. They had seen the press accounts and newsreel footage of the Nazis’ massive Nuremburg rallies; they had read about Kristallnacht, the murderous, two-day anti-Semitic pogrom of November 1938, which the Bund—the fast-growing, American version of the German Nazi party, which trumpeted the Nazi philosophy, but with a stars-and-stripes twist—had unabashedly endorsed.
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But that was in Europe. This was America. New York City. For Americans wondering whether it could happen here, the Bund rally provided the awful answer.
“22,000 Nazis Hold Rally In Garden,” blared a front-page headline in the New York Times. Inside, photos captured the restless throng of counterprotesters outside the arena and the Bund’s smiling uniformed leaders. “We need be in no doubt as to what the Bund would do to and in this country if it had the opportunity,” the Times opined in an editorial later that week. “It would set up an American Hitler.”
Some 78 years after the Bund rally at Madison Square Garden, a new generation of hectoring troglodytes descended on Charlottesville, Virginia. In 1939, Brown Shirts at Madison Square Garden felt emboldened to seize a Jewish protester who had rushed the podium where the Bund’s German-born leader, Fritz Kuhn, was speaking, and beat him near-senseless. In 2017, members of the so-called alt-right held a torchlight rally in Charlottesville, and the next day, one of those white nationalists went even further and allegedly used his car to mow down anti-Nazi protesters, killing a young woman, Heather Heyer.
Those who have studied the Bund’s rise and fall are alarmed at the historical parallels. “When a large group of young men march through the streets of Charlottesville chanting, ‘Jews will not replace us,’ it’s only steps removed from chanting ‘death to the Jews’ in New York or anywhere else in the 1930s,” says David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee. “When those young men chant ‘blood and soil,’ it conveys the same meaning as those decades before who chanted ‘blut and boden,’ referring to the Nazi glorification of and link between race and land.”
“I don’t see much of a difference, quite frankly, between the Bund and these groups, in their public presence,” says Arnie Bernstein, the author of Swastika Nation, a history of the German American Bund. “The Bund had its storefronts in New York, Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles—today’s groups are also hanging out in the public space, but in this case, they’re on the internet and anyone can access their ‘storefronts,’ or websites, and their philosophy, if you can call it that, is essentially the same.”
For the Bund, the unnerving 1939 Madison Square Garden rally was at once the organization’s high point and—as a result of the shock and revulsion it caused—its death knell. It’s too soon to know exactly what effect Charlottesville—which was smaller, but more violent than the Bund’s 1939 demonstration—will have on white nationalists or how the American public, which is still processing the horrific event, will ultimately respond to it. Will Charlottesville be the beginning of the end of this reborn generation of American Nazis? To foretell where we could be headed, you need to know how the Bund’s version of it all played out 78 years ago—and how this time is different.
***
The rise and fall of the German-American Bund in the late 1930s is essentially the story of the man behind it: Fritz Julius Kuhn.
A German-born veteran of the Bavarian infantry during World War I, Kuhn was an early devotee of Adolf Hitler who emigrated to the United States for economic reasons in 1928 and got a job as a factory worker for Ford. After a few years in the U.S., Kuhn began his political career by becoming an officer with the Friends of New Germany, a Chicago-based, nationwide pro-Nazi group founded in 1933 with the explicit blessing of German deputy führer Rudolf Hess.
At the time, imitation Nazi parties were sprouting up throughout the world, and, at least initially, Hess and Hitler hoped to use them to incorporate new areas, particularly in Europe, into the Greater Reich. But soon, FONG’s low-grade thuggery—coercing American German-language newspapers into running Nazi-sympathetic articles, infiltrating patriotic German-American organizations, and the like—became a nuisance to Berlin, which was still trying to maintain good relations with Washington. In 1935, Hess ordered all German citizens to resign from FONG, and he recalled its leaders to Germany, effectively putting the kibosh to it.
Kuhn, who had just become a U.S. citizen, saw this as his chance to create a more Americanized version of FONG, and he seized it. With his new German-American Bund, Kuhn had a vision of a homegrown Nazi Party that was more than simply a political group, but a way of life—a “Swastika Nation,” as Bernstein calls it.
Although Kuhn dressed his vision in American phraseology and icons—he approvingly called George Washington “the first American fascist”—the Bund was, in fact, a clone of its Teutonic forebear, transposed to U.S. soil. In deference to his Berlin Kamerad, Kuhn gave himself the title of Bundesführer, the national leader. Just as Hitler had his own elite guard, the SS, Kuhn had his, the Ordnungsdienst or OD, who were charged with both protecting him and keeping order at Bund events. Although the OD were forbidden to carry firearms, they did carry blackjacks and truncheons, which they had no compunctions about using on non-fascist heads, as they did at an April 1938 Bund meeting in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan, when seven protesters were injured by members of the OD.
Like the German Nazi Party, the Bund was divided into different districts for the eastern, western and midwestern sections of the country. The Bund also had its own propaganda branch, which published a newspaper as well as the copies of Mein Kampf, Hitler’s testament, which all Bund members were required to buy. Kuhn also oversaw the establishment of a score of gated training and summer camps with Teutonic-sounding names like Camp Siegfried and Camp Nordland in rural areas around the northeast, where his card-carrying volk could be indoctrinated in the American Nazi way, while their dutiful fraulein polished their German cooking skills and their brassard-wearing kinder could engage in singalongs while practicing their fraternal Seig Heils. Every so often, Kuhn would pull up in his motorcade, bless the proceedings and deliver himself of a sulfurous Hitler-style harangue—in English.
At a German-American Bund camp in Andover, New Jersey, young campers stand at attention as the American flag and the German-American Youth Movement flag are lowered at sundown, July 21, 1937. | AP
In effect, the Bund was its own ethnostate, as today’s neo-Nazis would call it. And it worked: By 1938, two years after its “rebirth,” the group had become a political force to be reckoned with. Its meetings each drew up to several thousand visitors, and its activities were closely followed by the FBI. With the anti-Semitic radio broadcaster the Rev. Charles Coughlin having faded from the national scene following FDR’s landslide second-term win, Kuhn was now the country’s most vocal and best-known ultra-right leader and anti-Semite.
It was just as the führer would have wished. Except that the führer didn’t wish.
One year ahead of the outbreak of World War II, Berlin still hoped for good relations with Washington. The Reich refused to give Kuhn’s organization either financial or verbal support, lest it further alienate the Roosevelt administration, which had already made clear its extreme distaste for the Nazi ideology. Berlin went so far as to forbid German nationals in the United States from joining the German American Bund.
The führer’s brush-off didn’t deter Kuhn and his volk, who continued to sing the Reich’s praises.
Nor did they mind the Kristallnacht of November 1938, the nationwide German pogrom set off by the assassination of a German diplomat by a Jew in Paris, which led to nearly 100 deaths, scores more injuries and the decimation of what remained of German-Jewish life. Comparing the assassination to the attacks on Bund meetings by anti-Nazis—the spiritual predecessors of today’s so-called antifa—its propagandists claimed the Kristallnacht massacre was a justifiable act of retribution. The Bund’s endorsement of the horrific event increased the American public’s hostility toward it, while causing the most prestigious German-American organization, the Steuben Society, to repudiate it.
That didn’t discourage Kuhn either. Now, he decided, as the sea of opprobrium rose around him, was the moment to step into the spotlight and show just how strong the Bund was.
That’s what the Madison Square Garden rally was about. On the surface, the conclave, billed as a “Mass Demonstration for True Americanism,” was supposed to honor George Washington on the occasion of his 207th birthday. But the unprecedented event was really intended to be the German-American Bund’s apotheosis, proof positive to America and the world—as well as Berlin—that the American Nazis were here to stay. “The rally was to be Kuhn’s shining moment, an elaborate pageant and vivid showcase of all he had built in three years,” Bernstein wrote in his 2013 book. “Kuhn’s dream of a Swastika Nation would be on display for the whole world, right in the heart of what the Berlin press called the ‘Semitized metropolis of New York.’”
Although the mass demonstration was intended for Bund members, walk-ins from sympathetic Nazi-minded American citizens also were welcome. Kuhn had big dreams: One of the posters that adorned the hall optimistically declared, “ONE MILLION BUND MEMBERS BY 1940.”
Skeptics wondered whether the bundesführer would be able to fill the massive arena. Any doubts on that score were quickly allayed, as the 20,000 Nazi faithful who had driven or flown in from every corner of Swastika Nation filed into the great hall. Meanwhile, an even larger crowd of counterdemonstrators, eventually estimated at close to 100,000, filled the surrounding midtown Manhattan streets.
New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and Police Commissioner Lewis Valentine were prepared for both the Nazis and their adversaries, wrapping the Garden with a security cordon of 1,700 policemen—the largest police presence in the city’s history—including a large contingent of mounted officers to keep the two sides apart. LaGuardia, an Episcopalian whose mother was a Jew, loathed the Bund, but he was determined to see to it that the Bundists’ right to freedom of speech would be respected. Americans could judge the poisonous result for themselves.
Mounted NYPD officers form a line outside to hold back a crowd of protesters outside the German American Bund’s Nazi rally in Madison Square Garden. | AP
Inside the Garden, things went pretty much according to Kuhn’s faux-Nuremberg script. As drums rolled, an honor guard of young American Nazis marched in bearing the flags of the U.S. and the Bund, as well as the two fascist powers, Nazi Germany and Italy. One by one, the various officers of the Bund stepped forth to extol America (or their version of it) and condemn the “racial amalgamation” that had putatively taken place since the good old unmongrelized days of George Washington. Anti-Semitism, naturally, was a major theme of the venomous rhetoric that issued forth as the newsreel cameras rolled.
Finally, after being introduced as “the man we love for the enemies he has made,” the jackbooted bundesführer himself stepped up to the microphone to deliver one of his trademark jeremiads, scoring the “slimy conspirators who would change this glorious republic into the inferno of a Bolshevik Paradise” and “the grip of the palsied hand of Communism in our schools, our universities, our very homes.” When he paused, he would be greeted with shouts of “Free America!”—the new Bund greeting that had replaced "Seig Heil!" but with the same intonation and raised arm salute.
According to Kuhn, both the federal government and New York City government were Jewish agents. Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose antipathy for Nazism was a matter of record—“Nazism is a cancer,” he said—was actually “Frank D. Rosenfeld.” "Free America!" District Attorney Thomas Dewey was “Thomas Jewey.” "Free America!" Mayor LaGuardia was “Fiorello Lumpen LaGuardia.” "Free America!" And so on.
Of course, Kuhn’s followers had heard it all before. Now it was time for the world to listen. The people would rise up, and as Kuhn’s role model, Joseph Goebbels, the Third Reich’s minister of propaganda put it, the storm would break loose.
The storm was certainly rising, both inside and outside the Garden.
The only alteration to the script took place when, halfway through Kuhn’s speech, a young Jewish counterprotester by the name of Isadore Greenbaum decided that he couldn’t bear Kuhn’s diatribe anymore and spontaneously rushed the podium and attempted to tackle him.
He almost made it. On the newsreel footage of the rally shown in movie theaters throughout the country the following weekend, viewers could see Kuhn’s shocked visage as the Jewish kamikaze shakes the podium. Next, they saw the hapless Greenbaum set upon by a gaggle of furious OD men, who covered him with blows before he was finally rescued by a squadron of New York policemen. It was all over in a moment—but it was a moment that horrified America: a bunch of Nazis beating up a Jew in the middle of Madison Square Garden.
The bundesführer took the interruption in stride. Kuhn proceeded with his speech.
And then it was over, and the thousands of Nazi faithful dutifully exited the arena. As far as the Bund was concerned, the rally was a success—a shining moment for America’s most prominent fascist. But the rally further angered Berlin, which was then preparing to go to war with the Allies—a war Germany still desperately hoped the U.S. would steer clear of.
LaGuardia was proud of the way his city and his police force had handled the Bund’s rally. At the same time, the orgy of hatred at the Garden sealed his determination, along with that of Thomas Dewey, to take down Kuhn, and the Bund along with him, by investigating his suspicious finances (the married Kuhn liked to party and kept a number of mistresses, evidently, at the Bund’s expense).
A subsequent inquiry determined that the free-spending Kuhn had embezzled $14,000 from the organization. The Bund did not wish to have Kuhn prosecuted, because of Führerprinzip, the principle that the leader had absolute power. Nevertheless, with the implicit blessing of the White House, Dewey decided to go ahead and prosecute.
On December 5, 1939, Kuhn was sentenced to two-and-a-half to five years in jail for tax evasion. On December 11, 1941, while he was locked away in Sing Sing prison, Germany declared war on the U.S. Kuhn’s support for a government now actively hostile to America gave the federal government the pretext to revoke his citizenship, which it did on June 1, 1943. Upon Kuhn’s release from prison three weeks later, he was immediately re-arrested as a dangerous enemy agent. While Kuhn was in U.S. custody in Texas, Nazi Germany was destroyed, its quest for global domination permanently halted, and Hitler was dead. Four months after V-E Day, the U.S. deported Kuhn to war-ravaged West Germany. His dreams of a Swastika Nation had been smashed to pieces. He died in Munich in 1951, a broken man, in exile from the country he had sought to “liberate.”
***
To be sure, historical comparisons are, to an extent, folly. For all the similarities between the Bund’s 1939 rally and the white nationalists' Charlottesville demonstration, there are substantial differences.
Fortunately, no one with Fritz Kuhn’s particular demagogic skill set has emerged to lead his neo-Nazi descendants, though there are those attempting to play the part. “I am worried that a Kuhn figure could marshal the disparate alt-right groups,” says Arnie Bernstein, “be it a Richard Spencer, David Duke or someone of that ilk.”
Another difference is while the Bund’s rally and the violence that spilled from it was denounced forcefully by America’s top political leaders, President Donald Trump’s half-hearted condemnation and shocking defense of the Charlottesville mob as including “very fine people” has no antecedent, at least in modern American history. “We have a president blowing dog whistles loud and clear,” says Bernstein. “You never saw that with FDR.”
The Bund’s rally was at once the group’s apex and its death rattle. But it’s only in retrospect that one can make such pronouncements; nobody yet knows exactly what Charlottesville—and Trump’s response to it—will mean for the alt-right. “The striking ambivalence coming out of the White House” could help to galvanize Nazi sympathizers, says David Harris of the American Jewish Committee.
But much as the Bund-generated images of Nazi barbarism and violence drove everyday Americans from apathy 78 years ago, “Charlottesville will also mobilize anti-Nazis to stand up and be counted,” Harris says. Much as the Madison Square Garden rally did on the eve of World War II, says Harris, “I choose to believe the net effect will be to marginalize the ‘blut and boden’ fan base.”
This article tagged under: Nazis
History Dept.In just under two weeks, the "How I Met Your Mother" Season 9 premiere will air on CBS, kicking off the final season of the long-running comedy. The "Mother" has been revealed and Barney's (Neil Patrick Harris) wedding to Robin (Cobie Smulders) is underway.
Can't wait two weeks? You're in luck. HuffPost TV got a sneak preview of the heartfelt hour-long debut and to tide fans over, we're sharing 15 hints about what you can expect from the show's return, without spoiling any of the big stuff.
Check out the new "Mother"-heavy promo above, then read on for our teases from the two-part premiere episodes, titled "The Locket" and "Coming Back."
The premiere kicks off 55 hours before the wedding, and in addition to the remaining slaps that Marshall (Jason Segel) still has to bestow upon Barney, there's also plenty of time for Lily (Alyson Hannigan) to get in more than one tackle over the course of the weekend.
You might be surprised to learn how far Ted (Josh Radnor) is prepared to go in order to return Robin's locket. Far enough to involve air travel, perhaps.
Marshall's eventful journey to the wedding begins with a potentially damning Facebook photo, and involves a mode of transportation that would give Al Gore a heart attack.
Wayne Brady performs both parts of the Dolly Parton/Kenny Rogers duet "Islands in the Stream," because Wayne Brady rocks.
Lily's rising stress level leads her to become wholly dependent on a hotel employee called Linus who has very quick reflexes.
We'll take a trip back to Moscow in 1807 to learn the surprising origins of the Stinson Curse -- which includes Russian accents, a shirtless carriage driver and an awesome guitar solo.
Two of our characters do something very disturbing with an erotic cake.
Roger Bart plays the world's most sympathetic desk clerk, and poor Ted is the focus of his "pity."
As the newly released promo (above) proves, Lily is the first member of the gang to meet the still-unnamed mother. Although their encounter involves physical violence and "sumbitch" cookies, Cristin Milioti certainly won our hearts in her first extended appearance.
Prepare to hear a very different version of the "Bang Bang" song.
Robin and Barney realize that they've invited a whole set of wild cards to the wedding, including many of Robin's "Canuckin' nuts" Canadian relatives. If someone's going to ruin the nuptials, though, our bet is on the ring bear.
Barney amends his most Legendary catchphrase in honor of the wedding, and we think it's even better than before.
At Comic-Con, creator Craig Thomas told us that there was a "Game of Thrones" reference in the premiere, and we're glad to say it made the cut, because it's hilarious, and says a lot about Barney's personality.
The Mother and Ted have way more in common than we originally realized. Cristin Milioti wasn't kidding when she called her character "nerdy."
Bonus Scoop: The entirety of Season 9 has been compared to the "Seinfeld" series finale, which brought back countless guest stars from prior seasons. As previously announced, expect to see plenty of Brady, along with John Lithgow and Frances Conroy as Barney's parents, plus many more from the show's past.
The hourlong "How I Met Your Mother" Season 9 premiere debuts Mon., Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. on CBS.SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chile’s Ministry of Defense said its website was hacked on Monday night by people claiming to belong to the Islamic State militant group, known by the acronym ISIS.
The homepage was replaced by a page entitled “Hacked” that gave a user name of “Sadam Husein” and said in English: “Sorry Admin Because Your Site Security is Low WE aRe ISIS” and in Spanish: “Allah is the only god.”
The ministry removed the hacked page early on Tuesday and diverted browsers to the subsecretary of defence’s website. Media site soychile took a screenshot of the hacked page, which the ministry confirmed was genuine.
“The situation activated the corresponding alarms, measures were adopted and sensitive information from the ministry was not put at risk,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that its email database was also unaffected.
Although Chilean government websites have been hacked before, this was the first such attack by anyone apparently supporting the hardline Islamist group that has take control of parts of Syria and Iraq.
Chile, a temporary member of the United Nations Security Council, has suffered a number of low-level bomb attacks by anarchists in recent years, but none related to trouble in the Middle East.
In 2003, when Chile was last on the Security Council, it refused to support the U.S.-proposed resolution to authorize military action against Saddam Hussein’s government in Iraq.Please enable Javascript to watch this video
STORRS -- A Sherman man is facing several charges months after police found three cars burned out outside an apartment complex near UConn's Storrs campus.
State Police said David Kuhn, 19, turned himself in Tuesday morning on an arrest warrant, and at least one more arrest is expected soon.
Early on October 11, Troopers responded to a fire on Carriage House road in Storrs. A 911 caller said someone tried to light the door to his apartment on fire and three cars were burning outside. Police said the night before, about 50 people attended a party there, but two people were asked to leave several times.
One of the two who were asked to leave said "it would be a shame if something happened to this place tonight" on his way out.
Through the course of the investigation, State Police detectives determined the fire was an act of arson. Detectives developed two suspects, Kuhn and another man, Logan Rama.
In interviews with police, Kuhn admitted that he and Rama bought gas at Cumberland Farms and came back to Carriage House Drive. Kuhn told police they poured gasoline over the cars and the front door of apartment 5A, lit the gas on fire and left.
On Tuesday night, UConn students reacted to the arrest and recalled what they heard and saw the morning of the fires.
"I woke up in the middle of the night and I heard some commotion outside," said UConn senior Will Woznicki, who lives a few doors down. "I heard popping."
"I remember we had walked back from the bar, and we saw that there was, like, a big party going on," said UConn senior Brendan Madigan. "But then...woke up the next morning and there was cops there until probably 1 or 2 in the afternoon."
Madigan said that since the fires, security has been stepped up. "Since then, we've had a security guard every Thursday, Friday, Saturday night drive up and down the road. You can see their lights flashing in the window."
Kuhn was held on $500,000 bond and appeared in Rockville Court Tuesday. He was charged with arson, criminal mischief, tampering with a motor vehicle, reckless endangerment, and conspiracy to commit arson.“It’s what I tell small children: Just because somebody says something doesn’t make it true. It’s a great lesson for everyone.”
In perhaps the most amazing lie of Kellyanne Conway's long and storied history of shameless lies, Trump's former campaign manager and current counselor told Hollywood Reporter’s Michael Wolff that "Just because somebody says something doesn’t make it true.”
Although technically not a lie itself, this amazing statement from perhaps the greatest liar in politics today is akin to Bill O'Reilly doing a segment on harassment in the workplace -- a mind bending scenario that sadly wouldn't be far fetched in today's era of alternate facts and parallel realities. Speaking at a Washington D.C. forum on Trump's first 100 days in office, Wolff told Conway that she is perceived as being “the darkness”.
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“I’m going to tell you, when they say ‘democracy dies in darkness,’ you’re the darkness,” he said.
“I’m not the darkness,” Conway replied, her shark like eyes betraying the forced smile she flashed the audience. "Didn't you see the skit "Walking on Sunshine"?" she continued breezily, attempting to make light of the situation.
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“It’s what I tell small children: Just because somebody says something doesn’t make it true. It’s a great lesson for everyone.”
Conway then turned her attention to "The Media" -- a favorite target of the Trump administration that uses it to distract the public from their own non-stop lying.
“You can turn on the TV — more than you can read in the paper because I assume editors are still doing their jobs in most places — and people literally say things that just aren’t true,” she went on, seemingly unaware that everyone on the planet knows about the massacre she invented, the non-existent microwave spying machines she claimed the CIA uses, and the "alternate fact" category she created in response to actual facts.
The truth is, Conway has been caught in lie after lie after lie, to the point where even the Trump administration had to intervene and stop her from doing media appearances for a while. So for her to speak so blithely about the media telling lies and the value of teaching honesty to children is something out of a twisted horror movie -- and sadly one that never seems to end. Conway's extreme capacity for dishonesty is a form of sociopathy, and it should frighten the life out of anyone concerned about the direction of this country. While politicians are notoriously loose with the truth, Conway represents a new, steroid infused form of professional lying. She is happy to operate within her own echo chamber of lies and deceit that exist only in the minds of the true believers, and she can happily confront actual reality knowing her supporters will believe it regardless of the evidence.
Kellyanne Conway isn't just the darkness, she is a cancer rapidly destroying what little trust the public had in government, quite possibly to the point of no return.BERLIN (Reuters) - Siemens (SIEGn.DE) employees protested in various German cities on Friday against the company’s proposal to cut 6,900 jobs, which a senior Siemens official said could be revised after negotiations with the union.
Siemens said on Thursday it wanted to cut about 6,900 jobs, or close to 2 percent of its global workforce. Roughly half of those would be in Germany, mainly at its power and gas division, which has been hit by the rapid growth of renewable energy.
IG Metall, Germany’s largest trade union, called for the protests in Berlin and the city of Offenbach near Frankfurt, urging Siemens to revise plans it said would harm the company.
“We have concepts, alternatives, and we expect the company to have a serious talk with us, the works councils, about the future for Siemens,” said Klaus Abel, a senior union representative in Berlin.
Siemens’ human resources chief on Friday said it could modify its plans after talking with the union.
Iris Gleicke, the German government’s commissioner for eastern German affairs, urged Siemens to strike a fair bargain with workers, noting the job cuts would be devastating for sites in structurally weak parts of eastern Germany.
“I expect that Siemens and the workers’ representatives would agree on a fair balance of interests,” she said.
Slideshow (7 Images)
Horst Schneider, the mayor of the city of Offenbach, where Siemens plans to cut 700 jobs, said the city “has a further right to exist in this global company.”
“It cannot be that the big ones always eat the small ones,” Schneider said.
“We will fight for our work,” said Tanja Scorrano, who has among the protesters, having worked for Siemens in Offenbach for 27 years.Despite being spread over five days, Valve’s announcement of SteamOS, Steam Machines and the controller that goes with them was surprisingly light on details.
We do have a better sense of Valve’s living room plans than we did two weeks ago, along with the knowledge that actual consumer products will start falling into place next year. But there’s still a lot that we don’t know, to the point that it’s still hard to have a fully-formed opinion about Valve’s ambitions.
As a PC gamer who’s very much interested in taking my games library and save progress to the television, I’d like to see SteamOS and Steam Boxes succeed. But I’m not going to make any broad predictions until we have better answers to the following questions:
Just How Interested Are OEMs?
The announcement of Steam Machines–that is, devices that ship with SteamOS–might’ve had more impact had it included some supporting statements from device makers. Instead, all we have to go on is Valve’s word that it is “working with multiple partners to bring a variety of Steam gaming machines to market during |
-off family, he may have gotten the same result.”
But he was not Jared Smith. He was the son of the man recognized as the president of Red Sox Nation, Jerry Remy — the home-grown infielder-turned-broadcaster and air-guitar-playing commercial pitchman, best-selling author, and restaurant impresario revered as “The RemDawg.”
The Remys declined to be interviewed but issued a statement through one of the family’s lawyers. In it, Jerry Remy acknowledged Jared’s “significant number of criminal charges” as well as his history of “anger and lack of self-control” issues into his 20s.
Jennifer Martel Memorial Fund At age 27, Jennifer Martel was coming into her own, with a job promotion, plan to become a teacher, and caring for her daughter, Arianna.
“I can also say that, unfortunately, no parents are immune from trouble with their children. My wife and I did everything we could to provide Jared with the necessary professional help,” Jerry Remy said, indicating that they thought Jared’s problems had been brought under control, noting a stretch from December 2005 to last summer without an arrest for violence. “What occurred in August 2013 took my family by complete surprise. We loved Jennifer and treated her as if she was our own daughter.”
The Remys did not address the seemingly endless reservoir of financial support that Jared enjoyed over the years for his mounting legal bills or for rent, cars, car insurance, gym memberships, tanning, cable TV, and other expenses, which several people described, including Guyette and Kristina Hill, a neighbor and close friend of Martel’s.
Jared’s brother and sister, like Jared, were represented by Bella in court appearances for their own handful of encounters with the law. Some were for lesser matters like marijuana possession and disturbing the peace. But each also has been arrested in recent years on more serious charges. Jordan Remy admitted in a 2010 case that there was enough evidence to convict him of following home and groping a woman who rebuffed him at a bar. Jenna Remy admitted sufficient evidence for a conviction in court this month on charges she broke into an ex-boyfriend’s home and assaulted the police officers who tried to arrest her. Like Jared, both got probation while avoiding convictions.
But Jared Remy’s trouble defined him in a way his siblings’ did not. Interviews with more than 40 former friends, neighbors, co-workers, police officers, and others contacted by the Globe — including many speaking publicly for the first time — paint a picture of a disturbed, havoc-wreaking life and a criminal justice system that failed to rein it in.
Even as a young man, he had several encounters with police, and three witnesses now say Remy at 18 was an instigator behind an unprovoked and brutal beating of a former schoolmate that left the teen with a severe brain injury. “He’s just toxic,” said Candice Wright, who participated in the beating and said she has carried the weight of regret for 17 years. “He preyed on certain people.”
Last August, after Jared Remy allegedly assaulted Martel, slamming her against a bathroom mirror, Martel spent the night at Hill’s apartment next door. Hill said she encouraged Martel to go to court the next morning to extend an emergency restraining order against Remy. But Martel told her that she had promised the Remys she would stay home, Hill said. In his statement, Jerry Remy said the family did not discourage Martel in any way from extending the restraining order. Whatever the reason, Martel did not go to court, and Jared was released. Prosecutors later acknowledged they put too much stock in Martel’s absence. The next night, she was dead.
Jared Remy pleaded not guilty to murder and assault and is being held without bail while awaiting trial. The murder left the couple’s now 5-year-old daughter, Arianna, without a mother, upended the lives of those who cared about Martel, and sent shock waves throughout New England. Until then, Jared Remy’s pattern of aggression was known only in a fairly small circle. Just one of his many arrests — for a 2005 domestic assault — had made news before.
A little over three years after that arrest, Remy’s father seemed hopeful that Jared’s worst days were behind him. “It’s an episode that’s in the past,” Jerry Remy told the Globe in early 2009, referring to the arrest that had made the news. “He’s now the proud father of two children. But it’s something he really regrets.”
AT FIRST GLANCE, Jared Remy and his siblings glowed — three beautiful children, the boys often in matching polos or Red Sox tees. But by the mid-1980s, some Weston neighbors were wary of Jared and his reputation for throwing rocks.
From an early age, Remy wrestled with dyslexia and aggression, and by adolescence, the Weston Public Schools paid for him to attend the alternative Gifford School, a nurturing center for children from around the region with learning or emotional challenges.
Jared Remy, shown in his 1994-95 yearbook.
Initially, Remy was allowed to continue playing after-school sports at Weston High. The 1993-94 yearbook shows him as a handsome, baby-faced 15-year-old on the freshman basketball team — nothing like the muscle-bound hulk too big to fit in back of a police cruiser on the night of his murder arrest two decades later.
But by the school year of 1995-96, Remy’s behavioral problems cost him the privilege of playing sports at Weston High, and even his place at Gifford, forcing him to study at home with a private tutor, Guyette and other classmates said. But he continued to date a girl at Weston High, and their breakup that winter — documented in police reports — triggered a possessive anger he would exhibit for years.
Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff For a time, Remy attended the Gifford School in Weston.
On Jan. 25, 1996, Jerry Remy called Weston police worried that his now 17-year-old son was still harassing the girl, that Jared had made some troubling phone calls and shoved her at least once. Police reports show the ex-girlfriend and her father considered getting a restraining order but worried it might make Jared retaliate. Jerry Remy asked police to help his son “understand the seriousness of his actions,” according to a Weston police report.
“Jared indicated that although he didn’t want [a restraining order] issued against him, it wouldn’t be a big deal if one was,” the officer who spoke with them wrote in the report. “He also didn’t think it was a big deal if he got arrested. Jared had a very bad attitude and acted disrespectful towards his father.”
Meanwhile, Jared Remy had been calling the girl’s new boyfriend to torment him, too, the 15-year-old boyfriend told Weston police, saying he had started taking the phone off the hook to avoid upsetting his mother. The boy’s father had died, and Jared threatened to make him “join his father in the grave” if he did not stop dating Jared’s ex-girlfriend, police wrote, based on the boy’s account.
In February, the same week Jerry left for spring training that year, Jared showed up at Weston High and had a charged encounter with the new boyfriend, according to a police report, which said three girls claimed Jared vowed to return with a gun and shoot the boy. Then he raced off, reportedly making obscene gestures to others on the road, police wrote. At the Remy house, police sat down with Jared, his mother Phoebe Remy, and John O’Rourke, Jerry’s best friend and future business partner. O’Rourke, they wrote, offered to bring the boys together to “talk this out.” No charges followed.
Jared was soon booked for Florida, apparently to join his father at spring training. But before leaving, he called his ex-girlfriend and her friend to warn them to prepare for “a war” when he returned, according to police reports.
Tiffany Guyette, shown in a 1996-97 yearbook photo, said Remy abused her while they dated and while she was pregnant with their son.
But there is no record of trouble when Jared got back, and he turned his attention that spring to a new girlfriend from Gifford — 14-year-old Tiffany Guyette. “We fell hard for each other,” she said in an interview.
Guyette — who has changed her name to distance herself from her past, asked that only her birth name be used — was drawn to Jared’s clean-cut looks and troublemaker’s edge.
For Guyette, who had spent time in a foster home, the rides in Phoebe Remy’s Lexus were thrilling. So were the gifts that she said followed: a diamond bracelet, a pager with service.
She and Jared spent a lot of time alone, and in January 1997 Guyette, then 15, discovered she was pregnant.
THAT MONTH, 18-year-old Jared Remy drove a group of their friends to a house party in Franklin. Drinking in a basement crowded mostly with strangers, Remy seethed at the sight of a familiar face: John Lloyd, a 15-year-old Gifford student whom Guyette had known for years, according to Guyette and two others who accompanied them, Candice Wright and Selina Elliott.
John Lloyd, whom Remy allegedly helped beat up at a party in Franklin.
Chubby and eager to be liked, Lloyd was a friend, not a threat to her relationship with Remy, Guyette said. But Remy was jealous.
Wright, who described herself as powerfully built at 16 but also an anxious girl, was drinking Captain Morgan rum from the bottle. Remy flattered her about her reputation for standing up for friends and tried to goad her into ambushing Lloyd with Remy’s 40-ounce Haffenreffer bottle, Wright and the other witnesses said.
As their small group headed outside to leave the party, Wright hit Lloyd on the back of the head. The bottle shattered. The boy crumpled. Remy cheered and led a charge of teens in kicking Lloyd repeatedly while he was down, Guyette and Elliott said. Then they piled into Remy’s Volvo wagon and drove off.
Franklin police found Lloyd that night — Jan. 18, 1997 — incoherent and sprawled down a set of stairs. They sent him to a local hospital, but he was soon airlifted to UMass Medical Center with “life-threatening head injuries,” according to the police report.
Lloyd survived, but his cognitive function and mood seemed permanently altered, his relatives said. He spiraled through seven dark years before dying at 22 of a gunshot wound ruled a suicide.
Wright told police about her role — resulting in a probation sentence — but not Remy’s. She wanted to accept blame and protect her friends, she said. When authorities interviewed Guyette, she also kept quiet about Remy’s part. He had persuaded her, she said, to lie on his behalf.
“I was a minor, I was pregnant, and I was petrified,” Guyette said.
THE REMY HOME in 1997 was a roomy clapboard-sided Colonial with a pool, set back from a leafy Weston street. Jerry Remy by then was a fixture on the Red Sox broadcasts but not yet a one-man industry. For Guyette, it was a new world and, though she had some misgivings, it seemed in ways to be an idyll.
Often at odds with her own mother, she frequently stayed with the Remys, and Phoebe drove the 15-year-old to her doctor appointments. As Guyette grew bigger, a change came over Jared, she said; he belittled her weight gain and became verbally abusive.
One night that spring, he erupted while driving, flooring the accelerator, whipping his car around Weston, and trying to undo Guyette’s seat belt and shove her out the door, she said.
Guyette said she escaped at a railroad crossing and ran to the Remy home, where she told Phoebe what had happened and wanted to report the incident to police. She said Phoebe offered to let her take refuge in a basement bedroom, and neither contacted authorities.
Suzanne Kreiter/Globe staff Selina Elliott accompanied Tiffany Guyette, Jared Remy, and Candice Wright to a party in Franklin in 1997. At the party, Remy, who was 18 at the time, allegedly led a group of teens in kicking John Lloyd after Wright hit him with a bottle, Guyette and Elliott say.
Selina Elliott — who says she witnessed John Lloyd’s beating, and whose older brother was Jared Remy’s friend from Gifford — often hung out with the couple. She remembered Remy could be sweet and generous, driving them around and springing for movie tickets for the group. But she said she also saw him burst into rage, one night beating Guyette so badly that Guyette thought she would miscarry.
In September 1997, Guyette delivered a healthy son at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.
After transferring to a school better suited for teen mothers, Guyette developed what she called a “crush on a new boy” and tried breaking up with Remy. But the baby bound them together, and he would have no part of a split. Remy sometimes tracked her to the boyfriend’s Lowell home, she said, lurking in the dark with a bat or a knife.
BY SUMMER 1998, Jared Remy — 5-foot-7 and barely 140 pounds — openly discussed taking steroids and bought them with an allowance he dubbed his “lifting money,” Guyette said. She said she feared interacting with him, and when they spoke by phone Aug. 6 to arrange the handoff of a car seat for their son, she asked to meet in a public place. He insisted she come to his parents’ house, according to the Weston police report that followed.
As soon as Guyette arrived, she and Jared started arguing, the report said. He erupted, hitting and choking her while she held their baby, and then snapping the wipers, smashing the windshield, bashing the side, and shattering the lights of her car, according to the police report.
“I observed all of the marks on her as well as black smudged finger and hand prints around her neck,” an officer wrote in the report. Phoebe Remy witnessed the fight and told police Guyette had hit back, the report said. But police charged only Jared, arresting him on charges of domestic assault and malicious destruction of property.
The next day, 19-year-old Jared was arraigned in Waltham District Court for the first time, released with an order not to abuse or contact Guyette. But within weeks he had called her, asking to meet secretly at the Natick Mall, in violation of the order, Guyette said.
He told her he still loved her and promised to change, she said. Guyette bought it.
“This sounds like a soap opera now,” she said. But “I was extremely naive and didn’t see that it was actually a way to break the restraining order, to continue the cycle of abuse.”
Back in court on Oct. 21, 1998, Bella, the defense attorney, set the template that they would use down the long line of future cases: Remy would waive his right to a jury trial and hope for leniency from a judge. He would admit sufficient facts — acknowledging enough evidence for a jury conviction, stopping short of a full admission or apology — but ask to be let go without incarceration or a guilty finding.
Prosecutors objected, court records show. Guyette said she spoke on Remy’s behalf. And Judge Gregory C. Flynn rewarded him with the next best thing to outright dismissal, a “continuance without a finding” — a judgment known in Massachusetts criminal courts as a CWOF (pronounced “quaff”), probation without a conviction.
It was an official second chance. Jared was ordered to attend counseling, check in regularly, and stay trouble-free for one year — or return to court and risk having the CWOF replaced with stricter punishment.
He almost made it. Just two weeks before his probation was to end, Remy got so upset after learning Guyette was spending time with one of his old Gifford friends, Erik Jackiewicz, that he drove to Jackiewicz’s Norwood apartment on Oct. 9, 1999, and smashed him on the head with a beer bottle, according to Guyette, Jackiewicz, and court records.
But instead of a cascade of consequences, Remy received another CWOF and probation, this time in Dedham District Court.
THAT WINTER OF 2000, Jared Remy seemed to go off the rails. Now 21, he floated between his childhood home and an apartment on Waltham’s Moody Street, where he shared a seemingly stormy living arrangement with a new girlfriend from Billerica, 20-year-old Lysa Gianacopolis, and a former Gifford classmate, Andrew Ufland.
On Feb. 23, 2000, Gianacopolis moved out suddenly at 4 a.m. — leaving under the watchful eye of Waltham police, who came at the request of a friend helping her move to prevent a “breach of peace,” according to their report.
Ufland soon moved out, too, and on March 25 he showed up at the Waltham station requesting a restraining order against Remy. He said Jared had barged into the Ford dealership where Ufland worked, threatening to kill Ufland and blaming him for his latest breakup. Ufland also claimed Remy boasted about having a gun, though Ufland had never seen it, police wrote.
Ufland decided not to complete the request for a restraining order, the report said, but he asked police to tell Remy to leave him alone. He also informed them they could find steroids in Remy’s closet. At the apartment, officers searching with Remy’s consent found a gym bag in his closet. When they opened it, “several hunting knives” tumbled out, along with a baggie holding nine uncapped syringes, though no drugs, police wrote.
A week later, Jared Remy himself called police at 2 a.m. from an address on Spring Street in Waltham, asking for help with an unwanted person, according to a police report. Officers arrived to find him standing in the street, “yelling and screaming” at his mother through the window of her silver BMW, the report said. A man not identified in the report got out and explained they had taken Jared home after a disagreement with a girlfriend and “just wanted to make sure everything was OK” before leaving.
As a crowd of gawkers grew, Jared Remy continued to scream and became even more “belligerent,” a police report said. When an officer approached to ask a question, Remy “gave me a slight elbow to the stomach area and told me to f--- off,” the officer said in the report. Cuffed and arrested for creating a disturbance, Remy apologized from the back of the cruiser but said he was furious that “his mother was butting into his life.”
Gianacopolis, meanwhile, contacted police in Lowell to say Remy had repeatedly called her there that weekend, declaring his love and vowing to “kill her if they don’t get back together,” according to a police report. She told police he was a drug user and that he had warned her to “watch her car.”
Gianacopolis, who declined to be interviewed for this story, told police she was unwilling to testify. “All she wants is to be left alone,” according to police, who filed a criminal complaint against Remy April 4 for making threats. With Gianacopolis absent from court the next month, Peter Bella argued that the charge was flimsy and the woman had “no imminent fear” of Remy. He got the case knocked down to a magistrate’s hearing, and there is no indication in the file the hearing was ever held — merely rescheduled four times before the charge was dismissed.
A photo of the Remy family — Jerry (from left), Jared, Jordan, Phoebe, and Jenna — was included on a congratulations page for Jenna in her 2003 yearbook from Weston High School. The photograph was taken around 1999.
OUTSIDE OF JERRY REMY’S statement describing his son’s anger and self-control problems, little in the public record gives insight on Jared Remy’s emotional state or psychological issues. But a therapist’s letter filed in connection with a court case in 2001 provides a rare, if fleeting, glimpse. Psychologist Harry M. Leichtman wrote that Remy had an anxiety disorder and that “in difficult moments, Mr. Remy’s neurological/biochemical state works against him.” Remy was prescribed medications to help control his condition, but the therapist expressed frustration that Remy refused to take them out of fear that would mark him as “damaged good[s].”
The letter, which Bella submitted around the time of a February 2001 probation violation hearing, claimed regular therapy had helped Remy control his “impulsivity, distractibility [and] overly aggressive responses,” to distinguish between sad and mad feelings, and express himself properly.
Still, the therapist did not say Remy’s condition was an excuse for his behavior. “Like the rest of us,” Leichtman wrote, “Mr. Remy must be held responsible for his actions.”
Remy’s emotions apparently again got the better of him when he called Guyette on Jan. 21, 2001, asking permission to take his son to a birthday party for the child of a new girlfriend.
At that point, Guyette, 19, had sole custody of the child after winning a two-year court battle initiated by Jerry and Phoebe Remy in which a guardian appointed by the court to investigate the child’s welfare, Bette Winik, ultimately sided with Guyette. “Bette was the one that really laid out that Jared was not doing what the court asked, that his parents were enabling him, and that Tiffany was the better parent,” said Maxa Berid, a family lawyer who represented Guyette. (Guyette lost custody in 2007, after the Remys prevailed in a second case, brought at a time Guyette was in another abusive relationship.)
But under the 2000 court order granting Guyette custody, Jared Remy was not allowed to take the child out alone, and on the phone, Guyette refused Remy’s request, according to an affidavit Guyette filed Jan. 22, the day after Jared’s call. He erupted, hurling a string of expletives and threatening “to kill me and my [n-word] boyfriend,” Guyette wrote, requesting a restraining order. Police in Lowell, where Guyette had an apartment, charged Remy with making threats.
A trial was set for June 1, 2001. This time, Guyette was prepared to testify, and prosecutor Joshua Friedman thought Remy would finally get convicted and sentenced. Jail time for a charge of making threats was rare, but given Remy’s lack of remorse and pattern of behavior, Friedman asked for three months in the House of Correction, with three more months suspended.
The case was Remy’s sixth in 27 months, and he would pick up a seventh that spring after a fight with an acquaintance in a Waltham tow yard. Lowell District Court Presiding Justice Neil Walker acknowledged that probation alone did not seem to be working with Remy.
“It’s at this point [incumbent] upon me to find a way to get through [to] Mr. Remy and impose something even more of an incentive to him,” Walker said, according to a court transcript.
But even after Remy in court acknowledged threatening Guyette, the judge did not impose jail or even convict him. He accepted Bella’s proposal to continue Remy’s case without formal judgment — not even a CWOF — and dismiss it altogether if Remy behaved and remained in counseling. The prosecutor objected.
A judiciary spokeswoman this month said Walker and other judges could not comment on any case involving Remy.
More than 12 years later, Walker’s dismissal in Lowell still galls Friedman. “It was so wrong what they did, as a matter of law,” he said, in phone and e-mail interviews from Tajikistan, where he works on human rights issues. “The justice system of the commonwealth let [Guyette] down.”
SEEMINGLY UNCHASTENED, Remy dived into a new relationship, this time with a 21-year-old Waltham mother named Ryan McMahon, that police and court records depict as achingly similar to the relationships that came before. On at least eight occasions, police reported McMahon’s claims of Remy’s harassment, threats, and physical abuse. In restraining-order affidavits, she alleged Remy was using cocaine, painkillers, marijuana, and alcohol in addition to steroids.
Though McMahon spoke to police immediately after their fights about her fear of him, and of the injuries she said he inflicted on her, she would go back to him and elect to not testify as the cases wound through court, making prosecution difficult, according to court records.
Early in the relationship, Remy lived with a group of friends in a rented house at 15 Rich St. in Waltham. Some of the roommates had lengthy records. In one six-month period starting in late 2002, police responded to calls involving the apartment 16 times.
Andrew Ufland, the former Gifford classmate who had tipped police off to the needles in Jared’s gym bag, had apparently made up with Remy by that time and moved into the basement, though he would come to realize it was a mistake.
Ufland, in December 2002, asked police for a restraining order and an escort to retrieve his belongings. In an affidavit, he said he’d tried to move out four days earlier, but Remy attacked Ufland and his father and threatened, “I’m going to kill you, you [slur for Jewish people],” before another roommate intervened. Ufland died last year; his father confirmed the incident but declined to comment further.
Remy would eventually move from Rich Street, too, though not by choice. In March 2003, he would be charged with striking one of McMahon’s closest girlfriends in the head with a bottle at a bar. And on July 3, McMahon told police that Remy had called over the preceding week and threatened several times to kill her. She said he then accosted her at work at the Tanning Hut in Waltham and followed her outside, where he allegedly punched her in the back.
Arrested on a warrant the next day, July 4, Remy quickly posted bail. He got as far as the street before taking out his phone and calling McMahon again to berate and threaten her, police said, bringing more charges.
Noting the string of cases, Judge Flynn of Waltham at an arraignment that Monday, July 7, allowed Remy to avoid jail but ordered him to move home with his parents and observe a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew while awaiting trial.
Phoebe Remy posted the $500 bail, court records show.
IN SEPTEMBER 2003, Remy was still living at home by court order as he turned 25. By then, he was an imposing figure. Years of steroids and intense weight-lifting workouts had helped him pack on 50 pounds of muscle, pushing him near 200 pounds, according to police reports and affidavits. He was bigger, louder, and more erratic than ever — and he seemed to behave with an air of invincibility, according to police and court records.
Right outside of Waltham District Court one morning that month — after hearings on three cases at once — he shouted into his cellphone with such volume as he was leaving that a police officer decided to run a quick records check. He discovered that Remy had a suspended license and pulled him over. When police towed Remy’s car, they found needles and steroids in his backpack and charged him with illegal possession of both as well as operating with a suspended license.
After one fight with McMahon the next summer, in July 2004, she told police that he had boasted to her “that he always wins,” according to a Waltham police report.
Though she said Remy had cut up her clothing and pictures and punched her in the face with a cordless phone, a Waltham judge again let him out on bail — Phoebe posted the $500 — this time with the agreement of prosecutors, who insisted that Remy try to find and keep a job.
He soon materialized as a security guard at Fenway Park, three other guards recalled. Instead of assigning him to crowd control at games, the Red Sox placed Remy on quiet day shifts, signing for packages and checking bags of fans touring the ballpark.
By the time the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series, Remy had amassed 15 criminal cases and at least nine speeding tickets and five accidents, according to state Registry of Motor Vehicles records. Still, that February, he was assigned to escort the new World Series trophy to the Berkshires for an appearance. He got pulled over doing 92 on the Pike, according to RMV records.
In November 2005, he dragged McMahon down stairs and beat her so badly he broke her nose, bloodied her lip, and left a welt around one eye, Waltham police wrote in a report that noted Remy fled to his parents’ house. Arrested there, he admitted to officers, “I slapped her around” — but dismissed the likely consequences as just “another year of probation,” according to the police report.
Though he said he made only $10 an hour at Fenway, he quickly produced the $3,000 bail to free himself that night. In court in Waltham for his arraignment the next morning, he ignored a restraining order and strode over to McMahon, according to a police report, and accused her of cheating. She forced him to examine her black-and-blue face. “Remy put his head down and said it was the Anedrol [Anadrol, a steroid],” police wrote in the report. According to the report, Remy told McMahon “that he was going to miss her... and said sorry.”
For the first time, prosecutors argued successfully for Remy to be locked up while awaiting trial. Judge Flynn deemed it necessary for McMahon’s safety.
Just six days later, McMahon returned to court, asking to lift the restraining order. “I am not in fear of... Jared Remy,” she wrote. Bella cited that request and asked that Remy be released to resume living with McMahon, provided they pursue couples counseling and Remy work on anger management. The judge said no.
After 81 days in the Middlesex Jail, Remy waived his right to trial and offered to plead guilty.
Prosecutors wanted at least a year of incarceration, followed by a long probation and completion of the state’s 40-week batterers program. Bella wanted Remy to be let out on probation. The judge agreed with Bella, releasing him and ordering him to complete the program and to stay drug and alcohol free.
In jail, being Jerry’s son made him a hero, Guyette recalled Remy boasting. “He’d brag about giving away his dad’s autograph” for favors, she said. “Having a full canteen, getting guys to shave his back.”
When he got out in January 2006, Remy’s Fenway job would be waiting for him. And it would lead him to the woman he is accused of killing.
JARED REMY MET JENNIFER MARTEL at a barbecue, when she was casually dating another Fenway security guard. It was 2007, about a year and a half after Remy had gotten out of jail. Short, dark-haired, and striking, Martel looked more than a little like a young Tiffany Guyette. And, like Guyette, the 22-year-old had also not had the easiest home life.
Growing up in Taunton, Martel had been 17 when her parents decided to follow her brother to Virginia for work, said Alexis Kirker, a younger cousin who grew up partly in the same household. Given a choice between dropping out of school and going with them or staying and fending for herself senior year, Martel stayed — working to pay for a tiny apartment and becoming the first in her family to finish high school, Kirker said.
Martel’s relationship with Remy started as a fling, Kirker and Hill, Martel’s friend and neighbor, said she told them. But she got pregnant unexpectedly, and she and Jared moved in together in Waltham’s Windsor Village.
Like others who knew Martel in Taunton, Kirker remembered the young woman as buoyant and self-assured. But when Kirker occasionally visited the new couple, she saw a different, more tentative side of her cousin. Kirker said Remy was cruel to Martel as she grew larger during pregnancy, “cutting her down about her weight — ‘you’re fat, you’re gross.’ ” Kirker and Hill said he belittled Martel’s family and felt that he drove a wedge between Martel and most of her relatives. Martel’s immediate family declined to speak with the Globe, citing an ongoing custody case involving Arianna.
As he was about to become a father for the second time, Jared Remy got snared in 2008 in a Major League Baseball steroid investigation that would cost him his job. Aggrieved, he spoke at length at the time with the Globe Spotlight Team.
Jared Remy shown with his mother, Phoebe Remy; father, Jerry Remy; daughter, Arianna; and Jennifer Martel in a Christmas 2012 photo that Martel had posted to her Facebook account.
Remy insisted he had no financial need to sell drugs and had never even discussed steroids with Red Sox players. But he defended his own use of illegal steroids, boasting of benching 475 pounds while calling the drugs safer than cigarettes and secondhand smoke.
“If I’m killing anyone,” Remy told a Globe reporter in a comment unpublished at the time, “it’s myself.”
Still, he seemed to be settling down, giving up hard drinking and spending time with his daughter, Arianna, though that often appeared to mean sitting with the child before a blaring big-screen TV while Martel was at work, several neighbors said.
To Windsor Village residents who regularly socialized in the courtyard — Remy often watching alone from the patio while Martel and Arianna joined in — he seemed more sad than terrifying. Without work, he rarely left the complex except to lift weights and tan, and sometimes to take his daughter to preschool, they said. Otherwise he stayed home watching TV or roaming the grounds with his dogs, walking them in the mornings with a sleep mask propped on his forehead.
Often, to run into him was to hear him bad-mouth others, spout off about college football and criminal law, and name-drop his father, all without taking a breath. “Getting Jareded,” neighbors called it.
By 27, Martel had come into her own — getting promoted to management at the Burlington Market Basket, losing weight, finishing an online associate’s degree, and getting accepted at Framingham State, a step toward her goal of becoming a teacher.
Jennifer Martel posted a photo of her and Jared Remy at Fenway on Facebook in 2010. They met while she was dating another Fenway guard.
She spent her days working, studying, seeing friends, and especially doting on Arianna — taking her to Crane Beach, Southwick’s Zoo, and the Children’s Museum, teaching her to eat apple slices before chicken nuggets.
“Jen wanted to raise Arianna to be socially respectful and to be a hard worker, to be all about self-improvement, to be responsible and kind,” Kristina Hill said.
As Martel flourished, neighbors said, Remy grew more irritable.
Hill heard frequent shouting through their shared apartment wall and said Remy made her nervous. Last June, as Hill, Martel, and their children gathered on the patio, the women expressed support for same-sex marriage, and Remy cut them off. Hill said he blurted out that he wanted “to get some guns and f--- up some queers.”
“Jen turned to him and was like, ‘This is why I’m going to leave you, because you say things like this.’ And then he went off on her,” said Hill, recalling Remy screaming and cursing — though Martel eventually calmed him down.
Jennifer Martel posted this photo of Jared Remy on Facebook in June 2009 with the caption “Mr dad.” The couple’s daughter, Arianna, was 9 months old at the time."
Still, Martel felt genuinely close to Jenna and Phoebe Remy, and she was tied to them financially, unable to provide the same life for Arianna on her own, Hill said. Just eight weeks before Martel’s death, the Remys helped her get her first new car; she proudly posted a picture of the odometer, registering 4.1 miles, on Facebook.
On Aug. 13, a Tuesday night, Martel, as she often did, went over to Hill’s with Arianna. The pattern of visits incensed Remy, who yelled at her to come back and called her on the phone, according to a police report and an affidavit Martel filled out seeking an emergency restraining order. Martel left the girl with Hill and went home to try to calm him, but Remy argued with her, grabbed her by the neck and slammed her head against a bathroom mirror, the report and Martel’s affidavit said.
Martel freed herself and fled next door to Hill’s, according to the report and affidavit. Remy followed behind and banged on the door. Unable to get in, he retrieved a spare key, unlocked the door and continued to scream at Martel. “I feared for my safety and called the cops,” Martel wrote in her affidavit.
Police were already on the way, apparently alerted by others who saw or heard the commotion. They arrested Remy on a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. At the station, he paid a $40 fee to release himself on personal recognizance, according to court records. Hill said Martel spent the night with her, and Remy stayed at his parents’. It had been eight years since his last assault charge.
Hill said she encouraged Martel to go to court in the morning to extend the order, but Martel told her she no longer planned to go, after communicating with the Remys. “She showed me a text message that said they had taken the key [to their apartment] away from Jared,” Hill said.
But Jared Remy returned. On the night of Aug. 15, according to police, prosecutors, and witnesses, Remy somehow got into the apartment and stabbed Martel in an attack that left a trail of blood throughout their home |
We were able to take characters from our old pen and paper campaigns and create little plots for them and it was very creative and organic. And certainly we made a mess of things at times, some of the plots, especially the Drow ones were horribly complicated and hard to troubleshoot!But all of us were given semi-free reign to take things as far as we thought we could. I had a lot of fun working with the combat system, for example, and tried to pull in all the tricks I remember that had been used while playing pen and paper during high school. And all the team members were doing this, within their own areas of responsibilities.As well, because the game content did not have to be locked down too early (for voice over and cinematics), we actually had more development time. With AAA titles nowadays, it becomes harder to tweak content in the late stages of development.I think the dialog and story is what got the attention ultimately and whether it was what high level folk at the company also found interesting, or they decided they found it interesting, because it was popular, I don't know. The combat was spoken of favorably, internally, but nobody outside a small handful of designers, really liked the complexity of the AD&D rules. They were a pain, to be honest, and it was felt that a comparable combat experience could be crafted with a simpler system.But over the years I think it is fair to say that the positive attention directed towards the companions and romances did overshadow many other elements of what made BG2 popular. That's not to say that individuals on various teams didn't try to replicate that -- there are a few combat designers who worked on the NWN expansion packs and transitioned to the Dragon Age franchise that certainly tried to bring a measure of BG2-esque combat into their work.Honestly, it just happened. I don't think anybody ever said: "We need more romance" or conversely "Stop it with all this romance stuff." BioWare received accolades for writing great stories and dialog and this certainly fueled the design department's desire to continue improving in this respect.But the writing aspect never really took resources away from any of those other great things players enjoyed in past titles. I think ultimately anything that is not Dungeons and Dragons isn't… Dungeons and Dragons. Despite its complexities, there is a lot of "wow" in D&D that never really made it into any of the gameplay systems BioWare created in later games. Perhaps that complexity was a necessary ingredient, I don't know.I can't say. I suspect the original design team (James and Kevin) were influenced by Black Isle but by the time I came on board, there wasn't much involvement anymore. I didn't really know what was going on with Planescape, for example, until I saw a later stage version of it. I suspect higher level people than me did have more of a connection with their peers at Black Isle, but by the time I became a lead, that was finished.There were a couple projects cancelled during my time at BioWare, though none that I worked on directly. But as I have not seen mention of all of them online, I don't think it is appropriate for me to go into details.I think game cancelations are a lot more common elsewhere in the games industry than they were at BioWare. I know I was fairly shocked each time an internal project was scrapped, so it was definitely not a common occurrence for us. I suppose we were a bit sheltered at BioWare.Sorry I can't shed more light on this.I could see myself getting involved with the right company and the right project, but my strongest skills are really management and the technical side of design -- not really Kickstarter "goal" worthy. For most of my career I was surrounded by talented writers and designers who built cool stuff… and I helped them do that. But I can hardly take any credit for what they achieved.I do consulting for some companies now, one of which is producing an RPG, but my personal projects will always probably be smaller scale -- more arcade game than RPG.Thanks for the interview opportunity! Take care. There are 177 comments on Brent Knowles Interview: An Insider's Look at BioWare, 2000-2009Artist's conception of Sedna, which is so far away it takes 10,000 Earth-years to orbit the sun. All that is known about Sedna's appearance is that it has a reddish hue. In the distance is a hypothetical small moon, which scientists believe may be orbiting this distant body. NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (SSC)
Some astronomers saythat a planet the size of Mars or Earth could be lurking on the fringes of oursolar system. But even the latest space telescopes that launched in 2009 standlittle chance of finding such a distant object.
Such a world, if itexists, would probably have an orbit far beyond Pluto or similar dwarf planetsin the outer solar system. It would likely resemble a frozen versionof Mars or Earth at best, a most unsuitable home for life. And it would notbe alone.
"When the solarsystem's story is finally written, it's much more likely that it will havecloser to 900 planets rather than the nine that we grew up with," saidAlan Stern, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colo.
Just a handful of thosepotential discoveries might reach the size of Earth, compared to a swarm ofPluto-sized bodies that Stern and others expect to find.
Each object? beit termed a planet, dwarf planet or otherwise? would serve as a frozentime capsule that could reveal much about the early evolution of the solarsystem. It could even force scientists to once again rethink the definition ofa planet, following the controversial downgradingof Pluto to a dwarf planet.
Beyond the belt
Pluto's downfall camein part because astronomers discovered a number of smaller planetary objects inthe outer solar system. Dwarf planets such as Eris occupy a cluttered, icyregion beyond Neptune known as the Kuiper Belt. But a planet the size of Marsor Earth has not turned up at such range.
"For the KuiperBelt we can already say there is nothing Earth or Mars sized, as its dynamicaleffects would be easily seen," said Mike Brown, an astronomer at Caltechwho led teams that discovered Eris (and nicknamed it?Xena? at first) and otherdwarf planets.
One of Brown's pastdwarf planet discoveries, Sedna,occupies a strange elliptical orbit between the Kuiper Belt and the moredistant Oort Cloud? a possible sign of the gravitational influence of anotherworld as big as Earth, one astronomer proposed. But Brown suspects that such a largeobject would have been spotted already.
Brown and Stern saythat the Oort Cloud represents a more likely prospect for worlds the size ofMars or Earth. The Oort Cloud surrounds our solar system with billions of icybodies at distances as far out as 50,000 times the distance between the sun andEarth.
"Once you gobeyond the Kuiper Belt, to the Sedna region or the Oort Cloud, you can alwayshide things by putting them farther away," Brown told SPACE.com.
How they got there
Brown noted that anyfuture discovery of larger objects in the outer solar system would eithersuggest that scientists have the wrong idea of how planets form, or mightindicate that the early solar system had more material available thanpreviously suspected.
"More interestingto me, though, is that it would be an entirely new class of large body,"Brown said. "We don't have any ice rich planetary-sized bodies in thesolar system, so we don't really know what they would be like and how theywould work."
Stern has longsupported the idea of many planet-sized lurkers in the outer solar system. Hereferred to computer models that show how medium-sized planets might haveformed during the chaotic creation of gas giants such as Jupiter, when swirlingsmaller pieces clumped together to form larger bodies.
"Giant planets gravitationallycleared out regions between them, with each capable of throwing small andmedium size planets into the deep solar system," Stern explained.
Define 'planet' forme
Such small or mediumplanets hanging out in the distant reaches of the solar system would cast reneweddoubt on the 2006 ruling of the International Astronomical Union (IAU).Stern has heavily criticized the IAU's decision, which demoted Pluto in partbecause of its location in the solar system.
"The IAU isslowly beginning to realize that it has made a great mistake," Stern said.He predicted that the organization would retract its 2006 decision if newplanet-sized discoveries emerge in the future.
Brown stood by the IAUdecision as a "very clear definition" that has scientific usefulness.But he too acknowledged the likely complications with outer solar systemplanets the size of Mars or Earth.
"It seems prettyobvious that if something Earth sized is discovered, everyone is going to callit a planet," Brown said. "So then we are back to the drawing board,unfortunately."
A question of when
The prospect of biggerplanets farther out may have to wait until scientific detection improves. Sterncompared the search with existing space telescopes to "looking at the skythrough a soda straw," because most telescopes have extremely narrow viewsof the sky. Even the most powerful telescopes can only directly spot planetaryobjects about 10 times farther out than Pluto.
NASA's new WISEspacecraft has a very slim chance of spotting a close-in planet with itsall-sky infrared survey, Brown and Stern agreed. But they both have higherhopes for the upcoming Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, which should have theability to spot Earth-sized objects as far out as perhaps 1,000 astronomicalunits (AU), where 1 AU is the Earth-sun distance.
That 1,000 AU stillfalls short of the Oort Cloud's vastness, which occupies a region tens ofthousands of AU away. Still, Stern suggested that future space explorationmight even reach distant Earth siblings? a can-do attitude that perhapsreflects his role as principal investigator for NASA's outbound New Horizonsprobe headed for Pluto.
"The Oort Cloudis the solar system's attic, with all sorts of stuff up there," Sternsaid. "We just don't have a big enough ladder to go up and look aroundyet."The cross-dressing criminal, whose real name is Ugo Gabriele, was arrested by armed police during a raid in the southern port city of Naples, home to the Camorra, one of Italy's four mafia groups.
Gabriele, 27, hardly conforms to the image of a gangster's moll – his police mugshot shows him to be heavy set, with broad shoulders and a double chin.
But there is also an incongruous feminine touch – carefully sculpted eyebrows, blonde highlights in his hair and a light dab of lipstick.
Police said Gabriele was a mafia 'capo' or godfather who masterminded a drug dealing and prostitution racket in Naples for the Scissionisti clan of the Camorra.
Investigators said it was the first time they had arrested a transsexual mafia gangster.
Despite his chunky physique and masculine appearance he insisted on being addressed as Kitty, they said.
Gabriele was arrested with another 27 members of the Camorra, a powerful criminal organisation which was investigated by the Italian journalist Roberto Saviano in his best-selling book, Gomorrah, later made into a film.
"It's a sign that the Camorra has changed not only its code of honour, which once forbade the killing of women and children; it has also changed its internal rules," said the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
The mafia has traditionally shown no tolerance for homosexuality. Last year a convicted mobster who was suspected of being gay because he wrote poetry in his cell was subjected to a horrific gang-rape by fellow prisoners.This round garnered substantially more votes than previous rounds with 4,138 responses. Who would have thought it would come down to this?
From the Former Broncos Players & Game Broadcasters Region, this monolith of Denver media personalities first beat Dan Fouts, Shannon Sharpe, Brandon Stokley, Ed McCaffrey, and most recently Kurt Warner. Terrell Davis advances to the championship round to face... We'll get to that in a moment.
Kurt Warner had an outstanding run. Cheers to him for following our little contest!
@MileHighReport @Terrell_Davis oh man - how do I compete w/ local legend & HOFer!! Oh well, it was a great run!!! — Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) March 20, 2017
It was a Cinderella-story from the start. This contender, slotted as a 15-seed before I decided to remove the seeding numbers out of respect to the contenders, crushed Mike Klis, Mike Evans, Andrew Mason, Vic Lombardi, and most recently Adam Schefter. Brandon Perna has overcome all obstacles and defied the odds to advance to the Championship to face Terrell Davis.
Perna put out this campaign video that helped him seal the deal.
Want to take a look at how far we've come?
Terrell Davis... Brandon Perna... It's going down next Monday!Think it's hard to make money in publishing in the digital age? Well, huge profits are still to be had – if you're a publisher of academic research journals.
While traditional book and magazine publishers struggle to stay afloat, research publishing houses have typical profit margins of nearly 40 per cent, says Vincent Larivière, a researcher at the University of Montreal's School of Library and Information Science.
The quality control is free, the raw material is free, and then you charge very, very high amounts – of course you come up with very high profit margins. - Vincent Larivière, University of Montreal
Researchers rely on journals to keep up with the developments in their field. Most of the time, they access the journals online through subscriptions purchased by university libraries. But universities are having a hard time affording the soaring subscriptions, which are bundled so that universities effectively must pay for hundreds of journals they don't want in order to get the ones they do.
Larivière says the cost of the University of Montreal's journal subscriptions is now more than $7 million a year – ultimately paid for by the taxpayers and students who fund most of the university's budget. Unable to afford the annual increases, the university has started cutting subscriptions, angering researchers.
"The big problem is that libraries or institutions that produce knowledge don't have the budget anymore to pay for [access to] what they produce," Larivière said.
"They could have closed one library a year to continue to pay for the journals, but then in twenty-something years, we would have had no libraries anymore, and we would still be stuck with having to pay the annual increase in subscriptions."
Given the situation, he wanted to track what proportion of papers was being published by these large academic publishers compared to in the past (and how big a deal it would be to cut some of those subscriptions.)
'Oligarchy' of publishers
What he and his collaborators found was that the five largest, for-profit academic publishers now publish 53 per cent of scientific papers in the natural and medical sciences – up from 20 per cent in 1973. In the social sciences, the top five publishers publish 70 per cent of papers.
Essentially, they've become an oligarchy, Larivière and co-authors Stefanie Haustein and Philippe Mongeon say in a paper published last week in the open access, non-profit journal PLOS ONE.
'We need journals because of their prestige,' says University of Montreal researcher Vincent Larivière. 'Journals give discoveries and researchers a hierarchy.' (University of Montreal) "The control that they now have over the scientific output researchers I would say is way too high," he said. "So that's why they can come up with annual increases that are between five six, seven, even 10 per cent."
A look at a history of the journals showed how that happened. Traditionally, most journals were published by non-profit scientific societies. But when journals shifted from print to online digital formats, those societies couldn't afford the cost of the equipment needed to make the switch. Instead, they sold their journals to large, for-profit publishers, Larivière said.
Authors, reviewers unpaid
Aside from the costs of switching itself, the digital age has made publishing even cheaper for scientific journals, which already have a business model that sounds too good to be true. Unlike other authors, researchers don't get paid for the papers they write, and peer reviewers don't get paid either.
Traditionally, most journals were published by non-profit scientific societies. But when journals shifted from print to online digital formats, those societies couldn't afford the cost of the equipment needed to make the switch. (Shutterstock)
"The quality control is free, the raw material is free, and then you charge very, very high amounts – of course you come up with very high profit margins."
This model originally existed because it was necessary for sharing research in the age of print. It's no longer a practical necessity in the digital age.
But it continues to exist because researchers' funding and career advancement are tied to the number of papers they publish in top journals.
"We need journals because of their prestige," Larivière said. "Journals give discoveries and researchers a hierarchy."
He said part of the problem is that university libraries and not researchers pay the subscription fees, so many researchers aren't even aware that access to the journals costs money.
New open access policy
He thinks the scientific community needs to come up with a solution.
Change is already happening. Physics researchers have been publishing publicly accessible preprints of their papers on a site called arxiv.org since 1991. Most are posted there before being submitted to a journal and some are never sent to journals at all. Other disciplines could do that too.
Meanwhile, Canada's biggest granting agencies announced a new "open access" policy, effective May 1. It requires all recipients of grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (which already had a similar policy) to make their research results publicly available within one year of publication either via an online repository or an open access journal.
Larivière hopes changes like those will eventually reduce the dependence that universities have on their library subscriptions.Get the biggest Business stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
The UK’s biggest solar farm - that will power thousands of homes - is being proposed on Anglesey.
Countryside Renewables Capital want to place a solar energy park of up to 50MW spread across 195 acres of farmland, the equivalent of 100 football pitches.
If the project, south east of Cemaes, gets the go ahead it could eclipse the current UK’s largest solar farm in Hampshire that is a 48MW scheme.
That scheme powers more than 14,000 homes.
The panels would reach three metres high but the developers say that the remote nature of the site and additional screening will keep the solar park well hidden.
The project fits with the ambition to turn Anglesey into an ‘Energy Island’.
Developments include an underwater kite tidal project off Holyhead, Wylfa Newydd, and a biomass plant on the former Anglesey Aluminium site.
Planning agent Elfed Williams, from ERW Consulting, said: “This scheme fits in with Energy Island and the current push toward renewables.
“This would power thousands of homes. A lot of work has gone into selecting this site. It is a very remote site and it is well screened and additional screening will be provided.
“Anglesey is also a very good area for solar due to the number of sunshine hours on the island.
“We believe this is a scheme that can be supported and is approvable but we are in the hands of the planning committee.”
He added: “There would be a community benefits scheme from the project which would contribute to local projects.”
The island already has major solar schemes including a 15MW park at Tai Moelion Farm on the Bodorgan Estate which was the biggest solar park in Wales when it was built in 2013.
There is also an existing application for a 49MW scheme on land near RAF Valley that could power more than 12,000 homes.
This new project would see sheep continue to graze in the open space around the panels so the developer says it will not significantly reduce the amount of grazing land in this part of the island.
The scheme would save 550,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions over 25 years.
A scoping and screening opinion has been submitted with Anglesey council for the project and a full application is expected to follow.
Mr Williams said: “We have already worked with officers on this.”So you already know that the gap between rich and poor has been widening lately. But some new numbers from the Congressional Budget Office put the issue into stark relief.
As the chart at right shows, between 1979 and 2007, the share of after-tax income going to each of the bottom four income quintiles--the bottom 80 percent--has dropped. The only quintile that has increased its share is the top 20 percent. And the top 1 percent has more than doubled its share.
That top 1 percent saw its income skyrocket by 275 percent. Those between the 80th and 99th percentile--that is, the top 20 percent, excluding the very top 1 percent--also did pretty well, seeing their income rise by 65 percent. Income for the bottom 20 percent, meanwhile, grew by just 18 percent.
One reason for the growing gap, the report said, is the impact of government transfer programs. Back in 1979, the poorest 20 percent of the population received 50 percent of all government transfers. By 2007, that had dropped to 35 percent, thanks largely to increases in spending on Social Security and unemployment benefits, which aren't focused exclusively on poor households.
The Occupy Wall Street movement has made inequality a key focus of its protests, and has used the slogan, "We are the 99 percent." After starting in lower Manhattan last month, the movement has spread across the country, and has succeeded at helping to put the inequality issue into the media and political spotlight.
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• Who is 'the Foreigner,' al-Qaida's new aid emissary to Somalia?FILE - This June 29, 2011, file photo provided by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections shows Clayton Lockett. The botched execution of Lockett and the gruesome details of him writhing and moaning before dying of a heart attack have outraged death penalty opponents, raised the potential of more court challenges and received international attention. (AP Photo/Oklahoma Department of Corrections, File)
The body of an Oklahoma inmate who died after a botched execution of what corrections officials have said was an apparent heart attack was returned from an independent autopsy without the heart or larynx, a state medical official said Monday.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office, which is conducting an independent autopsy on the body of inmate Clayton Lockett, retained the body parts, a practice that is not uncommon, said Amy Elliott, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office.
"Oklahoma law reads that the Office of the State Medical Examiner can retain any kind of tissue or samples indefinitely," Elliott said. "And my understanding is it can be the same in Texas."
Dallas County officials did not immediately return messages Monday.
David Autry, Lockett's attorney, said a private doctor is working to complete a second autopsy and has asked Dallas County to preserve all evidence in the case, including the heart and larynx.
"I assume they retained those for additional testing, but we've asked them to preserve all the evidence," Autry said.
Lockett's body has been returned to his family and cremated, Autry said.
Dr. Amy Gruszecki, the medical director of American Forensics, a Dallas facility that conducts independent autopsies, said doctors conducting the autopsy likely found something specific with the heart and larynx that they wanted to further document.
"It's not completely unusual," Gruszecki said. "They might want to do some additional investigation or saw something that was very important to the diagnosis."
Lockett died after his April 29 execution was halted when prison officials noted the lethal injection drugs weren't being administered properly. The doctor inside the death chamber reported a single IV in Lockett's groin became dislodged and the lethal drugs went into his tissue or leaked out of his body.
Oklahoma was using a new three-drug method for the first time, and Lockett writhed on the gurney, gritted his teeth and attempted to lift his head several times before the state's prison director halted the execution. Lockett died anyway, about 43 minutes from what prison officials have said was an apparent heart attack.
Gov. Mary Fallin has ordered an investigation into Lockett's death, and the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has issued a six-month stay of execution for a second inmate who was scheduled to die on the same night as Lockett.
The Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office will release the official cause and manner of Lockett's death after it receives the results of the autopsy from Dallas County, Elliott said.
Lockett, a four-time felon, was convicted of shooting 19-year-old Stephanie Nieman with a sawed-off shotgun and watching as two accomplices buried her alive in rural Kay County in 1999 after Nieman and a friend arrived at a home the men were robbing.
Copyright Associated Press3
Oct
Exclusive Interview: Philippe Auclair Talks Arsenal (Part 1)
Written by Chris Wheatley 13 Comments
Gooner Talk have managed to carry out an exclusive interview featuring one of France’s most passionate and talented football journalists – Philippe Auclair.
In his homecountry, Auclair is renowned for his work in the music industry where his name – Louis Philippe – was associated with the short-lived, but very influential ‘él record label’; since this label’s demise (1989), he has grown into one of the ‘elder statesmen’ of indiepop.
Philippe – who is a hardcore Gooner himself – works for RMCinfo, arguably the biggest radio station in France. He’s also a regular contributor to FranceFootball where he posts a daily blog on all things footy, definitely one to read.
Our British readers may be more familiar with Auclair’s work on Setanta Sports News as their French football analyst, as well as popular radio stations TalkSPORT radio & BBC Scotland.
Part 1 of the interview includes:
Philippe’s opinions on the latest young crop of Arsenal talent coming up through the ranks.
His views on why Michel Platini made a ‘personal attack’ against Gunners boss Arsene Wenger via the French media.
What Philippe thinks about the squad in terms of experience and quality of football.
Arsenal’s chances of winning silverware this season and if so, what trophy are we most likely to claim.
And much, much more!
Hi Philippe, thanks for agreeing to take part in the interview, we’re delighted that you have taken your time out to share your opinions on the biggest footballing side in the world.
When did you start supporting Arsenal and what was it that immediately drew you to the club? Also, do you attend any matches and what do you make of the atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium?
I was a left-footed no.6 with good legs, good lungs, good vision and absolutely no skill on the ball. Naturally, I was drawn to players who could do what I couldn’t (a rather large number, it must be said); but the one I loved the most was ‘Chippy’. That famous goal against Spurs still is one of my all-time favourites, as it encapsulated everything that was great about Liam Brady. He had fight in his soul, read the game beautifully, and could produce moments of absolute magic like this shot. Then I moved to London in 1987, and fell in love with Highbury. I miss the old place a great deal.
To me, Highbury was (is) English football. A grand stadium locked in a working-class neighbourhood, but seemingly in his rightful place. What’s more, Arsenal is the London club, and I’m a Londoner. I’ve got a soft spot for QPR and Fulham, because they ‘feel’ right: they are emanations of their area. But Arsenal is an emanation of London as a whole. Look at the crowd we’ve got. Irish, West Indian, Jewish, French, Indian, Pakistani, ‘English’ – that’s London. I’m very proud of my city, and very proud of the club that represents it with class, dignity and elegance.
To come back to your question, I’ve attended all but a dozen of home games for over a decade, and been at nearly every London derby during the same period. The atmosphere? That’s a strange one. It can be absolutely wonderful (Man U at home last season was something else –Carling Cup games are always fantastic), but I still can’t comprehend how and why people should leave the ground as early as they do. Arsenal fans are the worst for that, and I find it incomprehensible: we’ve got the best public transport service of any club in the country!
Sections of Gunners’ fans have questioned skipper William Gallas’ defensive performances the previous season and slated him the for some less than impressive displays of leadership. What is your opinion on Gallas’ defensive attributes and leadership skills?
I can’t say too much about that, as the fan’s opinion shouldn’t obscure the journalist’s analysis. I’ll just say that Gallas is a very fine defender who is never better than when he has a true ‘boss’ by his side. Like John Terry, whatever you may think of him. William’s forte is not organising a defensive line. But no-one should doubt his commitment. If anything, the guy’s too committed at times.
Francis Coquelin and Gilles Sunu are just two of many young Bleu’s that have been ‘poached’ by Arsene Wenger’s after raiding clubs in the smaller divisions of France. Are there any hard feelings towards Wenger from the French sides for “stealing” their star youngsters?
There used to be, particularly after the recruitment of Anelka and Aliadiere; but the level of criticism has dropped a lot since then. People are aware of what Wenger has done for Henry, Petit, Vieira, Pires, Sagna, Clichy (and on, and on), and how much it has benefited the national team. What’s more, Arsenal has behaved impeccably with the feeder clubs, paying them substantial amounts of money when they were under no obligation to do so. Funnily enough, I’ve just finished a big dossier on the question for France-Football magazine, and the feedback we got from these clubs was overwhelmingly positive.
Staying on the topic of Monsieur Wenger, could you see Le Boss ever being a likely canditate to take over the French national team after his contract with Arsenal runs out in 2011?
Pigs will be landing at Heathrow, and Spurs will win the League. Arsene wants to be involved in the day-to-day running of a team. He might go back to coaching young players. My own feeling is that he’ll have to be kicked out of the Arsenal beforehand.
How do your fellow countrymen see Arsenal? Are they generally proud of the club and its strong french connections, both player and administrative-wise? or the complete opposite, standing against the policies put in place at Ashburton Grove?
Arsenal is often described as ‘Ligue 1’s 21st club’. The club has a hugesupport in France (for fairly obvious reasons). Earlier this year, when France-Football commissioned a poll to find out which foreign team French
football fans liked the best, Arsenal came a close second behind Real Madrid, a long way ahead of any other English club. Wenger’s prudent policy is also widely considered a model of sound management, especially in the current economic climate, whatever Platini may say. 3 out of 4 L’Equipe readers came out in favour of Wenger in the ridiculous spat that was initiated by the UEFA chairman. Need I say more?
Part two of the interview will include Philippe’s views on the latest crop of young talent as well as his views on Michel Platini’s comments towards Arsene Wenger!
Many thanks to Philippe for agreeing to take part in this interview. We remind all visitors of Gooner Talk that you can listen to Messrs Auclair on RMCinfo of 21(GMT) until midnight. You can also read his remarkable articles on FranceFootball dealing with the Premier League and English football in general. Part 2 of the interview will appear on the blog Sunday afternoon!England Women beat Scotland 32-0 in Glasgow
Harriet Millar-Mills shines in five try domination
Harriet Millar-Mills scored twice as England beat Scotland 32-0 in the opening round of the Women's Six Nations Championship in Cumbernauld, Glasgow.
The 24 year old back-row forward scored two of England's five tries either side of half time as they dominated the home side on a rainy evening in Scotland.
Substitute Lucy Demaine also got on the score sheet to mark her dream debut in a white shirt and La Toya Mason orchestrated the tempo of the match from scrum half on her 50th appearance.
England will march to Rome next week on the back of a comfortable victory and having beaten the Italians 39-7 last year, a title challenge could be on the horizon.
Marvelous Millar-Mills
The Bristol blindside flanker earned herself player of the match with a stunning performance in the set piece and breakdown.
"It's amazing," said Millar-Mills (pictured). "I don't know what to say it's the end of the game and I'm knackered but I've never got player of the match before. Chuffed."
La Toya Mason showed her experience and composure to set up Millar-Mills for her first try from the back of a scrum.
"It was awesome play off the scrum, Sarah Hunter ran off it and La Toya did an awesome pass to put me in the space and the second one I think the full back over chased and Lotte (Clapp) shouted at me to go and I went and did what I was told."
Defensive dominance
England battled hard in the first half to frustrate Scotland with a high intensity in defence which forced mistakes to creep into the Scottish play.
Scotland came close to scoring on a number of occasions in the first half but England's organisation and maturity in their style of play kept them in control and they were able to capatalise on Scotland's errors to earn a 15-0 lead by half time.
England's Lead Coach Scott Bemand said: "Scotland turned up to try and play, our biggest plus was our energy in defence managing to shut out a pretty spirited Scotland team. A good contest but we got what we came here for."CRATER LAKE — Crater Lake National Park broke a 67-year record for December snowfall this month, with close to 197 inches recorded.
According to the National Weather Service, 196.7 inches of snow have fallen at the park this month, breaking the previous record of 196 inches set in December 1948, when Harry S. Truman was president and Alaska and Hawaii had not yet been granted statehood.
And this year, it came with perks.
"We almost got the best of everything with this," said meteorologist Ryan Sandler. "We got a good buildup of snowpack, a decent amount of heavy rain at the low elevations for the month, yet we didn't really see much flooding.
"It really worked out almost perfect for us as far as trying to break the drought."
The park currently boasts about 100 inches of snowpack. The readings are taken in an area near the park's visitor center.
The record was last threatened in December 1996, when 195 inches of snow fell. In January 1997, flooding plagued the region, but Sandler said he doesn't expect that to happen this time around.
"The big difference was it was colder this month, and a lot of snow fell at lower elevations," he said. "And we had a drought, so the soil was dry. That helped."
A long-term forecast predicts southwest Oregon will see close to average snowfall and precipitation in January, with a slightly wetter-than-normal period through March.
"That's a big difference for fire season in the mountains," Sandler said.
The park's west and south entrances off Highway 62 remain open, as does the highway to park headquarters, and the route from park headquarters to Rim Village, according to the park's website. The north entrance, the west and east rim drives, and Pinnacles Road are closed for the winter.
Reach reporter Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or rpfeil@mailtribune.com. Follow him at www.twitter.com/ryanpfeil.Samuel Pierpont Langley, pictured above, is not a household name, but, if history meandered a little differently, he’d be known by every schoolchild in America, if not the world. Langley, a pioneer in the field of aviation, spent over a decade in the late 1800s exploring manned flight. By 1898, his models had shown so much promise that both the War Department and the Smithsonian issued him grants, totaling $70,000 (nearly $2 million in today’s money) to create what the Smithsonian would later describe as “the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled, sustained flight with a pilot aboard.”
He failed, spectacularly — twice. On October 7, 1903, and again on December 8 of the same year, Langley’s plane, the Aerodome, attempted to take flight over the Potomac River in Maryland. Both times, the plane, after being catapulted into the sky (that’s how it took off), immediately crashed down into the river. Its pilot, Charles Manly, was unhurt, but Langley and team probably could not say the same for their egos. The public thought Langley’s ideas to be a farce, and had no trouble saying so.
Which turned out to be the actual farce.
On October 9, 1903, two days after Langley’s and Manly’s first failed attempt at flight, the New York Times penned an editorial (pdf here; scroll down for its start) headlined “Flying Machines Which Do Not Fly,” poking fun at their attempts. The paper made light of Manly’s cork jacket (which ended up becoming an unintentional life preserver), noted that the airplane “gradually curved downward until it disappeared, ‘plunk,’ as a small boy would say,” and called the entire attempt a “ridiculous fiasco” which was “not unexpected” except by Langley and his team. The Times was so certain that Langley’s failure was inevitable — even |
that revealed how protein receptors pass signals between living cells and the environment won the prize for Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka.
2011 - Dan Schechtman received the prize for discovering the "impossible" structure of quasicrystals.
2010 - Richard Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki were recognised for developing new ways of linking carbon atoms together.David Semel is set to direct and executive produce the opening episode of the upcoming Star Trek reboot series. The episode will air on CBS for a broadcast debut of the series in January 2017, before it moves to its permanent home, CBS All Access.
Created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman, the new Star Trek hails from CBS TV Studios where Semel is under an overall deal. Semel has a strong track record at CBS, helming three consecutive pilots that have gone to series which will be on the network’s fall schedule: returning Madam Secretary and Code Black and new medical drama Pure Genius. Other pilots he has directed that have gone to series include CBS’ Person Of Interest and Intelligence as well as Heroes, Legends, No Ordinary Family and American Dreams.
Semel also recently helmed the opening episodes of two high-profile straight-to-series Amazon drama series: breakout The Man In The High Castle, which has been renewed for a second season, and David E. Kelley’s upcoming Goliath starring Billy Bob Thornton.
Fuller, who serves as showrunner on the new Star Trek series, executive produces with Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth. More news about the show, which features new characters, is expected during the Star Trek Comic-Con panel on Saturday.
Semel is repped by WME and attorney Bruce Gellman.As an unabashed fanboy of Joss Whedon's creations on TV ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel"), film ("Serenity") and the internet ("Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog"), I was thrilled to get to speak to him. Considering the subject was "The Avengers," it was truly a trip to nerd paradise. In my full interview with Whedon, we talked about the challenges of working with an ensemble of A-list stars, how he developed the individual stories for Robert Downey Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson, and the week of filming he thought would prove he was bullet-proof (and the subsequent scenes that proved him wrong).
Matt McDaniel: You have done a lot of work with big ensembles before, but this is the first time coming into a group of pre-established characters and actors. How is that different than working with a group that you created from the ground-up?
Joss Whedon: Well, in some ways it's the same, because if you are ever working with a group you have created from ground-up, they feel they have been created already and they exist and the actors have already researched the roles. So it has a great similarity to working on anything, like a show you run.
But the difference, obviously, is not just that they played the parts before, but they are all super famous. And so you have the question of whether or not you are going to earn their trust. Whether or not they are going to bother to give you that. But ultimately, once you establish that fairly early on, that you have a real collaboration going, it really isn't that different.
MM: So what was that process like of earning the trust of these really well-established actors?
JW: Well, first of all, because they've played parts and because in some way we were creating a new vision of the part, I sat down with every one of them to talk about my ideas and their desires before I wrote the script, and that's very useful too.
So they knew from the ground-up that they were collaborating on it. And the things that didn't make sense to them or didn't work to them, they were like, "Well, I don't want to stress that part of my character. We have done that before." All of that stuff I could honor.
And then it's a question of making them heard, and then ultimately making them understand that there are things you are not going to budge on that are your vision. And once they know they are part of it, but you actually have a vision, and you are not just trying to tell them what they want to hear -- that it's all working towards one purpose, one story, one idea -- then I feel, yeah, you are doing fine.
MM: I have heard from people who have worked with him before that Robert Downey Jr. likes to keep things sort of fresh and fast. How did your two methods of working fit into each others'?
JW: Well, we have very different methods. But working as a showrunner, working as a script doctor, working in sitcoms -- a lot of my work has been coming up with stuff on the fly. Like fixing as we go, improvising, being open to a new idea. So Robert and I would spend -- we worked specifically towards both of our processes, so that we would beat out a scene so that he was very comfortable with where it was going or what was being said and very aware of where it would fit in the whole. And I would give him stuff to say, and by and large, he would say it.
But then there were always pockets where we had some wiggle room for him to play, or ask for options, and if he said, "Can we do something else here?" I could give him four or five options by the time he had his makeup on. Because that's actually fun for me, that frantic scramble.
We would try different things. He is very collaborative. He loves notes. He loves to be guided and worked with. He is not trying to steamroller over me. He is really trying to create it side-by-side with me. So it ended up being a really healthy and delightful collaboration.
MM: Now, you said you talked to everybody sort of about their character, was there sort of an aspect or facet of Tony Stark that Robert brought up that you hadn't considered before?
JW: I think the conversations were largely about "Where is Tony now?" Like, "Who is he now? Where is he [going] from 'Iron Man 2' towards 'Iron Man 3'?" He is such a well-delineated character, so it was really a question of, "What do we want to stress and what do we want to say? We have said that, we have done that, so let's not go there."It’s that time again with our usual quick round-up article post on distributor Anime Limited. A fair amount has happened since the last update so here we go!
New Podcast Episode
To celebrate the Christmas season the folks at Anime Limited have done another podcast episode that covers their favourite events of the year, a Love Live! Sunshine quiz and also answering a fair amount of questions. You can listen to the podcast here.
A fair amount of our readers have requested a quick round-up on any of the important info that was answered during the Q&A segment so we’ve noted some of them here:
There is currently no official list for the titles that are no longer with Anime Limited in terms of the Crunchyroll x Funimation partnership. The reason is because they are waiting for full confirmation on what exactly they have from the deal, but they did mention that they intend to put one out hopefully in 2018. Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- is confirmed to be fine at least, with plans for a potential Q2 2018 release for the first half of the series. They’re also waiting for the English dub to be scheduled in North America. You can watch Re:ZERO on Crunchyroll.
is confirmed to be fine at least, with plans for a potential Q2 2018 release for the first half of the series. They’re also waiting for the English dub to be scheduled in North America. You can watch Re:ZERO on Crunchyroll. The list of Crunchyroll titles that Anime Limited had licensed are as follows ( Red highlighted titles are confirmed to be no longer with the distributor): Ace Attorney Bungo Stray Dogs Free! Iwatobi Swim Club Joker Game Kiznaiver (CR x Aniplex title) Mob Psycho 100 Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju Sound! Euphonium The Testament of Sister New Devil The Testament of Sister New Devil Burst Twin Star Exorcists
highlighted titles are confirmed to be no longer with the distributor): High School Fleet is currently mentioned for a potential 2018 release. The Spring 2016 show is one of Aniplex’s titles so in terms of when it will get released you won’t expect it for quite some time. Now we are speculating that Aniplex of America may be waiting on clearance to get the OVA episodes released back in March & May 2017 before releasing the series on Blu-ray, however there is currently no word if Aniplex will even bother bringing the series on home video at all at the time of this article. You can check out High School Fleet over on Crunchyroll.
is currently mentioned for a potential 2018 release. The Spring 2016 show is one of Aniplex’s titles so in terms of when it will get released you won’t expect it for quite some time. Now we are speculating that Aniplex of America may be waiting on clearance to get the OVA episodes released back in March & May 2017 before releasing the series on Blu-ray, however there is currently no word if Aniplex will even bother bringing the series on home video at all at the time of this article. You can check out High School Fleet over on Crunchyroll. Don’t expect any sort of release with regards to the Hell Girl series from Anime Limited, as the show sold poorly during its initial release. It’s also worth noting that Hell Girl is an Aniplex title so the licensing would probably be even more problematic. In North America, Funimation released the first season while Sentai released the second & third seasons, all three seasons are now out of print. Aniplex of America have the rights to the fourth season (which is available on Crunchyroll).
series from Anime Limited, as the show sold poorly during its initial release. It’s also worth noting that Hell Girl is an Aniplex title so the licensing would probably be even more problematic. In North America, Funimation released the first season while Sentai released the second & third seasons, all three seasons are now out of print. Aniplex of America have the rights to the fourth season (which is available on Crunchyroll). Thanks to Amazon, Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Netflix, the prices for anime are apparently 10-20 times larger than distributors would normally pay for (this mention was in response to the Hell Girl question, plus they also brought up that Red Garden from MVM sold really poorly at first).
from MVM sold really poorly at first). Anime Limited have expressed interest in rescuing titles from the ADV Films / Revelation Films era. In fact they have rescued three titles from ADV currently scheduled for Q1 2018; Chrono Crusade, Kino’s Journey, & Peacemaker Kurogane (we’ve added the streaming links to each title if you want a taste for each one!). While some folks might think the idea of rescuing titles from that era is pointless because of the US versions available, it’s worth pointing out that a number of titles Funimation had rescued from the ADV era are slowly going out of print – Excel Saga is one recent example.
,, & (we’ve added the streaming links to each title if you want a taste for each one!). While some folks might think the idea of rescuing titles from that era is pointless because of the US versions available, it’s worth pointing out that a number of titles Funimation had rescued from the ADV era are slowly going out of print – Excel Saga is one recent example. Riddle Story of Devil is just an ‘Amazon delist’ and not a cancellation for those wondering. You can watch the show on Crunchyroll.
is just an ‘Amazon delist’ and not a cancellation for those wondering. You can watch the show on Crunchyroll. The idea of rescuing or licensing older titles like Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho is down to demand in terms of whether they would like to go after them or not.
Aniplex titles March comes in like a Lion (Season 1) and Silver Spoon are currently being worked on in terms of home video for the UK, you can watch both shows on Crunchyroll here and here. Sword Art Online the Movie -Ordinal Scale- is set for Early 2018.
Stock Updates
It’s time for another update on the stock for our favourite things – the collector’s editions.
So, completely out of nowhere, the popular series Blood Blockade Battlefront just sold out on all of the stock for the collector’s edition so it is now out of print with no plans for any reprints of that specific edition (a standard edition should follow at some point).
In addition the CG film Expelled From Paradise also sold out on all of the stock during the end of the 12 Days of Christmas sale (we mentioned that it was under the ‘Soon to be OOP’ list for a couple of weeks) for the collector’s edition. Like BBB, a standard edition Blu-ray should follow at some point.
And finally (and I mean literally) the film HAL also went out of print. Literally this title has been under the ‘Soon to be OOP’ list for probably half a year now. Apparently a number of customers had to receive cancellations due to stock going missing during the 12 Days of Christmas sale which may explain the sudden OOP notice.
Other titles in the ‘Soon to be Out of Print‘ section:
12 Days of Christmas Stock Updates
Now in case you haven’t been paying any attention to Anime Limited’s social media, there were some unexpected delays for the shipment on select titles from the 12 Days of Christmas sale. Most notably Days 9 & 11. Day 9 did eventually have select titles dispatched and Day 11’s Noein also for the fans, but the rest are not expected to be shipped out until as soon as around January 2nd when fulfilment is open.
Day 12 mystery boxes did dispatch in-time for Christmas and a majority of the customers have received theirs, but we know that the local post office in various zones throughout the region have caused a fair bit of delay so not everyone had received it. Which is why we added a [SPOILER] tag for the Mystery Box Blu-ray article earlier in the week. In fact one of the titles had to be switched with another due to stock issues.
And that is it for the latest update from the distributor. Don’t forget you can now pre-order some of the newer additions to the Q1 2018 schedule on Amazon UK.
That’s it from us and hope you all have a Merry Christmas!Image credit: Benedikt Geyer.
Recently, research from the University of Colorado has shown that heart failure and stroke development can be reduced by increasing coffee consumption.
Through machine learning, Laura Stevens, a doctoral student at the University Of Colorado School Of Medicine, and her colleagues analyzed data from the Framingham Heart Study. It showed that drinking one more cup of coffee compared to non-drinkers lowered risks of heart failure by 7% and stroke by 8%.
Although coffee consumption has been linked to reduced heart failure and stroke even after being verified using the Cardiovascular Heart Study and the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, they are not 100% accurate.
Quote from Laura Stevens "It is important to note that this type of study design demonstrates an observed association, but does not prove cause and effect."
Read more about this fascinating story at: www.sci-news.comHillary Clinton said her "skin crawled" when President Trump stood behind her as she answered questions during the second presidential debate last year, she reveals in her new book.
In an excerpt from her forthcoming memoir "What Happened" obtained and broadcasted by MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Wednesday morning, Clinton details her thinking during the second debate, which took place at Washington University in St. Louis one month before the election.
"It was incredibly uncomfortable. He was literally breathing down my neck. My skin crawled," Clinton writes. "It was one of those moments where you wish you could hit pause and ask everyone watching, ‘Well, what would you do? Do you stay calm; keep smiling and carry on as if he weren't repeatedly invading your space? Or do you turn, look him in the eye and say loudly and clearly, ‘Back up, you creep, get away from me. I know you love to intimidate women, but you can't intimidate me, so back up.'"
Clinton said she ultimately decided to remain calm, as her decision was "aided by a lifetime of dealing with difficult men trying to throw me off."
The former Democratic presidential nominee also detailed why she decided to write a memoir on the 2016 presidential election.
"I want to pull back the curtain on an experience that was exhilarating, joyful, infuriating, and just plain humbling," Clinton said. "Every day I was a candidate for president, I knew millions of people were counting on me. And I couldn't bear the idea of letting them down. But I did. I couldn't get the job done, and I'll have to live with that for the rest of my life."Moving toward a more secure web is a well-known Google initiative. Every now and then, Google finds a new way to encourage website owners to go secure by:
While Google is giving you a nudge and trying to be as helpful as possible, so many things can go wrong when switching a site from HTTP to HTTPS. Underestimating the challenge can lead to a disaster.
You must plan each and every step and test thoroughly for a smooth landing. This post will teach you the best practices and common pitfalls you need to know for a stress-free HTTPS migration.
What Is HTTPS?
HTTPS is being used for communication over Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) with an ‘S’ in the end that stands for ‘Secure.’ Adopting HTTPS, you provide your users with three key layers of protection:
Authentication prevents ‘man-in-the-middle’ attacks and provides a guarantee one is communicating with the exact website that was intended.
prevents ‘man-in-the-middle’ attacks and provides a guarantee one is communicating with the exact website that was intended. Encryption provides privacy by encrypting the exchanged data. This ensures that conversations won’t be eavesdropped and the information won’t be stolen.
provides privacy by encrypting the exchanged data. This ensures that conversations won’t be eavesdropped and the information won’t be stolen. Data integrity prevents data from being unnoticeably modified or corrupted during the transfer.
Why Migrate to HTTPS?
Apart from security as the key priority, there are several more things to consider:
Private and secure online experience is what users expect while visiting your site, and user trust is a truly valuable asset for a business.
online experience is what users expect while visiting your site, and user trust is a truly valuable asset for a business. Some awesome updates like HTTP/2 (which you can really benefit from, speed-wise) are only supported over HTTPS in some browsers.
like HTTP/2 (which you can really benefit from, speed-wise) are only supported over HTTPS in some browsers. Ranking boost may be a good incentive, as Google hints on strengthening HTTPS signal in the future.
At this point, you might move on from having doubts to planning a migration. You need a well thought-out plan to make your HTTPs migration painless.
Before You Migrate to HTTPS
Crawling the Website and Drafting a Plan
Initial conditions may vary: You may have a 5-page fresh website built with one CMS or a huge website with 10+ years of changes behind the shoulders and several independent units to migrate (for our team, that was the case). Either way, the first step to take is to carefully crawl your website in full. This will help you evaluate the current state of the site and visualize its structure.
While doing that, consider all the technologies or CMSs underlying each area of your website, and make a list of all the units that need to be approached separately. In addition, make a list of all things that may break upon migration (these may be payment gateways, downloadables, external scripts, APIs, and others). Before even starting, you should identify the most vulnerable things to check on, first thing after migration.
Checking the Rankings
While Google works out the changes, you’ll inevitably hit some ranking turbulence. There’s no cure to that, but nothing to worry about either, as things should get back to normal shortly if everything’s done right.
Yet, to be able to check the impact carefully and make sure it was just a short-term fluctuation, you need to have some pre-migration history at hand. While planning a switch, make sure to check the rankings daily for around a week to get the comprehensive picture of where your website normally stands.
To avoid googling for ‘why have my rankings dropped‘ later, you can do one more handy thing: Check all the keywords your website is ranking for and group the ranking pages by the website areas they belong to. This will help you track down the reason in case of any significant decline in rankings afterward by detecting the troublesome area at a glance.
Choosing the Right Deployment Option
Once you have a draft of your website and a primary plan, you may move on to choosing the right deployment option.
If you’re lion-hearted, you may deploy the changes to the production environment directly. This way all the changes will be available to users at once, but any overlooked bugs will come along with it, live.
A more deliberate move is to deploy the changes to the development environment and then, once you over-test it, to the production website.
The most expensive and time-consuming option is setting up a staging environment to test the changes on the fully functional ‘mirror’ of your website before merging it with the production website.
You can choose any of the options depending on the complexity and other specifics of your site, but you probably won’t regret choosing the last option if the potential bugs that may pop up cannot be counted on the fingers of one hand.
The most expensive and time-consuming option is setting up a staging environment to test the changes on the fully functional “mirror” of your website before merging it with the production website. You can choose any of the options depending on the complexity and other specifics of your site, but you probably won’t regret choosing the latter if the potential bugs that may pop up cannot be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Getting the HTTPs Certificate
To enable HTTPS for your website you’ll need to get and configure the required SSL/TLS certificates on your server.
Start with choosing a trusted certificate provider (ideally, the one that offers tech support). Then, make sure to choose the right level of security: Google recommends getting a certificate with a 2048-bit key, or upgrading to it, in case you have one with a weaker 1024-bit key at the moment.
Depending on your website, decide between a single (for a single domain), multi-domain (multiple well-known subdomains), or wildcard certificate (many dynamic subdomains). Once you get the certificate, make sure to deploy it properly and configure it following the best practices.
SEO Considerations & Best Practices Before Deployment
Once the certificate is deployed, configured, and tested (and surely is working great), it’s time to set server-side 301 redirects to the HTTPS version of your website to prevent anyone (either a user or a search engine bot) from landing on an HTTP page from now on. Once you finish with the migration, none of the pages or resources should be available in both versions, as this may lead to duplicate content issues and, ultimately, will send confusing signals to search engines.
After the redirects are implemented, there goes a list of things to check and fix respectively.
Preventing Crawling & Indexing Issues
You want Google to know that you’re migrating to HTTPs. So next you should:
Revise your robots.txt and make sure you haven’t restricted your HTTPS pages.
and make sure you haven’t restricted your HTTPS pages. Check the HTTPS pages for any unmeant noindex tags.
Once everything seems to be in order, double check it. At this point, it would be wise to scan your website with any site audit tool that allows crawling on behalf of Googlebot, and glance over your site like you’re Google.
Getting Rid of Unnecessary Redirect Chains
Your website probably has a bunch of redirects already; as you migrate and enforce HTTPS, some may become unnecessary. If you have a www page redirected to non-www and now, additionally, to https non-www, you can see which link of the chain may be eliminated to improve the speed.
Slow load times due to excessive redirects may cause users to leave your site and hurt your rankings, so don’t neglect that step. While you’re there, you may as well check on whether all redirects lead to the relevant pages.
Canonicals, Alternates, Hreflangs
Misleading tags are a more potential source of confusion for Google. Therefore, you should take special care with the tags across your pages and make sure none is referencing HTTP anymore.
After the migration, all rel=canonical tags should point to proper HTTPS URLs. If your website is using rel=alternate or hreflang tags, all of those should be taken care of before going live, too.
Fixing Mixed Content Issues
By now you have the pages forced to load over HTTPS.
However, let’s say a user is visiting an HTTPS page which features an image, a script, or any other kind of content that is being retrieved through HTTP. Initially, the page was supposed to be secure, but any unencrypted resource present on it serves as an open door for sniffers and man-in-the-middle attackers.
That’s what mixed content is. Apart from causing an unattractive warning in a browser, it can actually render the protection worthless.
Commonly, mixed content is being divided into passive and active, depending on the impact of the worst-case scenario. In a nutshell, an image or a video (passive) can be swapped, or simply load broken; a link, a script, or other kinds of active mixed content may enable an attacker to intercept the request and rewrite the contents or steal sensitive user data.
To be safe and sound, you should revise all the internal links and all the assets your website relies on, and make sure they are only referencing HTTPS. Each of the following resources should either have an absolute HTTPS URL or a relative path:
Internal images, videos or audios
Web fonts
Iframes
Internal JS and CSS files inside the HTML code
inside the HTML code Images, fonts, and any other internal URLs inside the JS and CSS files
Open Graph tags
tags Any absolute URL references in the Structured Data used on the website (as well as Schema.org references)
used on the website (as well as Schema.org references) Any other internal links
Fixing mixed content all over the website can be a whole lot of work to do. However, it’s crucial to arm yourself with patience and not to overlook any tiny thing, as you totally wouldn’t want to end up in a scenario where the operation was a success but the patient died.
Social Media Counters
On some of your pages, you probably have the social sharing buttons implemented. On the newly created pages, they will work just fine, but you may probably want to preserve the social proof your older pages earned in their HTTP past.
What you should keep in mind is that after the migration some of the counters will turn out to be totally HTTPS-friendly while others may reset to zero. This may force you to either look for an elegant hack or abandon the old numbers altogether.
Getting Ready & Steady
Test everything thoroughly again. Crawl the website anew with all the pages, resources, and links, and make sure nothing got hurt. Look for any pages or resources that could have got broken accidentally or still load over HTTP, for any mistaken redirects that lead to HTTP URLs, or just improper pages.
Finally, be wise choosing the time to deploy the changes. You don’t want to do it on the first day of your annual sale or a Friday evening. Once your new site goes live, you should be ready to react immediately to whatever bugs may pop up.
Best Practices After Deployment
Congratulations, your new HTTPS site went live with a shiny green lock on it! Now it’s time to go through a basic quality assurance list:
Re-crawl the website again and make sure all pages and resources return the 200 Successful Status Code and are served over HTTPS.
the website again and make sure all pages and resources return the and are served over HTTPS. Get back to the vulnerabilities checklist formed during the preparation. Test all of them closely.
Let Google Know You’ve Moved
Google views an HTTPS migration as a site move with a URL change. So now you should add the new HTTPS property to your Google Search Console. HTTP and HTTPS are treated separately and don’t share the data.
Next, generate a fresh new sitemap featuring the HTTPS URLs and submit it to Google.
Finally, transfer the other settings to the new property, such as URL parameters list and disavow file.
Bottom Line
If you follow this guide, you’l be able to mark all these crucial tasks as “done” while staying away from the common pitfalls.
Before you move on to the long-awaited champagne part, just let things settle a bit. Continue testing.
Watch out for bugs and fix any instantly. Monitor the changes closely to make sure the indexation process is going well and traffic/rankings are getting back to normal.
You shouldn’t expect any perceptible ranking boost due to the switch; nevertheless, if you make it through the migration with no drama, no harm to rankings and no drastic traffic drop, you already are a champion.
So, good luck, and may the traffic curve be stable!
More on HTTPS:
Image Credits
Featured Image and in-post photos 1 & 2: DepositPhotos
In-post image 3 is by the author.Those wishing to express outrage can do so at Showdown In Chicago on October 25-27.
Showdown is a series of demonstrations when thousands of Americans - retirees, farmers, workers, homeowners, renters, students, clergy, and small business owners - come together on the streets of Chicago to demand a banking system that puts the American people first and a Congress that makes it happen!
Dean Baker, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, says Won't You Please Come to Chicago?
A bill that would require the Fed to disclose what it did with more than $2 trillion in loans to banks and other financial institutions was originally co-sponsored by Ron Paul and Alan Grayson, one of the most conservative and one of the most progressive members of Congress. Due to public pressure, it now has more than 270 co-sponsors.
Reining in the power of the financial industry will be a long hard fought war, but it is one that must be fought.Opinion That California drought - it's terrible, isn't it? But there's nothing to be done. If it doesn't rain for a few years, and doesn't snow up in the mountains, Californians must just yield to Mother Nature and stop watering their lawns, stop washing their cars, maybe even stop growing those delicious but thirsty almonds.
Or... must they? It doesn't seem very American to just meekly give up on such iconic indulgences as carwashes, lawn watering and almonds. One might think that the muscular spirit of US techno-capitalism would find some way around this problem. This, after all, is the nation that put men on the Moon, the nation which militarily outspent the Soviet Union while enjoying a far higher standard of living, the nation which really started the idea that even ordinary scumbags like you and me are allowed to have cars to wash and lawns to water.
But it's a big problem. No less an authority than NASA, having used satellites to scan the depleted watersheds of California, has stated that it would take no less than 11 TRILLION gallons of nice fresh water to sort out the Golden State and eliminate the current drought. That's an awful lot of water - and you can't just make drinking water, can you?
Of course you can: this isn't the dark ages. Seventy per cent of the planet is covered in seawater, and handily a lot of that is right next to California's biggest cities. Seawater can be desalinated to make nice fresh water - and you don't have to distil it either. Reverse-osmosis technology has been scalable since the 1980s.
But hey - desalination means using energy, right? And a lot of desalination means a lot of energy. And energy use is bad, because carbon. Anyway, enough energy to desalinate 11 TRILLION gallons would be a ridiculous, unfeasible amount. It could never be affordable. Right?
Let's find out.
So, in general it takes 7 kilowatt-hours to desalinate an entire tonne (1000 litres) of seawater in a reverse-osmosis plant. Thus the clever Dr Wolfram tells us we would need 994 trillion BTUs* of energy to desalinate the necessary 11 trillion gallons.
That sounds like a lot of energy. But is it?
Not so much - not to a state like California, which according to the most recent figures gets through a cool 7,684.1 trillion BTUs of energy every single year. You could up that by 12 per cent for just one year and completely eliminate the drought. Or up it by 2 per cent for six years, etc.
If you liked you could consider public supplies separately, as most Californian freshwater use is for agriculture. Public supply requirements are less than 8 billion gallons a day in California, as opposed to the 22bn gals a day the farmers need.
How much energy would it take to desalinate all of the public supply, and let the farmers have all the water from the hills?
Dr Wolfram tells us: 264 trillion BTU annually, or a measly 3 per cent of the energy California already uses.
What would it cost?
$13.61 per month per Californian, using the Energy Information Administration's cost figure.
Real world, you'd never need to let the farmers have all the rain and snow, and you'd use brackish water rather than sea brine - so the energy-bill figure would be a lot lower and the increase in carbon emissions would be insignificant, less than normal annual variation. On the other hand, the cost of building the desalination plants would push up the bills in the early years.
For context, though, typical Californian water bills are already in the $40-$70 per month range - and regarded as cheap at the price, correctly so for one of the wealthiest populations in the world.
What have we learned today?
California doesn't need to be having a drought at all right now. There is no real requirement for Californians to do without lawns or pools or carwashes. They may choose to, or have the choice made for them by lazy politicians and water companies - but it's a choice not a necessity, and it seems like an odd choice to make when the costs of not having to make it are so small.
And it's not just Californians. There's no reason for developed-world citizens living within reasonable reach of seas or estuaries to ever lack for water. Nonetheless, unnecessary "droughts" - actually, failures by politicians and water companies - happen in London too. ®
*Strangely perhaps, the US government prefers to use British Thermal Units. In Britain, by contrast, the kilowatt-hour and its derivatives are favoured.A typical representation of forgetting curves.
The forgetting curve hypothesizes the decline of memory retention in time. This curve shows how information is lost over time when there is no attempt to retain it.[1] A related concept is the strength of memory that refers to the durability that memory traces in the brain. The stronger the memory, the longer period of time that a person is able to recall it. A typical graph of the forgetting curve purports to show that humans tend to halve their memory of newly learned knowledge in a matter of days or weeks unless they consciously review the learned material.
The forgetting curve supports one of the seven kinds of memory failures: transience, which is the process of forgetting that occurs with the passage of time.[2]
History [ edit ]
From 1880 to 1885, Hermann Ebbinghaus ran a limited, incomplete study on himself and published his hypothesis in 1885 as Über das Gedächtnis (later translated into English as Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology). Ebbinghaus studied the memorisation of nonsense syllables, such as "WID" and "ZOF" (CVCs or Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) by repeatedly testing himself after various time periods and recording the results. He plotted these results on a graph creating what is now known as the "forgetting curve".
Ebbinghaus's publication also included an equation to approximate his forgetting curve:
b = 100 × 1.84 ( l o g 10 t ) 1.25 + 1.84 {\displaystyle b=100\times {\frac {1.84}{(log_{10}t)^{1.25}+1.84}}}
Here, b {\displaystyle b} represents 'Savings' expressed as a percentage, and t {\displaystyle t} represents time in minutes. Savings is defined as the relative amount of time saved on the second learning trial as a result of having had the first. A savings of 100% would indicate that all items were still known from the first trial. A 75% savings would mean that relearning missed items required 25% as long as the original learning session (to learn all items). 'Savings' is thus, analogous to retention rate.
In 2015, an attempt to replicate the forgetting curve with one study subject has shown the experimental results similar to Ebbinghaus' original data.[3]
Description [ edit ]
Ebbinghaus hypothesized that the speed of forgetting depends on a number of factors such as the difficulty of the learned material (e.g. how meaningful it is), its representation and physiological factors such as stress and sleep. He further hypothesized that the basal forgetting rate differs little between individuals. He concluded that the difference in performance (e.g. at school) can be explained by mnemonic representation skills.
He went on to hypothesize that basic training in mnemonic techniques can help overcome those differences in part. He asserted that the best methods for increasing the strength of memory are:
better memory representation (e.g. with mnemonic techniques) repetition based on active recall (especially spaced repetition).
His premise was that each repetition in learning increases the optimum interval before the next repetition is needed (for near-perfect retention, initial repetitions may need to be made within days, but later they can be made after years). Later research suggested that, other than the two factors Ebbinghaus proposed, higher original learning would also produce slower forgetting.[4]
Spending time each day to remember information, such as that for |
acies of Bajoran religion and politics. Delving into such themes was a brave experiment on the part of creators Rick Berman and Michael Piller and showrunner Ira Steven Behr, but the show’s real brilliance began to show through from its magnificent fourth season onwards, when Worf’s arrival on the station brought some much-needed Klingon verve to proceedings, and as the sinister presence of the Dominion – oppressive rulers of the Gamma Quadrant and the people of mysterious station security officer, Odo (Rene Auberjonois) – heralded a long and bloody conflict. DS9’s crew may have spent less time boldly going than their TNG counterparts, but they also proved that sometimes, true bravery lies in sticking around long enough to pick up the pieces. Or in sitting through one of the episodes about Chief O’Brien’s family, none of which were ever in any danger of making this list.
10. ‘Duet’ (season one – written by Peter Allan Fields, story by Lisa Rich and Jeanne Carrigan-Fauci, directed by James L. Conway)
“You have no idea what it’s like to be a coward. To see these horrors and do nothing.” – Aamin Marritza
Sisko’s Bajoran second-in-command, the former rebel fighter Major Kira Nerys, is forced to confront the man responsible for the horrors at the Cardassian labour camp on Gallitep when he arrives at the station, suffering from a disease he could only have contracted there. His claim to be Aamin Marritza, a mere filing clerk, is revealed to be false when photographic evidence suggests he is actually Gul Darhe’el, the camp’s brutal commandant. He confesses, apparently unrepentant – but there is far more to his story than meets the eye. This early episode introduced us to Kira’s murky former life as a member of the Bajoran resistance, while doing what all the best science fiction should: namely, allowing us to view real-life issues of genocide, imperialism and collective guilt through the prism of a fictional conflict. Powerful performances from Nana Visitor as Kira and Harris Yulin as Marritza/Darhe’el made this a clear standout from DS9’s first season. Mention must also be made of the brilliant Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat, the station’s former commander, whose mind games with both Sisko and Kira would only become more twisted – and more intriguing – with each season.
9. ‘Doctor Bashir, I Presume?’ (season five – written by Ronald D. Moore, story by Jimmy Diggs, directed by David Livingston)
“Why is everyone so worried about holograms taking over the universe?” – Dr. Lewis Zimmermann
A good crossover episode is always satisfying, and the opportunity to meet the creator of one of Star Trek: Voyager’s most endearing characters, the Emergency Medical Hologram, is too good to pass up. Dr. Lewis Zimmermann (Robert Picardo) is every bit as temperamental and pompous as the diagnostic tool made in his image, but lacks all the more appealing qualities fostered in the EMH by his contact with Voyager’s crew. More seriously for DS9, he also learns a dangerous secret about its likeable genius of a medic, Dr. Julian Bashir (Siddig El Fadil, aka Alexander Siddig). After initially playing the personality clash between Bashir and Zimmermann for laughs, the episode’s shock twist left us reappraising Bashir and finding new depth in a character who had previously been one of the series’ most lighthearted and affable personalities.
8. ‘The Way Of The Warrior’ (season four – written by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe, directed by James L. Conway)
Kira: “Looks like the Klingons are here to stay.”
Sisko: “Maybe they are, but so are we.”
Although connections between DS9 and TNG had been made before – Picard’s appearance in the series pilot, a fleeting visit from Q, the presence of Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney) – ‘The Way of the Warrior’ marks the arrival of one of TNG’s finest characters: the conflicted, brooding and sometimes unwittingly hilarious Commander Worf (Michael Dorn). Watching Worf interact with DS9’s established cast against an ominous backdrop of looming war between the Klingon Empire and Cardassia provides sufficient drama to launch DS9’s sublime fourth season into the stratosphere. Worf seemed truly at home on Deep Space Nine, even though his divided loyalties were never more apparent than here, as he was torn between the demands of his Klingon brethren and his respect for the Federation he had worked so hard to support. Michael Dorn summed up the episode most effectively when he stated that ‘the Klingons had finally gone nuts, basically’. They had, and DS9 was all the better for it.
7. ‘Our Man Bashir’ (season four – written by Ronald D. Moore, story by Robert Gillan, directed by Winrich Kolbe)
“Kiss the girl, get the key. They never taught me that in the Obsidian Order.” – Garak
Only one man was ever going to pass as a successful Bond-alike on DS9, and that was its suave doctor and holodeck obsessive, Julian Bashir. When a real secret agent – Cardassian tailor and superspy, Elim Garak – asks Bashir to let him observe the fun in Bashir’s ‘60s-themed simulation, both are shocked to find that several of the programs within it have been replaced by images of station personnel, whose identities have been storied within the holosuite after a near-catastrophic shuttle accident. Garak has his eyes opened to how much fun the spy game can be, Bashir gets to enjoy the company of a typically seductive Dax and an unusually amorous Kira, while Sisko gets to be a coolly menacing bad guy, Dr. Noah.
Intended as an affectionate homage to the spy genre, DS9 fell foul of MGM due to the similarities between its characters and a certain rather famous franchise, meaning that, sadly, the pastiche had to be a little more covert when the writers returned to this setting in the future. A shame, as DS9’s reputation for grimness was belied by the pure fun of episodes such as this. It also provided another outing for the irresistible pairing of Bashir and Garak. DS9’s supporting cast was always flawless, but Andrew Robinson’s portrayal of Garak as a man of endless mystery and impenetrable depths, as naturally appealing to the pure-hearted, boyishly enthusiastic young doctor as the latter was to him, made this one of the station’s most cherishable friendships.
6. ‘Trials and Tribbleations’ (season five – written by Ronald D. Moore and René Echevarria, story by Ira Steven Behr, Hans Beimler and Robert Hewitt Wolfe, directed by Jonathan West)
Dax: "He's so much more handsome in person. Those eyes!"
Sisko: "Kirk had quite the reputation as a ladies' man."
Dax: "Not him... Spock."
Speaking of pure fun, ‘Trials and Tribbleations’ could serve as the dictionary definition of the term. If ever a crew deserved to walk the hallowed halls of the first Enterprise, it was the crew of Deep Space Nine – and they got their chance when Arne Darvin, a surgically altered Klingon spy, went back in time for another chance to assassinate none other than the legendary Captain James Tiberius Kirk. Sisko and crew have to don the original series uniforms (cue much amusing confusion over the appropriate colours, as they forget that red serves more as a harbinger of doom than as a mark of command class in TOS). Worf’s lack of resemblance to 23rd-century Klingons baffles his crewmates, as does his people’s visceral loathing for that furry galactic menace, the Tribble. The top-notch editing techniques used here seamlessly intergrate the two crews, culminating in a supremely touching salute from one legendary captain to another, as Sisko does what even temporal investigator Dulmer (yes, and before you ask, his colleague’s called Lucsley) has to admit he would have done in his place. This high-concept, funny and sweet episode makes a bulletproof case against the charges of dystopian dullness often levelled at DS9.
5. ‘Little Green Men’ (season four)
“I know everything about you people...baseball, root beer, darts... atom bombs.” – Quark
As an unashamed lover of all things Ferengi, this episode couldn’t have thrilled me more. The marvellously conniving and avaricious Quark (Armin Shimerman), along with his sweet brother Rom (Max Grodénchik) and bright nephew Nog (Aron Eisenberg), finds himself stranded on the Earth of 1947, and is beside himself with glee at the prospect of all the things he can sell to a type of ‘hew-mon’ rather more gullible than those he has encountered before. Unfortunately, the hapless trio have landed in Roswell, at just the right time to spark off conspiracy theories by the dozen. Even more unfortunate, from Quark’s point of view, is the fact that the ever-suspicious Odo has stowed away on their shuttlecraft in order to spy on Quark’s shady business transactions. Another of the show’s wonderful tributes to classic genre fiction, ‘Little Green Men’ allowed us to see the Ferengi interact with a world altogether more to their liking than the sanitised Starfleet environment of the 2370s. The episode showcased the easy chemistry between Quark and family that would provide many more hilarious moments in the seasons to come; throwing Quark’s love-hate relationship with Odo into the mix was just the icing on the cake.
4. ‘Far Beyond The Stars’ (season six – written by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler, story by Marc Scott Zicree, directed by Avery Brooks)
“You are the dreamer, and the dream.” – The Preacher
In 1950s New York, science fiction writer Benny Russell finds himself struggling with racial discrimination, police brutality and the inertia of his well-meaning colleagues as he fights to bring his greatest story to life in the pages of Incredible Tales. His boss, however, is adamant; nobody wants to read about the adventures of Ben Sisko, the black captain of a space station called Deep Space Nine. Benny’s constant visions of a brighter future, peopled by all those he knows – albeit in very different guises – are overwhelming.
Meanwhile, aboard Deep Space Nine, Sisko is unconscious, but experiencing Benny’s life as if it were his own. Can Benny bring his dream to a wider audience, and can Sisko find the strength and purpose he needs to keep on fighting the apparently hopeless war against the Dominion? ‘Far Beyond The Stars’ is beautifully acted by its ensemble cast, and what a treat it is to see the whole crew minus prosthetics for once – Rene Auberjonois (Odo) excels as Benny’s obstinate boss, Douglas Pabst, and who knew Michael Dorn was such a charmer? The episode is a love letter to science fiction and its endless possibilities, confirming its status as a source of hope and optimism. After all, as Sisko says to his father, for all they know ‘at this very moment, somewhere far beyond all those distant stars, Benny Russell is dreaming of us.” Just for a moment, we join Ben Sisko in wondering which is the dream, and which is reality.
3. ‘It’s Only A Paper Moon’ (season seven – written by Ronald D. Moore, story by David Mack and John J. Ordover, directed by Anson Williams)
“Look, kid, I don’t know what’s going to happen to you out there. All I can tell you is that you’ve got to play the cards life deals you. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but at least you’re in the game.” – Vic Fontaine
You either love or loathe Vic Fontaine, and nothing I can say will persuade you one way or the other. For me, James Darren’s sci-fi pedigree (remember The Time Tunnel?) and air of charming insouciance made him the ideal holographic host for the increasingly damaged crew of Deep Space Nine as the war with the Dominion dragged on and on. An unusual episode in its focus on a supporting character, Nog, ‘It’s Only A Paper Moon’ focuses on the loveable Ferengi’s suffering as he recuperates following the loss of a leg in battle. Unable to share his pain even with his loving father, Rom, Nog retreats to Bashir’s ‘1960s Vegas’ holoprogram, finding solace in his discussions with laidback bar owner, Vic. However, as his family and friends grow increasingly concerned for Nog’s wellbeing, the empathetic hologram is going to have to pull out all the stops to give Nog his confidence back. A welcome change of pace from the horrors of season seven’s war arc, this episode was a brave study of post-traumatic stress and its devastating repercussions for an endearing character. Aron Eisenberg is justifiably proud of the positive feedback he’s said he received from war veterans on his powerful performance as the haunted Nog, in yet another of the richly layered, moving stories only DS9 tells so effectively.
2. ‘Once More Unto The Breach’ (season seven – written by Ronald D. Moore, directed by Allan Kroeker)
“When I reach the halls of the hallowed dead, I will find your beloved, and remind her that her husband is a noble warrior, and that he still loves no-one but her. Goodbye, my friend – live well.” – Kor
DS9 found yet another point of contact with the original Star Trek in the welcome guest appearances made by Kor, Kang and Koloth, three old Klingon adversaries of James T. Kirk’s and roistering mates of Jadzia Dax in her previous incarnation as the incorrigible Curzon. After Jadzia’s tragic death at the end of season six, a grieving Worf again crosses paths with Kor (John Colicos, otherwise known as the original Baltar in Battlestar Galactica) who requests that he find a place for him on Martok’s ship; he has fallen out of favour with the Empire. Martok loathes Kor due to a slight made against him many years before, and when Worf appoints Kor third officer on his own authority, the stage is set for a difficult mission. As Kor’s encroaching senility is revealed in front of his crewmates, the revered Da’har master must redeem himself by his noble sacrifice.
Klingon episodes are many things: violent, uproarious and often funny. Rarely, however, are they as deeply moving as this. Colicos’s superb performance as the elderly warrior is rendered all the more poignant by the knowledge that this was his final acting role before his death in 2000. He, Dorn and the excellent J.G. Hertzler as Martok bring grandeur, drama and pathos to a tale that explores the true nature of heroism. I don’t think you’re supposed to cry when Klingons sing, but then I am only a weak human, so no more can be expected. Perhaps the finest moment is the quiet tragedy of Kor’s growing confusion, displayed as, when fighting the Jem’Hadar, he exults in the opportunity to battle the Federation one more time, by the side of his friend, Kang... who has been dead for years.
1. ‘The Visitor’ (season four – written by Michael Taylor, directed by David Livingston)
“To my father, who’s coming home.” – Jake’s dedication
If you only ever watch one episode of DS9 – and you’d be a fool to stop there – then this should be it. ‘The Visitor’ is, quite simply, one of the finest hours of Star Trek ever made. We begin in the Louisiana bayou, where a young woman has sought out her favourite writer, an elderly Jake Sisko (played in old age by the magnificent Tony Todd, who also appeared in DS9 as Worf’s troubled brother, Kurn). She begs Jake to tell her why he stopped writing, and he takes her through the story of a terrible loss that has shaped his whole life. An accident aboard the station that apparently killed his father turned out to have doomed Sisko to a fate arguably worse than death; the captain’s been caught in a temporal inversion due to unusual activity in the Bajoran wormhole, and passes in and out of subspace at regular intervals separated by periods of several years, which to him pass by in moments. Jake tries everything to bring his adored father back, sacrificing his marriage and career to do so. On the night young Melanie visits him, Sisko is due to return, and Jake has one final plan to free his dad from his bizarre temporal limbo.
The unbreakable bond between Sisko and his only son (Cirroc Lofton) had been stressed many times, but ‘The Visitor’ confirmed it once and for all. Heartbreaking and thoroughly believable, with Lofton and Todd equally plausible as the broken Jake, everything here works, from the superlative acting to the pervasive air of melancholy. Sisko may be trapped in subspace, but Jake’s life has been held back by his inability to let go of his father, despite all Sisko’s pleas for his son to give up trying to save him. This episode only gains in emotional impact when rewatched with the knowledge that Ben Sisko will meet with a similar fate in the events of the series finale. Ira Steven Behr noted that the everlasting love here wasn’t a romance, but something altogether more relatable: the enduring devotion of a son to his father. Brilliant and beautiful, ‘The Visitor’ sums up everything that made DS9 so unforgettable.
Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum hereDrought Reveals Iraqi Archaeological Treasures
Enlarge this image toggle caption Ali Abbas for NPR Ali Abbas for NPR
Enlarge this image toggle caption Ali Omar for NPR Ali Omar for NPR
Enlarge this image toggle caption Ali Abbas for NPR Ali Abbas for NPR
Iraq is suffering one of the worst droughts in decades. While this is bad news for farmers, it is good news for archaeologists in the country.
The receding waters of the Euphrates River have revealed ancient archaeological sites, some of which were unknown until now.
For Ratib Ali al-Kubaisi, the director of Anbar province's Antiquities Department, the drought has opened up a whole new land of opportunity.
He explains that civilization began in Anbar, next to the Euphrates River.
"Everyone... thought that Anbar was only desert with no historical importance. But we discovered that this area is one of the most important archaeological areas in all of Iraq. This part of Iraq was the first to be settled," he says.
Flooding Covers Sites
In the mid-1980s, Saddam Hussein's government dammed the Euphrates in the area, flooding a 120-mile-long stretch of land near Iraq's border with Syria.
What once was an enormous reservoir that stretched as far as the eye could see has shrunk an astonishing 90 percent since summer, officials say.
Ratib says that at least 75 archeological sites had been partially excavated before the area was flooded. They ran the gamut of civilizations — from 3,000 B.C. to the Sumerian and Roman periods. Ancient Jewish settlements were also submerged in the area. But because of the receding waters, Ratib has been able to access some sites for the first time — including, for instance, a cliff with a series of pre-Christian tombs carved into its face. Though they have been heavily damaged by the water, Ratib says they still have value.
"I wish we could excavate these sites again. If we had the money and the resources, we could complete the work we began all those years ago," he says.
Exciting New Finds
But it's not only previously discovered archaeological sites that the drought has made accessible.
Ratib and a colleague are suddenly excited by something they've seen on this particular day. They kneel next to what looks like an old stone wall, shards of pottery everywhere. Ratib says he believes it is a Roman-era irrigation ditch.
"I've never seen this site before," he says. "When we excavated this area decades ago, this was all buried underneath the soil, but the receding waters uncovered it."
Area Vulnerable To Looters
It's an unexpected discovery, but on the heels of their elation comes concern.
Ratib says he is worried the area will be looted. In all of Anbar, just 10 guards protect vulnerable archaeological sites.
"The area is rich with things. You can find jewelry, coins and documents — all these things are temptations for professional thieves," he says.
Or others who are just struggling to survive.
While the drought has been good for archaeologists, it has been terrible for the fishermen who rely on the Euphrates for their livelihood.
"The river level is very low, it's the lowest it has ever been that we can remember," says fisherman Sa'ad Naji. "It's frightening. The fishermen have no work anymore."
The river here is only about 3-to-4-feet deep. Sa'ad says strange structures now jut out of the water. He points to what looks like a stone arch that stands crumbling, lapped by muddy waves. He says those aren't the only things archeologists have discovered.
"About a year ago when the waters started to recede, these artifacts began to show up. We began looking around the area, and we found clay jars and old bones, coins and even some gold jewelry," he says.
For now, he says, the looting is confined to mostly local people who don't know the value of what they've taken.
Money Another Challenge
Back on shore, Ratib says excitedly he will ask Baghdad's central government for money to begin new excavations and to protect the sites.
"I will demand that we rescan the whole area. And if they have the budget, we will start work on it immediately," he says.
But he acknowledges there will probably not be enough money. If we can't excavate, he says ruefully, we can at least announce our new discoveries.We sat down with Dekko star Dan Chapman to get an insight into how he got involved with Ubuntu and his excitement for the release of the Pocket Desktop.
Dan has been an active member of the Community since 2013, where he has worked closely with our Design Team to create one of our first convergent showcase apps: Dekko. He also helps out with the Ubuntu QA community with package testing and automated tests for the ubuntu-autopilot-tests project.
The Dekko app is an email client that we are currently developing to work across all devices: mobile, tablet and desktop. If you are interested in contributing to Dekko, whether that be writing code, testing, documentation, translations or have some super cool ideas you would just like to discuss. Then please do get in touch, all contributions are welcomed!
Dan can be reached by email dpniel@ubuntu.com or pop by #dekko on irc.freenode.net or see his wiki page https://wiki.ubuntu.com/dpniel
Early Dekko exploration
What inspired you to contribute?
I first got involved with the Community in 2013, where Nicholas Skaggs introduced me to the Quality Team to write test cases for automated testing for the Platform. I can’t remember why I started exactly, but I saw it as an opportunity to improve it. Ever since then it’s been a well worth it experience.
What is it about open source that you like?
I like the fact that in the Community everyone has a common goal to build something great.
How does it fit into your lifestyle?
I study from home at the moment so I have to divide my time between my family, Ubuntu and my studies.
What I do for Ubuntu and my course are quite closely tied. The stuff I do for Ubuntu is giving me real life practical skills that I can relate to my course, which is mainly theory based.
Have you made your work with the Ubuntu Community an integral part of your studies as well?
I’m actually doing a project at the moment that is to do with my work on Dekko, but it’s for interacting with an exchange server and implementing a client side library. Hopefully when that’s done I can bring it into Dekko on a later date. I try to keep my interests parallel.
How much time does it take you to develop an app?
Quite a large proportion of my time goes towards Ubuntu.
How is it working remotely?
I find it more than effective. I mean it would be great to meet people face-to-face too.
Dekko development
What are you most excited about?
Being able to have a full-blown computer in my pocket. As soon as it’s available i’m having the pocket desktop.
Do you use your Ubuntu phone as your main device?
I do yes. The rest of the family do too. I even got my eldest boy, who’s 9 to use it, as well as my partner and mother-in-law.
How is it working with the Ubuntu Design Team?
It’s been great actually because i’m useless at design. There’s always something to improve on, so even if the designs aren’t ready there’s still enough to work on. There hasn’t been big waits in-between or waiting for you guys as you’re busy. The support is there if you need it.
Have you faced any challenges when working on an app for many form factors (phone, tablet, desktop etc)?
The only challenge is getting the design before the toolkit components are ready. It was a case of creating custom stuff and trying to not cause myself too much pain when I have to switch. The rest has been plain sailing as they toolkit is a breeze to use, and the Design team keep me informed of any changes.
What’s the vibe like in the Community at the moment?
I speak to a fair few of them now through Telegram, that seems to be the place to talk now there’s an app for it. It’s nice you can ping your question to anyone and you’ll get an immediate response relatively quickly. Alan Pope, always gives you answers.
What are you thoughts on the Pocket Desktop?
It is exciting as it’s something different. I don’t think there’s competition, as we all have different target audiences we are reaching to. I’m really excited about where the Platform is heading.
The future of convergent DekkoWhy Professors Believe Weird Things:
Sex, Race, and the Trials of the New Left
by Norman Levitt
Why do professors believe weird things? Well, why shouldn’t they? Our common humanity makes folly commonplace everywhere. There is no reason to expect that an academic should be less susceptible to peculiar ideas than the average guy. For some disciplines, a kind of gullibility seems a prerequisite. How could you be a mathematician if you didn’t believe that it’s important to know whether every even number greater than two is the sum of two prime numbers? Pretty weird! On the other hand, purely personal idiosyncrasies abound, and can generate gross credulity as well. Some professors even vote Republican. You can’t get any weirder than that! In this essay, however, I shall be discussing the odd beliefs of a faction of the professorate which certainly does not vote Republican.
The crux of the matter is a kind of free-floating leftism, sometimes rigidly doctrinaire, sometimes sentimental, sometimes loudly proclaimed, sometimes elaborately disguised. I pick on campus leftists with a combination of amusement, bemusement, and despair. If there’s a serious problem here it’s certainly not that the universities are going to turn out vast armies of Marxist-feminist-deconstructionist eco-freaks to ravage the sacred institutions of modern capitalism. The danger, soberly speaking, goes the other way. The tradition of social criticism from the left, already desperately marginalized, is likely to disintegrate altogether as it is morphed into a species of academic silliness. Yes, I’m a leftie too—in my own banged-up, tattered, and cynical way. It’s my turf, harboring my hopes and my ideals, that’s being laid waste, however inadvertently, by all this dottiness. In between the sneers, I’d like to get people thinking about ways to salvage something from the wreckage. But there will be sneers aplenty. Frankly, I’ve had my fill of professors who wear their hearts on their sleeves, but use their heads as do-it-yourself proctoscopes.
I should have known something strange was afoot back in the 70s when my grad-student wife brought home a fellow student’s doctoral dissertation. The author, a militant lesbian separatist, had smuggled in a remarkable little footnote. Strict social separation of the sexes, said she, might induce women to reproduce parthenogenetically! Imagine—a miracle of literally biblical proportions solemnly accepted into the archives of scholarship! But what of her teachers and advisors? How could they have let “virgin birth” pass unchallenged? The answer, of course, lay in the intellectual attitude that even then had taken root. The nuttiness had been put forward in the name of militant feminism, and woe betide the professor, in that leftish milieu, who had the temerity to denounce it outright.
This pattern should be borne in mind while considering Daphne Patai’s new book Heterophobia, an excellent examination of the ideological origins and concrete effects of the so-called “sexual harassment” codes that have proliferated on campuses nationwide. Like any sober observer, Patai concedes that strong remedies were needed to put an end to the various forms of quid pro quo sexual blackmail that infested universities for decades while drawing only shrugs and rationalizations from administrators. She is aware, as well, that a swarm of statutes and court decisions has put higher education under intense pressure to maintain a “comfortable” environment for sensitive women. But her chief concern is the tone of the measures adopted to achieve these ends, the philosophy behind them, and the hidden agenda they subserve. As she demonstrates convincingly, much of the present “anti-harassment” machinery was created by a tight-knit and aggressive group of militant feminists for whom heterosexual entanglements of any kind are automatically suspect. She traces their thinking to the radical, gender-separatist wing of 70’s feminism, as well as to the sexual phobias of well-known theorists like Catherine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin. From this perspective, a male, whether ditch digger or analytic philosopher, is little but the sum of his lust and aggression. “Somewhere along the line, then,” Patai notes, “the feminist criticism of patriarchal institutions derailed into a real, visceral, and frightening antagonism toward men and a consequent intolerance toward women who insist on associating with them.”
Often abetted by the institutional leverage of “Women’s Studies” departments, feminists committed to this sour view of heterosexuality frequently devise, promulgate, and administer the sex codes that are now commonplace. Not surprisingly, there has been more than a handful of cases where male teachers have been railroaded—deprived of due process, prohibited from confronting their accusers, and summarily punished. Even worse, the ideological presuppositions of radical gender-feminism led to an ever-expanding notion of “harassment.” You can be arraigned, tried and even dismissed without having been charged with so much as flirting, let alone serious sexual extortion. You need only make a remark or two that can be taken the wrong way by a touchy feminist sensitivity to get yourself into hot water. Heterophobia is scariest when it recounts a number of such case histories. I found it especially chilling that all of these horror stories were new to me, although I have followed this issue attentively in recent years.
Weirdness comes into this situation through the fundamental axioms of the “feminism” that dominates university life. It offers a reductive, condescending view of both men and women, a ridiculously simple-minded and censorious version of love, courtship, seduction and flirtation. To deal with the relatively small number of cases of real coercion, feminism is willing to banish all the nuance and ambiguity from sexual encounters, with the clear intention of making these as joyless and uninviting as possible. Even worse, current feminist doctrine invents several new categories of thought-crime, the most heinous of which is to question or contest current feminist doctrine. “Harassment” theory is a very serviceable tool for putting muscle behind the imperial aspirations of Women’s Studies. It shrewdly guilt-trips those campus liberals who will agree to all sorts of nonsense rather than let themselves be labeled misogynist.
Patai’s thoroughly researched, eloquently argued book deserves a wide audience, especially among perplexed academics of both sexes. Still, a few of its points can be questioned. I’m not convinced that the social effect of feminist-inspired sex codes will be as widespread or as long lasting as she assumes. Outside the academic hothouse, and despite the proliferation of legally-mandated workplace anti-harassment regulations, almost all people conduct their sex lives in blithe indifference to feminist ideas (the worthy ideas, along with the nonsense). Arguments that reduce academic circles to abject terror would be given the bum’s rush most everywhere else. But even on campus, contradictions are rife. Yale, for instance, almost wrecked a young mathematician’s career through a kangaroo-court proceeding that banished him over allegations (probably untrue) of a brief affair with an undergraduate. But Yale has also refused the request of Orthodox Jewish freshmen to avoid living in a co-ed dormitory where, presumably, all sorts of lively, old-fashioned, heterosexual screwing goes on unchecked. The relaxed sexual ethic of the well-to-do middle class is firmly embedded in campus life, despite its inconsistency with radical-feminist prudery.
Something has to give, eventually, and my guess is that it’s doctrinaire feminism that is slated to get the chop. This will be accelerated as more and more targets of absurd harassment charges hit back through damage suits. Fear of such retaliation makes a number of schools (my own, for instance) much more circumspect in imposing and enforcing harassment codes than the worst-case examples Patai cites.
Finally, I think that Patai overrates the power of feminist theory even at those institutions where draconian punishments have been handed out for slight or nonexistent offenses. In my view, these abuses happen because administrators fear the wrath of (emphatically unfeminist) moral traditionalists at least as much as the fury of the Women’s Studies Department. Mommies and daddies frantic at the prospect that their princesses might be debauched by faculty smoothies are even more terrifying than fully MacKinnonized victim’s rights advocates.
Jodi Dean, nominally a political scientist via Princeton (B.A.) and Columbia (Ph.D.), is one of the many practitioners of feminist ex parte scholarship who have engorged the literature of harassment theory Patai so ably dissects. A Dean piece in the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism is a typical mezzo-forte example of the genre, a minor fumarole of self-righteousness, shallow and reductive (at least as regards hetero males). It informs us that “the reasonable person or man cannot mediate between the public and private spheres because he brings with him the typical trappings of masculinity.” Dean is versatile, however, and lately she has traded the eyestrain of legal exegesis for the raptures of cultural studies. A recent project is to fill a much-needed gap in the scholarly literature (sorry for that old joke) with a symposium on the deep cultural significance of Martha Stewart. But her current book, Aliens in America, harbors ambitions even more baroque. It is pledged to the cause of UFO-groupies, especially those who go the whole hog, claiming they have been abducted by aliens (whose respect for sexual harassment regulations is notoriously minimal.)
Dean’s thesis is that the terrors of contemporary existence, the anomie and sense of impotence it breeds, are given cultural expression through the UFO-abduction myth. The villains she cites would find a place in any leftist’s list of bad guys: economic insecurity under capitalism, the threat of environmental degradation, rampant militarism, racism, cultural misogyny, and so forth. But the UFO cult is her pet “site of resistance” to these horrors. Note that she does not propose that UFO mania is a delusion bred by the unfairness of life in today’s America. For Dean, to label anything delusional is completely inadmissible, the sign of an oppressor mentality. The very idea that thoughtful, intelligent people might be able to make reliable distinctions between objective reality and outright fantasy is verboten. “Indeterminacy” rules unchecked. Copiously dishing out the most tiresome postmodern cliches, Dean posits a world that is nothing but a ferment of conflicting subjectivities. In her universe, “truth” lies everywhere and nowhere. The only reprehensible subjectivity is the one that believes in science, rationality, and empiricism, crediting the human race with at least the possibility of clear thinking. Clear thinking alarms Dean; “common rationality” is hideously oppressive, political choice “virtually meaningless:”
Faced with gigabytes of indigestible information, computer-generated special effects, competing expert testimonies, and the undeniable presence of power, corruption, racism, and violence throughout science and the law, voters, consumers, viewers, and witnesses have no criteria for choosing among policies and verdicts, treatments and claims. Even further, we have no recourse to procedures, be they scientific or juridical, that might provide some “supposition of reasonableness.”
Science, that notorious stew of “corruption, racism, and violence,” is at the top of Dean’s bleep-list. That it might have the competence to pronounce on the plausibility of UFO-lore is not to be contemplated for a second. Indeed, it’s the UFO nuts, one infers, who deserve to be ranked with the philosophical giants of the postmodern age:
The early ufologists fought against essentialist understandings of truth that would inscribe truth in objects (and relations between objects) in the world. Rejecting this idea, they relied on an understanding of truth as consensual. If our living in the world is an outcome of a consensus on reality, then stop and notice that not everyone is consenting to the view of reality espoused by science and government.
Move over, Foucault and Derrida!
For a nominal leftist, Dean is guilty of some curious omissions. Though she makes frequent mention of UFO-abduction impresarios like Whitley Strieber |
ago. Nevermore is an international, around-the-clock 24/7 guild. People of all nationalities, languages and experience levels are welcome, and we actively recruit and have a large population of both new and returning players.
We have 3 rules: (1) Be nice & be civil to folks. (2) See Rule #1. (3) See Rule #2. If you do not follow these 3 rules you will be removed from the guild. And we enforce it too!
We are the largest guild in the game with over 5,000 members (paid accounts) and 16,000 toons and have a very active and happy population, we work to keep the guild as a friendly community for all of our members.
Are you part of an alliance?
Nevermore is the Alliance leader of an Alliance with 19 guilds. For alliance chat (at least), we have the same three rules as we do for our guild. The alliance is very friendly and players will always help if possible answering any questions and helping any new or returning players, we also welcome guilds with a like mind set to the alliance and any guild can apply by contacting a Nevermore officer in-game.
What is the day to day life of your guild like?
The guild is abuzz with activity. Each day we welcome new members, new members with lots of questions. Guild chat is very busy answering questions and planning raids. Twice each day, once during Euro prime time and again during American prime time many of the guild members RvR. The members regularly team up for things such as RvR, Darkness Falls, Otherworldly and other raids.
What playstyles does your guild take part in?
We take part in and encourage every play style: PvE, RvR, Solo, Battlegroup, 8 man, Raid and Battleground. We just want folks to play the game and have fun and for the game to live on.
Are you currently recruiting?
Yes, we are always actively recruiting. Every member of the guild can invite to the guild, or if you would like more information about the guild you can have a chat with an officer in-game, who will more be than happy to chat with you. When in game just do a /who Nevermore to find a Nevermore member.
How can someone contact you if they wish to find out more, or apply to join?
In-game currently active GMs: Northernn, Canadarox
Email:
Facebook: Guild Nevermore =
It was a long time ago, 14 years or so. I (Glennis / Oje / Lwk) was playing on Midgard as a member of Vengeance of Valhalla. There were not enough guilds with enough merit points to claim everything. Earning enough merit points, I decided to form a small guild. But what to name it? Names are so important. There was Ravensflyte, Ravens Clan, and others, a lot of guilds in Midgard named after Ravens. Appropriate since Ravens are such an important symbol in Norse Mythology. After some thought the poem “The Raven” struck me and its refrain “Nevermore”. “Great!” I thought and Nevermore became the name of the guild and the Raven adopted as the guild symbol.Nevermore started actively recruiting new members less than two years ago. Nevermore is an international, around-the-clock 24/7 guild. People of all nationalities, languages and experience levels are welcome, and we actively recruit and have a large population of both new and returning players.We have 3 rules: (1) Be nice & be civil to folks. (2) See Rule #1. (3) See Rule #2. If you do not follow these 3 rules you will be removed from the guild. And we enforce it too!We are the largest guild in the game with over 5,000 members (paid accounts) and 16,000 toons and have a very active and happy population, we work to keep the guild as a friendly community for all of our members.Nevermore is the Alliance leader of an Alliance with 19 guilds. For alliance chat (at least), we have the same three rules as we do for our guild. The alliance is very friendly and players will always help if possible answering any questions and helping any new or returning players, we also welcome guilds with a like mind set to the alliance and any guild can apply by contacting a Nevermore officer in-game.The guild is abuzz with activity. Each day we welcome new members, new members with lots of questions. Guild chat is very busy answering questions and planning raids. Twice each day, once during Euro prime time and again during American prime time many of the guild members RvR. The members regularly team up for things such as RvR, Darkness Falls, Otherworldly and other raids.We take part in and encourage every play style: PvE, RvR, Solo, Battlegroup, 8 man, Raid and Battleground. We just want folks to play the game and have fun and for the game to live on.Yes, we are always actively recruiting. Every member of the guild can invite to the guild, or if you would like more information about the guild you can have a chat with an officer in-game, who will more be than happy to chat with you. When in game just do a /who Nevermore to find a Nevermore member.In-game currently active GMs: Northernn, CanadaroxEmail: Oje.games@gmail.com Facebook: Guild Nevermore = https://www.facebook.com/groups/153862548354401/ Thanks to Glennis and Nevermore for taking the time to answer our questions!
From the desk of our German Community Admin, Lea!
Patch 1.123A
Mit dem nächsten Patch erhalten die Offensiv-Linien einiger Support-Klassen eine Überarbeitung und bringen viele spannende Änderungen mit sich! Smite-Kleriker, Nature-Druiden und Cave-Schamanen bekommen neue und überarbeitete Fähigkeiten und werden zu einer echten Alternative.
Insbesondere an Solo- und Kleingruppenspieler richten sich die neuen Gebiete, die mit 1.123A ins Spiel kommen. Dun Crauchon, Bledmeer Faste und Caer Benowyc sind nun vollständig wiederhergestellt. Solo- und Kleingruppenspieler finden in den neuen Gebieten viele verwinkelte Strukturen, die gute Deckung bieten und für spannende Kämpfe sorgen sollten!
Außerdem findet die sagenumwobene Währung Mithril endlich ihren Weg ins Spiel! Mithril werdet ihr über den MTX-Shop, der mit der nächsten Version erstmalig verfügbar sein wird, gegen reales Geld erwerben und es dann bei speziellen Händlern im Spiel für kosmetische Gegenstände und Mounts eintauschen können.
Die zweite Hälfte des Patches 1.123 wird ebenfalls bald erscheinen und weitere spannende Dinge mit sich bringen. Freut euch z.B. auf tägliche, wöchentliche und sogar monatliche Quests!
Alle Informationen zur Version 1.123A, die sich derzeit auf dem Testserver Pendragon befindet, könnt ihr hier nachlesen. Basierend auf eurem bisherigen Feedback zu Version 1.123A gab es einen Hotfix, über dessen Details ihr in diesem Dokument alle Informationen finden könnt.
A Dragon’s Curse - Der Fluch des Drachen-Kampagne
Kapitel 3 der Kampagne ist gestartet und schickt euch in neue Dungeons in den Sheeroe Hills, Malmohus und Dartmoor. Besucht die Übersichtsseite zur Kampagne für mehr Informationen!
Discord - Anschluss an die deutschsprachige Community
Zurückkehrende Spieler fragen sich häufig, wie sie Anschluss an die deutschsprachige Community und Antworten auf die Fragen, die sich bei einer Rückkehr automatisch auftun, finden können. Nichts leichter als das! Schließt euch unserem Dark Age of Camelot-Discord-Server an und chattet dort mit anderen Spielern, Knights und den Community-Vertretern. Löchert uns mit Fragen und findet eine Gilde für eure Charaktere! Ihr könnt den Server über diesen Link betreten. Der Server ist international und die deutschsprachige Community hat ihren eigenen Unterkanal.
Discord ist ein kostenloser Dienst, der Sprach- und Textchat mit unzähligen Funktionen bietet. Er steht als App fürs Smartphone, als Programm zum Download und als Web-Version im Browser zur Verfügung und erfreut sich einer stark wachsenden Popularität im Gaming-Bereich.
Freitags-Grab Bag
Die Freitags-Grab Bag ist seit ein paar Wochen zurück und beantwortet im Zwei-Wochen-Rhythmus Fragen aus der Community zu Spielmechaniken, Klassenfunktionen und dem Spiel im Allgemeinen. Die aktuellste Ausgabe vom 19. Mai könnt ihr hier nachlesen. Sie beantwortet Fragen zu den neuen Solo- und Kleingruppen-Gebieten im RvR, dem Celerity-Gesang von Minnesängern und Skalden, das Aufdecken von Schleichern mit dem nächsten Patch, gibt Gründe für die Änderungen an Bogenklassen und Schleichern mit Version 1.123A sowie einen Ausblick auf die Klassen, an denen mit 1.123B Anpassungen vorgenommen werden.
Wenn ihr News habt, von denen ihr denkt, dass sie in den Newsletter gehören, lasst es unsere deutsche Community Administratorin [Shileah] über die Postcount.net-Foren wissen! A Look Ahead Patch 1.123B will be coming to Pendragon soon with hybrid class changes, and information on how to help us test our new Mithril shops! Once testing has been completed, Patch 1.123 will be making its way to the live servers in late June!
Keep your eyes on the Herald for news of an upcoming Battleground or Darknes Falls event soon!
Of the Curse A Midgardian perspective
Dear (name indiscernible, time faded),
I write to you trifecta as is the way of our land, first of your son Smugahs, secondly of our realm, and finally of our future. We met. You took my measure, or I’m not elevated of the Fru. I will not beguile you this much and write honestly, with foresight and great need, though I trust my spirit will inspire you through this letter to act accordingly to our purposes or not within my sphere at all.
Smugahs.
I will speak plainly for your son he has moved more centrally into my plans where I fear they are interwoven as our plans now. There is nothing in the land of Strength and Ice more attractive to one elevated of the Fru than a kind hearted warrior who knows not his strength. So much potential, still un-cracked. Planter’s clay, in knowing hands. Already he has become something they will write songs about. Together, we will create and destroy, as is the way of our people. Since we first met things have changed, of this you must be informed. Now, we both run within the General’s circle. I more so now than before, as our enemies now know my name… a difficult burden for a healer as you had forewarned me. I will give you this laugh with a cursory nod. As we share this intimate support of your son and our realm, let none then say that our purpose runs contrary to the will of Odin.
I am building the name of your son as I send him in front leading the charge, with my, our, full support. I intend to keep him by my side, though your counsel as his mother is a welcome visitor. As we speak our enemies already speak of the General’s army as if lead by Smugahs, for his is the last face many of them see, either in abject terror and flight, or of life. A detail smugly reported by the most adept Shadowblades within our ranks.
Our Realm.
Rumors have been circling for over a month here regarding an uprising of the nasty Varulv who from their dank caves in Drakulvhamn aided Gjapinulva herself in times past. Though I have ventured only briefly with Smugahs to ascertain the truth of these rumors, our path has led at King Eirik’s bidding, through Malmohous, into Drakulvahamn. The creatures within are far more deadly than those weaker peoples of Albion or Hibernia. Though our expedition has passed several small but crucial steps within this region, already we have unearthed wealth unknown in all the realm. If my letter moves you, do not tread this path alone, nor even with a select few. Fill your numbers until you have the strength of a war party for I can assure you that neither Oracle Kel and his party, nor the Priestess Aiyana or any of the other Varulv we have so far found within this region are as quickly dispatched as even a fully supported paladin.
I admit freely that I have begun to instruct those who are easily influenced by a named such as we possess by nature of our many conquests over the other realms, to return to Jordheim and even to their homes and guilds, and speak of all the wealth and potential they have seen within this place, to gather weapons, armor, and friends, and come what may. Regardless of our woven plans, for this our realm will be the better dressed. Again I return to solemnity and fear if I am not physically present, the yet unknown machinations will be the undoing of a great number of our realm, and for that as ever, our strength remains firm.
Our future.
As we agree, Smugahs may lead though actual power must reside with our support. I am ready and bear this burden with honor, of this you cannot deny me. I have taken his heart, you have heard, seen, and know this. While fear amongst our enemies is acceptable, to mingle amongst his own realm, to have them learn his measure, his worth and might, is what is most needed, and opportunity has here presented itself.
I have already instructed Smugahs to liaison with Theso of the Frozen Torch. With this scoundrel and treasure hunters’ valuable understanding of the riches and dangers lurking within Drakulvhamn, he will gain our peoples respect, and further restore our power and the riches of our realm. In his own right he is learning to respect me, my advice, and support, as well as your counsel from afar. When he is ready, I will finally wed. Though you are not invited to the after event, I have it on very good authority that the General still holds you in higher regard than you know. You were, he has said, his one regret. Though I know not the full measure of that statement it may have some significance to your understanding, plans, and perhaps unfortunately our friendly arrangement, for I cannot back from these plans.
Finally, I have attached by leather bound bundle a blade found within this dark region. Take this as a gift of our developing leadership. It has ominous reminders of the strength of Gjapinulva’s two handed blade of old, a strength that has to this day not been evenly matched, yet with that strength and more, a still unknown force has managed to bind the utility and ability of the Picts within its cold metal. More than I lust for the power items like this may bring our realm, and our plans, I fear what may become if our enemies become aware of these riches, as they are already more numerous through their soft ways of life. Your counsel is always welcome.
Alvaas Icehaield Puzzle Break DAoC Jigsaw - Mag Mell
Click to complete the jigsaw on the Herald!
Last month's newsletter's Word Scramble puzzle is unscrambled below; how many did you get?! csitihp -> Pictish
rrseain -> Renaris
ersalifn -> Fensalir
acaostbmc -> Catacombs
iharmnicnt -> Crimthainn
volnaaina -> Avalonian
etarkdesb -> Berkstead rualkvd -> Drakulv
muaotirn -> Minotaur
aolrsfft -> Frostalf
giofrbl -> Firbolg
uhsemleipm -> Muspelheim
ntahoccn -> Connacht
cwallrno -> CornwallThe great fools gold rush: Ads urging you to sell old jewellery for cash may not be as glittering as they seem
Less bling: Women are rushing to sell their old jewellery at gold parties but could be short changed
A suburban street in the heart of Essex and a dozen women are gearing themselves up for a night of fun. The rosé wine is flowing, the nibbles are on the table - Tesco's Chinese chicken wings, Pringles and dips - and the air is heavy with perfume.
But not all is as might be imagined. Sure, the guests are suitably dressed up, but, given the geographical location, they're surprisingly light on the bling.
And the reason soon becomes apparent. Instead of wearing their jewellery, the women attending this soiree are actually here to flog it.
Forget Tupperware parties, this is the frontline of a very modern gold rush. In the corner of the room sits Loellie, an attractive twentysomething woman armed with impossibly high heels and a set of minutely accurate electronic weighing scales.
A guest called Julie approaches and hands over a small bag containing a gold charm bracelet, a few rings and some odd earrings.
'I lost most of my significant jewellery in a house burglary a few years back,' she says. 'These are just odd pieces I have that I no longer wear.'
Loellie examines the items with a magnifying glass, weighs them and then divides them into different piles according to purity: nine, 18 and 20-carat. She then offers to buy the lot for £221.
Julie is delighted and accepts a cheque there and then. 'It's fantastic,' she says. 'I haven't worn any of this stuff for years, and now I've got a cheque for more than £200. I am going to put it towards decorating the front room in time for Christmas.'
Julie is not alone. Up and down Britain similar parties are being held every night of the week. The reason is simple. Bullion prices have risen to an all-time high just when the man and woman on the street is more desperate than ever for cash.
Earlier this week an ounce of gold touched $1,150 (£685). That is an 11 per cent increase in the past three weeks and 30 per cent in the year.
Hardly surprising, then, that it is estimated that 35 tonnes of bullion will be produced from scrap gold in the UK this year. At current prices, that is worth in the region of £700 million.
That's an awful lot of unwanted earrings to hand over at an awful lot of parties - but, of course, these gatherings are just the tip of the iceberg.
Pick up a newspaper, switch on the TV or log on to the internet, and it is almost impossible to miss the advertisements offering seemingly irresistible opportunities for people to cash in their unwanted gold.
There are growing concerns that Britons risk being ripped off to the tune of £500m as they lose their heads in the dash for cash
'It's time to take that gold and get it sold,' urges one firm. Others encourage people to scrap not only their unwanted trinkets but gold teeth and bridgework, too.
And, today, it's not even necessary to leave the comfort of your front room to cash in.
Pop the valuables in an envelope and these firms promise to do the rest, sending you a cheque by return of post.
It's a far cry from the back-street pawnshop or jewellers where such goods might previously have been offloaded - and not everyone's convinced the new deals on offer are quite as good they sound.
Indeed, there are growing concerns that Britons risk being ripped off to the tune of £500 million as they lose their heads in the dash for cash.
While no one is expecting to be paid the full market price for their scrap gold, some companies are offering as little as 9 per cent of that figure. Equally worrying are the problems people are having when dealing with some of the supposedly 'hassle-free' pop-it-in-the-post companies.
The Mail can reveal that across the country trading standards officers are investigating a legion of complaints.
For sale: But you might get a lot less for your gold than it's actually worth
'Wherever you look on the television, in the local paper or walking down the High Street, it is clear that there is money to be made out of gold,' says one officer. 'We understand exactly why people want to sell, but would just urge them to be extremely cautious.'
In other words, it is a case of: seller beware. But, as they once found in the Wild West, when gold is involved it does not take much to turn people into fools.
It's a good few miles from Romford to the Swiss canton of Ticino, but it's a journey that Julie's jewellery might be making in a week or two.
The world's gold processing capital, in the past few months its furnaces have been working around the clock to smelt the gold rings, chains and bracelets pouring across the Continent.
There has been a surge in demand because, as generally happens in times of economic crisis, gold bullion is seen as a far safer bet than stocks, shares and currencies.
'We'll get hundreds of kilos of scrap jewellery from Europe this year and I've never seen that amount before,' says Erhard Oberli, chief executive of Argor- Heraeus, one of three gold refineries that dominate the market.
While some of the jewellery arrives intact and has to be taken apart, usually it has already been melted into rough bars by merchants before being transported to the plant.
The smelting process is labour intensive and precise - gold dust is even recovered from the plant's door mats and from the annual incineration of staff overalls. As Mr Oberli explains: 'Nothing must be wasted.'
They are words that the British public would do well to heed before flogging off their gold without first carrying out some basic research. For companies promising to deliver 'the best prices' may, in fact, be selling them seriously short.
Last month, trading standards officers in Hertfordshire carried out an investigation into a firm which has been advertising on national television.
The company, which cannot be named due to possible pending legal action, promises to deliver '100 per cent satisfaction or your gold back'. It struggled on both counts.
As happens with many of these companies, the items to be sold are sent through the mail. The potential seller contacts the firm, which sends them a package into which the goods are placed before then being posted by Royal Mail Special Delivery.
Having received the gold, the company weighs it and assesses its purity, measured in carats. Based on that a cheque is then sent back to the vendor for the sum the firm is offering.
To test how this works in practice, the trading standards team sent off a gold bracelet that had been valued by a number of jewellers at between £40 and £60.
But the company in question valued it at much less - sending a cheque for just £5.31.
Again, as is the case with many of these companies, the vendor is supposed to be able to reject the offer and request the gold back. But as tradings standards discovered, that is not always as easy it sounds.
'There was a seven-day period in which they were able to send the cheque back,' said a spokeswoman. 'The trouble was the officer simply could not find an address to send it back to.
'She made lots of attempts to get through to the company by phone and by email, and when she did eventually manage to speak to someone and ask for her bracelet back, she was told it was too late, that the seven-day return period had passed and that her bracelet had been melted down.'
It was at this stage that an increased offer of £30.62 was made - a 600 per cent increase on the original, but still less far less than the bracelet was worth.
Growing value: An ounce of gold touched $1,150 (£685) this week
The officer also discovered that the company was interested only in the gold; any other jewels contained in an item of jewellery (diamonds, for instance) would not have been valued and would be returned only if the person paid for the postage.
'The problem with any company of this nature is that once you send your jewellery off to them, you lose control over it,' said the trading standards spokeswoman. 'There is no way of knowing before you part with it whether or not you are dealing with a legitimate firm.'
The problem with many of these companies is that they don't publish the rates that they actually pay for gold.
The Mail contacted one, CashMyGold, and asked it what percentage of the market price it would pay for gold. 'We choose not to give out the price we pay,' we were told. 'Just send the item to us and we will value it.'
But surely it must base its offer on a set percentage of the current market price?
'I don't know how much it is,' said the representative. 'I have no idea what percentage we pay.'
A similar response was elicited from market leader Cash4Gold, which launched in the UK in the summer and is aiming for sales of £50 million a year.
The company, which is well-established in America, has previously revealed that it pays between '20 per cent and 80 per cent' of the market price - depending on quantity and quality.
Without knowing precise rates it is impossible for a seller to even roughly estimate what they can expect to receive when sending off a piece of jewellery (even if they knew its exact weight and carat).
Lawrence Chard has been running a coin and bullion dealers in Blackpool since 1964, and warns that the public are in real danger of being sold short.
'I weighed the gold before I sent, did some research and estimated I would get about £400 - I was shocked when a cheque arrived for just £89'
'In 1980 gold prices peaked at $850, and we saw then the same thing happening,' he says. 'People are setting up as dealers and not paying very good prices, and, in some cases, totally ripping people off.'
With nine-carat gold worth about £8-a-gram as scrap, his company is currently offering in the region of £6.50 a gram, the price fluctuating by 50p in each direction according to quantity and quality.
'I am aware that people are paying £4 a gram or less,' says Mr Chard. 'If that is the case, then nationally that could equate to a £500 million a year rip-off.'
Of course, it is only fair to point out that these companies are entitled to offer whatever price they want. It is up to the seller to decide if he or she wants to take it or leave it.
Aside from the fact that most people don't have a clue what their gold is really worth, the difficulty comes, as Hertfordshire Trading Standards found out, because the seller isn't always able to walk away from a bad deal.
It is something that 40-year-old Maxine Medhurst is only too well aware of. The married mother of three from Kent, whose husband runs his own cleaning company, contacted a company called Money4Gold on October 14 after she saw an advert on TV.
She sent them gold in the form of three rings, several bracelets and a number of old neck chains with a view to raising spending money for a trip to New York with her husband in the New Year.
'They told me they would send me a cheque within 24 hours of receiving and valuing the gold,' she said. 'They said if I was not happy with the price, I could send back the cheque and they would promptly return the gold.
'I weighed the gold before I sent it off, did some research on the internet and estimated I would get about £400.'
But when the cheque arrived she was shocked to see that it was for just £89. The next day - October 21 - she sent it back by recorded delivery, telling the company in the accompanying letter that she was not happy with the amount and wanted her gold returned.
'I didn't hear from them, so a week later I phoned,' she said. 'Someone in customer services said they would increase their offer and said they would send me a cheque for £179.52. I refused because I thought if that's what they're offering me now, so quickly over the phone, then how much is it really worth?'
'People have sent off their gold and then found out it had already been melted before they had confirmed they wanted the money offered'
Mrs Medhust was told they would return the jewellery within ten to 15 days. She is still waiting for it to arrive.
'On November 12, I sent them a letter demanding the return of my gold within seven days or I would take legal action against them,' she says.
'Since then I have called them every day, but I just keep getting fobbed off with the message that my gold will be with me shortly, and I still haven't had it back.
'I've read stories on internet forums about people who have sent off their gold and then found out it has already been melted down, even when they have not been happy with the price offered.'
Contacted by the Mail, the company's UK managing director Noyan Nihat promised to look into Mrs Medhurst's case. He said that the items should have been returned within two to three days of her refusing the offer.
Back at the 'gold party' in Essex, the assembled guests say they are happy with what they are being offered, which roughly equates to £5.50 for a gram of nine-carat gold.
The soiree has been organised through a company called Ounces2Pounds, and the host for the night is Carmen Joseph, a 43-year-old administrator for a logistics company.
She decided to hold the party after making £1,300 when she attended a similar event at a friend's house.
'I had a small trinket box, and every time I broke something I threw it in there,' she explains. 'That box alone got me £400. Then I had a gold bracelet that my ex bought me that had snapped. That made me another £400.
'I didn't even know if it was real because it was a present. When the man was weighing it, I thought I'd better not say anything in case I lost myself some money. But he ended up saying it was really good quality 22-carat.
I had a matching necklace that I couldn't find. So I went around the house like a woman possessed, and when I found it I decided I would host my own party.'
In return for organising the party and inviting her friends, Carmen receives a 10 per cent commission, which on Thursday night meant a cheque for £500.
Of course, it might be that the party goers could have earned more by holding on to their gold for a few more months.
Experts predict prices may rise further still in 2010. Equally, they could go in the opposite direction. And someone who needs no reminding of the volatility of the gold market is Gordon Brown.
In 1999, when Chancellor of the Exchequer, he sold off 395 tonnes of the stuff from Britain's national reserves at an average price of $275 an ounce.
That's about one-quarter of what he would have got had he sold it today. And it takes an awful lot of rosé to dull the pain of a deal like that.A lack of housing is a major concern in many large cities here in the United States. Jobs may be available in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles, but the cost of rent or to own a home can make these jobs unobtainable for many who qualify. The problem will only continue to grow as the population within cities increases.
Young designers at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Georgia, think they may have found a funky, high tech, yet affordable way to overcome the real estate shortage. Called SCADpads, these housing units are very small. Standing at only 8 X 16 feet, they are made to fit in one average parking space. For what they lack in volume, they make up for in convenience, affordability, and technology. The SCADpads can be placed in parking garages, parking lots, or anywhere else that small amounts of space may be available.
As an experiment, the College has set up a beta SCADpad neighborhood in their midtown Atlanta parking garage. Here, they have three homes, taking up 8 parking spaces. Each unit has their own backyard garden area, as well as a community area which is shared by all three homes. The community area features additional gardens, and most importantly, a workbench equipped with a 3D printer. The 3D printer acts almost as a local store.
“A big part of what we have here is the ability to custom-adjust,” says Victor Ermoli, dean of the school of design at SCAD. “If you need a cooking pan, you go to the bench outside and print that. Whatever your needs are, you can meet them.”
Residents can use the printers to also customize the interiors of their homes. They can change out the walls with customized 3D printed designs, print out decorations, or just create things that they need for everyday use.
In addition to 3D printing being a major part of these homes, they also feature some other cool technologies. Each home is controlled almost entirely by a tablet. The walls can be set up so that when touched they make specific sounds such as bird chirps, or dog barks. The bathroom mirrors remind residents to wash their hands, and windows can be frosted over for privacy, with the touch of a button. The designers have also implemented a pretty technologically advanced system which can harvest the sunlight entering the sides of the parking garage, and than direct it with fiber optic cables towards the Garden area.
These homes may be a few years away from actually being constructed. However, at a cost of just $40,000 a piece, they could make a significant dent in the problems being caused from the lack of housing in major cities. The homes take just 2 months to construct, and would cost approximately 40% less than traditional housing units to rent.
Tours of the SCADpads are also available on the following dates if you are in the area.:
Saturday, April 26, From noon-3 p.m
Sunday, April 27, From 1-3 p.m.
Sunday, May 4, From 1-3 p.m.
Saturday, May 24, From noon-3 p.m.
Sunday, May 25, From 1-3 p.m.
Saturday, May 31, From noon-3 p.m.
Sunday, June 1, From 1-3 p.m.
For further details, check out the official website for SCADpad. Participate in the discussion about the SCADpad at 3dprintboard, and check out the video below:Donald Trump speaks during a debate last week in Las Vegas. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
In the closing fortnight of his campaign, Donald Trump is focused almost entirely on justifying his impending loss. His attempt to paint the entire electoral system as “fixed” went over like a lead balloon. He still mouths the non sequiturs. Dead people are on the voting rolls! People are registered in more than one state! Even on the right, very few people are buying it. To the contrary, Trump’s claims of a rigged election seem to have coincided with the bottom dropping out of his polls.
He is therefore reduced to whining — and sending his advisers out to whine — about the media. The Post reports on his Florida campaign swing:
During a discussion with farmers at Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market in Boynton Beach, Fla., Trump devoted nearly half of his seven-minute public remarks to criticizing the news media. “I believe we’re actually winning,” he said, speaking in a thatched-roof structure adorned with decorative gourds. He asserted that the majority of public opinion polls, which show [Hillary] Clinton leading nationally and in most battleground states, reflect the “crooked system, the rigged system I’ve been talking about since I entered the race.” “What they do is they show these phony polls where they look at Democrats, and it’s heavily weighted with Democrats, and then they’ll put on a poll where we’re not winning, and everybody says, ‘Oh they’re not winning,’ ” he added.
This is, in a word, nuts. Even his campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, conceded Sunday on “Meet the Press” that her candidate is behind. That doesn’t stop her from complaining that her candidate gets negative coverage, though, while hinting that she is advising him to stick to issues. (The implicit message is that he is messing up and she is not.) Trump’s increasingly unhinged communications adviser, Jason Miller, devotes his time to attacking the media as well.
[Uncovered: Bill O’Reilly’s code of journalistic ethics]
What are the sins of the media? Replaying Trump’s own words from the “Access Hollywood” tape, from his Howard Stern appearances, from his own rallies. How dastardly! Pointing out that he is losing in virtually every poll? The nerve! Investigating his foundation’s finances and his business failures? Unfair!
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Fox News anchor Sean Hannity was accused of going soft on Donald Trump – even by his coworker, anchor Megyn Kelly. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)
Trump’s frustration with criticism is why he now will venture only into havens such as Bill O’Reilly’s show, where the host will happily serve him up softballs, attest to his honesty, sympathize about the media, ridicule critical coverage from real newspeople, make excuses for Trump’s incitement of violence, defend other outrageous statements and indulge his racism directed at Judge Gonzalo Curiel. No wonder the real media seems so hostile to Trumpkins, when they’ve gotten used to characters such as Sean Hannity, who thinks the National Enquirer is a reliable source.
It’s no fun being contradicted in real interviews when Trump falsely claims he was against the Iraq War from the start. Hannity and O’Reilly will attest that Trump was opposed to the war, making themselves into surrogates. Trump is used to getting an assist when he launches attacks against the Khans — or even a hand floating the idea that Khizr Khan was paid. Trump seeks, more than anything else, affirmation and slavish followership |
-powered galactic adventure to rescue the president from an apocalyptic alien threat. With out-of-this-world enemies, a never-before-seen arsenal of devastating weaponry and a host of genre-crossing mechanics, Bombshell is set to blow you away.Be part of Bombshell's debut as she fights to save the president and her people from a maniac's mechanical monstrosity.Traverse the dying world of Kyrron as it's consumed by its neighboring sun, discover the secrets of a civilization frozen in time on the distant world of Zeroth and travel to the epitome of technology -- a villain's vision which threatens to consume all that exists.Shell, shock and shatter your way through vicious, bloodthirsty predators, an augmented alien species, and the remnants of an ancient race re-animated, with more than 10 weaponized arm modifications.Fierce finishing moves and interactive environments make Bombshell as dynamic as she is deadly.Brilliantly brutal isometric shooting layered with some classic role-playing mechanics, including experience points, upgrades, side quests, and non-linear levels. All with a twist of first-person shooter mechanics.Yeah, she has a robot arm. Deal with it.It was fitting to leave for a ride on the C&O Canal Towpath from Gravelly Point. The sound of airplanes overhead from the Reagan National Airport was quite the opposite of the peace and serenity of the towpath on a “near spring” day in March. With snow left on the trail we rode north on the Mt. Vernon trail connecting to the Capital Crescent Trail and then a short time later to the C&O Canal Towpath. Talk about full circle – crowded jogging paths turned city-scape turned dirt and mud. From one extreme to the other as once we reached the wilds of the towpath we encountered fewer people and quiet.
I’ve gotten a few questions on my choice of footwear for bikepacking. I wear Keen sandals for bikepacking year-round. When the weather turns foul (cold or rain or both) I add a pair of Showers Pass Waterproof Crosspoint Crew Socks. This combination provides incredible flexibility. My feet stay warm and dry no matter the weather. SEE LINKS BELOW.
These Keen sandals make the perfect all around bikepacking shoe. With SPD cleats you can quickly go from clipped in on your bike, to forging a stream, to hiking a trail. They provide solid footing when off the bike that drain and dry quickly. So no need to pack an additional pair of shoes saving you weight and space in your pack.
The Showers Pass waterproof crew socks are well constructed and actually work. Did you hear that? Waterproof socks that actually work. On a recent trip in the fall in PA we suffered 3 days of rain and unseasonably cool temperatures. Everyone had waterproof socks, but mine were the only ones that worked. I didn’t remove them for the full 3 days and not only did they keep the water out, but my feet were dry since they allowed my feet to breathe. Magic? Maybe. But most likely just technology that works.
[WooZoneProducts asin=”B00SYYXM9A,B00XPTIE3I”][/WooZoneProducts]At a recent staff meeting at the Southeast Division station of the Los Angeles Police Department, Ryan Whiteman, a tall, barrel-chested sergeant, ran down the mid-year crime stats for Jordan Downs, a public housing development in the Watts neighborhood of South L.A.. Jordan Downs is home to some of the most destitute families in Los Angeles County. “Five generations of abject poverty,” is how civil rights attorney Connie Rice described the 700-unit complex, which looks like a cross between a tenement and a dilapidated army barracks. “It’s Third World America.”
At the height of the crack trade in the 1980s and 1990s, Jordan Downs was controlled by the Grape Street Crips, one of the most notorious street gangs in the country. In that era, gang-related homicides at Jordan Downs and at two nearby projects, Nickerson Gardens and Imperial Courts, were so common that parents sometimes had their children sleep in bathtubs to protect them from stray bullets flying in the night. Those who weren’t murdered by the Bloods or the Crips were often victims of the LAPD, which, in South L.A., relied almost exclusively on a set of ruthless, and constitutionally questionable, repression tactics. “Ever since the fugitive slave laws of the 1840s a key mission of American policing has been to put the fear of God into African Americans,” Joe Domanick, a journalist and historian at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and author of a new book on the LAPD, told me. “From 1950 through 2000, the LAPD did that by being a racist, repressive army of occupation in LA’s ghettos.”
In the late 1980s, then-LAPD Chief Daryl Gates declared war on the gangs. In practice, that meant war on the mostly black and Latino teenagers of Los Angeles’ poorest neighborhoods. His vehicle for carrying it out was C.R.A.S.H. — Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums — an elite gang suppression unit whose flamboyantly aggressive paramilitary campaign, Operation Hammer, generated 50,000 arrests in three years, as well as more than 2,000 allegations of excessive force. “They did not see people as people,” said Nina Revoyr, COO of the Children’s Institute, which operates out of Watts. “They saw them as problems to be contained.”
In those days, if you were young and black in Watts — or worse, if you dared to venture out of your neighborhood to the affluent Westside —you could expect to find yourself at any given moment spread-eagled on the front of a squad car for wearing the wrong colored shoes. You could count yourself lucky to get away without being beaten or arrested. “We had times where guys was framed with drugs; drugs was put on people,” recalled Donny Joubert, an ex-Blood who grew up in Nickerson Gardens, and now works as a gang intervention worker. “We had officers that came here and took money from people.” The open contempt LAPD gang cops routinely showed for the civil rights of Watts residents was the accelerant for the community’s violent explosion in 1992 following the exoneration acquittal of the officers who beat Rodney King, just as it had been for the 1965 Watts Riots, 50 years ago today. “Hate” was not too strong a word for how many Watts residents felt about the police in those days — even those who reviled the gangs with equal fervor.
This year, crime is once again on the rise in Los Angeles, for the first time in a decade. But at the staff meeting at Southeast, Sergeant Whiteman reported to his colleagues that in the first six months of 2015, Jordan Downs had seen a 44 percent drop in violent crime compared to the same time period last year, and a 36 percent reduction in property crime. Lately, the most pressing issue the officers under his supervision were hearing about from Jordan Downs residents was illegal parking. There had also been some complaints about teenagers loitering. Sergeant Whiteman’s report from one of the most notorious gang zones in the world had all the blood and adrenaline of a suburban crime blotter.
Jordan Downs has experienced just one homicide in the last four years. Between 2011 and 2013, violent crime there dropped by 70 percent. In the same time period, Nickerson Gardens and Imperial Courts also saw their violent crime rates halved. The decline in violence in what were once the garrisons of L.A.’s most murderous gangs has been accompanied by a steep rise in public trust in the police officers that patrol the three communities. At a time when police shootings are a daily occurrence in the United States, and police relations with poor communities of color across the country are as bitter as they have been in decades, in the three Watts housing projects that were at the center of two massive uprisings against LAPD repression, officers are greeted with nods and waves from people who know them by their first names, and by kids running up to say hi.
Cops pulling up onto schoolyards near the three projects today are more likely there to tutor teenagers than to frisk them. Officers help organize backpack giveaways, neighborhood cleanups, and health fairs. Some have even adopted children from the projects to keep them out of the foster system after losing both of their parents to violence or incarceration. “You got hard core gang members shaking the police’s hand, in the corner, talking to them, having conversations, and talking sports — chilling with them,” said Joubert, describing a common scene at Nickerson Gardens. “These cops don’t go in like they’re afraid of people,” explained Revoyr. “They don’t go in like they think that all folks are out to get them. They see and respond to people like people.” Just a few years ago, parents wouldn’t let their children even talk to the officers; they didn’t want them mixed up with the police in any way. “If you go through there now,” Joubert said, “you see the officers toting them on their shoulders, carrying them on their back.”
The synchronous trends in the three projects of reduced crime and increased public trust in the police are not a coincidence. They’re the outcome of a new mode of policing, conceived of by Connie Rice and developed jointly by the LAPD and the Watts community, which is beginning to spread, tentatively, from a small, experimental unit in Southeast Division to the rest of the third largest municipal police force in the country. If its successes can be repeated throughout the rest of the LAPD, then it may provide an actionable vision for reform that could be applied in New York, Baltimore, Ferguson, and every other American city with a dysfunctional relationship between its police force and its most embattled communities.
When Connie Rice first began frequenting the projects in Watts in the early 1990s, she was helping to broker a truce between the Bloods and the Crips. At that time, her relationship with the LAPD was strictly litigious. Along with her colleagues at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Rice had filed a litany of lawsuits against the department for brutality, discrimination in promotions against women and minority officers, and every other LAPD misdeed that came across her desk, which was many.
The truce, which began just days before the 1992 riot, held down the murder rate in Watts for years. But at the end of 2005, seven gang-related homicides occurred within a two-month period. Fearing a revival of the gang wars of the 1980s, the ex-gang members who had organized the truce, Donny Joubert among them, asked then-City Councilmember Janice Hahn to convene a meeting of Watts community leaders to find a way to stem the violence.
Hahn brought Phil Tingirides, the new captain of the LAPD’s Southeast Division, to the meeting. For many of the Watts residents in the room, that was a first. They had never before had a way to safely engage in a two-way conversation with the department.
Tingirides was the sixth captain of Southeast Division in five years, a fact that irked the community; the rapid turnover made it impossible to build any meaningful understanding between ordinary Watts residents and the station’s leadership. Fortunately for Watts, Tingirides wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. When he accepted his new post, LAPD’s current chief, Charlie Beck, had reminded him that there were only three ways out of his position: die, retire, or be promoted. Dying wasn’t in Tingirides’ plans, and with six kids to look after as a result of his recent marriage to Sergeant Emada Tingirides, an African-American officer who grew up near Nickerson Gardens, retirement was out of the question, too. And as Beck knew, Captain Tingirides couldn’t be promoted any further up the chain of command because he didn’t yet have a college degree. Watts would finally have some stability in the Southeast Division leadership.
At the meeting at Hahn’s office, Watts residents lit into the new captain. They voiced their long pent-up list of grievances with Southeast officers and their tactics. They pressed Tingirides relentlessly on what he was going to do about it. “I was getting my ass handed to me,” Tingirides said. “We had some real hard sit-downs in that room,” Joubert acknowledged. “He had to hear us out. And then, we had to hear him out.”
The group began to meet regularly, and Tingirides soon had his turn to recite his own complaints back to Watts residents: he believed many neighbors were too willing to ignore criminal activity happening next door. Eventually, the meetings became formalized as the Watts Gang Task Force, which convenes weekly to this day. Another regular meeting took place at Southeast station. Residents of the projects, including current and former Crips and Bloods, and LAPD officers would discuss their grievances with one another, and do their best to hammer them out. The conversations were not easy. They required careful diplomacy on both sides with their respective constituencies. “Everybody ain’t with peace,” Joubert remembered telling Captain Tingirides about the residents of the projects. “Everybody ain’t with the fact that we even trying to have a sit-down with the police department. But you going to have the same problem in your police station.”
Outside of the tense meetings in cramped conference rooms, residents of the Watts projects started organizing softball and basketball games against the LAPD. After decades of animosity, gang members, police officers, and ordinary Watts neighbors were getting to know each other, and talking frankly about their relationships with one another, every week. “He stood there and listened,” Joubert recalled of Tingirides. “And he started understanding.”
Tingirides grew up in South L.A., not far from Watts. His grandparents, who emigrated from Greece during World War I, ran a neighborhood butcher shop. His father joined the LAPD in 1956; Tingirides followed in his footsteps 24 years later.
For a time, Tingirides’ senior lead officer was a man named Randy Cochran. Cochran, like Tingirides, was a white cop operating in a black neighborhood. But unlike many white officers in Watts, he was neither fearful of the community nor physically aggressive. He routinely wandered through Nickerson Gardens by himself in search of suspects, at a time when officers rarely did so. Tingirides can remember only a single occasion in which Cochran used force, and afterwards, “he patted him off and said, ‘we didn’t have to do that.’” Cochran “made phenomenal arrests,” Tingirides recalled, because he was kind and respectful to members of the community he patrolled.
During a period in the 1980s, Tingirides was assigned to Metro Division, the elite paramilitary unit of the LAPD. Tingirides’ experience with Metro’s strong-arm tactics convinced him that they were ineffective in the long term, though he insists that at the time, it was the only tool they had. “We were not getting anywhere with just going out and arresting people, and we had to try something different,” Tingirides told me. “And I wanted to try that relationship-based policing that I saw Randy Cochran do on a different level.”
In 2008, the principal of 99th St. Elementary School launched an outreach program called Donuts with Dads, in which fathers from the neighborhood were invited to read to kids. But only about a quarter of the households in Watts had fathers in them, and the dads that were around were not easily able to take time off of work. So the school had firefighters and cops come in to take the place of the fathers. “It was a dog and pony show,” Tingirides said of the program’s kick-off. “The mayor was there, the chief was there, TV was there.” But he noticed something: these weren’t the kids that cops would see on a radio call, while they were angry or in the midst of a crisis. They were the same kids, but in a normal environment — “like my kids, except they had gold and silver in their teeth instead of porcelain.”
Tingirides had an epiphany. Here was a chance to begin to change the perceptions that neighborhood kids and Southeast officers had of one another. Officers could come to the school and see the kids in a different context than what they see on radio calls. The kids could see the officers as people other than the ones putting dad in handcuffs.
With his wife, Emada, Captain Tingirides began recruiting street cops to do readings at the school on a weekly basis. Slowly, perceptions began to change. When officers first started showing up at the school, the kids ran away, screaming, “He’s going to arrest us!” Within a year, the kids were running toward the officers instead.
Emada suggested to the principal that they start setting some goals. If the kids read a certain number of books, she said, officers would put on a pep rally at the end of the year, and Tingirides would jump out of a SWAT van in a chicken suit. The kids did their part, and Tingirides soon found himself doing a chicken dance in front of a bunch of screaming children. The next year, he found himself in front of the same kids, getting his hair dyed pink and then shaved off.
Back at the station, channeling the conversations he’d had at the Watts Gang Task Force, Tingirides pressed officers to start exercising their empathy. “Stop being so offended by a guy standing on a corner selling weed,” he told them. “If you didn’t have any food to put in your baby’s mouth, what would you do? How far would you go? What’s acceptable to you to feed your child, because you have no money, because you can’t get a job, because you don’t have an education, because you grew up in a dysfunctional family, because you couldn’t get to school without getting beat up, and so you couldn’t concentrate because you’re worried about how you’re going to get home safely?”
Southeast station is a mammoth concrete fortress that might fare well against an armed insurrection, or an alien invasion. It was built in 1978, the same year that Daryl Gates became the LAPD’s Chief of Police. Its brutalist architecture was congruous with its relationship with the surrounding community during Gates’ 14-year tenure: disparate, aloof, braced for attack.
Inside of its grim exterior, however, the Southeast Division was beginning to leave that past behind. Chief Beck and Connie Rice were paying attention to the changes underway, both within the division and among the residents of the three Watts projects. Then, in 2010, a group of P.J. Watts Crips at Imperial Courts attempted to gang rape the women in a Korean-American family during a home invasion. Rice went ballistic. She was afraid for the families in the projects, and she was afraid that the psychopaths who had perpetrated the crime might unravel all the progress that was being made in Watts. She met with Chief Beck and demanded that a new community policing unit be funded and built to keep Watts from spiraling once again out of control.
In the 1980s and 1990s, when the war between the Bloods and the Crips was at its peak, Beck was a sergeant in the C.R.A.S.H. unit. Rice had deposed, cross-examined, and sued him on a number of occasions. But by the time Beck became chief, Rice’s relationship with the department had been transformed. After the Rampart Scandal in the late ‘90s and the federal oversight of the LAPD that emerged from it, Rice worked hand-in-hand with then-Chief Bill Bratton to write and implement reforms aimed at transforming not only the behavior, but the entire culture of the police department. When Rice first heard that Bratton had made Beck the new head of the Rampart Division, she was disappointed. “Old wine in old bottles,” she thought. “He was ruthless, and he was aggressive, just like SWAT and gang units are,” Rice remembers of Beck’s days as a gang cop. But she soon discovered that he had changed. His old gang cop swagger was gone. When she asked Beck what had happened to him, he told her that he had realized that search-and-destroy policing was no longer working.
Now, as chief, Beck gave the green light to Rice’s proposal to build what became the Community Safety Partnership program. The twin goals of CSP were to avoid unnecessary arrests and to build public trust, and then put that trust to work in making the community safer. “We wanted to see if the populations that hate the police the most could learn to bond with them,” is how Rice explained the vision behind the program. “It’s community policing on steroids,” is how Sergeant Whiteman put it.
CSP officers — there are about 50 — are assigned to each of four housing projects: Jordan Downs, Nickerson Gardens, and Imperial Courts, in Watts, and Ramona Gardens, which is in the Latino majority neighborhood of Boyle Heights, on the east side of the city (the program is currently expanding to two more projects, Avalon Gardens and Gonzaque Village). By design, the CSP unit commands some of the highest salaries in the department, allowing it to attract the best candidates, and those who are tapped to join it are automatically promoted. It is made up largely of veteran officers. “Some of them are old SWAT and gang guys who want to make atonement for what they did,” said Rice. It is also disproportionately female (Rice insists, only half-jokingly, that women make better police officers than men).
When an officer starts with CSP, she is retrained by Rice’s organization, the Urban Peace Institute, in the fundamentals of “community trust policing.” That means un-learning years of standard LAPD procedure. “My concept was, these cops would not be promoted based on how many arrests they made,” Rice said. “In fact, if you made an arrest, you’d have to explain it, and it would not count in your favor.” Instead, CSP officers’ performance is evaluated on how they avoid making arrests, as well as on what programs they develop to keep kids safe when walking to school through gang territory, or how many kids in their jurisdictions stay in school, or how much trust residents say they have in individual officers. That means a significant amount of their time is spent mentoring children, hanging out at after-school events in parks and playgrounds, and participating in planning meetings with local community groups. It’s a jarring transition for some. “I come from a historically enforcement background,” said Whiteman, who joined the force in 1998 and came to CSP just eight months ago. “So I’m taking time to shift my thought process. I need to be reconditioned from how I’ve been trained for the last 17 years.”
When Rice first approached residents of the Watts projects with the idea of CSP, some of them jumped down her throat, accusing her of trying to bring a police state into their backyards. Those perceptions began to change as officers cleaned up a Jordan Downs alleyway that had been an open air drug market for years. Then, they brought in medical teams to screen people for diabetes and hypertension. Next, they distributed hundreds of pairs of bifocals to elderly residents. After that, they brought computers to school classrooms. In Ramona Gardens, CSP officers organized a farmer’s market. These were not the cops people in the projects had known all too well for decades.
Joubert remembered the first time he saw a CSP officer at a pickup basketball game at the Nickerson Gardens recreation center, around the time the program began. The players were mostly young men, including a lot of gang members. Joubert watched as the officer took off his holster, his vest, and the rest of his gear, put it in the trunk of his car, and joined the game. It was something he had never seen before. Soon, Chief Tingirides and other officers started bringing their families to the rec center when the community organized toy giveaways and other events.
Those relationships between CSP officers and community members are part of what accounts for the staggering drop in violent crime in Jordan Downs, Nickerson Gardens and Imperial Courts. As a gang intervention worker, Joubert’s job is to squash personal conflicts before they turn into gang violence and trigger the ever-escalating cycle of reprisals. He described a hypothetical scenario this way: a boy from Nickerson Gardens, which is associated with the Bounty Hunter Bloods, sleeps with a girl from Jordan Downs, which is Grape Street Crip turf. The girl has a boyfriend, who finds out about the affair. He gathers his friends to confront the boy, but he doesn’t want to admit to them that his girlfriend cheated on him. So instead of telling them the truth, he turns it into a gang thing. The gang intervention workers, who are respected former gang members themselves, start hearing rumors of a squabble brewing between the Bloods and the Crips. They then do two things: they contact the CSP officers at each of the two projects and loop them in, and they start interviewing all of the parties involved. The CSP officers and the gang intervention workers share information and work together to squelch the rumors, while the gang intervention workers get to the bottom of the real cause of the conflict. Then they separate the beefing parties until cooler heads prevail. If a hit does occur, Tingirides told me, the department will also put a heavy police presence on the streets, taking their cues about when and where from the gang intervention workers.
In addition to navigating potential gang flare-ups, gang intervention workers also act as liaisons between CSP officers and neighbors who don’t respond well to instructions from uniformed cops. The respect, Joubert said, must be mutual. “When officers say, ‘well you got these guys over here, they disrespecting, we cannot take this no more.’ So we step up. We tell the guys, ‘you can’t do this. You can’t smoke. You have to respect the officers.’”
Controlling crime, violence, truancy, and everyday quality-of-life issues has become a joint project of the police and residents of the projects, instead of a catalyst for hostility between them. The byproduct has been an environment that people want to be a part of, rather than a nihilistic world that invites only anger, violence, and disorder. “People feel like change is here,” said Rice. “And so they invest in it. They’ve been given the room to rise to the occasion.”
CSP is a small unit, which is radically different from the rest of the LAPD. Rice is somewhat skeptical as to whether the success of the program can be brought to the rest of the department; the old school mindset is so baked into its culture. Joe Domanick pointed out to me that because of Bratton, stop-and-frisk policing is at an all time high. And he warned that when crime rates rise, as they currently are in Los Angeles, chiefs feel pressure to revert to the old ways. He said community policing throughout Los Angeles is already beginning to teeter.
Still, Domanick believes that with the right leadership, the CSP model can be brought to other cities — though it will take a very long time. “It takes a long time to build up community trust through community policing,” he cautioned. And it takes a generation, he said, for a culture shift to take place within a department.
After the staff meeting at Southeast Division, Captain Tingirides — now Commander Tingirides — took me out in a black LAPD Dodge Charger on a drive through the projects. Most of the people we passed waved at Tingirides, or cocked their chins at him in salutation. “That would have never happened a while ago,” he told me. “People would have been mad dogging.” As we passed Jordan Downs, he pointed to a young man walking down the sidewalk. “That is something you would have never seen a while back — a guy walking through there with a bright red shirt. This is purple land.”
The Grape Street Crips still exist at Jordan Downs, just like the Bounty Hunter Bloods still exist at Nickerson Gardens, the PJ Watts Crips at Imperial Courts, and the Big Hazard gang at Ramona Gardens. But nowadays, Tingirides told me, people in the Watts projects don’t really see them as gangs anymore — they’re just the identities of each of their communities. People still sport their colors from time to time, on t-shirts and shoelaces, though the handkerchiefs and bandanas are gone. But it’s more in the spirit of wearing a Clippers hat to claim your team and your city. It’s no longer an invitation to get shot at.
That morning, a homicide occurred in Watts, though not in any of the three housing developments. We happened to roll past the brother of the victim standing outside of a church; Tingirides waved to him, and he nodded back. The Metro Division police, who were recently deployed to Watts in part to learn from CSP’s successes, were out looking for suspects.
I asked Tingirides whether the suppression-trained Metro cops looked down on CSP’s pacifist approach. “It doesn’t matter,” he told me. “That’s the direction the department is going in.” CSP’s crime reduction figures are so unmistakable that Beck has been able to say to the rest of the force, “Look what they’ve done in Southeast.”
On the way back to the station, we encountered the aftermath of a minor head-on collision. Commander Tingirides got out to make sure everybody was ok. We ended up waylaid for 40 minutes, waiting for another squad car to arrive. While we were standing around, Tingirides chatted with the tow truck driver, who he knows from the neighborhood. He asked him about the homicide. The driver told Tingirides that there was a carful of men rolling around the area in a silver Monte Carlo, armed with AK-47s, in case of retaliation.
When we finally left the scene, Tingirides called the tip in to the department. After hanging up, he allowed himself a moment of self-satisfaction. “That’s what happens when you know everybody in the neighborhood,” he said.
Outside of the Watts projects, the rest of the LAPD is still catching up with Southeast. It has a long way to go. Last year, a young black Angeleno named Ezell Ford joined the list of victims of lethal police violence whose names have become familiar to households everywhere: Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Walter Scott, Samuel DuBose. The cops who killed Ford, Rice said, were doing the old style, search-and-destroy policing. I asked Donny Joubert whether the same situation could have unfolded at Nickerson Gardens, with a CSP officer. He doubted it. But even if it did, he wouldn’t expect the community to explode, as it did in Ferguson, and as it has twice in Watts’ past.
“We’re able to work it out,” he said. “We’re able to talk it out to where you’re not going to see this community blow up, or burn up stores. They believe in the system. They trust the system now.”
Leighton Woodhouse writes, draws, and makes videos in Los Angeles.
[Top photo from Getty. All other photos from author.]COMSTOCK, MI — Bell's Brewery Inc. officials are looking to hire more than 100 full- and part-time employees at the company's inaugural job fair Oct. 25.
The brewery is hosting the career fair in partnership with EmploymentGroup from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25 at its Comstock brewery, 8938 Krum Ave, Galesburg. It is looking to add to its current group of 290 employees.
Bell's workers will conduct on-site interviews for positions expected to be filled throughout the next year. About 20 positions in maintenance, packaging, shipping and receiving, facilities, housekeeping, internet technology and the Bell's Eccentric Cafe kitchen will be filled right away, and the rest of the positions will be filled in 2015 as the brewery's expansion projects are completed, according to a Bell's press release.
Interested applicants should bring a resume, must be at least 18 years old and must have reliable transportation.
Bell's production and leadership representatives will be available at the career fair to answer applicants' questions and meet with prospective employees.
Bell's offers benefits including health, dental and vision insurance, a 401k program, paid vacation and personal time, wellness programs and life insurance.
"This isn't just a career fair," Carrie Overton, Bell’s Director of Human Resources, said in the press release. "It's about adding to our family. Because of the tremendous support we have received from our community and our fans, we are growing and we need more people."she said.
EmploymentGroup representatives will also be reviewing applications for other jobs in the community.
Tours of the brewery will be offered and light refreshments will be served. Tours for the public will be offered at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.European Space Propulsion Receives European Space Agency Contract for Qualification of 5-Kilowatt Hall Thruster
Press Release From: European Space Propulsion
Posted: Tuesday, March 17, 2015
European Space Propulsion (ESP), a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne, a GenCorp (NYSE: GY) company, was awarded a contract valued at approximately €11 million from the European Space Agency (ESA) for the flight qualification of the 5-kilowatt XR-5E Hall Thruster. The contract was issued under the European Space Agency Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) initiative, with targeted application on telecommunication satellites. The goal is to explore, through research and development activities, innovative concepts that produce leading-edge Satcom products. Within the overall ESA ARTES initiative, the ESP programme falls under the ARTES 3-4 classification, which is focused on the development, qualification and demonstration of products. Funding support for this ARTES 3-4 programme was provided by the UK Space Agency.
ESP’s ARTES 3-4 programme includes the establishment of manufacturing capability at ESP for the industry-leading XR-5 Hall Thruster, the only 5-kilowatt class Hall Thruster with proven flight heritage. This capability will include the design and manufacturing details for the thruster and will use the experience gained at Aerojet Rocketdyne to provide a strong offering into the expanding European market. Under the ARTES 3-4 programme, ESP will develop a new ThermoThrottle Xenon Flow Controller (XFC) that will be combined with the Belfast-built thruster, to create a new European XR-5E thruster and XFC.
“The telecommunications satellite market is trending toward increased use of high-power electric propulsion and improved affordability,” said Paul Sinton, managing director of European Space Propulsion. “Our objective at ESP is to meet both those needs by bringing the highest-performance, longest-life, five-kilowatt Hall Thruster together with a simplified XFC and produce it in the lower-cost environment in Northern Ireland. This project represents a significant investment by Aerojet Rocketdyne and demonstrates a high level of confidence in the migration toward electric propulsion in the European market.”
At the start of the ARTES 3-4 programme, ESP will generate a requirements document focused toward encompassing the needs of the Geosynchronous (GEO) Comsat platforms as well as other key programs of interest, such as next-generation Galileo, the European global navigation satellite system. The ESP ARTES 3-4 programme will build a series of engineering and flight qualification model hardware, with validation testing conducted at each phase. The final flight qualification test programme will validate that the XR-5E thruster meets all defined requirements. Also, a number of system integration tests and power processor coupling tests will be performed.
ESP’s parent company, Aerojet Rocketdyne, has delivered 16 flight XR-5 Hall Thrusters to date, of which 12 have flown on three GEO Comsat missions. The XR-5 is the only electric propulsion product that has successfully demonstrated full electric propulsion orbit-raising of a GEO Comsat from Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit to GEO. To date, 64 XR-5 Hall Thrusters covering three different GEO Comsat platforms have been ordered, with additional platform selections and orders expected.
European Space Propulsion, a UK-registered company located in Belfast is a provider of In-Space Propulsion products for the European space market. Aerojet Rocketdyne is a world-recognized aerospace and defence leader providing propulsion and energetics to the space, missile defence and strategic systems, tactical systems and armaments areas, in support of domestic and international markets. GenCorp is a diversified company that provides innovative solutions that create value for its customers in the aerospace and defence, and real estate markets. Additional information about Aerojet Rocketdyne and GenCorp can be obtained by visiting the companies’ websites atwww.Rocket.com and www.GenCorp.com. For more information about ESP, visit www.espdeltav.co.uk.
// end //
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Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.To attract and keep more members, he says the party should offer discount memberships for union members, students, pensioners and people out of work, and allow people to join online. He says Labor must also redouble its efforts to promote at least 40 per cent female candidates.
Labor's membership has risen by more than 1100 new applications since the election, with broad support among the membership for the new leadership election process introduced by former leader Kevin Rudd.
NSW general secretary Jamie Clements said the leadership reforms had softened the blow of Labor's election defeat. ''A lot of oxygen has been sucked out of what's wrong with the Labor Party. That's not the focus right now. The focus is, members have an opportunity to elect their future. That's the net effect.''
National secretary George Wright said 43,000 members were eligible to vote in the contest between Mr Shorten and Left stalwart Anthony Albanese.Literally minutes after I wrote about a Suicide Squad: Special Edition DVD showing up on Best Buy, Warner Bros. officially announced an unrated Suicide Squad: Extended Cut Blu-ray and Digital HD release! You can pre-order it now.
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The Digital HD version will be available on November 15th, and the Blu-ray will be out on December 13th. Suicide Squad: Extended Cut will include 13 minutes of extra footage that was not shown in theaters.
As you can see in the trailer above, it’ll include those deleted Jared Leto Joker scenes we’ve been craving, and will likely focus more on his backstory with Harley Quinn.
Burbank, CA, October 5, 2016 – Bring the Squad home when “Suicide Squad” arrives onto Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD. From director David Ayer (“Fury,” “End of Watch”) comes “Suicide Squad,” starring |
Canyonlands, Denali and Death Valley National Park. Each guide includes the interactive GPS-enabled maps, audio tours, lodging information, transportation schedules, complete list of amenities, park information and the curated, first-hand descriptions of park features for which Chimani is known.
A complete list of Chimani destinations now include Acadia, Arches, Baxter State Park, Bryce Canyon, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cuyahoga Valley, Denali, Death Valley, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Great Smoky Mountains, Olympic, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion, and National Parks by Chimani – a guide to all 409 national parks.Policing the War on Drugs
Quotable:
“We need to consider what drug prohibition has done to the vital profession of law enforcement. It has divided police officers from the communities we serve, alienated us from young people, sent our call-loads through the roof, placed huge financial strains on police budgets and, sometimes, my colleagues have been injured or murdered while enforcing these drug laws. Every police officer should question whether the War on Drugs is worth fighting, particularly when there are other policy options that would result in less crime, addiction, disease and death.” — David Bratzer
I want to restore the rightful place of the police as public servants who protect and serve. I want the people to feel that they can turn to the cops in times of need. “Divided from the communities they serve” is exactly what we have now. And that needs to change.
…
Something struck me when reading about the scandal in San Francisco regarding their drug lab (and the fact that police apparently knew about the problems and didn’t share them with defense attorneys).
What hit me was the numbers.
San Francisco prosecutors may be forced to drop a total of 1,400 cases in the growing scandal at the police drug lab, including hundreds in which defendants have been placed in drug treatment programs. The list of cases that could be dropped as soon as this week now encompasses 1,000 awaiting trial and 400 in which defendants are in drug rehabilitation programs
1,400 drug cases, with 1,000 awaiting trial? What is this – an assembly line?
Those 1,400 cases come on top of 500 that have already been dropped, including 46 on Friday when prosecutors told judges they could not “ethically go forward” with the prosecutions.
That’s a lot of drug cases. How is it that they have time to do it right, or to do anything else?
Oh.Discrimination Against the Jewish Population in Medieval Castile and León
Rita Ríos de la Llave
Religion and power in Europe : Conflict and Convergence, Pisa University Press (2007)
Abstract
The quest for the Jewish and Islamic legacy in the Hispanic cultural tradition has given rise to a historiography more interested in the positive than the negative issues related to the relationships between Christians, Jews and Muslims in the different kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. This has promoted the development of an idealised image and the arbitrary use of the word ‘convivencia’, and the concept of tolerance, the present meanings of which cannot be applied to that epoch.
In this contribution, I have orientated my study towards two of the Hispanic kingdoms, Castile and León, united in 1230. I have tried to show the degree of discrimination suffered by the Jewish community in these two kingdoms in the Middle Ages through a deep analysis of the legal sources, lay as much as ecclesiastical, and also through documentary collections reflecting their practical application. It can be seen in matters of practice such as religion, marriage and sexual relationships, clothes and bathing, feeding and nourishment, housing, employment, lawsuits and transfer of heritage.
Discriminatory measures promoted the separation of the different religious communities, cut out Jewish power and influence, and prevented the integration of the Jews into the society of Castile and León. This reality is far from that idealised image of the relationships between Christians, Jews and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula during Middle Ages.
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our weekly emailYou are here Home Is Google-Youtube a politically "neutral" gateway to Internet content and videos? Submitted by Scott Cleland on Fri, 2007-01-26 15:49 An article about Google's top lobbyist in the The Politico.com, a new media outlet that is dedicated to Politics, got me thinking about connecting-the-dots for Washington folks about the lack of Google-YouTube political "neutrality." There is an increasing body of evidence that Google may be less concerned about promoting a free, open and "democratic" Internet, and more concerned with promoting a regulated Internet for the benefit of "Democrats." The Politico article noted: "And with 98% of of the company's campaign donations going to Democrats in that cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, Google surely will be looking for returns soon."
Google "company founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are also widely believed to have the ear of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., whose district is not far from Google's headquarters in Silicon Valley." The article also noted how Google's search is increasingly being manipulated politically: "Political operatives of all sorts try to manipulate Google technology to influence political outcomes through the use of viral videos and "Google bombs" which are attempts to manipulate the site's search functions to highlight negative information about a candidate."
"In a speech at the Republican Governors Association meeting in November, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the company would take steps to stop the practice of Google bombing, although he did not give details."
The reason Google's CEO is saying that to Republican Governors is that the most notorious abuses of Google searches have been to the detriment of Republicans:
Currently MyDD, a liberal blogging site and big proponent of net neutrality along with Moveon.org, are unabashedly using Google bombs to put Republican Presidential Candidate Sen. John McCain in a negative light. See this link for more details
Google bought YouTube on October 9th 2006, the video sharing website that made famous the "macaca" comment by then Virginia Senator George Allen, that is widely credited for dooming his candidacy and tipping control of the Senate to Democratic control.
Republicans also were livid when Google bombs by liberal bloggers manipulated searches on George Bush so that they could only find results that said "miserable failure" Most interestingly, before the fall elections, Google CEO Schmidt gave a, before the fall elections, Google CEO Schmidt gave a speech that warned politicians that elections will change forever Reports of Schmidt's October 2006 political speech said:
"The outcome of general elections will be changed "within five years" by what Eric Schmidt calls "truth predictor" software. A politician may be making claims live during a debate and a voter will be searching the internet to validate those claims, in real time. Schmidt said, “One of my messages to them is to think about having every one of your voters online all the time, then inputting ‘is this true or false?’ We [at Google] are not in charge of truth but we might be able to give a probability.�
Right before an election, and to a political audience, the CEO of the leading Internet company of the world -- is talking about how Google may have plans to be the electoral arbiter of "political truth?"
Does Google's hubris and designs to affect elections, have no bounds? Also interesting is that former Democratic Presidential candidate, and former Vice President Al Gore is called "an unofficial senior advisor to Google senior management" according to the Gore bio on Wikipedia. The buzz, which I have not been able to confirm, is that Mr. Gore has done very very well with his Google options. The relevance of the Gore-Google connection is that Google's whole net neutrality position that has manifested itself in the democratic-authored bills on net neutrality is eerily similar to the hyper-regulatory approach the Gore-Hundt FCC applied in implementing the 1996 Telecom Act that ultimately proved disastrous and was overturned by the courts. Another Google-Democrat dot to connect is the strong affinity of the new House Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey has for "protecting" Google from criticism.
Democrat Chairman Markey in his recent speech to media activists went out of his way to defend Google on net neutrality. So why is Google's overt lack of "political neutrality" important and significant? Google has 47% market share of the search business and is the dominant gatekeeper for finding all content on the net: news from newspapers, TV, radio, magazines, blogs, online news, and all other sources, etc. That share has been rapidly rising.
With the acquisition of Youtube, Google-Youtube has 57.7% of the video sharing market segment per Hitwise, as reported by Investors Business Daily today.
Moreover, Google just announced that it was adding videos from its YouTube company to its search results as reported by USA Today.
This will further reinforce Google's dominant gatekeeper control of all information "political' whether it be text, audio or video. Dots Connected: Never before has one company concentrated more real control over any mass medium as much as Google has cornered in being the increasingly dominant gatekeeper to all Internet content. Traditionally media concentration and control over what content people see has been a "hot button" political issue for both parties. No politician wants to be beholden to any one source for too much of their access to voters.
Google's secret discrimination algorithm in its search engine, essentially sells its results to the highest bidder.
Because Google's search parameters are secret, and because search results beyond the first or second page of search results "don't exist" for all practical purposes -- how would one ever know if Google didn't have a search bias built in that supports their Democrat allies on selected issues -- or on net neutrality where Google is clearly not "neutral."
In Schmidt's response to the Republican Governors on Google bombs, he said he would take steps to stop this political manipulation it.
Will it be Google employees, who gave 98% to Democrats in the last cycle, that will be Schmidt's "neutral" overseers that intervene in selected search results to correct political manipulation?
How do we know this has been done and if the intervention in fact is neutral?
How do we know whether the secret algorithm is really fixed or if it was just made less obvious to detect.
Without any third party review of Google's search discrimination biases, how can anyone know or trust that the searches are legitimate and not driven by a hidden business or political biases? It seems to me one of the biggest untold story in politics and technology, is how much concentrated power Google has over new nedia and the Internet, and that noone seems to be connecting the dots in the blogsphere or in the mainstream media. My question to Democrats is, do you oppose media concentration on principle?
Or do you only oppose media concentration when it might favor Republicans?
It must be awfully intoxicating to Democrats to think that the dominant gateway to the Internet may be a not-so-neutral Internet gatekeeper interested in tilting the playing field to Democrats?This post arose out of some thoughts I had after seeing Erick’s “Go Big or Go Home” post. If you haven’t read it yet, please do.
Barry Goldwater’s The Conscience of a Conservative holds the distinction of being one of the few books I keep within easy reach of me in my apartment (the Bible being another one). Reading over Erick’s post reminded me of another part of his book, this time from the Foreword. I think it’s almost as prescient as what Erick said:
I blame conservatives–ourselves–myself. Our failure, as one Conservative writer has put it, is the failure of the Conservative demonstration. Though we Conservatives are deeply persuaded that our society is ailing, and know that Conservatism holds the key to national salvation–and feel sure the country agrees with us–we seem unable to demonstrate the practical relevance of Conservative principles to the needs of the day. We sit by impotently while Congress seeks to improvise solutions to problems that are not the real problems facing the country, while the government attempts to assuage imagined concerns and ignores the real concerns and real needs of the people. Perhaps we suffer from an over-sensitivity to the judgments of those who rule the mass communications media. We are daily consigned by “enlightened” commentators to political oblivion: Conservatism, we are told, is out-of-date. The charge is preposterous and we ought boldly to say so. The laws of God, and of nature, have no dateline. The principles on which the Conservative political position is based have been established by a process that has nothing to do with the social, economic, and political landscape that changes from decade to decade and from century to century. These principles are derived from the nature of man, and from the truths that God has revealed about His creation. Circumstances do change. So do the problems that are shaped by circumstances. But the principles that govern the solution of the problems do not. To suggest that the Conservative philosophy is out of date is akin to saying that the Golden Rule, or the Ten Commandments or Aristotle’s Politics are out of date. The Conservative approach is nothing more or less than an attempt to apply the wisdom and experience and the revealed truths of the past to the problems of today. The challenge is not to find new or different truths, but to learn how to apply established truths to the problems of the contemporary world. My hope is that one more Conservative voice will be helpful in meeting this challenge. This book is an attempt to bridge the gap between theory and practice…to show the connection between Conservative principles so widely espoused, and Conservative action, so generally neglected.
One of the first takeaways from this is that the situation for Conservatives has not changed much since 1964. We still find ourselves getting the short end of the stick of the media, and whether we like to admit it or not, there are probably a good number among us who are a little intimidated by that, even though we know we should never lose our courage. We might not be nearly as impotent now as we were then, but that feeling is still all too uncommon as we watch Republican “leaders” huddle together to give their assent and even aid to yet another “compromise.”
The second takeaway is more substantial. It cannot be repeated enough among those of us in the Conservative Movement that it is not enough to merely believe our principles. It is important to articulate them properly, and it is even more important to show how they can be applied to solving the problems we face today, and to follow through on those solutions, no matter the naysayers. All to often, we have failed to do so, especially when it comes to explaining to people, particularly those who have yet to be fully convinced of the merits of conservatism but are open to being swayed. It is essential to our movement’s survival that we correct this problem. At the same time, though, we must remember that we should never compromise our principles regardless of the audience, but it is important to understand how to communicate them to your audience. That’s part of Rhetoric 101.
They called Ronald Reagan “The Great Communicator” because he was able to bridge that gap, far better and more successfully than Barry Goldwater was and far better than anyone since, as of this writing, at least. My all-time favorite Reagan speech is his 1980 Republican Nomination Acceptance speech. Take, for example, his views on events in Libya and Egypt, which were thorns in our side even then. He minced no words, he understood the gravity of the situation at hand, and he communicated his views in a way we can all understand. Backing up a bit, his comments on the economic situation are even better:
First we must overcome something the present Administration has cooked up: a new and altogether indigestible economic stew, one part inflation, one part high unemployment, one part recession, one part runaway taxes, one part deficit spending and seasoned by an energy crisis. It’s an economic stew that has turned the national stomach. It is as if Mr. Carter had set out to prove, once and for all, that economics is indeed a “dismal science.” Ours are not problems of abstract economic theory. These are problems of flesh and blood; problems that cause pain and destroy the moral fiber of real people who should not suffer the further indignity of being told by the White House that it is all somehow their fault. We do not have inflation because, as Mr. Carter says, we have lived too well. The head of a government which has utterly refused to live within its means and which has, in the last few days, told us that this year’s deficit will be $60 billion, dares to point the finger of blame at business and labor, both of which have been engaged in a losing struggle just trying to stay even.
And his comments to those he’s trying to woo to the Republican side:
Our instructions to the groups we enlist will be simple and direct. We will remind them that government programs exist at the sufferance of the American taxpayer and are paid for with money earned by working men and women. Any program that represents a waste of their money – a theft from their pocketbooks – must have that waste eliminated or the program must go – by Executive Order where possible; by Congressional action where necessary. Everything that can be run more effectively by state and local governments we shall turn over to state and local government, along with the funding sources to pay for it. We are going to put an end to the money merry go round where our money becomes Washington’s money, to be spent by the states and cities only if they spend it exactly the way the federal bureaucrats tell them to.
And one final set of comments on the economy and why it is important to vote Republican:
Thanks to the economic policies of the Democratic party, millions of Americans find themselves out of work. Millions more have never even had a fair chance to learn new skills, hold a decent job, seize the opportunity to climb the ladder and secure for themselves and their families a share in the prosperity of this nation. It is time to put Americans back to work; to make our cities and towns resound with the confident voices of men and women of all races, nationalities and faiths bringing home to their families a decent paycheck they can cash for money. For those without skills, we’ll find a way to help them get skills. For those without job opportunities, we’ll stimulate new opportunities, particularly in the inner cities where they live. For those who have abandoned hope, we’ll restore hope and we’ll welcome them into a great national crusade to make America great again!
He made sure the unemployed knew the Republican party was listening to them, and he even singled out the inner cities, by no means Republican strongholds. Perhaps just as importantly, is the optimism with which he christens his movement a crusade to make America great again. This echoes his earlier statement in the speech:
They say that the United States has had its day in the sun; that our nation has passed its zenith. They expect you to tell your children that the American people no longer have the will to cope with their problems; that the future will be one of sacrifice and few opportunities. My fellow citizens I utterly reject that view. The American people, the most generous on earth, who created the highest standard of living, are not going to accept the notion that we can only make a better world for others by moving backwards ourselves. Those who believe we can have no business leading the nation. I will not stand by and watch this great country destroy itself under mediocre leadership that drifts from one crisis to the next, eroding our national will and purpose. We have come together here because the American people deserve better from those to whom they entrust our nation’s highest offices, and we stand united in our resolve to do something about it.
That he mentioned a “crusade” is important as well, because Reagan recognized that it was not enough to stand up and speak about it. Those words had to be backed up with action. Words mean something, a concept all too often lost by politicians of all stripes. History bears out that Reagan back up his words pretty well.
Of late, we have recognized our problems with communication. In recent years, we have elected several solid who are showing us how to bridge that gap. Scott Walker is one of them, and he has been vindicated time and again for his courage. Paul Ryan understands it, even if he’s not the ideal model for this. The great trifecta in the Senate of Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Mike Lee all understand this, and the first two have been particularly good at explaining themselves, whether it’s a thirteen hour filibuster, a CPAC or NRA keynote, a speech to a HBCU, or even something as simple as this or this.
Of course, those five and the few others we’ve elected are not enough. We have to keep working hard to elect more and hold the ones in office accountable, and that’s a huge part of why RedState exists.
I realize that this has gone on a bit long, but I do want to mention one more thing. There was a story that appeared in, of all places, The Washington Post earlier this week. It details, among other things, a townhall meeting South Carolina Republican Representative Mick Mulvaney had with his constituents. The article notes:
When he launched into his 30-minute slide show on the federal deficit, the bar graphs and fever charts seemed to energize him. “You can’t come to one of my meetings and not see this slide,” he said, showing a graph that compares the federal deficit to a family’s budget. If the federal government were a family with $48,000 in annual income, it would have $78,000 in annual expenses and a $325,000 credit card debt, according to the congressman’s chart. “This is exactly where our nation is right now,” he said. “We can’t do this anymore.” He paused to gauge the level of anger in the room. Outside the city hall meeting room, there were hundreds of federal projects that his predecessor had fought to bring to the district during his 28-year career. Inside the room, there were angry faces. They were angry about spending on Obama’s health-care law; about illegal immigration; about the possibility of higher taxes to chip away at the federal deficit. As Mulvaney looked into the crowd, he realized that they weren’t angry at him.
Principle is important and so is the ability to explain it. When Conservatives do that, more often than not, we end up the victors.California permits long-term solitary confinement of prisoners. It is one of at least eight states with prison systems where a practice that is known to cause significant psychological and physical effects is acceptable.
There has been an ongoing push to end solitary confinement in the state, especially because prisoners at the Pelican Bay State Prison who have been held in such confinement conditions have engaged in hunger strikes over the past couple years. The resistance has aimed to push the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), which operates the state prisons.
Legislative hearings have been held in the state to consider possible reforms to the state’s prisons. There has been plenty of criticism about whether these proposals would actually change anything or leave the practice of solitary confinement further entrenched in the prison’s system.
Prisoners at the Pelican Bay State Prison wanted to share testimony with legislators on the conditions of their confinement, but CDCR refused to let them testify, even remotely through video or audio.
The Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity blog posted testimony they would have given if they had been allowed by CDCR to address legislators.
“We are prisoners at Pelican Bay State Prison who have all lived for over 15 years locked 23 hours a day in small windowless cells, without ever being able to hug or touch our families, without ever seeing birds, trees, or the outside world, with no programs or chance for parole,” four prisoners from the Pelican Bay Short Corridor Human Rights Movement declared.
They added, “California keeps us in these torturous conditions not because of any violence we have committed, but because it believes we are affiliated with a gang, often based on artwork or photos we possess, tattoos we have, literature we read, who we talk to, or anonymous informants statements that we have no way of challenging. We are put in Pelican Bay not for any specific term of months or years for misconduct we have committed, but indefinitely, which in practice means forever- unless we become informants.”
What the prisoners described is the process of “gang validation” that has been used in the prison where the prison has prisoners provide information on gang members and in return they will be freed from solitary confinement.
Shane Bauer, one of the three American hikers who was once imprisoned in solitary confinement in Iran, reported for Mother Jones in 2012, “Much of the information used to validate prisoners comes from the 108 inmates who debrief every year, creating a revolving door where people get out of the SHU by putting others in.”
One example from Bauer’s feature story:
In 2006, a prisoner with a violence-free prison record named Ricky Gray was validated as a member of the Black Guerilla Family and given an indeterminate SHU sentence. But the warden at his prison, who Gray claims was sympathetic to his case, took an unusual step: He instructed a staff assistant to reinterview the informants who had given evidence against him. The assistant concluded that the entire validation package was “comprised of conjecture, second hand expression, assumptions, frivolous statements, incomplete documentation, and blatant lack of thorough investigation.” Gray managed to obtain a copy of this confidential report, and his lawyer passed it to me, providing a rare glimpse of the type of evidence used in gang validations. Several of the alleged informants, the assistant wrote, didn’t know Gray at all. Two others—said to have reported that Gray was recruiting inmates to the BGF—signed sworn affidavits that they had never been interviewed about the subject and didn’t know the guard who compiled their alleged statements. The paperwork that allegedly documented their statements didn’t bear their signatures. In another of the interviews used against Gray, the staff assistant says the gang investigator appeared “to be leading” the informant “to answer questions the way he would like.”
The prisoners explained last summer they were “willing to starve” themselves to “death rather than continue to endure these dehumanizing conditions forever.” The strike was ended because “several compassionate legislators promised to call the hearings that are taking place today.”
According to the prisoners:
CDCR claims to have now instituted a reform program. It is a sham, just like the so called reform they instituted a decade ago after a court settlement which resulted in no real change. This new reform effort still maintains the basic conditions at Pelican Bay, and will continue to keep prisoners in isolation for vague gang affiliation based on artwork, literature, communications, or informants’ testimony that does not meet California’s judicial standards for reliability in criminal trials…
A Christmas card with stars, literature written by black authors, the huelga bird and number 14 (symbols in Mexican American culture), newspaper articles, a drinking cup with a dragon on it are all examples of things that prison staff have used to “validate” someone as a “gang member” and put them in a Secure Housing Unit (SHU) or solitary confinement.
The prisoners argued:
California is still unwilling to move to a real behavior based system where prisoners are given determinate terms in solitary after due process hearings at which they are found guilty of some serious misconduct such as assault, murder, rape or drug dealing. Instead, these new policies widen the net of prisoners who can be labeled as gang affiliates and isolated based on that label. These unjust and ineffective policies are very expensive and have already cost our state millions of tax dollars which could be put to better use.
There is little due process for prisoners outside the prison. Challenging “gang validation” can be a long drawn-out process, and it consists of appeals to prison administrators, who are already biased against prisoners “validated” as “gang members.”
Finally, the prisoners contended:
…[E]ven those prisoners who need to be isolated from the general population because of the violence they have committed while in prison ought to be treated humanely. There is no reason California can’t run very high security prisons that allow prisoners held in segregation to have contact visits with family, phone calls to family and friends, educational and rehabilitation programs, more out of cell time, cells with windows, recreational yards that allow for small groups to recreate together and see the outside world: in short, segregation from the general population, but not torture or dehumanization…
The entire legislative hearing can be viewed by going to this San Francisco Bay View post.
Senate Public Safety Committee chair Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, questioned whether proposed policy changes by the CDCR would actually change anything. She wondered during the hearing if the proposal changes the “business of indicating other people need to name other people” in ordered to get out of solitary confinement.
There is a “great emphasis” on “gang affiliation” and “gang membership” in California prisons and Hancock asked two CDCR officials, George Giurbino and Suzan Howard, who are chief deputy administrators for a “special project team,” if the policy had been effective.
“What we’ve set up here is something that’s more complicated than the existing policy. It changes some names,” Hancock said. “I am not sure it changes the general thrust of what’s happening.” Hubbard’s answer was that the prior policy had “served its purpose at the time.”
In fact, in a review of 3200 cases, CDCR, according to Giurbino, had determined that “validated” “gang affiliates” could now be released back into general population. That means hundreds of prisoners were in solitary confinement for information that does not meet the new policy standard, which to most critics and prisoners on hunger strike is still too weak and susceptible to abuse.
Hancock asked if the administrators saw any problem with relying on confidential information from informers, which basically works like a trade-off. In exchange for information on another prisoner, the informer can get out of solitary confinement.
The answer Hubbard gave included the suggestion that CDCR was now sharing “greater detail” on the information from informers with prisoners who are implicated by the information. That does not necessarily alleviate concern that the information is reliable and accurate. It shows that previously the prison would put people in solitary confinement and they would have very little idea of why they were being punished. Now, the prison is extending the courtesy of letting prisoners confront the information before they are put in solitary confinement.
Craig Haney, a professor who was involved in the well-known “Stanford Prison Experiment,” testified during the hearing and said, referring to California, “No other prison system in the country that I know of places so many prisoners in isolation and no other state places them remotely for as long as we do.”
The length of time prisoners, not just in California but in the United States, are placed in solitary confinement is “shocking” and “unprecedented” by international standards.”
As CDCR administrators sought to justify the new proposed policy changes as adequate, there was consistent reference to other states’ prisons and the federal government’s prisons and how what CDCR was considering is better. To that, Hancock, at one point said, “We could say Mississippi did away with solitary confinement so why aren’t we doing that?”
Photo by California Department of Corrections and RehabilitationNORFOLK, Va. – As the cold weather slowly approaches, singles are gearing up for the elusive fall dating ritual commonly known as “Cuffing Season,” say dating experts at Match.com.
Nov. 5 is when Match.com says the official start to “Cuffing Season” begins.
Data shows that the weekend after Halloween is when singles start looking for a seasonal comfort, such as a loved one or significant other.
Experts think that it has to do with weather change, especially when the weather gets colder, because melatonin elevates in the brain.
“With the shortening days of autumn, melatonin elevates in the brain—making people more sluggish and eager to lounge at home, preferably with a sweetheart,” says Match’s chief scientific adviser, Dr. Helen Fisher, “Then testosterone rises in November triggering even more desire to snuggle with a lover. By then, ‘cuffing season’ is in full bloom.”
To further help singles this Cuffing Season, Match paired up with Francesca Hogi, Match’s cuffing season expert and former Survivor contestant, to create the essential guide to “surviving” this upcoming cuffing season:
7 Steps to Survive Cuffing Season According to Francesca Hogi:More merchants using Bitcoin: Payment processor Bitpay says it now has 10,000 clients
A payment service provider that helps businesses accept Bitcoin in online shopping carts and retail stores announced on Monday that its client-base of merchants has increased ten-fold in the last year.
According to Atlanta-based Bitpay, more than 10,000 merchants around the world are now using its processing services to accept payment in the virtual currency, with Bitcoin proving especially popular with companies that sell consumer electronics, IT services and precious metals.
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Bitpay, which is backed by venture capitalists tied to PayPal, touts Bitcoin as a way for merchants to accept online payment at lower cost and risk than credit cards. The company, which has so far processed $34 million in Bitcoin payments in 2013, charges the merchants a 1 percent service fee to handle the transactions.
The rapid growth — from 1,000 to 10,000 clients in a year — appears to be a promising sign for both Bitpay and virtual currencies in general. But, like so many things associated with Bitcoin, it’s too soon to say if the growth is real or illusory.
To get a better idea, I spoke to Bitpay CEO Tony Gallippi last week, and asked him how many of his merchants were actually collecting Bitcoin on a regular basis.
Gallippi estimated that one-third to half of the merchants using Bitpay had a transaction in the last month, and that “a couple hundred” are doing more than five transactions a day. He says frequent users include publishing platform WordPress and Gyft, a site that lets users swap online gift cards.
These details reflect how Bitcoin is still far from becoming a mainstream currency. But, as Gallippi notes:
“We’re still early in the adopter cycle.. only three to four million people around the world have Bitcoins.”
Bitcoin’s future growth may depend on intermediaries like Bitpay. While one of the virtual currency’s prime benefits is that it peer-to-peer, and doesn’t require middle-men, it is still too esoteric for average consumers and merchants to grasp; that’s why companies like Bitpay and Coinbase, which offers a newbie-friendly wallet and exchange service, have been able to carve out a place in the noisy Bitcoin eco-system.
In other Bitcoin news, Armory Technologies on Monday announced that it has raised $600,000 to build a more secure wallet for the currency.The Montreal Protocol led to a global phase-out of most substances that deplete the ozone layer, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). A happy side-effect of the gradual ban of these products is that Earth's climate has also benefited because CFCs are also potent greenhouse gases. However, now a "rebound effect" threatens to accelerate the rate of global warming.
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which have been used in recent years in increasing quantities as substitutes for CFCs, are also climatically very active and many are also extremely long-lived. In the journal Science an international team of researchers recommends that the most potent of these gases also be regulated. This could save the positive "side effect" of the Montreal Protocol for the global climate.
It is regarded as the most successful international environmental agreement and has, to date, been ratified by 196 countries -- the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer. As a result, CFCs and ozone "killers" will gradually disappear from the atmosphere over the coming decades. And because many of these substances are also very active greenhouse gases, Earth's climate will profit from the sinking concentrations too.
So far, so good. In many processes where previously CFCs were used, these are now being increasingly substituted by fluorinated compounds such as HFCs (which, simply put, are similar substances to CFCs but do not contain chlorine and do not deplete stratospheric ozone). They are used as cooling agents in air conditioning plants and refrigerators, as propellants in aerosol cans, as solvents and as foaming agents in the manufacture of foam products. However, there is a downside to the use of HFCs -- they are also very potent greenhouse gases. HFC-134a, also known as R-134a, for example, which is used in automobile air conditioning units, is 1430 more active than the "classic" greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO 2 ).
International environmental agreements can also have unwanted side effects
The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is covered by the Kyoto Protocol. This agreement is, however, not binding for the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the USA (which has never ratified the protocol), nor for threshold and developing countries. In addition the Kyoto Protocol is currently limited to the period from 2000 to 2012. No agreement has yet been reached on extending it. What this means is that the significant increase in global emissions of HFCs seen over the past few years will soon negate the positive effects on climate brought by the Montreal protocol's CFC phase-out.
This link is shown by an analysis published in the latest issue of "Science." An international team of researchers, headed by Holland's Guus Velders and including the chemistry Nobel laureate Mario Molina and Empa researcher Stefan Reimann, investigated the unintentional (positive) climate effects resulting from the Montreal Protocol. Since the year 2000 the radiative forcing (a measure of the effect on the climate of chemical substances) of all ozone-depleting substances including CFCs has remained at a more or less constant value of 0.32 W/m2, compared to a value of 1.5 W/m2 for CO 2. Had the Montreal Protocol recommendations not been implemented, today's value would be approximately double this figure, i.e. 0.65 W/m2. Putting things another way, the CFC ban has prevented the equivalent of 10 billion tonnes of CO 2 being emitted into the atmosphere in 2010, five times the annual reduction target set by the Kyoto Protocol.
Velders, Reimann and their co-authors fear that this positive effect will soon be negated by HFC emissions, which are currently increasing at 10 to 15% annually. In their article they state that "the HFC contribution to climate change can be viewed as an unintended negative side effect" of the Montreal Protocol. At the moment the effect is still small -- about 0.012 W/m2 for all CFC substitutes combined. But it is beyond question that radiative forcing due to HFCs will rise significantly in future as a result of increasing demand and production for these substances, above all in threshold and developing countries. The atmospheric scientists estimate that this value will rise to between 0.25 und 0.4 W |
596 days till Election Day, and so much work to do.
REPORTER ASSOCIATE Jessica Shambora contributed to this article.Zuckerman v. Hoffa: Can a “Pissed-off Teamster” Push Out the Incumbent?
Turnout is the name of the game, since only about 1 in 5 Teamsters voted in the last election. (Teamsters for a Democratic Union/ Facebook)
This article was first posted at Labor Notes.
At last, November’s election deadline is almost here—clinching a dramatic race that featured a nail-biter of a nomination contest, a raucous convention, and an email scandal. Few undecided voters are left. The candidates have painted starkly different visions for the future of jobs, health care, retirement, and democracy itself. Now the outcome depends on how effectively each side can turn out its votes.
Trump vs. Clinton? Nope—I’m talking about the battle for the top seats in the Teamsters Union. Ballots hit the mail October 6, and the vote count begins November 14.
Unusual among U.S. unions, members of the Teamsters are constitutionally guaranteed the right to directly elect their international union officers every five years—thanks to decades of dogged advocacy by the rank-and-file reform network Teamsters for a Democratic Union.
And this year, a fired-up slate called Teamsters United, supported by TDU, is giving 17-year incumbent James P. Hoffa a run for his money.
Local 89 President Fred Zuckerman, the self-described “pissed-off Teamster” who heads the Teamsters United ticket, has been on the front lines of resistance to the givebacks that Hoffa’s crew forced onto UPS workers—and the ones it’s still trying to force onto carhaulers, who voted down a contract offer for the second time this fall.
The challengers are buoyed up by a tide of anger over contract concessions, pension attacks, and corruption scandals that implicate high-ranking union leaders.
“If we did a straw poll in our barns we would win in a landslide,” said Dave Bernt, a UPS feeder driver in Chicago, running for trustee on the Teamsters United ticket. “But that doesn’t mean anything if we don’t get members to mail in their ballots.”
So rank-and-file volunteers who’ve spent the last two years talking to as many Teamsters as they could are kicking into high gear. It’s time to get out the vote.
Turnout is the key
Turnout is the name of the game, since only about 1 in 5 Teamsters voted in the last election. The challengers will need to boost that percentage. There’s no electoral college here—it’s one member, one vote.
To hone their local strategies, the activists have studied past election results. In Chicago, for instance, Hoffa won 2 to 1 in 2011. The biggest turnout came from Local 727, which International Vice President John Coli runs as practically a family business.
But this year, Chicago is “Fred Zuckerman Country,” Bernt said. True, the reformers are unlikely to flip Coli’s local—but it’s just one of 19 Teamster locals in the area, and not even the biggest.
Through 18 months of campaigning, the Chicago crew has mapped out support worksite by worksite. In the largest locals “we’ve campaigned at all of the major barns once, and several key barns have gotten a second or third visit,” Bernt said. “We’ve collected thousands of phone numbers and emails.
“We know the lay of the land, where we’re strong and where we’re not. We can win Chicago by getting out more votes in our strongholds.”
Over the weekend, members around the country received a robo-call from actor Danny DeVito urging all Teamsters to vote. The union paid for that as nonpartisan, though DeVito just happened to produce a movie called “Hoffa.”
The incumbents have the money advantage. Though only Teamsters may legally donate to these campaigns, Hoffa’s rich buddies in the union have come through, raising a campaign chest of more than $2 million.
Most eligible voters don’t work under national contracts or have Teamster pensions, and they may feel little connection to the union. Without big money for mailings and ads, the scrappy Teamsters United campaign is working hard to reach more members one on one.
“We’re all sacrificing for this,” said Joan-Elaine Miller, who delivers UPS packages in Philadelphia and serves on the TDU steering committee. “I’m using all my vacation time to campaign. It’s too important not to. This is an investment in my future.”
A voice for part-timers
The early weeks are crucial, before people have had time to misplace their ballots. Rank-and-file volunteers are organizing local phonebanks and leafleting at big workplaces to remind supporters to vote.
And on the job, they’re mobilizing co-worker communication networks. “I go to the seniority person and say, ‘You’ve got to make sure everyone on your line votes,’” said New York City UPS part-timer Dave Loobie, another Teamsters United candidate for trustee.
“You have to see them drop it in the mailbox. It’s not enough to just say they voted. If that means we all go the post office together, that’s what we have to do.” He’s telling his co-workers, “I’m going to ask you 100 times, so if you don’t want me to ask you, take a picture of yourself dropping it in the mailbox and send me the picture.”
Loobie, who’s worked at UPS for 19 years, is one of two part-timers on the slate, and Zuckerman has pledged to appoint him to the next contract negotiating committee.
Till now UPS part-timers haven’t had a voice at the bargaining table. They sort and load packages right alongside full-timers—but start at $10 an hour, and are guaranteed only three and a half hours of work per shift.
Hoffa didn’t make it to the August presidential debate; he sent his running mate, Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall, to lock horns with Zuckerman on his behalf. Hall boasted that the average part-timer actually makes $31 an hour, if you factor in the cost of health benefits.
Loobie found that insulting. “I don’t remember the last time you could pay your rent with your health care,” he said, “or go to the grocery store with your health care.
“He made it sound like health care was some extra bonus, not something you deserve. Health care, which is a basic need of human beings. It was a funny thing to know that this is a man who sat and negotiated the part-time contract for UPS.”
Seamy details exposed
Besides sounding out of touch on workplace issues, the incumbents have been plagued by a string of racketeering and corruption charges.
The latest probe, announced last month, concerns how investment firm owner Charles Bertucio brokered a lucrative health insurance deal covering 20,000 Teamsters—after allegedly treating Hoffa and other top officers to European golf vacations and hiring Hoffa’s son.
Emails that came to light last month shed unflattering light on another case. After Teamsters in Minnesota unanimously voted down a contract offer, union Vice President Rome Aloise flew in from California and apparently forced the local union officer to accept the company’s concessionary terms.
Amid those negotiations, the emails show that Aloise asked the company for six tickets for Hoffa’s Chief of Staff Willie Smith to a Playboy-Crown Royal-sponsored Super Bowl party.
It’s illegal for union officers or staff to take gifts of value from employers, even if there’s no quid pro quo. But in this case, the quo isn’t hard to spot. The company negotiator praises Aloise for pushing the deal through, and passes his ticket request up the chain of command, in the very same email.
Meanwhile emails on the union side show how Teamsters honchos were scratching each other’s backs too. Aloise confirms that he’s lining up those Playboy party tickets for Smith—in reply to an email where Smith approves Aloise’s request for a weeklong, union-paid trip to Paris.
Hoffa received all these details in February, when the union’s Independent Review Board recommended he bring charges against Aloise. Instead he stalled. His slate nominated Aloise for reelection, and Smith is still on the job.
Aloise, perhaps not coincidentally, was the top fundraiser for Hoffa’s 2011 campaign.
Rampant bullying
In some locals, the campaigners are fighting on two fronts.
Teamsters United vice presidential candidate Kimberly Schultz swept the August election for the top seat in Florida’s Local 2011, winning an overwhelming 87 percent of the votes. Schultz had led the fight to end a five-year trusteeship of her local, which represents 4,000 workers at the Department of Corrections.
Harold Armstrong, who’s been delivering UPS packages in Memphis for 27 years, comes from a union family—his mother was a teacher, his father a postal worker. This year he got a message printed on the back of his T-shirt: “I’M PISSED OFF LIKE FRED!!”
Harassment is a major concern for UPS workers, full-time and part-time alike. Electronics track their every move. Supervisors may come after you for your rate of errors, your pace of deliveries or scans per hour, or how many seconds you had your foot on the brake.
So even when supervisors violate the contract by forcing drivers off their bid routes or short-shifting part-timers, “they scare employees so much that they don’t file a grievance,” Armstrong said.
To revive contract enforcement, he’s running for Local 667 trustee on a reform slate led by Jerry Yarbrough, also a Teamsters United candidate for vice president. They’re challenging local officers who are notorious for not putting in a full day’s work.
Let a little light in
It was inaction on grueling production standards that inspired Ventura, California, warehouse worker Benny Hernandez to run for Local 186 president. He took office in January.
“They count every minute, every step you take,” he said. “They’re overloading trucks with groceries, creating an unsafe environment for workers, pushing them to their limits. They want the older seniority guys to retire.”
Hernandez has been a Teamster for 36 years, driving at Sysco Foods for 23 of them. A former Hoffa supporter, he gradually shifted his perspective and ultimately decided to challenge his local leaders after “seeing all the corruption, the lack of organizing, the complacency of officials, and the do-nothing leadership that doesn’t engage or educate the members.”
He wants to send members to a University of Wisconsin School for Workers program to learn exactly how the production standards work, so they won’t have to take the company’s word for it anymore. The previous administration shot down this idea.
In September, Hernandez and another grocery warehouse Teamster, Frank Villa, hopped in a motor home and took a trip around the state, campaigning for Teamsters United on their own dime. They met Teamsters who didn’t even know who Hoffa was, or what local they belonged to.
At a Safeway distribution yard in Tracy, California, a shop steward showed up to yell that they weren’t wanted. But “we turned around and there were so many people there wanting to engage us,” Hernandez said. “His own members told us not to listen to him.
“We said, ‘It really looks like you’ve got a lot of support here, buddy. That’s how you guys get elected, keeping people in the dark.’”Update: President Trump confirms he did not make a tape of his conversation...
With all of the recently reported electronic surveillance, intercepts, unmasking and illegal leaking of information, I have no idea... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2017
...whether there are "tapes" or recordings of my conversations with James Comey, but I did not make, and do not have, any such recordings. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2017
* * *
Having teased the world, and bluffed Comey and his Democratic Party supporters about the possibility of recordings of his conversations with the former FBI Director, Bloomberg reports that a'source familiar with the matter' confirms that President Trump does not have any tapes.
Trump raised the possibility of tapes in a strategic fashion to ensure that Comey told the truth, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The president has promised to answer the question soon. He ended a news conference on June 9 with a cliff-hanger about the tapes:
“I’ll tell you about that over a very short period of time.”
He said in the same news conference that reporters would be disappointed with his answer -- suggesting that there are no tapes.
This'source' follows earlier comments from Trump confidant Newt Gingrich who noted...
"I think he was in his way instinctively trying to rattle Comey," says former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a longtime Trump confidant. "He's not a professional politician. He doesn't come back and think about Nixon and Watergate. His instinct is: 'I'll outbluff you.'"
All of which sound remarkably like the'source' that Bloomberg quotes.New comic!
Sorry this one’s a little late.
Trans people have to walk this really fine line with respect to acceptable gender expression. Deviating from what is considered ‘normal’ for their gender results in the credibility of that gender being called into question in ways that just don’t happen with cis people.
(while this happens with all trans people, I’m going to focus on trans women for this post)
The truth is, while feminism is making awesome inroads in creating space for women to adopt a range of gender expressions beyond what social norms of ‘women’ have prescribed, so often that only applies to cis women. Trans women who ‘break’ femininity are regarded as essentially ‘letting slip’ their ‘actual gender’.
This is a symptom of the fact that trans people are largely still considered to be ‘acting like ‘ their gender – ‘acting’ being the operative term. People see their gender as being something that sits upon a deeper truth – some less genuine, something deceptive.
There’s another side to this, of course, for trans women who adopt non-transgressive expressions of femininity – they’re accused (often within the feminist community) of reinforcing stereotypes, damaging the image of women.
So there’s really no way to win. Trans women who conform too much are essentially accused of being in bad drag, trans women who don’t conform enough are accused of a lack of commitment to their gender.
That great work we do, where we’re troubling what gender norms are, challenging sexist ideals, and taking control of our bodies? We need to make sure that we’re opening up those opportunities for ALL women. And we need to make that space available for all other genders, as well. I don’t believe in feminism that opens doors to some people while locking them for others.Monday, December 1, 2014 at 7:56AM
Both Chip Shop and Corner Burger, on the southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and Sixth Street, will be closing soon.
Last month, a Craigslist ad went up advertising the "double wide corner space," and a realtor's sign went up in Chip Shop's windows shortly after that. Representatives from both Corner Burger and Chip Shop told me that the primary reason behind the closures is flagging sales.
Corner Burger was a no-frills burger joing that actually served some pretty good burgers, as well as the best poutine this side of Mile End. They're currently offering all beers for $3, and may close as soon as tonight.
Chip Shop opened in 2001, and quickly became popular for its fish and chips and traditional British fare as well as novelties like deep-fried pizza and Mars Bars. There's a second location on Atlantic Avenue which will be staying open, but this location will be closing for good on December 24 at 5 pm. Here's the note they've posted on their windows and Facebook page:THIS KICKSTARTER AND PRODUCT ARE BEING FUNDED WITH PERMISSION FROM SONATA ARCTICA, THEIR MANAGEMENT, RECORD LABELS, AND ALL ASSOCIATED PARTIES.
SONATA ARCTICA AND ALL OTHER ARTISTS FEATURED IN THIS RELEASE WILL ALSO RECEIVE ROYALTIES BASED ON THE ALBUM SALES WITHIN THIS CAMPAIGN.
Greetings from OUERGH RECORDS, an independent Scottish Rock and Metal record label! We would like to thank you for taking interest in this project.
'A Tribute To Sonata Arctica' will be a sensational tribute album, featuring cover versions of SONATA ARCTICA songs, performed by various artists from around the world who have been inspired by the Finnish power metallers' music.
We have been in discussion with SONATA ARCTICA regarding this unofficial release, and are proud to finally announce that the process of bringing this tribute album to their fans is underway.
XANDRIA from Germany
The band are set to cover 'Don't Say A Word' from the album 'Reckoning Night' (2004)
VAN CANTO from Germany
The band are set to cover 'Victoria's Secret' from the album 'Winterheart's Guild' (2003)
STREAM OF PASSION from The Netherlands
The band are set to cover 'I Have A Right' from the album 'Stones Grow Her Name' (2012)
ARVEN from Germany
The band are set to cover 'Replica' from the album 'Ecliptica' (1999)
DYSCORDIA from Belgium
The band are set to cover 'My Land' from the album 'Ecliptica' (1999)
TIMELESS MIRACLE from Sweden
The band are set to cover 'FullMoon' from the album 'Ecliptica' (1999)
SUNRISE from Ukraine
The band are set to cover 'Black Sheep' from the album 'Silence' (2001)
INNVEIN from Argentina
The band are set to cover 'Wolf & Raven' from the album 'Silence' (2001)
MAJESTY OF REVIVAL from Ukraine
The band are set to cover 'The Cage' from the album 'Winterheart's Guild' (2003)
CELESTIAL WISH from England
The band are set to cover 'Paid In Full' from the album 'Unia' (2007)
PLUS MANY MORE TBA!
These bonus tracks will feature cover songs of SONATA ARCTICA classics performed by Scottish artists signed to OUERGH RECORDS.
MORLICH from Scotland
The band are set to cover 'Respect The Wilderness' from the album 'Silence' (2001)
DISPOSABLE from Scotland
The band are set to cover '8th Commandment' from the album 'Ecliptica' (1999)
PLUS MANY MORE TBA!
As this is an incredible release on a massive scale, we shall be able to bring 'A Tribute To Sonata Arctica' to the masses far more quickly with crowd-funding! Not only that, but we can also offer SONATA ARCTICA fans additional perks for aiding us along this journey.
With a funding goal of £5000 to continue with and complete the project, this amount will help allow us to ensure the album is mastered and printed to the highest possible quality.
However, the more money we receive, the more well-known and professional acts we will be able to feature, making this album even greater than before.
In short, everything we make over £5000 will go towards BIGGER ARTISTS, COOLER ARTWORK, BETTER MASTERING and HIGHER QUALITY OVERALL for the final product.Gibson have had absolutely massive week, announcing two new model lines, with additions to the Ultima range of guitars, and a new selection of Custom Shop Les Paul Specials.
Gibson have revealed two new ranges of Limited Edition guitars in their Custom Shop and Ultima series.
The first new addition to the Gibson family is a line of limited edition custom shop Les Paul Specials, finished in a range of beautiful 60s-inspired colours and – as a first for Gibson – matching necks and headstocks.
This limited run is avaliable in a variety of bright finishes like Cardinal Red, Pelham Blue, Frost Blue, Inverness Green and Kerry Green, on top of the usual Les Paul Special features, such as a mahogany body and a set of P90s (see above).
The second new addition to the Gibson line is two new guitars in their Ultima rage: a new limited run Les Paul, and for the first time, an ES-335. The Ultima makeover includes pearl/abalone inlays with tree of life patterns and stunning gold hardware.
The Ultima Les Paul is available in two different finishes, Heritage Cherry Sunburst or Cobra, with the ES-335 sporting a metallic Inverness Green finish.
See Gibson for more info.The local foreclosure rate is declining, but it’s still much higher than the national one. In light of this, the mayor shows no sign of backing down. “The risk that is really confronting us,” she said, “is waiting on the sidelines for the next wave of foreclosures.”
When the council first voted on eminent domain, in April, members were unanimously in favor. But then the opposition campaign began. Ms. McLaughlin predicted that her motion that September night would pass with five of seven council votes, but it squeaked by with just four. Jeffrey Wright, a real estate broker who is leading the local opposition, was satisfied.
“This underwater mortgage bailout program,” he said later, “is on life support.”
The day after the vote, Ms. McLaughlin was in her office, working on an entirely different project: getting ready for a trip to Ecuador, at the invitation of that country’s president, to tour the damage that courts there have ruled was caused by oil drilling by Texaco, now owned by Chevron.
Image Jeffrey Wright, a real estate broker, is leading the local opposition to the idea. Credit Jim Wilson/The New York Times
It is Chevron, not mortgage debt relief, that has defined much of Ms. McLaughlin’s tenure. The company, which has a large refinery in Richmond, is the city’s largest taxpayer and employer, and Ms. McLaughlin has led the fight — first as an activist, and then as mayor — to force Chevron to pay higher taxes and to pay more damages after a refinery explosion last year sent thousands of area residents to emergency rooms.
A longtime advocate of left-wing causes, Ms. McLaughlin, a Green Party member, is part of a Richmond political alliance that has vowed not to accept corporate campaign donations. In 2010, she was re-elected over a Chevron-backed challenger. She helped ease policies that criminalized homelessness and harried illegal immigrants, and brought a solar panel factory and a branch of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to town.
But Richmond was staggered by the recession. Homes in the city lost 66 percent of their value, on average, and are still worth less than half what they were at their peak, in January 2006. Some 16 percent of homeowners lost their homes in foreclosure, leaving so many scars on neighborhoods that the city began fining banks $1,000 a day if they failed to maintain their property; the city has collected $1.5 million so far.
Richmond held sessions where homeowners could meet with bank representatives and legal aid groups, but too often, the mayor says, the efforts came to naught. Last summer, underwater homeowners owed, on average, 45 percent more than the value of their homes, according to the city manager.These aren’t the Droids You’re Looking For
David Odom Blocked Unblock Follow Following Mar 8, 2016
Physical robots have been a pursuit since the dawn of imagination spurred visions of automating life. But there’s another class of robotics with more impact and potential than the domain of physical robots: software bots. Today, these virtual bots persist and dance across the fabric of the internet with purposes both malicious and benevolent. And the bot revolution has only just begun. The inevitable march towards deeper integration between the human experience and computing are demanding new frameworks, interaction patterns, and phyla of bots.
The Bots are Here
What exactly defines a bot? My answer may be different than more conventional views. I see a bot as something akin to a biologic cell: focused in purpose; self-contained; self-replicating; interacting through distributed communication patterns and networks; autonomous; and ultimately existing as a lower order functional entity with a high degree of specialization. Bots can work together in larger complex arrays, much like multi-cellular organisms, to accomplish higher order functions and interactions. These arrays of bots exist on a continuum of automation and intelligence. It is interesting to observe that higher degrees of automation are often associated with intelligence (and sometimes magic).
And leading IT platforms of today are all working on some form of intelligent bot, but I suggest that these bots are really just automation agents existing separate and apart from our individual self. The idea of talking at an external agent to automate interactions on a platform is certainly a powerful concept but ultimately not the world I see us heading towards. Even if you consider that these are placeholders for gradual upgrades to “Artificial Intelligence,” the separation of state between the true user self and agent will remain a constraint and source of friction.
We are on a collision course with direct computing interfaces to our biologic self. The world is expanding its interaction in the virtual and online domain at a dramatically faster rate than the physical domain, because the online world is not constrained by physical limits. Computing is becoming a deeper extension of ourselves as we more directly wield its power to address individual needs and challenges.
The Transformation
As an engineering student I was always fascinated with the idea of mathematical transforms. A primary use of transforms is to convert a mathematical problem into an abstract mathematical domain, where the rules of the abstract domain allow the problem to be solved in a more computationally efficient manner. Once the result is computed, the answer is transformed back into the context of the original problem domain.
It can be helpful to consider modern computing as a transform that projects our real world requests and problems into a virtual domain, where the rules of computing and networks provide a more efficient and comprehensive solution path than if we were limited to carrying out those tasks in the physical world. Once the request is fulfilled or the problem solved, the results are projected back into the physical domain through the interfaces of electronics and computers.
We are all Made of Bots
Ultimately our projection or transform in to the virtual computing domain mimics a more modern view of our physical self. Instead of a hierarchical cell, tissue, organ framework our human bodies can be considered a container of floating ecosystems constantly interacting across a distributed system. In the same way, our virtual selves will begin to resemble a flattening container of complex distributed arrays of bot frameworks, a nod to biomimetics.
An initial attempt at this concept is well underway through the appification of our lives. Countless specialized software apps exist ready for download and use on our mobile phones. But like so many other prehistoric experiments in nature’s lab, this branch of computing genetics is likely to meet a fate of demise. The world has evolved to a pervasive and expansive grid of computing, networking, and distributed communications. And the largely siloed and transactional app of today will give way to specialized bots that seamlessly and efficiently connect, organize, and conform to our larger needs and human interaction patterns.
The Age of Bots
The Age of Bots is near as platforms and startups expand further into distributed and containerized micro-services, running on automated, grid-scale computing infrastructure. Computing begins to resemble networking concepts with graphs of nodes compared to current discrete and monolithic applications running on servers.
If we peer further down the evolutionary path of bots, I see a complex web of self-composed bot arrays orchestrated in dynamic and fluid cadence, driven by a circular flow of interactions between our lives and the connected systems that surround us. As these interactions merge into a constant stream of transforms, projecting between physical and virtual domains, a hybrid terrain is formed that presents new challenges in security, privacy, and identity management.
And The Age of Machina is not far behind with self-piloted vehicles, higher levels of equipment automation, and refined robotic platforms. But even these platforms will take on behaviors and personas and leverage software bots to acquire processing and knowledge gain. Imagine: Cutting through the night, a vehicle hurtles towards a twisting series of switchbacks in the mountains. On-board vehicle systems reach back to persistent airships and roving drones that silently provide overwatch for potential hazards from weather or obstacles. A sea of software bots ingest and synthesize thousands of parallel sensor nodes and data feeds in real-time, deftly adjusting traction control, speed and direction to safely navigate the roadway.
Have your Bot call my Bot
Ultimately, a multitude of unique bot and framework classes will be required to perform complex tasks. But how do we interact with that complexity? It has been said that the best user interface is no interface. The more we are able, in an automated and intuitive way, to project our environment, needs, and problems into a virtual computing domain, the less we need to directly interact with other agents and systems. At some point I will not need to verbalize basic requests to an AI entity. The AI agent will just contact my extended self, enabled in part by wearable sensors and IoT systems, utilizing bot to bot communications to understand and react.
Over time, the classic human computing interface will simplify. And conversely, the interaction patterns of underlying bots and frameworks will expand. The dynamic nature of coalescing various bot specializations to form a higher order activity or function suggests new modes of coordination and signaling. Consider some examples of potential bot classes:
Search Bot
As information and data diffuses to the periphery of the internet’s observable boundary, Search Bots will provide personalized and highly tuned data crawling and synthesis. Scouring the plains of data grids, in conjunction with search service platforms, Search Bots would be aware of personal context and have the ability to conduct finely grained information or functional searches with strong disambiguation. Search is not just informational but transactional to include product purchase or personal services.
Sentinel Bot
Sentinel Bots will provide critical security monitoring, defenses and responses. Complex coordination of specialized Sentinel Bots from a broad array of algorithmic and heuristic based services would provide robust and scaleable multi-layered protection. Sentinel bots would coordinate with physical systems to extend security state and awareness across the virtual and physical domain.
Transact Bot
Traversing networks, accessing data, and purchasing services or other bots may require the ability to complete autonomous transactions. Transact Bots will coordinate with a central platform or internally store virtual currency to complete transactions following custom limits and validations.
Terraform Bot
Terraform Bots will provision and partition bare metal computing and storage resources, grooming them for virtualized network and processing requirements of specialized frameworks. Terraform Bots will be capable of on-demand instantiation of higher layer processing and network elements that may be used to dynamically generate virtual worlds or complex infrastructure overlays.
Bot Battles
Given the previous bot class examples, let’s consider the following scenario to examine how they might interact:
It’s early in the morning, and you have just activated three highly sensitive searches around critical research and intellectual property for a startup company concept. An hour later your home’s intrusion monitor detects suspicious activity at the north east corner of your backyard. The alert is instantly forwarded to your search sentinel bots, and it will be the last, as the power to your home and communications are taken offline.
The Search Bots have had a successful run of deep data mining and experiments with two critical discoveries. Without the embedded intellectual property the Search would have been a failure. As the Search Bots prepare to update their status, the security alert is received by the attached Sentinel Bots. The Sentinel Bots are called into immediate action as they coordinate with Transacts bots to purchase computing resources to increase defensive posture, anticipating a potential offensive. Instantly, multiple echelons of advanced Sentinels are generated with specializations ranging from general threat detection to advanced encoding and encryption techniques. At the same time Sentinel Bots are engaged with the Terraform Bots to produce complex routers and virtual networking infrastructure to establish secure pathways of returning the critical discoveries.
As the defenses organize, the first volley occurs. A massive army of Probe Bots map the perimeter defenses and marshall resources around a more focused set of attacks. The plan is simple: Overwhelm your bots and interrupt their ability to spawn new defensive resources. Your Sentinel Bots predict this attack vector. The Terraform bots are re-directed to allocate all compute power to generate massive volumes of data while a squadron of encryption bots employ a one time key to begin encrypting and sharding the critical discovery data across the gigabits of new data. Ultimately your bot defenses are overwhelmed, but not before a lone Sentinel was able to escape through a transient virtual network router. The Sentinel will remain hidden until you are able to securely retrieve it and the location of the encrypted data.
The Botification of Me: A Personal Bot OS
While the bot battle scenario is somewhat contrived, it does depict the need for coordinating forces and frameworks to successfully marshall disparate bot classes. Ultimately this will require multiple forms of bot OS frameworks. But one of the most fundamental and foundational OS frameworks must start with a personal bot OS: the bot OS of you. Without a deeply connected and intimately trusted OS framework to coordinate personal bots, it will be difficult to effectively realize the full potential and benefits of the larger concepts.
We have hardly scratched the surface of what it might mean to have a deeply connected personal array of bots, much less the larger domain of pervasive bot based systems. I plan to expand on these concepts and delve deeper into the classes and anatomy of bots, while considering higher layer bot OS frameworks. I hope you will join me for the conversation, and I welcome all feedback.
-David Odom
[Credits: Layout, Illustration, and Concepts: David Odom, Robots: Simon Child and Julian Roman from the Noun Project]More than half of the roads in the San Diego area are in poor condition, costing the average motorist more than $800 in annual vehicle expenses, according to a study released Thursday.
The San Diego area was ranked eighth-worst in the nation in terms of bad roads, with 51 percent considered to be in poor condition, according to the study by TRIP, a Washington, D.C.-based transportation research group. The area placed ninth for additional costs to motorists due to bad roads, at an annual average of $843.
The San Francisco/Oakland area was ranked worse in both areas, with 74 percent of roads in bad condition, costing motorists $1,044 a year. The Los Angeles/Long Beach/Santa Ana region was second-worst, with 73 percent of roads in bad condition, costing the average motorist $1,031 a year in expenses such as vehicle deterioration and depreciation, increased maintenance, fuel consumption and tire wear.
The Riverside-San Bernardino area placed 14th worst with 46 percent of roads in poor condition, and 12th worst in terms of annual cost to motorists, at $812 a year.
"The long-term preservation and maintenance of our national transportation system depends on federal investment," said Bud Wright, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. "We can do better than the uncertainty of short-term extensions. America needs Congress to fully fund a multi-year surface transportation bill."
Jill Ingrassia of the American Automobile Association said the rough roads "stress nerves and cost billions in unnecessary vehicle replacement, repair and fuel costs."
"Full investment in our nation's transportation system will reduce the financial burden on drivers and provide them with a smoother, safer and more efficient ride," she said.
A little over two weeks ago, the city of San Diego began a $74 million effort to fix 300 miles of roadways during this fiscal year. Mayor Kevin Faulconer set a goal of repairing 1,000 miles of streets over the next five years.
According to data provided by the city, around 175 miles of roads were repaved or slurry-sealed in five of the previous seven fiscal years.
The city is also conducting its own assessment of street conditions, with results due in December.
To view PDF documents, Download Acrobat Reader.Lou Mongello / Wednesday, June 27th, 2012
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Magic Kingdom guests will blink back in amazement at the scene: not one, but two colorful Dumbos spinning through the sky above Storybook Circus as the expansion of the New Fantasyland continues.
To the delight of fans of the beloved Dumbo, the Flying Elephant attraction, a second Dumbo is in its soft-testing phase, with limited hours, taking its place alongside a Dumbo that opened in March. It’s part of the multiyear, largest expansion in Magic Kingdom history.
Not only are two Dumbos, side by side, unprecedented for a Disney park anywhere in the world, they even fly in opposite directions: one clockwise, the other counterclockwise. A real circus act, if you will. Official opening is set for July.
The iconic attraction was inspired by “Dumbo,” the 1941 animated Disney feature film about a baby circus elephant born with huge ears. Dumbo and his mother suffer the taunts of other elephants and circus guests. But humiliation turns to triumph when Dumbo is surprised to discover, with the help of his faithful mouse friend, Timothy, that he can use the oversized ears to fly.
And “fly” is the sensation guests get aboard the Dumbo-shaped vehicles of Dumbo, the Flying Elephant. Young and old alike delight in controlling the up-and-down movement of their vehicles with the simple maneuver of a lever.
Both Dumbos feature shiny new red and gold colors (inspired by ’50s- and ’60s-era tin toys), beautiful newly-created signature illustrations from Disney animators and a new water feature circling the base of both attractions – a first for Dumbo.
The two Dumbos are connected to a new “big top” area (open limited hours in this soft-testing phase) allowing guests to immerse themselves in circus lore in a series of fun, interactive experiences before their spin with their favorite circus elephant.
Guests receive a circus ticket pager that virtually holds their place and notifies them when it’s their turn to board either Dumbo. In the meantime, fun-filled games and experiences are theirs to enjoy – in air-conditioned comfort. Guests electing the FASTPASS option bypass the tent en route to their flight with Dumbo.
Along with the two Dumbos, Storybook Circus now boasts the family-friendly Barnstormer coaster re-themed to The Great Goofini, the new Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak Station water play area and the Fantasyland Train Station, a stop on the Walt Disney World Railroad.
Do you have a favorite memory associated with Dumbo? Do you have a tradition associated with this iconic ride? Tell us in the comments below!
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Loyalty cards and loyalty programs encourage customers to keep coming back to the same store in hopes of gaining perks or discounts or some other amorphous reward. But what do you do when you |
central antagonist in Alien, close your eyes now.)
Here we go.
Can you tell what it is yet?
It’s looking pretty angular.
And beautifully mirrored, at least along the y-axis.
Well, that was unexpected. I’m still none the wiser, mind.
WAIT A MINUTE. I might have an idea where this is going.
Oh, no, I was wrong. Still, that new line is almost certainly completing the middle part of a W, yes? (It certainly looks like two strokes and a crotch, at least from where I’m standing.)
WAIT ANOTHER MINUTE. Crop. Zoom. Enhance.
I hate to say it, but a little bit of the bar on this capital A (for it is he) has been allowed to bleed out into the unfolding titles. Talk about typographic spoilers. Look really closely and you’ll see what I mean:
That’s totally going to become a capital A, isn’t it? God, that’s ruined everything. In fact, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to discover that this entire credits sequence is going to end up spelling the word ALIEN:
Right you are, then. Let’s get on with it. (For those of you with your eyes closed to avoid spoilers: you can open them again now.)
After all that Futura-ish beauty, it’s a little disappointing to see a follow-up card introduce commercial towing vehicle The Nostromo with some slightly fuzzy Helvetica:
This title card from Alien is an example – possibly the Ur Example – of a popular sci-fi trope, the Foreshadowing Inventory. Seven crew, you say? Hmm. Seven. Let’s hope nothing disastrous happens to them, one by one. And their course is set for a return to Earth, eh? Well, I’m sure that’s the likely outcome for this particular story.
The Foreshadowing Inventory crops up in other movies too, such as the opening card from Moon:
A crew of one, you say? And there for only three years? Interesting. I wonder if these facts will turn out to be significant to the plot?
A final point on Alien’s Foreshadowing Inventory: hmm. That’s a nice twenty million tons of mineral ore you’ve got there. It would be a shame if something were to… happen to it. (We do like a good bit of typographic foreshadowing here at TITF.)
Let’s take a look on board the Nostromo. The opening shots of the craft give some tantalizing glimpses of its wall-based iconography:
These icons are the work of cinematic design legend Ron Cobb. He named them the Semiotic Standard For All Commercial Trans-Stellar Utility Lifter And Heavy Element Transport Spacecraft. The production sketches below are from Cobb’s 1981 collected works, Colorvision:
My favorite is #23 – “COFFEE”:
“Semiotics”, of course, is “the study of signs and symbols, and their use or interpretation”. (I could just as easily have called this blog Semiotic-matic.)
You might have noticed that these icons bear a striking resemblance to the rounded rectangles used for modern app iconography. Indeed, design company The Iconfactory has recreated the Semiotic Standard as a beautiful set of iOS app icons. It could be argued that Cobb provided the inspiration for rounded-rectangle iconography some 28 years before Apple made it the standard on the iPhone. (Although tegestologists may well argue their case too.)
A quick glance back over the iconography of Moon shows that (like many sci-fi movies) it owes a large debt to the Semiotic Standard:
On the subject of iconography: the set of Alien was actually built as a single sprawling series of interconnected rooms, just like the set of Moon. Here we have the Nostromo‘s Control Room at the top of the photo, connected to the Central Corridor below:
I like to think that the Semiotic Standard served a practical purpose for the cast, helping them to navigate around the Nostromo as they made their way through filming.
In addition to the Semiotic Standard, Cobb was also responsible for the final design of the Nostromo itself. Let’s continue on our tour of his creation.
The crew are noticeable by their absence at the start of the movie, as reinforced by this Helvetica-monikered EMERGENCY HELMET:
(At least, I say it’s Helvetica – the G is dead cert, but the second M looks more like Futura. Either way, let’s hope there’ll be no need for emergency helmets.)
The Nostromo‘s computers blip into life unexpectedly. You can tell they are the Nostromo‘s computers, because they say Nostromo 180924609 on their boot screen. On this occasion, I don’t recognize the font:
The ship’s registration number is contracted on the next on-screen display:
This screen lists the ship as the Weylan Yutani Nostromo 180246. (Eagle-eyed viewers will have spotted that subsequent Alien films name the company Weyland Yutani, not Weylan Yutani.)
Furthermore, this screenshot shows that the Nostromo has a refinement capacity of “200,000,000 tonnes”, and not the “20,000,000 tons” mentioned in the Foreshadowing Inventory. That’s not just a factor of ten out – it’s also an entirely different unit of measurement.
UPDATE: Several commenters have noted that potential cargo capacity isn’t the same as current cargo, and that the refinery might just be mostly empty. A confession: I realized that myself when writing the article, and was rather hoping that no-one would pull me up for it. Given the audience for this blog, I really should have known better. There’s still the more fundamental problem of tons vs tonnes, however, as I go on to explain…
If you’re familiar with units of weight, you’ll know that a ton is 2,000 pounds if you’re American (known as a “short ton”), or 2,240 pounds if you’re British (known as a “long ton”). Conversely, a tonne (also known as a “metric ton”) is precisely 1,000 kilograms, which is roughly 2,205 pounds.
At this point, you might be thinking: “Wait – why are we talking about units of measurement? Why should I, Joe or Jane Blog-Reader, care about a typographic anomaly in the measurement units of a space-based computer?”
You really should know the answer to that by now. Typography is always important.
Here’s a map of all of the countries in the world that still use pounds as their primary unit of weight:
And here’s a map of all of the countries that don’t:
That’s right – pounds are used by Liberia, Myanmar, and popular space-faring nation The United States of America. And by no-one else AT ALL.
And here’s why you should care. In September 1999, NASA lost its Mars Climate Orbiter craft, ruining a mission that cost over 655 million dollars. The reason for this loss? One part of the Orbiter calculated propulsion in the Imperial system of pound-seconds of thrust, whereas another part used the international standard metric system of newton-seconds of thrust. This caused the Orbiter to gradually deviate from its intended trajectory, and disintegrate in the Mars atmosphere. (And the bit that worked in pound-seconds wasn’t made in Liberia or Myanmar.)
An aside for future-thinking Alien fans: should you ever need to nuke a planet from orbit – it’s the only way to be sure, after all – then don’t worry yourself about the number of megatonnes that your nuke’s detonation will create. Megatonnes aren’t based on any of the units mentioned above.
But enough about massive nuclear explosions – we won’t be needing any of those. Let’s get back to the Nostromo.
The ship’s crew awake from hypersleep, only to discover that they’re not on course for Earth after all. (Damn you, Foreshadowing Inventory!) Star charts are consulted, as they try to work out what’s going on:
This screenshot contains not one but four details of note. The first is some random text on the right-hand monitor screen:
Well, I say random… it may be significant that the text includes the phrase D GILER. (That name might sound familiar.)
The second item of interest is that packet of cigarettes:
Although it’s less clear-cut than D GILER, it’s significant that the actor who played the alien in Alien was none other than 6′10″ Nigerian design student Bolaji Badejo. The similarity of name may just be coincidence, however.
The third item of note is a coffee mug bearing the Weylan-Yutani winged logo:
This logo appears everywhere onboard the ship. Indeed, the Balaji Imperial cigarettes are about the only items that are not corporately branded. Clothing, containers, mugs, even cat dishes all display the corporate logo…
…as do bowls, storage drawers, and water dispensers:
Hell, even the beer is branded:
That’s a 440ml can of Original And Genuine Extra Strong Weylan Yutani Aspen Beer. One thing’s for sure – the Weylan-Yutani Corporation has employee wellbeing as their primary concern. (Yes, just like Lunar Industries.)
The fourth item of note in that screenshot from earlier is the monitor screen itself. A perennial challenge for any sci-fi film is to find a visual style that remains futuristic as technology marches on. The Nostromo‘s production design is a perfect example of used future chic, but shows the challenge of using physical display technology from the 1970s alongside film-based special effects.
Early in the film, we cut from a blurry, low-res shot of an Elite-like descent trajectory:
…to a hi-res animated display of the same descent:
Similarly, when Dallas (the ship’s captain) visits the Nostromo’s master computer (known as “MU/TH/UR”) to find out what’s going on, we cut from a low-res 4:3 CRT display:
…to a hi-res 16:9 text animation more reminiscent of The Matrix:
However, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not the disconnect between these displays that’s at fault. Rather, it’s the presence of those cathode ray tube displays at all:
That curved screen shape immediately shouts “legacy technology”. In 2014, seeing a curved CRT display in a futuristic spacecraft, rather than the ubiquitous flat LCD screens of today, feels somewhat archaic. This was a deliberate choice by the movie’s design team at the time – they chose everyday CRT screens rather than high-tech flat screen displays, to match the rest of the Nostromo’s beaten-up kit – but it dates the movie with hindsight.
Ironically, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey was made 11 years before Alien, and yet has screen technology that looks substantially more futuristic. In the late 1960s, when A Space Odyssey was made, computer graphics simply weren’t good enough to generate the on-screen imagery needed for the Jupiter mission. As a result, all of the screen imagery was hand-animated, and projected onto flat surfaces:
The presence of flat screen displays throughout the Jupiter craft fits 2001‘s polished aesthetic perfectly, and makes the HAL 9000 displays feel futuristic even today.
(Interestingly, the makers of 2014’s Alien: Isolation video game actually reverted to 1970’s video technology to make the game feel more like the original movie. The game’s menu screens were first rendered in software, then recorded on to VHS video tapes, played on a CRT display, filmed, and imported back into the game.)
One final typographic point of note: the on-screen display font for MU/TH/UR appears to be an optically stretched version of City Light:
This is most unusual, if only for being a serif (rather than sans-serif) on-screen computer font in a sci-fi movie.
As the movie unfolds, MU/TH/UR’s behavior reinforces the TITF trend for untrustworthy space-based computers. We discover that MU/TH/UR is a Series 6000:
I’m sure that the 6000 Series has a perfect operational record – at least, going by the Gerty 3000 in Moon and the 9000 Series in 2001. I’d trust both of those computers until the end of my life.
Later in the movie, Ripley interrogates MU/TH/UR to find out the truth about the alien. MU/TH/UR’s response is predictably chilling:
Damn you, untrustworthy space-based computers!
(A final bit of MU/TH/UR trivia: following my Moon post, conceptual designer Gavin Rothery told me that Moon‘s master computer was named “Old Man” – British slang for “father” – as a sneaky tribute to Alien. Nicely done, sir.)
In addition to the CRT displays, there’s a second aspect of Alien’s design that clearly dates the movie to the 70s. For the most part, the movie’s costume design displays a timeless aesthetic for a working interstellar haulage crew:
The exception is Captain Dallas’s jacket, which has the word “NOSTROMO” written on the back in Pump Demi:
Pump Demi was recently voted “Most 70s Font Of All Time” by the International Font Council. That’s not actually true, but it might as well be. It goes to show that it’s very hard to know which aspects of a design will still look futuristic in the future.
Pump Demi is also seen on the crew’s nameplates in the main Nostromo cabin. You can recognize it from its freaky capital Y, even when blurry:
But enough about Pump. We saw earlier how an international mishap with measurement units cost NASA $655m. Alien goes one step further, with possibly the most expensive on-screen localisation error in the history of science fiction.
You’d think that the Weylan(d)-Yutani Corporation, as a large British / Japanese conglomerate, would be familiar with the need for precise translation and localization. However, you would be wrong, sir or madam. Very wrong indeed.
Let’s rejoin Ripley onboard the Nostromo. As the last of her crew-mates are slain by the lurking xenomorph, Ripley realizes that the only option is an Emergency Systems Override to self-destruct the ship. She presses the EMERGENCY button marked PUSH…
…pulls the EMERGENCY lever marked PULL…
…unscrews the EMERGENCY screw…
…unscrews the other EMERGENCY screw…
…pulls two EMERGENCY levers, usefully marked ONE and TWO…
…and finally open the EMERGENCY hatch. (I’m not sure why there are four pulled levers in the background of this shot; Ripley only actually pulls two of them.)
This hatch gives access to the Emergency Destruction System:
Let’s straighten up the screen to make it a bit more readable:
This beautiful (and by the looks of things, hand-painted) display contains yet more typographic foreshadowing. We learn that on activation, the ship will detonate in T minus 10 minutes. Moreover, the Failsafe Cut-Off System will not operate after T minus 5 minutes.
With those surely insignificant facts typographically established, let’s take a look at the scuttle procedure itself. (For the uninitiated, “scuttling” is the nautical procedure of deliberately sinking one’s own ship.)
Perhaps unexpectedly, the Scuttle Procedure instructions are presented in both English and French versions. Being American, Ripley naturally follows the English version. Here we see her tracing the English instructions with her finger:
Let’s take a look at those English instructions in detail:
Punch NUCLEAR BOLT CODE No 1 Verify BOLT CLAMP release Perform INSERTION of BOLT No 1 to HOLD No 1 Remove NUCLEAR HEAD Activate PUSH BUTTON SWITCH Replace NUCLEAR HEAD Verify SECURED Verify DETONATION ACTIVATED Repeat for HOLDS 2, 3 & 4
Ripley wastes no time in punching NUCLEAR BOLT CODE No 1:
…and INSERTing each NUCLEAR BOLT into its corresponding HOLD:
(Okay, so she skips the “verify” steps. But, y’know: lurking xenomorph.)
After the fourth NUCLEAR BOLT enters the fourth HOLD, an Ominous Clock starts counting down to T minus ten minutes:
The Ominous Clock is accompanied by an Ominous Voice, which reminds us that “the option to override automatic detonation expires in T minus five minutes.” Let’s see how that one plays out.
During the next five minutes or so, Ripley heads towards the Nostromo’s shuttle to make her escape, with her cat, Jonesy, in a handy industrial cat box. Somewhere along the way, Ripley encounters the alien, directly between her and the escape shuttle she’s trying to reach:
There’s clearly no way through, and the ship is about to detonate. In her panic, she drops Jonesy, leaving him to his alien fate:
Ripley dashes back to the Emergency Destruction Room, desperately trying to stop the self-destruct process and give herself chance to escape. As she arrives at the Emergency Destruction Room, the Ominous Voice counts down the final seconds to inevitable failsafe cutoff.
29…
28…
27…
Let’s pause that countdown temporarily, and take a moment to put ourselves in Ripley’s situation. There’s an alien xenomorph with acid for blood running around a dimly-lit spacecraft, picking off your co-workers one by one. You’re the sole remaining survivor. Your only form of defense is a single-canister flamethrower. You have thirty seconds to halt the self-destruct sequence for your spacecraft – and you’ve just gone and lost your cat.
I think it’s fair to say that this is a stressful scenario.
Perhaps this is why, on arriving back at the ship-scuttling instructions, Ripley follows the French instructions with her finger, not the English ones from before:
And this is where it all goes horribly wrong.
Let’s take a look at those French instructions in more detail:
Poussez le NUCLEAR BOLT CODE No 1 Vérifier CRAMPON de L’ACHEMENT Exécutez INSERTION/BOULON No 1 a la cale No 1 Vérifier SÉCURITÉ du SOMMET NUCLEAR Vérifier SÉCURITÉ du SOMMET NUCLEAR Vérifier la DETONATION ACTIVE
Hmm… something something “NUCLEAR BOLT”… something something “SÉCURITÉ”… it certainly sounds plausible. But how do these compare to the English instructions we verified the efficacy of earlier?
For the first three steps, all is bon. But from instruction four onwards, things take a definite turn for the worse. The French instructions don’t mention anything about removing the NUCLEAR HEAD, activating the PUSH BUTTON SWITCH, or replacing the NUCLEAR HEAD. All three of which seemed pretty damn important when Ripley was doing them earlier.
The French instructions do at least remind us to check that things are secured. Indeed, just for good measure, they remind us to check them twice. This is commendable belt-and-braces stuff on an average day, but it’s not really what you want when you’ve got thirty seconds left before inexorable destruction.
In a further example of the famous French passion for safety, the instructions also ask us to verify that the detonation is active (which it won’t be, because we forgot to activate the push button switch). However, they completely neglect to mention that the process needs to be repeated for the other three holds.
In short: this is a localization disaster. I mean, it would be bad at the best of times – but we’ve just lost our cat to a xenomorph. We’re in no fit state to cope with dodgy French.
Thanks to this truly awful piece of translation, Ripley fails to abort the detonation process in time, and the five-minute countdown to total detonation continues:
Although we do cut briefly to a screen that still shows a countdown of over ten minutes:
The five minutes to destruction are typographically uninteresting. Ripley makes it to the escape shuttle with no sign of the alien. She even finds her not-dead cat along the way. With seconds remaining, her shuttle detaches from the Nostromo, blasting away just before either 20 (or 200) million tons (or tonnes) of mineral ore explode into tiny fragments:
Just before the explosion, we see a brief ENVIRON CTR PURGE display onboard the shuttle:
This screen might be familiar to fans of Ridley Scott’s other classic sci-fi movie, Blade Runner, which has a remarkably similar screen onboard a flying police vehicle:
There’s one more typographic anomaly to be found during the self-destruct sequence. Remember when Ripley was punching NUCLEAR BOLT CODE No 1 into that funny-looking keyboard? Well, it turns out to be a very strange keyboard indeed. Here’s the central panel for your closer inspection. I’ve Photoshopped a composite image from several frames, to make it easier to see all of the keys without Ripley getting her hand in the way:
The first key of note is “PRANIC LIFT 777”:
Prana is the Sanskrit word for “life force”. It’s a cosmic energy believed to come from the sun, and to connect the elements of the universe.
We also have “PADME”, a possible variant of Padma, Sanskrit for “lotus flower”:
…and “LINGHA” (or Lingam), a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva:
Lingha is balanced by “YONI”, Sanskrit for “womb”:
Yoni is a symbol for the Hindu Divine Mother, an embodiment of Shakti, the concept of divine feminine creative power. This might explain why we also have a “SHAKTI EXCESS” button on the keyboard:
But perhaps the oddest key on the keyboard is this one in the top right hand corner – “AGARIC FLY”:
Now, Agaric Fly – or Fly Agaric, as it’s more commonly known – is a mushroom and psychoactive fungus known for triggering a hallucinogenic experience:
You might think this is an odd thing to be written on the keyboard of an emergency destruction system. You would be correct.
This might also explain why the key to the left of “AGARIC FLY” is labelled, simply, “TRIP”:
So why are all of these strange references on the Nostromo’s emergency destruct keyboard? Well, according to the Alien Explorations blog, designer Simon Deering needed some complex-sounding labels for the keyboard at short notice. He was reading The Secret Doctrine by Helena Blavatsky, a Russian philosopher and occultist, at the time of filming. Blavatsky’s book attempts to explain the origin and evolution of the universe in terms derived from the Hindu concept of cyclical development. Deering found his inspiration in its pages, and the Nostromo‘s odd keyboard was born.
Back to the action. Ripley is safely on board the shuttle, with no sign of the alien. But wait – just when we think all is rosy, it turns out that the damned thing has also stowed away on the shuttle. Gah!
Thankfully, this shuttle comes equipped with a system that pipes highly toxic and flammable SPECIAL GASES into the main cockpit at the press of a button:
It’s not immediately clear why this is a particularly useful or safe feature to have in a shuttle. Nonetheless, it certainly comes in handy when there’s an alien hiding in the wall.
Ripley starts by venting some Iodine Pentafluoride and Methyl Chloride. This doesn’t seem to have much effect. It’s a whole different matter when she tries the Nitrosyl Chloride, however:
According to Wikipedia, Nitrosyl Chloride is “very toxic and irritating to the lungs, eyes, and skin”. I don’t know whether the alien actually has any of these organs, but he definitely doesn’t like Nitrosyl Chloride one bit, and starts squealing like a frog in a roomful of cats:
(I’m going to ignore the fact that Nitrosyl Chloride gas is actually yellow. It’s working, and that’s all that matters.)
The gas finally forces the alien out into the open. A forward-thinking Ripley (who’s already strapped herself into a chair) opens the shuttle’s exterior door, and blasts the alien into space. Go Ripley!
In her final recorded message before hypersleep, Ripley notes that she is the sole survivor of the Nostromo. What she forgets to mention is that she has not once in the past two hours encountered any Eurostile Bold Extended.
We shouldn’t let this worry us as she settles down to sleep, however. There’s a ton of Eurostile in Aliens, so all will be made right. But that, my friends, is a story for another day.
For now: goodnight!
– @daveaddey
FUN FACT: An expanded version of this article appears in the Typeset in the Future book, available on December 11 2018. You can pre-order it now on Amazon.The logo of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is seen at its headquarter building in Beijing January 17, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
BEIJING (Reuters) - The China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said on Saturday it had approved seven new members to join the bank, a day before China's biggest diplomatic event of the year kicks off.
Leaders from 29 countries will attend China's new Silk Road forum in Beijing on Sunday and Monday, an event orchestrated to promote President Xi Jinping's vision of expanding links between Asia, Africa and Europe underpinned by billions of dollars in infrastructure investment.
Delegations from around the world will attend including the United States and North Korea.
The new members are Bahrain, Bolivia, Chile, Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Samoa, bringing the bank's total membership to 77 countries.
The bank's president Jin Liqun held a joint press conference with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to announce the new members.
"Better infrastructure across Asia will allow Chilean goods to access new markets, more investment in Chilean infrastructure in turn will further bind together the two great continents of Asia and Latin America," said Jin.
"We think there are a lot of projects that can link Asia with or through Latin America," said Bachelet, adding that she had spoken with Jin about the possibility of investing in a Trans-Pacific optic fibre cable to improve digital connectivity between Asia and Latin America.
"The cable could be considered a part of the 'One Belt, One Road Initiative' and transform the Pacific Ocean into a bridge between our regions," she added, using another name for China's "Belt and Road Initiative" or new Silk Road plan.
Other investments could include tunnels and highways across the Andes Mountains and ports to link Latin America and South America to Asia, Bachelet added.
Thirteen prospective new AIIB members from around the world, including Canada, were approved in March.
"Expanded membership to Africa, Europe and South America, along with the addition of further members in Asia shows the level of global commitment towards the bank's mission and illustrates the momentum that has gathered since 20 countries signed initial memoranda on establishing the bank less than three years ago," said Jin.
The multilateral institution, seen as a rival to the Western-dominated World Bank and Asian Development Bank, was initially opposed by the United States but attracted many U.S. allies including Britain, Germany, Australia and South Korea as founding members.
(This version of the story was refiled to fix title and given name of President Xi in second paragraph)
(Reporting by Sue-Lin Wong; Editing by Eric Meijer)The prime minister fears Russia will allow continued interference at the site and of the 298 victims
Tony Abbott has expressed fears that Russia would “say the right thing” while allowing interference in the crash site of MH17 and interference with the “dignified treatment” of the 298 victims, including 36 Australian citizens and residents.
In his strongest comments yet, the prime minister said Russia could not “wash its hands” of the accident and confirmed he spoke to the Russian trade minister – who was in Australia for preparations for the G20 meeting – to convey the same message.
“Russian-controlled territory, Russian-backed rebels, quite likely a Russian-supplied weapon. Russia can't wash its hands of this,” Abbott told the ABC on Sunday.
Now, my priority today… and in coming days will be ensuring that the bodies are properly treated and trying to secure a full investigation.
“My fear is that Russia will say the right thing but that on the ground interference with the site, interference with investigators, interference with the dignified treatment of bodies will continue. That's my fear.”
Reports continue to emerge that the scene of the crash site remains in chaos three days after the plane was shot down over Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.
Abbott said the normal investigations carried out at air crash sites were not happening and described the reports of looting and interference as “outrageous”.
“We’ve all seen the reports. Unfortunately there is no one in authority on the ground.”
An Australian air crash investigation team is in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, after
Abbott spoke to the Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, who invited Australia to participate in the investigation.
Abbott said there were legitimate anxieties over interference with the crash site and the sooner investigators were allowed access to the site, the sooner the perpetrators could be “brought to justice”.
He likened the process to the recovery of bodies and the investigation of the terrorist bombing in Bali which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, and he warned it would be a lengthy and difficult process.
“This plane came down, as you say, in separatist-held territory,” said Abbott. “But you'd think that this kind of disrespect we've been talking about, and this chaos, could have been prevented if Russia had had the political will.”
The prime minister said there was “very, very strong evidence” that sophisticated weaponry such as the missiles which allegedly shot down MH17 were moving across the border from Russia into Ukraine.
“Obviously on these matters I've been talking with our allies, with our intelligence and security partners, and there is a very high degree of confidence that this plane was A, brought down by a missile, B, brought down by a missile launched by Russian-backed rebels and C, slightly less confidence, but still likely that it was a Russian-supplied or facilitated weapon,” Abbott said.
The Russian foreign minister had not been “available” for a call from the Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, and Abbott said he had only had access to the trade minister while not confirming whether he had sought a conversation with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
Bishop is in New York to move an Australian resolution in the United Nations security council for a full investigation of the crash and it is unclear where Russia – a permanent member of the council – will stand on the issue.
Abbott said the Ukrainian government was the “legitimate government” of the crash site area and praised Poroshenko, who he said was doing the “right thing”. He would not confirm whether Putin would attend the G20 meeting in Brisbane in November.
Asked whether Russia was still invited, Abbott said “there are excuses, there is blame shifting, there is handwashing going on and that's not acceptable. It's simply not acceptable.”
Consular officials are working with the families of the Australian victims. The prime minister said while he did not want to intrude on people’s grief, he would call families if they wanted contact with him or Bishop.
“We can't let our emotions cloud our judgment but nevertheless these are wrenching times and there would hardly be an Australian who hasn't been emotionally touched by what we've seen, what we've felt over the last 48 hours or so.
“You look at the faces of the dead and they're your neighbours, they're your friends, they could be your kids because let's face it, we are a people who like to travel and my own daughters flew on MH17 some months ago on their way home from Europe. So this is a tragedy which touches us deeply.”
The prime minister, the governor general, Sir Peter Cosgrove, and members of the opposition and the public attended a service at St Mary’s cathedral in Sydney on Sunday and the government will hold another commemorative service after the families of the victims have been consulted later this month.
The deputy opposition leader, Tanya Plibersek, said all Australians were united in their horror at the events surrounding MH17, which had taken the lives of children, parents and grandparents from across the Australian community.
Plibersek, who also attended the service at St Mary's cathedral on Sunday, urged all members of the UN Security Council to back Australia’s resolution for a full and unimpeded investigation at the crash site in Ukraine.
“It is absolutely critical that security council members unanimously support the call for an investigation that is transparent, that is made up of investigators from a number of countries,” she said.
“Access to the site must be granted immediately and it must be unimpeded. I think every Australian would be outraged at the suggestions that there are paramilitary personnel on the site at the moment that are interfering with investigations, preventing investigations and it seems perhaps preventing the removal and retrieval of bodies. This is completely unacceptable.”World of Final Fantasy is over 100 hours long
Interview tidbits from the latest Weekly Famitsu.
The latest issue of Weekly Famitsu has an interview with World of Final Fantasy director Hiroki Chiba and art director Yasuhisa Izumisawa.
The PlayStation 4 and PS Vita turn-based RPG was dated this week for release on October 25 in North America, October 27 in Japan, and October 28 in Europe.
Get the Famitsu interview tidbits below.
The game is currently in the polishing and balance adjustments phase. They’re doing the overall finishes.
Rather than have come from a different world, the Final Fantasy characters that appear in World of Final Fantasy have lived in the world of Grymoire from the very beginning. There are also some unexpected combinations of characters that are acquainted with each other.
The game is being made to be played relatively carefree. They’re implementing a system so that you can return to the town from within a dungeon at any time, as well as immediately return back to the dungeon.
Getting defeated in battle will only send you back home. You won’t lose money or any of the items you have. It’s being balanced so you can battle recklessly, more or less.
Leaving out Mirage training and side elements, the story alone is over 100 hours long.
The volume of the game is equivalent to a numbered Final Fantasy. There are full sub stories and events with Final Fantasy characters, too.
Event scenes can be fast-forwarded or skipped.
While you’re encouraged to bulldoze through battles early on, battles will become difficult from the middle of the game onward if you don’t consider attributes.
There are over 200 Mirages that appear in the game. Since Mirages will get lonely if you don’t use them, they’re making adjustments to the game so that you can train all of them.
Square Enix wants to make figures based on World of Final Fantasy.
Thanks, Hachima Kikou.Bunny boots or Mickey Mouse boots (depending on the version) are the most common nicknames for the Extreme Cold Vapor Barrier Boots (Types I and II) used by the United States military. These large, bulbous waterproof rubber boots are worn only in extremely cold weather (-20°F to -60°F), with the liner-free interior retaining warmth by sandwiching up to one inch of wool and felt insulation between two vacuum-tight layers of rubber; this vacuum layer insulates the wearer's feet similar to a Thermos flask. These boots were originally developed at the Navy Clothing and Textile Research Center in Natick, Massachusetts, for use during the Korean War.
Example of Bunny boots.
Originally designed during the Korean War for military expeditions in extremely cold weather (presently defined by the National Weather Service as -35°F), the ECVB Boots are rated to either -20°F to -60°F (depending on the type) and have been sold to civilians in large amounts as military surplus. Owing to their warmth and low price, these boots have become staple extreme cold weather gear both in civilian work and recreational environments. Bunny boots are common in arctic climates such as Alaska.[1]
Description [ edit ]
Type I [ edit ]
The black pairs, called Mickey Mouse boots (due to their oversized appearance resembling the feet of the eponymous cartoon mouse), weigh 44 oz. (1.25 kg) apiece, are rated for temperatures down to −20 °F (−28.9 °C) and are made with oil/diesel resistant rubber.[2] They are less common and predate the post-Korea white pairs ("bunny boots") which are still issued today.
Bata Mickey Mouse boots
Type II [ edit ]
The white "Bunny boot" is an improved version of the Type I "Mickey Mouse boot", designed for use in even more extreme cold weather, and is rated all the way down to −65 °F (−53.8 °C). Given the sufferings of the soldiers fighting in the Chosin Reservoir in Korea (inducing many cases of frostbite, even with Type I boots), the Type II was created to encompass the "worst case scenario" need to field soldiers in the coldest conditions in which any military force could reasonably attempt to conduct operations (including Alaska, Siberia and both Arctic poles). For comparison, the average winter temperature at the South Pole in Antarctica is roughly -56°F. The boot is slightly bigger and heavier (~8 oz. (0.22 kg) more per boot) than the black Type I because of the extra insulation.
White bunny boots
White Bata bunny boots
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The air release valve on a bunny boot.Jay Z’s extensive catalog of solo music was pulled from both Apple Music and Spotify on Friday, and most of it has returned to the former but not the latter this afternoon.
In a statement to The Verge on Friday, Spotify said the removal of some of Jay Z’s catalog was done “at the request of the artist |
the 1990s, “which essentially was to take on young black men.”
“What happens in racially-divided cities like Tulsa, you have to pick an enemy. The enemy those days were black men,” said Diamond, who recently delivered a TEDx talk on ending racially biased policing.
Diamond, under mounting political pressure—including a no-confidence vote from the police union—retired in 1991. “Part of my reputation is that I denied there were gangs, and because I didn’t take strong actions against gangs in the late ’80s and early ’90s, this is why it’s all bad today,” Diamond said.
The progressive former chief says he refused to form a gang unit. “I formed neighborhood policing teams with officers and social workers. I designed patrol operations around community policing,” Diamond said. “Within a year after I left, they had a gang unit and jumpout [officers] doing stop-and-frisk.”
When asked whether Tulsa was in the throes of a gang hysteria, Diamond replied, “It wasn’t hysteria. It was a politically-driven sense of who to blame on anything that happened in the city. You demonize young black men and then you say, ‘go get them.’”
Still, some of the rank-and-file appeared to disagree.
Police detective Mike Huff, who arrested Wilson after Karen Summers was killed, told The Daily Beast that the city was “infected” with gangs, “and at the same time the chief of police said we’re not even going to refer to these guys as gangs.”
Huff was once Tulsa police’s lead homicide investigator. He made a name for himself after investigating a mob hit on Tulsa businessman Roger Wheeler, who was shot to death in 1981 outside a country club. Huff, who investigated the murder for two decades, eventually learned that a retired FBI agent helped to orchestrate the rubout, which had been ordered by the infamous James “Whitey” Bulger.
“The only booming industry in North Tulsa is the damn funeral home,” Huff said in a phone call last month. “Everything else has gone bankrupt up there.
“It was a tough job,” Huff said of his role as a homicide supervisor. “Nobody [in North Tulsa] wants to stand up and say, ‘These people did it.’ It’s not because they just don’t want to. They’re scared to death to do it. How can you blame them? They’re trapped.”
Tulsa police Captain Van Ellis, who worked Tulsa’s gang unit for 12 years starting in 1994, said the crack cocaine trade contributed to the spread of gang culture in North Tulsa and across other cities like Phoenix, Albuquerque and Dallas. “It was a big enough problem that we formed a full-time unit,” Ellis said.
While Ellis didn’t work on the Summers investigation, he remembers her death escalating tensions between rival gangs. “There were some major events, some of which were murders or shootings, that people who were affiliated with gangs remembered and would be catalysts for other events,” Ellis told The Daily Beast.
“It was a history that people knew,” Ellis continued. “Some of those old events add to the rivalries or the feuds that was going on at the time.”
Summers’ murder, Ellis said, seemed like it “kept on the minds of people involved in gangs for some time after that.”
***
In November of 1995, during Scott and Carpenter’s trial, prosecutors painted a picture of Tulsa gang violence run amok.
In court testimony, the teenagers were referred to by their street names: “Loco” for Carpenter and “Dirty Mac” for Scott.
Prosecutors set the stage by calling Darrell Benson, a 25-year-old serving time for the possession of stolen property. Benson said he wasn’t in a gang but did “affiliate” with the Hoover 107 Crips and knew of Malcolm Scott.
Benson testified that he saw Scott at the Apache Manor apartments on Sept. 9, 1994. He told cops that he overheard Scott say he was “going to handle business at a Crip party” later that night. But under further questioning, Benson admitted, “I can’t be for sure because I actually didn’t see him.”
A review of court transcripts shows prosecutors then presented information about an unrelated fight that occurred hours before Summers was shot.
Scherrie Shaw, an 18-year-old high school senior, testified that she saw a flier for the party where Summers died. Shaw and her friend gave a male classmate, a Crip named Thomas McClendon, a ride to the party. But when they got there, McClendon snatched the tape deck from her car.
She got out of her vehicle, and people at the party were angry that she was wearing a red school uniform. “I didn’t even mean nothing by it, I just had it on,” Shaw testified. She said Ernestine Truewell, a gang investigator with the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, helped her retrieve her tape deck so she could leave.
Indeed, Summers’ story and the heartbreak of her family was hardly told at a trial that focused on gang rivalries. “We don't have want-to-be’s any more,” Truewell testified on her dossier of gang members. “If they keep in contact or keep in company with gang members, we consider them as gonna-be’s.”
Defense attorneys didn’t challenge Truewell’s qualifications as an expert witness, allowing her testimony to suggest that to become a certified gang member, people “have to commit a crime that’s gang related, upon another gang, such as a rival gang, such as Red Mob Gangsters on 107 Hoovers … or commit a felony crime or murder or something of that sort.” (In court papers, the Oklahoma Innocence Project said the defense's failure to request a hearing to determine Truewell's expertise deprived Scott and Carpenter of a fair trial.)
Malcolm Scott’s attorney accused prosecutors of “turning loose and turning this into a class on gangsterism.” At the bench, Michael Harris warned the judge that the DA wasn’t sticking to the facts of the homicide and instead was “getting into psychological things that really aren't a part of this case.”
The judge called a recess and warned assistant DA Michelle Keely she was veering dangerously close to a mistrial. He told Keely not to ask Truewell whether Carpenter and Scott were “certified gang members,” because such testimony would imply they committed “prior bad acts” when prosecutors had no evidence they did.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Harris accused the district attorney’s office of stoking the fears of “gang hysteria” during trial. “They were young black men,” Harris said of Carpenter and Scott. “That was enough of a crime in Tulsa.”
Assistant District Attorney Mark Collier warned jurors of a gang war in his opening arguments. “This case is different than many cases in that I’m not sure we’re going to be able to prove or know when this story actually started,” Collier told a jury that had only one black resident—a jury makeup that apparently wasn’t uncommon for Tulsa at the time.
“What’s we’re going to be showing you is that the two defendants in this case… are members of a gang, the Red Mob Gangsters. That they have a rival gang here in this town, a Crip gang called the Hoover Street Crips.
“And these two gangs are in a war.”
When asked about Scott and Carpenter’s trial, Collier told The Daily Beast it was a difficult case to try and echoed his statements from two decades before. “Look, man, you’re dealing with all gang members in a gang shooting in a gang war,” Collier said, adding that gang-related shootings were rampant at the time.
The former prosecutor denied Rawbeanie, Price or any other witnesses had been coerced.
“All these people know each other. They’re in rival gangs that hate each other. So who did it?” Collier said. “The only evidence is Malcolm Scott and De’Marchoe Carpenter. All evidence points to them.”
Trial and Error
The day after Karen Summers was shot and killed, Tulsa police officer Mike Huff visited Michael Wilson at his mother’s home.
Huff, the nightshift supervisor for homicides, found Wilson in the driveway near a maroon 1994 Ford Taurus—which matched descriptions of the vehicle used in the drive-by. The cop testified that he wanted to talk to Wilson “about a couple of shooting incidents at the time,” at the request of Detective Gary Meek, who was in charge of the Summers’ murder probe.
Wilson agreed to accompany Huff to the station, but asked to phone his mother first and swap the slippers he was wearing for a pair of shoes. Huff followed Wilson down a hallway and into a bedroom, where he sat on a bed and laced hisup some hightops. “I saw his hand going up underneath his shirt and taking something from his waistband,” Huff testified. Wilson was trying to hide a gun underneath the sheets.
The cop drew his weapon and ordered Wilson back from the bed, then retrieved a dark,.38-caliber Lorcin and placed it in a sack to take into evidence.
When pressed at the trial by De’Marchoe Carpenter’s defense attorney, Stephen Sewell, Huff said cops wanted to speak to Wilson for intel on recent gun violence, but that Wilson “was not wanted for shootings at that time.”
While Wilson was being interviewed, Huff obtained a search waiver for the maroon Ford. Inside the vehicle was a rental car agreement dated Sept. 7—the same day Wilson had been shot at his girlfriend’s home..
Down at the station, Detective Meek asked Wilson about his conversation with Carpenter and Scott in the hours before Summers’ murder.
Meek only briefly testified at the trial about his police interview with Wilson, telling the jury that Carpenter had allegedly asked Wilson for some.38-caliber ammunition, and that Wilson said he gave him four or five rounds.
Richard Raska, of Tulsa PD’s forensic lab, only testified that bullet fragments in Summers’ body were fired from the gun found on Wilson. He was not asked about three.38-caliber shell casings found at the scene, which were tested for fingerprints but with negative results.
Wilson, who testified that he was a Piru Street Blood member, refused to answer many questions when called to the stand.
Authorities released Wilson on a $5,000 bond in November 1994, after he accepted a plea deal in return for testifying at Scott and Carpenter’s trial. Prosecutors downgraded a murder charge against Wilson in the Summers case, and allowed him to plead guilty to accessory to murder after the fact.
At his November plea hearing, Wilson said he gave Carpenter three bullets at the QuikTrip, then ran into him a day or two later. “[Carpenter] said, ‘Mike, come here, let me talk to you for [a] second.’ I was like, ‘What’s the deal?’ ‘Mike, hold this for me.’ That’s when he gave me a black,.380 Lorcin handgun that’s like my mother’s,” Wilson testified at his plea hearing. Wilson claimed he held onto Carpenter’s gun until Huff found him with it.
Wilson wasn’t so talkative at trial. “The gang that you affiliate with, are Mr. Scott and Mr. Carpenter members of that gang?” asked prosecutor Mark Collier.
“I don’t even recall their being gang members,” Wilson replied.
“They’re not gang members?” Collier continued, to which Wilson answered, “I don’t know.”
“Have you ever had a conversation with Malcolm Scott at that QuikTrip?” Collier asked.
Wilson replied, “I don’t recall”—his answer for all of the prosecution’s line of questioning, until he was excused and held in contempt of court.
“I’m facing the death penalty,” Wilson testified, referring to his charges in the Richard Yost murder. “I don’t recall nothing.”
Months after cops released Wilson on bond, he was arrested for brutally murdering Yost, his coworker at the QuikTrip and a 30-year-old father.
Police say Wilson and four others killed Yost by flogging him dozens of times with a baseball bat. Yost was “beaten to a bloody pulp,” and his ankles were bound by duct tape and a set of broken handcuffs, prosecutors said. A customer found his body inside a walk-in cooler.
Without Wilson’s testimony at trial, the DA relied heavily on a pair of eyewitnesses.
Kenneth Price testified that he saw a maroon Taurus or Tempo pass by, then come back around minutes later to fire shots. “I seen the shots firing, and they was coming my way, and by that time… I was walking up the hill and that’s when I seen Malcolm,” testified Price, who was shot in the buttocks during the drive-by.
Collier asked if he saw anyone else in the vehicle. “Yeah, I seen De’Marchoe on the other side, looked like he was firing shots at the house. And I seen Michael Wilson driving,” Price said.
On cross examination, Price admitted he originally told cops he saw a “goldish-orange” car but that he was lying. “I told you I wanted revenge,” he testified.
Another witness, Alonzo Johnson, showed the jury a scar on his arm, where a bullet hit him. He testified that he knew Carpenter and Scott to be members of the Bloods, but was not asked by the prosecution to identify them as the triggermen.
Rashun Williams, or Rawbeanie, was called next. He testified that while he was talking to Summers, a burgundy car passed through. "And then so they came back up, and all of a sudden the lights hit off... I thought they was going to park. Then I heard, hey, Rawbeanie, Blood. And I turned my head, and they started pow, pow, started shooting at the time,” Rawbeanie told the jury.
According to Rawbeanie’s testimony, he hit the ground with Summers, and when he got up, a motion-light flickered and illuminated the inside of the vehicle. When Collier asked, “Did you see who was in the car?” he replied, “Somewhat,” before adding, “I thought it was Malcolm Scott and De’Marchoe Carpenter.”
In her closing argument, prosecutor Keely said her eyewitnesses, Rawbeanie and Price, “never wavered, even on cross examination” in their identification of Carpenter and Scott as rivals in the Red Mob Gangsters. “They said, ‘Yeah, we saw who shot the gun. We saw who was in the car, De’Marchoe Carpenter and Malcolm Scott.’ That’s your identification. That’s who did it,” she told the jury.
“Are the witnesses positive in their identification?” Keely added. “Yep, they were positive. They sat on that witness stand, they identified those two guys, and they told you, ‘yeah, it was them.”
But defense attorney Harris closed by accusing Williams, Rawbeanie and Price of telling a “fairy tale” that “went through the refining process that it does when you are facing pending charges.”
“Now, they [prosecutors] did all this song and dance about the gang thing,” Harris told the jury. “They drag these pieces of human refuse down here and attempt to try and scare you, and frighten you so much that you wouldn’t think about the fact that their case did not make sense.
“They have to mystify you and get you in this hysteria, mention this gang stuff, because that way, it doesn’t have to make sense,” Harris added.
Stephen Sewell, the public defender for Carpenter, also called Rawbeanie and Price’s testimonies into question.
“Kenneth Price did tell us why he’s here, and why we’re all here is because he’s seeking revenge, and he hopes to do it through you people right now. He’s a vengeful person. He’s a young gangster, 16, seeking revenge in his mind. The problem is, he can’t keep his stories straight,” Sewell told jurors.
He added, “What I find very ironic is the case against De’Marchoe Carpenter hinges on Michael Wilson’s credibility. The state and the district attorney’s office wants you to believe that Michael Wilson’s statement is credible. The irony of that is Michael Wilson is the same person that this district attorney’s office is seeking the death penalty for in another murder case.
“How credible do they think he is?” Sewell concluded.
And yet a jury found Scott and Carpenter guilty on 1:35 a.m. on Nov. 8, 1995, almost one year after the shooting. They were sentenced to life for murder, along with two 75-year terms for shooting with intent to kill.
During the trial, Scott and Carpenter didn’t believe they’d be convicted. “It ain’t like this was a case where all the evidence is pointing to us and it just looks like we probably were the ones that did it,” Scott told The Daily Beast. “But you got every piece of physical evidence pointing to a totally different person.”
Harris always believed the teenagers were innocent. At a January 2016 post-conviction hearing, Harris testified that he was never given police reports that showed the state’s witnesses initially said they didn’t see who fired the shots.
“I held onto this case file for 15 years. It went through three moves and 2,000 miles,” Harris told The Daily Beast. “My practice was to save a file seven years and then dispose of it. I couldn’t do that with Malcolm’s case.”
Carpenter’s attorney, Stephen Sewell, took a job with the DA’s office soon after the trial. Now working for a Department of Justice counterterrorism task force, Sewell did not return messages left by The Daily Beast.
Harris said Scott and Carpenter “were not bad kids” and instead “were a little confused” and “trying to find themselves.”
“These were kids who turned down a plea deal in the middle of the trial. They refused to admit to a crime they didn’t commit,” he said. “That’s a degree of naivete you don’t ordinarily see out of hardened criminals.”
Prison
The night of his conviction, Carpenter hadn’t expected to return to a jail cell. “I thought that I was going home. I know I didn’t do this,” he said.
But when the guilty verdict was read, Carpenter tried to be strong for his family, so he smiled at them when he was escorted out of the courtroom.
“They saw me smiling, but I went back to my cell and cried,” Carpenter recalls. “I thought everybody was asleep, and I cried and tried to keep it as quiet as I possibly could. I don’t know if they heard me or not, but it was hard.”
Carpenter said that while the jury deliberated, prosecutors offered him a 10-year sentence in return for testifying against his friend Malcolm Scott. He refused.
“When they came to him, it was like they really was targeting me,” Scott says. “They came to [Carpenter], like, ‘Just point the finger at him. We’ll let you off with 10. Go onto the minimum and go home.’ But he didn’t do that.
“He went in front of that jury and got that life plus 175 years, when he could have just took that 10 and sent me on down,” Scott continued
Scott also refused to implicate his best friend. “I’m not going to take somebody down that I know did not do it,” Scott told The Daily Beast. “This is a friend to me. This is a guy that I know got my back.”
The two teens were not permitted to write to each other or communicate with one another while at different prisons. Instead, they passed word through their mothers and friends who visited them, reminding one another not to give up.
Every day, the friends would write letters to lawyers, politicians, the Innocence Project, judges and athletes—anyone they could think of who might be able to help them. They sent thousands of letters in those 20-some years.
While Scott was in prison, his father died of a heart attack, and his mother had a stroke and could not longer visit him. He missed out on the lives of nine younger siblings. “While I was in there, they were out here growing up together,” Scott said. “We couldn't really be close.”
Carpenter’s mother fell into a deep depression after working three jobs to raise funds for an appellate attorney. She became addicted to pain pills, and Carpenter’s younger brother, J.T., had to care for their little sister. “If you ask my sister, my sister gonna tell you I raised her, because it’s just me and her,” J.T. told The Daily Beast.
“When they took him, our whole life changed,” J.T. Carpenter said of De’Marchoe’s arrest. “Because he was the leader. He was the oldest. He made sure I stayed in football. I was good in sports. So after he left, the whole dynamic of the family changed. Mom was depressed.
“She worked three jobs. We’d see my mom when she come home, take a bath and a little nap. She’d lay out what to eat and she was gone,” J.T. said.
Within a year, his mother had saved $10,000 money to pay for a new lawyer.
But as the years went on, Carpenter and Scott lost their appeals and were denied parole. The Innocence Project said that it could not help them, as the group focused only on convictions based on DNA evidence. Carpenter said Barry Scheck wrote back to him and said he couldn’t be of assistance.
Then, in 2006, more than a decade after their convictions, a railroad conductor turned private investigator turned their luck around.
***
Eric Cullen had just started his investigation firm in the summer of 2005. Cullen, whose father was a Tulsa police officer, was inspired to change careers after a childhood friend died in Tulsa police custody four years prior. “I investigated that [case] for his mother just freelance, because I knew something wasn’t right,” Cullen told The Daily Beast. “Come to find out, my investigation proved to be correct and city of Tulsa settled for an undisclosed amount.”
With eyes set on growing his business, Cullen sent pamphlets to 10 prisoners at medium- and maximum-security prisons in Oklahoma. The brochures spread in no time, and Cullen soon received letters from both Carpenter and Scott.
They each wrote to Cullen separately, unaware that their friend was also pleading for help. Cullen received their letters a few days apart, and they were nearly identical in substance. “Both of them said there was an affidavit that an attorney, for whatever reason, wasn’t doing anything with,” he recalls. “The affidavit part grabbed my attention.”
Cullen made an appointment with their mothers. Pamela Carpenter brought trial transcripts and a 2001 affidavit from Richard Harjo, who was in the vehicle with Michael Wilson when he shot Karen Summers. Harjo, who was serving life in prison for the Yost murder, confessed that he, Wilson and Alverson were the only ones in the car that day.
“I know who actually shot and killed Karen Summers and wounded Kenneth Price and Alonzo Johnson,” Harjo wrote in the affidavit, adding that he was reluctant to come forward because of death threats in prison. “On or about Sept. 10, 1994, between 2 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. in retaliation for being shot himself, Michael Wilson shot into a crowd of people from the backseat on the driver’s side of his burgundy Ford rental car.”
Harjo, who met with Cullen, provided a more detailed statement in 2014. He said that the night of the shooting, he was at his sister Jennifer’s house a few blocks away, along with her boyfriend, Billy Alverson. Wilson picked Harjo and Alverson up in his rental car.
When they made their first pass by the party, it was pitch black and party-goers across the street looked like silhouettes, Harjo said. “We drove past the party and Wilson rolled down the back driver’s side window and began shooting into the crowd with his.380,” Harjo wrote in the statement. “Alverson began cursing at Wilson because we did not know that Wilson would start shooting into the crowd. Alverson and I were angry because it was so close to my sister’s house.”
Wilson then dropped the gun off at his grandmother’s house, and the three went out clubbing, Harjo said in the affidavit.
“I was very scared of what Wilson would do to me if I told anyone what happened,” said Harjo, who was 16 at the time of the shooting. “I did not talk to anyone about the shooting. Not even my sister.”
About a year after he first came across Scott and Carpenter’s case, Cullen attended a rally against community violence—one that was organized by Rashun Williams, or Rawbeanie. The private eye remembered Rawbeanie’s name from the letters that Scott and Carpenter had sent him.
Cullen approached Rawbeanie and buttered him up. Then he broached the case of the two men who’d spent a decade behind bars. Rawbeanie immediately started shaking his head. “Man,” he told Cullen, “that wasn’t supposed to happen like that.”
Despite his new role as community advocate, Rawbeanie didn’t want to get involved in the Summers case again. According to Cullen, Rawbeanie didn’t believe in ratting anyone out. “So he had a real issue, because he held the [no-snitch] culture near and dear to his heart unfortunately,” Cullen said. He had to keep working on Rawbeanie.
“I will never forget. I can play a video in my head. We’re standing in his living room in North Tulsa and he stands up. He starts saying, ‘Those boys are innocent. Those boys are innocent,’” Cullen told The Daily Beast.
Eventually, 2010, Rawbeanie signed an affidavit stating, “I was at the party that got shot up all those years ago but I didn’t see anything.”
“It was the officers for the Tulsa Police Department that coerced me into making statements that weren’t true. They told me I would be charged for the murder if I didn’t testify against De’Marchoe Carpenter and Malcolm Scott,” he continued.
The other eyewitness in the case, Kenneth Price, also signed an affidavit for Cullen in 2010. “For sixteen years, I have lived with a guilty conscience,” Price said in his statement, adding that Tulsa police had pressured him into testifying against Carpenter and Scott.
“I got shot in the buttocks so it is obvious that my back was toward the action. I initially told officers I didn’t see anything and I didn’t know who did the shooting.
“After several interviews with several officers, I was told that [De’Marchoe] Carpenter and Malcolm Scott were the shooters and I just needed to point them out when the time came.”
Price reiterated this in a 2014 affidavit, saying one detective “became angry because I did not [know] who the shooters were.”
“The police made me believe that I would be charged with the murder if I did not help them by saying Malcolm and De’Marchoe were the shooters.”
***
Private Investigator Eric Cullen still needed to get to the shooter. So he wrote to him on death row.
In March 2007, he received a letter back from Michael Wilson. In it, Wilson hinted that he would maybe confess to the crime.
“Mr. Cullen, got a letter from you a few days ago and to get to the point I would like to see you about this situation because I’ve been trying to get my life and affairs right with God,” Wilson wrote in cursive.
“Now I wrote a statement about ten years ago and mailed it to [Malcolm Scott] while I was in the county and nothing happen[ed],” Wilson said. He added, “Also bring a lie detector test too to show you I’m on the real and Malcolm and [De’Marchoe] are telling you the truth.”
But before Wilson could offer a full confession, his attorneys shut down further communication.
“His case was literally at the U.S. Supreme Court,” Cullen recalls. “He had to be careful. He’s trying to save his life on another murder, and so I was stuck again, because he wouldn’t sign anything—but he told me everything.”
Malcolm Scott said little victories like this kept him going.
“Pieces came. It was more like a puzzle,” he said. “And it was like one of those big puzzles that has thousands of pieces and you gotta have every exact piece right. And you’re not gonna get this puzzle done in one day.”
He also describes this period in terms of the Biblical parable about faith as a mustard seed.
“So when we get these little pieces of this puzzle, we take them and we run with them,” he said. “This was our mustard seed. One mustard seed here. One mustard seed here. One mustard seed here. Eventually these are gonna come together.
“And it’s like we’re building. We’re building and we’re building. And that was my fight each day when I would get up. It was like, man, I’m still in here but I gotta keep fighting. I can’t give up.”
Carpenter kept his faith, too. “I always believed that God didn’t allow me to get shot all those times, all those years ago, just to come to prison to die with a life sentence,” he said.
In late 2011, the Oklahoma Innocence Project took over the case. The group, which had just launched at the Oklahoma City University School of Law, wrote to Scott and said they were now tackling false eyewitness testimony. They asked if Scott still wanted their help, and he quickly mentioned Carpenter in his reply. “There’s another guy on this case with me,” Malcolm recalls telling them. “He needs to go, too. We went down together, we’ve gotta come out together.”
Scott’s case was assigned to Christina Green, a law student who delayed her graduation to apply for the Innocence Project clinic. The trial transcripts shocked her. “Wow, how did these two individuals get convicted of this crime,” Green recalls thinking. “It’s pretty apparent these two boys … did not commit the crime.”
Green knew she had to work quickly to right this wrong and visited Scott in early 2012. “I left that day in tears,” Green told The Daily Beast. “I was so upset that I got to go home and he didn’t. It further lit my fire. From that point on, I did everything I could to talk to people, find witnesses, write the petition, get as many people as possible knowledgeable about the case, so they could get the fire I had.”
Josh Lee, a defense attorney in Vinita, Oklahoma, joined Green’s fight for justice. Lee’s experience with suing the city of Claremore for dashcam videos interested the Innocence Project, which sought his help in obtaining Tulsa police records. “It didn’t take long to realize they were wrongfully convicted,” Lee told The Daily Beast. “None of the facts of this thing make sense, and they still don’t.”
Lee plastered Scott’s photograph on his phone and computer screensaver as a reminder to never give up. “I would use that picture of Malcolm, for just a little motivation to keep going and know why we were doing this,” Lee remembers.
Fighting the post-conviction fight takes years. Lee, Green, and a roster of Oklahoma City law students were facing off against a qualified DA’s office with unlimited resources and assistant prosecutors. And they were seeking witnesses who would be willing to cooperate in a 20-year-old case. “The odds are stacked against you in these cases,” Lee said.
One day in 2013, Christina Green visited Malcolm Scott in lockup. Scott could see in her eyes that something was wrong.
He begged her not to sugarcoat the bad news and she gave it to him straight: Rawbeanie, their primary witness, had died suddenly of kidney problems.
“She tells me like, we’ve lost. Without him, it really kills our case. We just don’t have much else to go on,” Scott recalls, adding that the Oklahoma Innocence Project was shelving their case until other witnesses—or the men who committed the crime—came forth.
One of the men involved, Alverson, was already dead by lethal injection. The odds weren’t good.
‘“But Chrissy pulled me up and was like, ‘I don’t care what they’re talking about. I’m going to keep fighting for you, Malcolm.’ And when she looked me in my eyes and she told me, I knew that I believed her,” Scott told The Daily Beast.
“That was a little piece of encouragement that I had to take from that. As hurt as I was and as disappointed as I was, I had to grab hold of that. Just the mustard seed. That’s all I could hold onto to keep me going.”
Green remembers that day as one of the worst. Rawbeanie was gone, and they couldn’t get to Wilson, who was on death row fighting for a reduced sentence. Wilson’s attorney blocked their efforts to get his testimony at every turn.
“We had to stall the case, and I explained it to them [Scott and Carpenter] very much like that,” Green says. “I have to have him [Wilson]. If I don’t have him, I don’t have an evidence for your case. I also let them know: ‘Don’t take this as me giving up. The second I get him, your case will open up.’”
Carpenter and Scott knew they had to get to Wilson—the man who had been found with the gun and the getaway car. The man who had personal beef with the Crips. The man they’d run into that night at the QuickTrip. The man who had fingered them as the murderers.
Scott went to his prison’s law library and looked up Wilson’s death row attorney. He decided to write her, and pour his heart out. “Lady, I understand that you’re fighting for your client, and you want him to leave,” Scott recalls writing.
“But me and my guy, we in here fighting for our lives for something that we had absolutely nothing to do with…
“You have an opportunity that even if you’re not saving him, you’re gonna save two other lives.”
His Last Words
Christina Green got the call on January 2, 2014. Michael Wilson was denied clemency, and his death warrant was signed.
Wilson’s attorney, Lanita Henricksen, who had fought for him ‘til the end, called the Innocence Project in a frenzy, trying to set up a meeting before the state could execute him with a lethal cocktail of drugs.
They were in a race against time to set up a deathbed confession inside the prison. De’Marchoe Carpenter and Malcolm Scott knew that only Wilson could save them—and they worried that he’d change his mind or something would stop him.
“Everything was coming down to the wire,” Scott recalls. “We got to get this statement from this guy before he goes.”
Two days before his death, Wilson sat down for a videotaped interview with the former director of the Innocence Project, Tiffany Murphy. Soft-spoken and sporting glasses and a goatee, Wilson looked nothing like a coldblooded killer.
“I wasn’t trying to shoot Karen Summers… She was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Wilson, who sat next to Murphy at a small, square table with a microphone.
“Were you the only person in the car?” Murphy asked.
“No, I wasn’t. Billy Alverson was driving. I was behind him on the… driver’s side, and Richard Harjo was in the back seat on the passenger’s side.”
Wilson said he returned home after blasting the party. “And later on, the police came, Mike Huff. That’s a name I’ll never forget,” Wilson said. “He came to the house wanting to question me. And what’s so crazy, I have the gun on me.”
Police at the station asked Wilson if he knew Malcolm Scott, he said. Then they informed him Scott had just been arrested for murder.
“Mike Huff and another detective, they’re asking me all these questions. But I’m nervous because I know they got the murder weapon,” Wilson told Murphy.
But inexplicably, Tulsa cops weren’t interested in Wilson.
Wilson remembers an officer telling him the gun would be checked for ballistics. “So it kind of blew me away that I got caught with the gun and they just let me go. They didn’t arrest me for possession of a firearm or anything,” he said.
“They just let me go. So to this day, I don’t know how my name… got brought to the police’s attention, but all I know is I had a murder weapon on me and they let me go,” Wilson continued.
At the end of their 34-minute interview, Murphy asked Wilson if there was anything else he wanted to say. He apologized for taking years away from Scott and Carpenter. “I just wanted to make sure they knew, because I told them I was going to do it,” Wilson said regarding his videotaped confession. “You know, it’s one of those things, like, ‘Man, is he really going to do it?’ Now he knows that I did it.”
Then Murphy told Wilson that she’d spoken to Scott on the phone the day before, and he asked her to let him know whether the interview would take place.
“Call him Dirty Mac,” Wilson said. “Tell Dirty Mac I said, ‘What’s up and I hope this helps.’”
On the evening of Jan. 9, while strapped to a gurney, Wilson gave his final remarks before dying for the murder of Richard Yost.
“I love everybody. Free is free,” he said. “I am going home; I’m ready to go. I love you, world.”
He also used his last words to exonerate two men:
“De’Marchoe Carpenter and Malcolm Scott are innocent.”
***
Tulsa County DA Tim Harris, who witnessed Wilson’s execution, heard those last words. He was unfamiliar with Carpenter and Scott’s case, but he promised to investigate it, as the Tulsa World reported at the time.
A day later, Harris issued a statement standing by Scott and Carpenter’s convictions.
“Mr. Wilson's pre-execution statement is nothing more than his last-ditch effort to try and save his co-defendants, who are prison inmates, just like himself, from suffering the punishment they duly deserve for the crimes they committed,” Harris said.
Former prosecutor Mark Collier told The Daily Beast that Wilson had “about the same credibility as Charles Manson.”
“Right before he’s about to be put to death, he claims other members of his gang are innocent. I don’t put any stock in that,” fumed Collier, now a criminal defense attorney.
Still, the people fighting for Carpenter and Scott took hope from Wilson’s confession. “It’s one of those things where you sit back and say, ‘Thank God,’” says Christina Green, who has since left the Innocence Project to practice family law.
“Thank God Michael Wilson had the courage to do what he did,” Green told The Daily Beast. “In his last days, he was not thinking of himself. He was thinking of righting this wrong that he was a part of 22 years before.”
“People call Michael Wilson a monster but I don |
Try to Explain Specifically What They're Protesting
Part 2: Do Trump Protesters Really Know Why They're Protesting?
Last night, anti-Trump protesters once again demonstrated outside a Donald Trump rally. This time, it was in Long Island, ahead of New York's primary.
So, "Hannity" sent David Webb into the muck to speak with some of the agitators and press them on why they opposed the GOP frontrunner.
Here's what they said...
What has Trump done that makes him a racist?
Border security is racist to you?
How else would you have security without barriers like a wall?
What don’t you like about him?
In the discussion afterwards, Webb said that Trump's protesters don't seem to have a "main beef."
"They repeat the same things. Here, they were angry, clueless and less well-dressed (than in Wisconsin)," he said.
Watch the segment above.
Watters Goes to Princeton to Find Out How Sensitive College Kids Really Are
Gutfeld: Bernie and Hillary Aren't Qualified to Debate Each Other's Qualifications
Watch Hillary Struggle to Swipe MetroCard on NYC SubwayPhotos: Obama Declares 3 New National Monuments In California Desert
Enlarge this image toggle caption Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management
President Obama has designated three desert areas in California as national monuments.
The move permanently protects "nearly 1.8 million acres of America's public lands," the White House says in a news release.
All three areas lie east of Los Angeles. Two of the new monuments — Castle Mountains and Mojave Trails — are near California's border with Nevada.
And crucially, "the new monuments will link already protected lands, including Joshua Tree National Park, Mojave National Preserve, and fifteen congressionally-designated Wilderness areas, permanently protecting key wildlife corridors and providing plants and animals with the space and elevation range that they will need in order to adapt to the impacts of climate change," the release says.
The Los Angeles Times explains how this designation was reached:
"The designation was requested by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who for a decade has sought to protect land that wasn't included in the 1994 California Desert Protection Act. That measure covered nearly 7.6 million acres, elevated Death Valley and Joshua Tree to national park status and created the Mojave National Preserve. "Unable to gain momentum on her California Desert Conservation and Recreation Act last year, Feinstein and conservation groups asked Obama to act unilaterally to create the three monuments overlapping biological zones between roughly Palm Springs and the Nevada border."
The White House says Obama has now protected more than 265 million acres of land and water. That's more than any other U.S. administration.
And now, meet the three newest national monuments:
1. Mojave Trails National Monument
toggle caption Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management
At 1.6 million acres, Mojave Trails is by far the largest of the three new monuments and includes "a stunning mosaic of rugged mountain ranges, ancient lava flows, and spectacular sand dunes," the White House says.
The White House proclamation describes it as a "landscape defined by scarcity and shaped by travel." Here's more:
"With historic American trading routes, trails followed by Spanish explorers, a transcontinental rail line, and the Nation's most famous highway [Route 66], the Mojave Trails area tells the American story of exploration, migration and commerce."
The rugged area features a striking series of sand dunes, rare plant species and endangered birds.
2. Sand To Snow National Monument
toggle caption Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management
Sand to Snow National Monument boasts the tallest mountain in Southern California, according to the White House proclamation. The 11,500-foot San Gorgonio Mountain rises from the Sonoran Desert floor.
The new national monument, which spans 154,000 acres, is diverse terrain: It includes a range from "lowland deserts, fresh water marshes, and Mojave riparian forests, to creosote bush scrub ecosystems, and alpine peaks," the White House says.
An estimated 1,700 Native American petroglyphs (carved art on rock faces) will be protected as a result of the new designation.
Sand to Snow National Monument is also home to more than 240 species of bird.
3. Castle Mountains National Monument
Enlarge this image toggle caption Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management
Castle Mountains National Monument is the smallest of the three, at 20,920 acres. Its wildlife inhabitants include golden eagles, bighorn sheep, mountain lions and bobcats.
And the newly designated area "provides a critical linkage for plants, animals, and water between two mountain ranges within the Preserve, the New York Mountains to the northwest and the Piute Mountains to the southeast," the White House says.
This linkage will contribute to the survival of a herd of desert bighorn sheep, according to the White House.
Also in the protected area is the ghost town of Hart, which has been abandoned since 1920.I need a safe space from left-wing safe spaces.
At the University of Missouri, students and some faculty made it clear that the only First Amendment rights that mattered were their own, after they clashed with journalists who violated their "safe space" on a public campus green. Closer to home, at Yale, dispute over insensitive Halloween costumes led to strident demands that a faculty member and her husband be fired because their views about free expression failed to create "a safe space" for marginalized students.
Outside of academia, here in Worcester, one of the Kelley Square Four is whining in an open letter that racist city leaders are making him appear in court simply because he broke the law. Presumably, the Worcester County Courthouse is not a safe space for Julius Jones.
"For the last 10 months, I have had 6 court appearances, 20 meetings with lawyers, and spent hours upon hours around this bogus charge," Jones wrote on his Facebook page. "This is in a year where my mother and grandmother died. I had to come back to Worcester from New York several times in the middle of all that, just to go to a court process that lasted all of 30 minutes. This is what institutional racism looks like."
Well, no, it's what the court process looks like. It's time-consuming and a pain in the neck, which is why people try to avoid being charged with a crime.
In each of these cases, what began as legitimate protest has devolved into smug intolerance for opposing views and demonization of anyone who won't embrace the activists' righteous cause. And yes, it's coming from the liberal left, from those who wield their ideology as a weapon to silence dissent.
At the University of Missouri, after forcing the resignation of President Timothy Wolfe for failing to address racial incidents on campus, activists managed to turn a needed debate about racism into a primer on how to limit free speech.
A viral video of a crowd intimidating a student photographer was shocking, and became more so upon learning that a protester calling for "muscle" to push a reporter out of the demonstrators' safe space was an assistant professor of communication. Melissa Click has since apologized, and rightly so, but she and her cohorts managed to distort the idea of "safe space" by bullying someone who was only doing his job.
Another video, this time at Yale, shows a jeering student mob shout down a professor who had the temerity to explain that free expression is more important than offense to their delicate sensibilities.
"It is your job to create a place of comfort and home for the students … Do you understand that?” one student shouts at Master Nicholas Christakis, after screaming at him to “be quiet” when he tries to speak. "You should not sleep at night! You are disgusting!"
The growing intolerance of left-wing activism is evident here in Worcester. Black Lives Matter is a legitimate social movement, yet its purveyors seem to believe that the rightness of their cause overshadows all other considerations. After four protesters blocked Kelley Square and were charged with disturbing the peace, they now blame city leaders for "anti-Black backlash," even though the city manager offered to drop the charges if the protesters vowed to stop disrupting traffic.
"These charges are punishment for the 4 defendants, intimidation to all others who dare to exercise their rights and extortion of the local movement," Jones wrote on Facebook. "We cannot let this unchecked aggression happen on our watch, because everyone knows this is blatant anti-Black backlash and, illegal."
In all of these cases, no allowance is made for reasonable disagreement. On college campuses, especially, the bullied have become the bullies, demanding that dissent be squashed, silenced or sanctioned. A day after the president resigned at University of Missouri, campus police sent an email asking anyone who witnesses hate or hurtful speech to report the speech, to ensure that the campus remains "safe." Pretty scary.
All this talk about the need for safe space has become intellectually dangerous. Ideology doesn't mean entitlement, whether you're protesting on a college campus or a city street. "We have to respect each other enough to stop yelling at each other and start listening," Wolfe said when he resigned. But the yelling gets louder still.AHMEDABAD: Aam Aadmi Party on Monday said that “EVMs have won and Gujarat has lost”. AAP sought to know why the Election Commission wasn’t ready to count at least 25% of VVPAT slips if the EVMs used in the polls were not tampered with.AAP, which was testing waters in Gujarat, fielded 33 candidates, all whom lost their deposit. “The VVPAT slips should be counted and tallied with the results of the EVMs. Without that, it’s a fixed match. There was virtually no crowd at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rallies and anxiety was writ large in the BJP camp. Hardik Patel’s rallies were extremely crowded. How can they win so easily in such a situation?” AAP spokesperson Saurab Bharadwaj asked.He claimed that EC’s decision to count VVPAT slips from one booth in each assembly constituency was a farce and did nothing to clear doubts over the credibility of EVMs. “We are not Class V students. We know that VVPAT slips of those booths where EVM tampering did not take place would be counted by EC. Slips of VVPATs picked up from random booths should be counted,” he said.Commenting on AAP’s performance, another party functionary asked: “How can the performance be good if the EVMs are tampered with?”U.S. Sending Team To Help With Search For Abducted Nigerian Girls
Nigeria has accepted a U.S. offer to send a team that could help in the search for 276 girls who were abducted from a school last month, the State Department said today.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said during her daily briefing that Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan had "welcomed" an offer for help that Secretary of State John Kerry made during a phone call today.
Psaki said the "coordination cell" would head to Nigeria to "discuss how the U.S. can best support Nigeria in its response." The team, Psaki said, could help with intelligence, investigations and hostage negotiations and will be made up of an interdisciplinary team including law enforcement and military personnel.
As we've reported, Jonathan's government has been criticized for its inability to find the girls. Boko Haram, a militant Islamist group, claimed responsibility for the abductions on Monday.
In a video, the group's leader vowed to "sell them in the market."
Earlier today, Bill reported that about 200 armed militants in 20 pickup trucks are thought to be responsible for the abductions. According to witnesses, the men were in uniform and said they were soldiers.
Update at 6:10 p.m. ET:
"We're going to do everything we can to provide assistance," President Obama told NBC News on Tuesday.
"In the short term our goal is obviously is to help the international community, and the Nigerian government, as a team to do everything we can to recover these young ladies," he said. In the longer term, he said, "we're also going to have to deal with the broader problem of organizations like this that can causes such havoc in people's day-to-day lives."Nearly a week has passed since Breitbart writer and Twitter provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos lost his verified status on the social media platform, and the fight over his blue badge has now turned into a serious debate over the parameters of free speech.
The verified Twitter badge is intended to let users know a given account is real and not an imposter. The blue check mark is also a status symbol. But the social media company took away that badge from Mr. Yiannopopulos Saturday, even though he has very well shown he’s a public figure and stands at risk of being impersonated.
Soon after, Milo’s allies rallied to his cause by changing their names and avatars to imitate his persona on the platform, and the hashtag #JeSuisMilo became one of the top trends on Twitter.
A BuzzFeed report found that Yiannopoulos likely lost his verification due to claims of harassment from feminists. For those who don’t follow Milo (you should; his Twitter handle is @Nero), he’s famous for flamboyantly trolling feminists and other advocates of political correctness.
BuzzFeed pointed to a tweet by an outraged feminist complaining to Twitter Support about how Yiannopoulos encouraged harassment. Soon after, he lost his badge. This isn’t the first time the Breitbart columnist had been punished by Twitter. In December, he was temporarily suspended for jokingly including in his bio that he was BuzzFeed’s Social Justice Editor.
Twitter has said the verification removal was not over that joke, but over other unnnamed “violations of the Twitter rules.” The social media platform told Yiannopoulous that further violations would result in “permanent account suspension.”
This decision, which may seem minor on the surface, reveals a troubling possibility for free expression’s future health.
By removing Yiannopoulos’s check mark, Twitter announced to the world that his conservative speech is not particularly welcome on the social media platform. “Effectively they have privileged progressive opinions over mine and reduced my power and influence in the marketplace. That’s a real thing,” Yiannopoulos told Fusion. “And they’ve done it on a whim, for political reasons, while refusing to explain why.”
As a private company, Twitter is well within legal bounds to run its service the way it sees fit. The right to tweet is not necessarily covered by the First Amendment.
But this opens up the problem of leaving Silicon Valley companies with the power of determining which speech is permissible in our society. In today’s age, if you or your content is not on Facebook and Twitter, you don’t really exist in the marketplace of ideas. Millions of people primarily receive their news and information through social media sites, and writers and politicians now depend heavily on their access to these platforms to reach those millions of people.
For those people not campaigning or writing very important columns, these sites serve as an important tool for getting information from sources they trust, connecting with like-minded individuals and airing their opinion in a public forum.
With so many people relying on these formats to gratify their civic desire to engage in opinion-making, companies like Twitter have tremendous power to shape the discourse in America and all over the world.
As so wisely stated by Ben Parker to Spider-Man, with great power comes great responsibility, and the responsibility for these companies is to preserve and respect free speech.
For the most part, Twitter has done a good job in upholding this responsibility and has allowed all kinds of speech to go uncensored on its service. But left-wing outrage over this or that boogeyman spouting off “offensive” views will inevitably become a factor in what speech is allowed to be sanctioned in tweets. As was the case for Yiannopoulos, a few incensed feminists were able to claim harassment and bring down punishment on their ideological foe.
This incident could set a precedent for how speech is handled in the future. Whichever prized special interest group claims the most offense at a certain tweet could find themselves rewarded with their enemies being suspended or otherwise silenced into submission — all with the help of Twitter Support.
And this is more than an issue of a person having the ability to fully use the service of a given social media platform. It’s about an individual and a community letting free speech have a space in the public forums of the 21st century. Yes, Twitter and others are private companies, but that shouldn’t sanctify their power to police speech in the new era.
And there’s a lot of governments and powerful groups that would like these platforms to do just that. Germany is demanding that social media sites ban all speech Angela Merkel’s government deems hateful and, so far, Facebook and others have acquiesced to this request. France President Francois Hollande wants to hold these companies “accountable” for so-called “hate speech” that’s uttered on their platforms. The influential, left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center has tried to browbeat online networks to take down posts the group doesn’t like.
If social media outlets do give in to the temptation to start policing offensive speech, it will only serve to benefit the Left. Last year, we saw many of these companies reveal their left-wing biases in their vows to boycott Indiana over the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, ban the sales of Confederate flags and adoption of symbols celebrating the legalization of gay marriage. (RELATED: The Biggest Threat To Free Expression Isn’t The Government)
Accusations of hateful speech will almost certainly be taken seriously if it it comes from a social justice warrior (SJW) and not a social conservative.
Those accounts that find themselves banned or suspended would effectively see their voice muffled in the contemporary public discourse. As previously mentioned, if you are not allowed on these platforms, your ability to engage the public is greatly minimized.
After #JeSuisMilo, Twitter should remember its great responsibility and uphold free speech against the flood of SJW tears.
Follow Scott on TwitterThe former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, played a leading role in supplying weapons to the Hutu regime which carried out a campaign of genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994.
As Minister of Foreign Affairs in Egypt, Boutros-Ghali facilitated an arms deal in 1990, which was to result in $26 million (£18m) of mortar bombs, rocket launchers, grenades and ammunition being flown from Cairo to Rwanda. The arms were used by Hutus in attacks which led to up to a million deaths.
The role of Boutros-Ghali, who was in charge at the UN when it turned its back on the killings in 1994, is revealed in a book by Linda Melvern.
In A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda's Genocide, Boutros-Ghali admits his role in approving an initial $5.8 million arms deal in 1990, which led to Egypt supplying arms to Rwanda until 1992. He says he approved it because it was his job as Foreign Minister to sell weapons for Egypt.
The deal was never disclosed: the weapons were smuggled into Rwanda disguised as relief material. At the time there was an international outcry at human rights abuses by the Hutu government as thousands of Tutsi were massacred.
Asked about the wisdom of an arms deal at such a sensitive time, Boutros-Ghali said he did not think that a 'few thousand guns would have changed the situation'. His contacts with the Hutu regime have never been investigated.The Spokane Conservation District plans to transform a defunct gravel quarry on the lower South Hill into a sprawling public park with walking trails, a tree nursery and other natural attractions.
The conservation district – a public agency that works with landowners to preserve natural resources – recently purchased the nearly 50-acre site at Eighth Avenue and Havana Street for more than $1.22 million.
Spokane Rock Products Inc. began producing asphalt at the site in 2002 after the county commissioners pulled out of a rezoning battle. Neighbors on all sides of the once-abandoned mine complained about the sounds of heavy machinery and the smell of volatile gases that escaped from the asphalt mixing facility.
In 2014, Spokane Rock Products struck a deal with a competitor, Central Pre-Mix Concrete Co., which moved the asphalt operation to Airway Heights and left the property vacant for more than two years.
Vicki Carter, the director of the conservation district, said Spokane Valley city officials considered rezoning the site for high-density housing. But in December, she said, she noticed a for-sale sign while driving past the property and thought it would be a prime spot to move the district’s headquarters.
The district’s five-member governing board unanimously approved the purchase in May after two public meetings attended by a few dozen neighbors.
“We don’t need more houses here,” Carter said. “We need people to understand and appreciate this natural beauty.”
The conservation district is funded through a mix of public and private grants, state appropriations and property taxes assessed through Spokane County. Its operating budget last year totaled about $1.77 million.
Carter said the purchase of the old mine would not directly affect the operating budget because the money was taken from Washington’s Local Government Investment Pool, which is managed by the state treasurer’s office.
Carter said the transaction eliminated the need to secure a loan and pay additional interest.
“It was definitely a good use of funds,” she said.
Central Pre-Mix stopped listening to other potential buyers after beginning talks with the conservation district, said K.C. Klosterman, a spokesman for Oldcastle Materials Inc., the American arm of a multinational conglomerate that owns Central Pre-Mix.
Klosterman said Oldcastle, which deals in asphalt, concrete and other building materials, wanted the site to be “transitioned to its secondary life” rather than sold to a competitor.
Several neighbors said they were excited about the proposed natural area.
“We were thrilled with the fact that it won’t be housing,” said Arlette Popiel, who lives on South Lloyd Street, a cul-de-sac overlooking the rock pit. “That forest behind my house, I don’t want that to go away.”
Carter said wildlife already abounds on the property, which features steep basalt cliffs, several wooded sections and a man-made pond blanketed with water lilies. She hopes the site will become a haven for birds, deer and other critters similar to the Dishman Hills Natural Area in Spokane Valley.
“As we continue our urban expansion, places like this are becoming fewer and fewer,” she said. “Not every kid has the ability to go outside of their neighborhood and see stuff like this.”
The property also includes a small parking lot off Eighth Avenue and a two-story, 7,000-square-foot office building that served as Spokane Rock Products’ local headquarters. Carter said the foundation of that building sank recently and the ground floor was rebuilt; the interior remains unfinished.
There’s also more than 7,000 tons of leftover asphalt and large piles of crumbled concrete pavement that will need to be cleaned up, Carter said. For now, workers are doing basic grounds maintenance, which is “relatively low-cost,” she said.
Asphalt production is known to release hazardous pollutants, including arsenic, cadmium, benzene and formaldehyde. Recent tests of two wells on the property found high levels of iron and nitrates in the groundwater, but other pollutants weren’t detected or were found at levels considered safe enough for drinking.
“It’s nothing that we feel is of public concern,” Carter said.
She said the property “catches a lot of water” and slows runoff from the South Hill, which has been affected by recent development. Some pits on the property still had standing water in July, she said.
Carl Durkoop, one of the neighbors who opposed plans for the asphalt operation in the early 2000s, said he looks forward to watching the conservation district’s work.
“For the broader neighborhood, I really can’t think of a better outcome,” he said.OpenFace
Free and open source face recognition with deep neural networks.
News
OpenFace is a Python and Torch implementation of face recognition with deep neural networks and is based on the CVPR 2015 paper FaceNet: A Unified Embedding for Face Recognition and Clustering by Florian Schroff, Dmitry Kalenichenko, and James Philbin at Google. Torch allows the network to be executed on a CPU or with CUDA.
Crafted by Brandon Amos, Bartosz Ludwiczuk, and Mahadev Satyanarayanan.
The code is available on GitHub at cmusatyalab/openface.
API Documentation
Join the cmu-openface group or the gitter chat for discussions and installation issues.
Development discussions and bugs reports are on the issue tracker.
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under grant number CNS-1518865. Additional support was provided by the Intel Corporation, Google, Vodafone, NVIDIA, and the Conklin Kistler family fund. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and should not be attributed to their employers or funding sources.
Isn't face recognition a solved problem?
No! Accuracies from research papers have just begun to surpass human accuracies on some benchmarks. The accuracies of open source face recognition systems lag behind the state-of-the-art. See our accuracy comparisons on the famous LFW benchmark.
Please use responsibly!
We do not support the use of this project in applications that violate privacy and security. We are using this to help cognitively impaired users sense and understand the world around them.
Overview
The following overview shows the workflow for a single input image of Sylvestor Stallone from the publicly available LFW dataset.
Detect faces with a pre-trained models from dlib or OpenCV. Transform the face for the neural network. This repository uses dlib's real-time pose estimation with OpenCV's affine transformation to try to make the eyes and bottom lip appear in the same location on each image. Use a deep neural network to represent (or embed) the face on a 128-dimensional unit hypersphere. The embedding is a generic representation for anybody's face. Unlike other face representations, this embedding has the nice property that a larger distance between two face embeddings means that the faces are likely not of the same person. This property makes clustering, similarity detection, and classification tasks easier than other face recognition techniques where the Euclidean distance between features is not meaningful. Apply your favorite clustering or classification techniques to the features to complete your recognition task. See below for our examples for classification and similarity detection, including an online web demo.
Posts About OpenFace
Notable Relevant Projects
BrandonJoffe/home_surveillance: Home surveillance dashboard that uses OpenFace for face recognition.
davidsandberg/facenet: FaceNet TensorFlow implementation.
pyannote/pyannote-video: Face detection, tracking, and clustering in videos using OpenFace.
aybassiouny/OpenFaceCpp: Unofficial OpenFace C++ implementation and bindings.
Citations
Please cite OpenFace in your publications if it helps your research. The following is a BibTeX and plaintext reference for our OpenFace tech report.
@techreport{amos2016openface, title={OpenFace: A general-purpose face recognition library with mobile applications}, author={Amos, Brandon and Bartosz Ludwiczuk and Satyanarayanan, Mahadev}, year={2016}, institution={CMU-CS-16-118, CMU School of Computer Science}, } B. Amos, B. Ludwiczuk, M. Satyanarayanan, "Openface: A general-purpose face recognition library with mobile applications," CMU-CS-16-118, CMU School of Computer Science, Tech. Rep., 2016.
Acknowledgements
Licensing
Unless otherwise stated, the source code and trained Torch and Python model files are copyright Carnegie Mellon University and licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. Portions from the following third party sources have been modified and are included in this repository. These portions are noted in the source files and are copyright their respective authors with the licenses listed.Two new teams have been announced for this November's SL i-League Invitational in Shanghai, with Virtus.pro to fill in for Gambit and HAVU stepping in for Space Soldiers.
The news comes from a post by ImbaTV on the Chinese social media site weibo, where it has been announced that HAVU and Virtus.pro have been added to the team list. The Finish squad, that features the exciting 15-year-old talent Jere "sergej" Salo and currently sits at #34 at our ranking, comes in as a replacement for Space Soldiers, to who they lost the deciding match in the European qualifier.
One the other hand, Virtus.pro is stepping in for Gambit, who according to the post, pulled out due to visa issues.
Snax and co. will compete in China next month
To remind you, after qualifying for the event, Space Soldiers withdrew from SL i-League Shanghai Invitational due to an overlap with the European Minor, with the Americas Minor taking place at the same time as well.
There are currently three open slots for the $150,000 event, with the teams expected to be announced soon:In March, in a bold “Oh yeah?” moment during an interview with the Washington Post’s editorial board, Donald Trump took the paper’s dare and revealed, then and there, his very short list of foreign policy advisers. There were just five, though he said, “I have quite a few more.” The list was a head-scratcher, a random assortment of obscure and questionable pundits. One of the names, offered without elaboration, was, “Carter Page, PhD.”
Who?
Reporters quickly Googling found that Page is the founder and managing partner of an investment fund called Global Energy Capital, and that he claims to have years of experience investing in Russia and the energy sector. As for his connection to Trump, when Page was reached for comment by the New York Times the day after Trump’s big reveal, he said he had been sending policy memos to the campaign and the paper said he “will be advising Mr. Trump on energy policy and Russia.”
This piqued my interest: I have been a Russia wonk for most of my adult life, I spent years living and reporting from Moscow, still go there regularly for reporting trips, and am in touch with lots of friends there. And yet, despite the tightly knit nature of the expat business community in Russia, no one I spoke to had ever heard of Carter Page.
“What’s this guy’s name?” says one former Western energy CEO who spent years in Russia, and would have overlapped there with Page.
“I had not heard of Carter Page before it came out in the media,” said another prominent Western businessman who has worked in the former Soviet Union for over two decades. “But I am getting a lot of emails from friends asking, ‘Have you heard of this guy?’”
“Strangely I've never heard of Carter Page until this Trump connection,” Bill Browder responded to me in an email. He was one of the biggest Western players in the Russian market until Putin turned on him and Browder became his fierce critic. “It's odd, because I've heard of every other financier who was a player on Moscow at the time.”
Someone, apparently, has heard of him: On Friday, Yahoo News reported that Page was being probed by US intelligence for purported back-channel ties to Russian leaders. The story resurfaced the name of a character who’d all but vanished from the campaign, and reawakened questions about who, exactly, Donald Trump was surrounding himself with.
This has been a concern swirling around the outsider candidate since he began, a real-estate developer with almost no serious Washington connections to tap for advice. “I’m going to surround myself only with the best and most serious people," Trump famously told a Post reporter last summer about how he would staff his campaign. "We want top-of-the-line professionals.” As the primaries unfolded, it became increasingly obvious that Trump would need all the top-of-the-line help he could get when it came to foreign policy. In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump confused the Kurds with the Iranian al-Quds Force, couldn’t tell the difference between Hezbollah and Hamas, and couldn’t recognize the name of the leader of ISIS. (In his defense, Trump said that “Hugh was giving me name after name, Arab name, Arab name, and there are few people anywhere, anywhere, that would have known those names.”) The Republican foreign policy specialists who would normally be a brain trust began slamming him in the press or publicly signing on to anti-Trump manifestos. And since they increasingly were fleeing the candidate, who were the people who would line up to advise him instead? What would they be like?
Enter Carter Page, a 44-year-old PhD and business school graduate who claims an expertise in Russia and energy, yet who, I quickly discovered, was known by neither Russia experts nor energy experts nor Russian energy experts. (“I can poll any number of people involved in energy in Russia about Carter Page and they’ll say, ‘Carter who? You mean Jimmy Carter?’” says one veteran Western investor in Russian energy.) Page also, as I would be surprised to discover, appears largely unknown to Trump’s own campaign.
What I did find, however, is that while Page might not be helping Trump, Trump has been a significant help to Page. Since being named by Trump as an adviser, Page, who has spent his career trying to put together energy deals in Russia and the former Soviet Union, has finally begun to be noticed in the region. He is being treated in Russia as a person with potentially important ties in America. “He’s an extremely well-informed, authoritative expert on Russia,” says Mikhail Leontiev, a pro-Kremlin talking head and spokesman for Rosneft, Russia’s state oil giant. “People really respect him in this industry. He’s a very serious guy, and he has a good reputation.” According to the Yahoo report, U.S. intelligence believes Page had an audience with top Russian officials — including Rosneft head Igor Sechin — during a summer trip to Moscow. From what I could find about him, it’s hard to imagine he could have secured those meetings without that mention by Trump.
Page has also been the subject of some breathless coverage in the American press. A March Bloomberg profile touted his “deep ties” with “executives at Gazprom,” the state-owned Russian gas giant, whom he says he advised on some of its biggest deals of the last decade. Last month, the Washington Post ran a piece that was breathless in a different way, casting him as a shadowy broker with potentially important ties in Russia, some of them unsavory. The Yahoo story also portrays Page as a well-connected, high-rolling businessman with “extensive business interests in Russia” and an office “around the corner from Trump Tower.”
Page has fueled all this by making some remarkable statements, including saying Putin was a better leader than Obama to a June closed-door meeting of foreign policy Brahmins in Washington. In July, in Moscow, he spoke at the New Economic School’s commencement ceremony, a university that had hosted President Barack Obama just seven years ago. Page used the speech to slam the “hypocrisy” of American foreign policy in front of a Russian audience, saying, “Washington and other Western powers have impeded potential progress through their often hypocritical focus on ideas such as democratization, inequality, corruption and regime change.” He is now frequently quoted on Russian television, which hails him as a “famous American economist” and “adviser to Donald Trump on questions of foreign policy.”
All of which reveals something deeply strange about Trump: when he shoots from the hip, his remarks do more than just whip up Twitter controversies. They also occasionally and unintentionally mint a new species of “insiders,” people who seem to be in Trump’s orbit but who may not have — and may never have had — any access to the gilded inner sanctum at all.
But someone is paying attention. As I started looking into Page, I began getting calls from two separate “corporate investigators” digging into what they claim are all kinds of shady connections Page has to all kinds of shady Russians. One is working on behalf of various unnamed Democratic donors; the other won’t say who turned him on to Page’s scent. Both claimed to me that the FBI was investigating Page for allegedly meeting with Igor Sechin and Sergei Ivanov, who was until recently Putin’s chief of staff — both of whom are on the sanctions list — when Page was in Moscow in July for that speech.
So the question continued to linger: who is Carter Page?
* * *
I should tell you before we get any further that Page wouldn’t talk to me for this story. I called his fund and left messages, both on the general line and his personal voice mail. I emailed him repeatedly. I asked the Trump campaign to put me in touch. I emailed the Bloomberg journalist who interviewed him, who passed the request on. I even called Carter Page’s father in Poughkeepsie, who told me he would ask his son to talk to me. But alas, no dice.
This was disappointing: no one who worked in Moscow when Page was there seemed to know who he was, and I just wanted to talk to someone who did. At a certain point, I just needed confirmation that he even existed.
Okay, I thought. Try a different route. Maybe all these prominent Western businessmen who worked in Russia for decades didn’t know Carter Page, but maybe it was because some of them worked in different spheres of the Russian economy. He did, after all, have such an impressive resume.
Page’s biography on the website of his energy fund, Global Energy Capital, hits all the right notes. It was, at first glance, the resume of an up and coming player in the opaque but lucrative Russian energy market. “He spent 7 years as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch in London, Moscow and New York where he most recently served as Chief Operating Officer of the Energy and Power Group,” his bio reads. “He was involved in over $25 billion of transactions in the energy and power sector. He spent 3 years in Moscow where he was responsible for the opening of the Merrill office and was an adviser on key transactions for Gazprom, RAO UES and others.”
Those were some of the biggest energy deals of the 2000s, and Page’s tenure in Merrill Lynch’s Moscow office, from 2004 to 2007, would have put him in the right place at the right time. He says he was part of the carving up of RAO UES, a massive Russian electric power holding company. He told Bloomberg that he advised Gazprom when it bought a stake in the Sakhalin II project. Those were huge, huge things. If he were deeply involved, he would definitely count as a player. And surely he left at least a trace in the records of those deals.
So I called Ian Craig, the CEO of Sakhalin Energy from 2004 until 2009, who was doing the negotiations with Gazprom and stayed on as CEO after the deal went through. (It wasn’t really a deal, to be clear: Sakhalin II was a large oil and gas project in the Far East, and Gazprom essentially elbowed its way into the project when the government forced |
nossa parte, e para sempre, a Chapecoense é a campeã da Copa Sul-Americana - encerrava o comunicado divulgado pelo clube colombiano.
+ Avião da Chape caiu em "buraco" que dificulta resgate e remoção dos corpos
+ Acidentes aéreos já devastaram clubes como Manchester United e Torino
Atlético Nacional e Chapecoense começariam a decidir a Copa Sul-Americana nesta quarta-feira, em Medellín, mas em função da tragédia os dois jogos foram suspensos por tempo indeterminado. A Conmebol cancelou a partida nas primeiras horas do dia e inicialmente tinha afirmado que não iria se manifestar até uma reunião no fim de dezembro.
Da parte do clube colombiano, essa não foi a primeira manifestação de apoio ao rival. Antes, convocou a sua torcida para uma homenagem e pediu para que as pessoas compareçam ao Estádio Atanásio Girardot nesta quarta-feira, às 21h45 (de Brasília), horário marcado para a partida de ida, com roupas brancas e velas nas mãos.
Atlético Nacional fez um minuto de silêncio após o desastre aéreo (Foto: Reprodução / Twitter)
O Atlético Nacional já havia lamentado o ocorrido nas redes sociais e, inclusive, trocado o escudo do seu perfil oficial pelo da Chapecoense - todas as equipes da Série A do Brasileiro fizeram isso. Lateral do time colombiano, Gilberto García sugeriu que a Chape fosse declarada campeã da Sul-americana 2016.
Clubes brasileiros, como Coritiba, Corinthians, Palmeiras, Portuguesa, Santos e São Paulo, se uniram e publicaram nota oficial em conjunto para, além de manifestar pesar pela tragédia com a delegação da Chapecoense, também oferecer ajuda com empréstimo gratuito de atletas e solicitar à CBF que a equipe catarinense fique imune ao rebaixamento pelas próximas três temporadas.
Confira o comunicado do Atlético na íntegra
"A dor embarga rotundamente nossos corações e invade de luto nosso pensamento. Foram horas lamentáveis em estamos consternados com uma notícia que nunca queríamos ter ouvido. O acidente de nossos irmãos do futebol da Chapecoense nos marcará pela vida e desde já deixará uma marca inapagável no futebol latino-americano e mundial. Tudo isso foi completamente inesperado, por isso a dor. Tratavam-se todos eles, jogadores, corpo técnico, jornalistas e tripulação, de pessoas com muitos sonhos, por isso o choro.
A lamentação mundial foi também estendida a toda a família Verdolaga, a quem, desde seus patrocinadores, diretores, corpo técnico, jogadores, administração e torcida, manifestou tristeza e desespero pelo absurdo. A solidariedade não se fez esperar e de nossa parte acompanhamos de forma rotunda o sofrimento de todos os irmãos que nos abandonaram quem junto a seus familiares e nós, compartilhamos um grande sonho de ser campeões continentais da Sul-Americana.
Depois de estar muito preocupado pela parte humana, pensamos no aspecto competitivo e queremos publicar esse comunicado no qual o Atlético Nacional pede para a Conmebol que o título da Copa Sul-Americana seja entregue à Associação Chapecoense de Futebol como louro honorário pela sua grande perda e em homenagem póstuma às vítimas do fatal acidente que deixa o nosso esporte de luto. De nossa parte, e para sempre, Chapecoense campeã da Copa Sul-Americana 2016".
(Foto: Infoesporte)The powerful policy and politics network organized by the billionaire Koch brothers made official what many had expected: an opposition to President Trump’s ban on visitors from seven countries with Muslim majorities.
In a statement provided to reporters covering the Kochs’ twice-a-year retreat, top official Brian Hooks said Sunday that the groups under his umbrella would not support Trump’s move, which has drawn thousands of protesters against the ban on immigrants and refugees.
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“We believe it is possible to keep Americans safe without excluding people who wish to come here to contribute and pursue a better life for their families. The travel ban is the wrong approach and will likely be counterproductive,” said Hooks, the co-chairman of the Koch network. “Our country has benefited tremendously from a history of welcoming people from all cultures and backgrounds. This is a hallmark of free and open societies.”
It was merely the latest sign that Trump will not have yes-men in the Koch camp, which runs some of the most sophisticated conservative organizations in the country. Trump and the Koch network already had a tense relationship, and it appears that the groups will continue to operate as an opposition party much the way they did under Presidents from both parties. (Charles and David Koch ramped up their political activity under Republican President George W. Bush because they saw spending speeding out of control.)
The Koch network operates groups such as the grassroots focused Americans for Prosperity, the data-centered i360 and Latino-eyeing Libre Initiative. Together, they spent roughly $250 million on last year’s elections — while sitting out the White House race. Over the next two years, they plan to spend as much as $400 million. Sunday’s statement offered a reminder that these hefty donors will not defer to the Republican Party.
Write to Philip Elliott at philip.elliott@time.com.Introduction: This post will walk you thru how to create an application using PowerApps in 10 minutes.
Background:
PowerApps is a powerful tool from Microsoft that allows anyone (yes anyone) to build an application that connects to your existing data sources, that can run on iOS/Android/Windows Phone/Windows devices or in a web browser – all without writing any code. This is pure awesomeness, because you can solve business problems with real solutions, and drive real results.
The data you can connect to can range from Excel spreadsheets, SQL databases, SharePoint lists, Dynamics 365 and even non-Microsoft applications such as Salesforce or Dropbox, and custom APIs (full list of sources PowerApps can connect to can be found here)
Scenario: The possibilities are endless. In this blog post we'll use a scenario of time tracking and the challenge of having to enter that time into a system of record and make the interaction with the data as frictionless as possible. For this example, we'll use SharePoint Online as that system of record, and will build a PowerApp to enter that data. For bonus points in a follow up post, we'll explore how to visualize and make sense of that data using Power BI. (Of course, this is just an example – what's an example from your business that you can use to build your first PowerApp?)
For the example, I'll make it real by sharing with you this is a similar solution my team at Microsoft uses to keep track of time spent on projects and programs we manage and provide reporting on how we spend our time up to our leadership. This simple solution provides an easy way to not only perform data entry but also enables a very interesting way to provide visibility of the data to others outside the team who may not be familiar with the details.
Let's do this!
To start, we'll take an existing SharePoint site that has a list the team uses on a daily basis to perform time entry. This list contains the following columns:
Title
Date
Project
Hours spent
Team Member
Note: SharePoint is powerful and allows you to create lists that can perform data lookup from other sources (i.e. a drop down menu that looks up data in another list) and even personalize this for the user so they can only see time they entered. For purposes of this blog and example, I'm going to keep it simple and use free form text fields, date, and a few radio buttons. But I encourage you to play around with this and explore!
Here's a screenshot of the list with columns:
And a view of the list, in data entry view on SharePoint:
Now, back to the SharePoint list, on the toolbar you will notice a menu for PowerApps. Click that menu and select Create an app:
On the flyout on the right, in the Name field type Time Entry and click Create:
A new browser window will launch, and you will be taken to create.powerapps.com. A dialog box will appear, select your country and click Get started:
The PowerApps Designer will be displayed:
At this point, the app can be further customized using the designer, however it is fully functional. To access the app, browse to http://powerapps.com and sign in:
IMPORTANT: You can also access this app by download the app PowerApps on your mobile device. Once signed in, you will see the same list of apps to access.
From the menu on the left click Apps:
Click the app you just created:
A new browser window will open and the web version of the PowerApp will be launched:
Click the + (plus) sign in the app and enter some data then click the check mark to submit the data:
Once the data is submitted, you will be returned to the home screen and can see a history of the data that was entered (note this view can be customized if needed):
Back in SharePoint, we can see the data populated in the list:
Conclusion: It really is that easy to create an easy to use application. Depending upon the use case you may need to use PowerApps Designer to customize the user interface. To see how to visualize and report this data in a dashboard in Power BI see PowerBI: Visualize your data in dashboard in 10 minutes. In addition, you can automate these tasks and workflows using Microsoft Flow, which I will write about in a future blog post as well.
As always, if you have feedback, comments on this post or ideas for future posts please let me know in the comments below. Also, I would love to hear how you are using PowerApps to digitally transform and create new scenarios.
�Canada's auditor general has agreed to examine one of the North's most contentious issues — the $15 bag of apples, the $20 head of cabbage and the pork shoulder roast that costs nearly $25 a kilogram.
Michael Ferguson will examine the effectiveness of the Harper government's revamped subsidy program to bring down the high cost of food.
"I think it's great," Leesee Papatsie, who helped organize Nunavut-wide food price protests last summer, said Tuesday from Iqaluit.
"We don't know for sure if the subsidy is being passed on."
Food prices are a long-standing issue in the North.
Ottawa used to subsidize shipping costs in an effort to make food more affordable, but that began to change in 2011 under Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government. The Conservatives switched the subsidy to retailers, who were expected to pass it on by cutting food costs for consumers. The Tories also tightened the list of eligible foods to emphasize fresh, healthy products.
But while the government says food prices are declining, many northerners wonder if the entire subsidy is reflected in consumer prices. Others say the list of foods eligible for the subsidy is too narrow
Papatsie said her grocery bills — about $600 a week for a family of six — haven't changed much.
"Some vegetables are definitely cheaper," she said. "Canned stuff is still expensive. Meat is still expensive."
Nunavut MLA Ron Elliott said the numbers don't add up.
Using price quotes from northern airlines, he figured the cost to fly food to a community such as Resolute is about $3.50 a kilogram. The Nutrition North subsidy on milk, eggs and vegetables there is $10.20 per kilogram.
"Anything that you can buy under $7 for one kilogram, you're getting it to the community for free," said Elliott. "They're actually getting paid to sell milk."
Meanwhile, he said, consumers in his community are paying $27 for a 1.1 kilogram pork shoulder roast.
"This shows the massive profits the stores are making."
That's why the audit was requested, said Dennis Bevington, one of six New Democrat MPs who joined with the three territorial legislatures to ask Michael Ferguson to look into the issue.
"I think the cost of living is at a crisis point across the North," he said. "We want to know if that program is delivering the performance that it should."
Bevington said the auditor general has also agreed to look at whether the program has enough money.
He said actual spending on the old Food Mail program was about $60 million. Nutrition North's budget is $54 million.
"Is it adequately funded to provide the absolute necessity of supporting people's food?" he asked.
"I think the jury's still out on it, but it's such an important program for northerners."
Spokeswoman Erica Meekes of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, which runs Nutrition North, said data collected from registered retailers' food prices in the government's standard northern food basket dropped an average of eight per cent between March 2011 and September 2012. Some prices, such as for two-litre jugs of milk, have dropped by as much as 27 per cent, she said.
"Our government is committed to continue to advance the interests of Canada's North," she said in an email. "We will work with the AG to get them the information they require for their review of the program and we look forward to their findings."
Last summer, people from across Nunavut rallied in front of their grocery stores to protest high food prices. More than 10,000 people — about one-third of Nunavut's population — joined a Facebook protest site called Feed My Family.
Research has supported their concerns.
Nunavut's territorial nutritionist has tabled a report in the territorial legislature that found nearly three-quarters of Inuit preschoolers live in food-insecure homes. Half of youths 11 to 15 years old sometimes go to bed hungry.
Two-thirds of Inuit parents also told a McGill University survey that they sometimes ran out of food and couldn't afford more.
Nunavut's larder of "country food'' — caribou, seals, fish and other animals — is only available to those who can afford snowmobiles, gas, rifles, ammunition and gear needed to travel safely to hunt. Those costs have been estimated at $150 a day.
Poverty and food security are at the centre of the Nunavut government's agenda. A food security coalition has been formed with representatives from six different government departments, as well as from Inuit organizations.
Ferguson said in a letter to Bevington his office expects to complete the audit by the fall of 2014.
A report released Tuesday and based on data from a Statistics Canada survey says almost one in eight families in the country have inadequate access to regular, healthy meals because of financial constraints.
Also on HuffPostPresident Barack Obama says he’s being “forced out” of the Oval Office, not quitting, as he faces the end of his presidency.
Obama was asked about the future of his golf game by the Golf Channel’s David Feherty in an interview that took place just before he played his 300th game as president.
“I’m not a hack, but I’m not quitting my day job,” he explained.
“Actually you are quitting your day job fairly shortly,” Feherty pointed out.
“Well then I may get good,” Obama replied grinning, before adding, “I’m being forced out, I didn’t quit.”
Obama says he's being "forced out" of the presidency, not quitting -> pic.twitter.com/e57sNE4sda — Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) August 8, 2016
Obama says he has a golf handicap of 13, calling his irons “good,” his drive “straight but unimpressive in length,” his putting “decent,” his chipping, “ok,” but adding his sand game as “terrible.”Revenue Minister Stuart Nash says collecting GST on overseas online purchases is the "right thing to do" to create a level playing field for New Zealand's brick and mortar retailers.
Kiwis will have to pay GST on internet shopping purchases they make from overseas, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash has confirmed.
Retail NZ spokesman Greg Harford said confirmation of a so-called "Amazon tax" was "outstanding news" for the retail sector.
The retail lobby group has estimated the change would bring in $235 million a year in tax, rising to $935m within nine years because of the growth of internet shopping.
At the moment, most items costing less than $400 can be bought tax-free from overseas, unless they are items which also attract duty, in which case the threshold can fall to $225.
READ MORE:
* Trade Me expected to have to levy GST on all traders' Australian sales
* NZ businesses want GST law change as international online retailers pocket Government millions
* GST changes for internet shopping could come in under Labour or National
* Australians to pay GST on all internet shopping purchases
Speaking on Newstalk ZB, Nash said the new Government would "absolutely" introduce a 15 per cent goods and services tax (GST) on online purchases from international websites.
123RF Deloitte partner Allan Bullot says the Government could make an extra $140 million a year if it introduced an online shopping tax, while Retail NZ estimates the figure would be $235m.
Introducing such a tax was the "right thing to do", he said.
"[The National] government did not do enough about this so what happened... a 15 per cent competitive advantage to those overseas, while our retailers had to deal with GST, overseas people didn't," he said.
A spokeswoman for Nash said the minister was still seeking advice on how the tax would be applied and there was no timeline yet for its introduction.
Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson did not say whether the tax change was definitely a "happening thing" when asked later on Wednesday, indicating instead that it was still something that was being "investigated", but agreed it had long been Labour policy.
"Now we want to look at how we can implement something like that in government," he said.
National Party revenue spokeswoman Judith Collins said it had been committed to putting GST on low-value imports, but indicated it saw a complication with regard to the way Customs was funded through tariffs and bio-security inspection fees.
If New Zealand follows the same approach as Australia, larger foreign web businesses, and online marketplaces such as eBay, would have to levy GST when Kiwis buy from their websites, but there may be no change for smaller foreign firms that sell less than $60,000 of goods to New Zealanders a year.
Deloitte tax partner Allan Bullot said earlier this year that New Zealand's clothing, cosmetic, toy and book stores were "screaming blue murder" at international online shopping giants nabbing their customers with cheaper prices.
Bullott said tax regulation had not kept up with New Zealand consumers' shift to buy more items online.
Foreign companies that sell more than A$75,000 (NZ$83,000) of goods to Australians each year will have to collect GST on those sales from July next year, under a law change that was delayed from July last year.
Harford said the New Zealand Government could bring in the change at the same time.
"The issue is costing the Government significant amounts of money in terms of lost revenue and it is putting retailers at a significant price disadvantage."
Australia chose an A$75,000 threshold for foreign firms as it is the threshold above which local firms have to register for GST. New Zealand's GST threshold is $60,000.
If New Zealand follows the Australian model, GST might still be collected directly from consumers if they bought items costing more than between $225 and $400 from foreign firms whose annual sales in New Zealand were less than $60,000.
Lower value purchases from small firms might remain GST-free.
Former Victoria University pro-vice chancellor Bob Buckle said the growing number of items crossing our border but slipping through the "GST net" threatened the sustainability of New Zealand's tax system.
Before the election, the Labour Party promised not to change personal income tax, GST or company tax rates in a first term.
However, then revenue spokesman Michael Wood clarified before the election that did not rule out ensuring GST was paid on all internet shopping purchases, describing that change as "a current piece of work that is in the system under the current government that we would continue with".
The National government introduced a so-called "Netflix tax" in October last year that requires foreign companies to levy GST on all digital services they sell to New Zealanders, such as streaming television and music and online games and software subscriptions.
That is if they fall above the $60,000 annual sales threshold.
But National had cautioned that extending the change to physical goods – as the Labour-NZ First Government now intends to do – would be harder.
Bullot said the "Netflix tax" had brought it $113m in tax revenue in its first year – much more than the $40m the Treasury had forecast it would net in its first year in an estimate it made in 2015.
* Comments on this article have been closed.Posted on by Darren
This January and February, we’ll be finishing up our look at the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation and moving on to the third year of the show, both recently and lovingly remastered for high definition. Check back daily for the latest review.
Well. That’s over now. Star Trek: The Next Generation limps across the finish line of its second season with a compilation clip show designed to save money and keep the season’s episode count up. Shades of Grey is frequently cited as the worst episode not just of the second season of The Next Generation, but of the show as a whole. While it’s hard to entirely agree with this assessment – Shades of Grey is cynical and lazy, but it’s neither as sexist as Angel One or The Child nor as racist as Code of Honour or Up the Long Ladder – it is possible to see where that argument comes from.
Like the first season before it, there’s a sense that the second season of The Next Generation might have been better had it ended an episode earlier. Indeed, the second season could have ended with Q Who? and the only episode anybody would really miss would be The Emissary. Unfortunately, one imagines the syndication agreements and network policy made this impossible. While one suspects many of those involved would be happy if Shades of Grey simply faded from existence, it remains part of the show’s syndication package.
To be fair, the production of the second season of The Next Generation was troubled, just as the first had been before it. While the first season lost two thirds of its female cast, the problems with the second season seemed to brewing backstage. Maurice Hurley wrote the bridging material for Shades of Grey knowing that he was on the way out the door. Several episodes of the season had run over-budget and over-schedule, leading to a situation where the studio demanded Shades of Grey be delivered quickly and cheaply.
So it feels a little appropriate, then, to close out the season with Shades of Grey. To any observer paying close attention to the series, it seemed like things were really in trouble. While Tracy Tormé’s feuds with Maurice Hurley had been concealed behind the pseudonyms that he used on The Royale and Manhunt, even the least nuanced television viewer could spot that Shades of Grey was not a testament to the health and stability of The Next Generation.
Sure, the demand for a clip show demonstrated that The Next Generation was still popular and profitable, enough for the network to really want to meet the orders for the season’s episodes. However, it also pointed to behind-the-scenes problems. It was the sign of a show on somewhat shaky ground, creatively. Among the many problems facing the show heading into its third season was the fact that it essentially no longer had a writing staff.
While Melinda Snodgrass would stay on (briefly), the two strongest voices in the writers’ room (Tormé and Hurley) had departed. Michael Piller is fond of remarking how much pressure he was under when he took over the show’s reins during the third season. Shades of Grey is a pretty solid indication of the creative troubles that Piller would be facing when he was drafted in to help fix the show.
To be fair, clip shows are an accepted part of the televisual medium. They’re part of the reality for shows unable to keep their budget or scheduling under control. Quoted in Captains’ Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, Rob Bowman argued that Shades of Grey was a pragmatic necessity:
It was Paramount saying, ‘We gave you more money for Elementary, Dear Data and the Borg show. Now do us a favor and give us a three-day show.’ So that’s what you do. It’s an accepted part of the medium.
It is a reality of how television is produced. Speaking on episode commentaries, Simpsons creator Matt Groening has explained how Fox would try to pressure the writing team into delivering one clip show per season. The appeal was obvious. According to the network’s bean-counters, the episodes could be produced at half the cost and sold for the usual price in syndication.
As Vulture wrote, responding to the strange decision to air a clip show for The Office in 2010, there was a time when the compilation clip show was an acceptable part of the television landscape:
Sitcoms used to always throw up a clip show about midway through a season. They gave busy writers a breather, and also inspired audience nostalgia for seasons past. (Still works: Aw, remember when Jim and Pam weren’t dating yet? And when Jim’s hair looked slightly different? And when Ryan was actually in the show?) Seinfeld did a few of them through its run; an hourlong highlight reel ran before its 1998 finale. But back then, there was no way other than reruns (and some DVDs) to see your favorite TV scenes; no YouTube, no Hulu, no DVR. Which is why last night’s episode of The Office felt so weird. Yes, it was funny to see Dwight trapping a bat using Meredith’s head, but one Google search will pull up the clip in a matter of seconds. That’s not to say we don’t appreciate an occasional writer-curated clip show in theory, knowing that these are scenes that they wrote that they also find hilarious. But in practice, it felt downright dinosaur-ish.
That’s a very valid argument. Clip shows were a lot easier to tolerate in an era before home media made it easy to revisit past highlights. It’s worth noting that The Next Generation only began to roll out on to VHS in September 1991, for the franchise’s twenty-fifth anniversary. And that many other shows – like Friends or Stargate SG-1 – continued the tradition of the compilation clip show into the nineties.
However, there’s a catch here. There are – and always were – alternatives to the clip show. As Michael Piller noted to Cinefantastique, a clip show isn’t the only response to a budget crunch:
“The studio asked us for a clip show to help them out with financial problems and to make sure we balanced our budget, since we spent a lot of money on some of our shows,” said Piller of the fourth season’s budget woes. “Rick and I discussed it. We both hate clip shows. We think they’re insulting to the audience. They tune in and then you create this false jeopardy and then flashback as their memory goes to the wonderful times they’ve had before they got trapped in the elevator. That’s bullsh!t.”
Despite the show’s budget problems in its fourth season, it didn’t produce another clip show. In the audio commentary for I, Borg, Rene Echevarria joked that one of the reasons Michael Piller was so fond of bottle shows was the it meant the series would never have to produce another Shades of Grey.
Indeed, for all the arguments that one can make justifying a clip show as part of the television landscape of 1989, there’s really no excuse for the generally shoddy quality of the episode. The framing episode is incredibly weak – hastily thrown together and contrived, feeling incredibly cynical. According to Great Birds of the Galaxy, even those who worked on it were disappointed:
Pretty much everyone has agreed that it was the weakest episode of the series. “Piece of sh!t,” Hurley concurs. “It was supposed to be a bottle show, and it was terrible. Just terrible, and a way to save money. I was on the way out the door. I wrote it, and then the story editors did the rewrite.”
It’s worth noting that – despite the defeat and resignation emanating from the production team – it is possible to be creative when it comes to clip shows.
For all that Fox badgered them into producing clip shows, The Simpsons were at least able to turn out a few interesting episodes from that premise, stitching together deleted scenes as part of The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular! and writing an charming short April-Fools-themed prelude to the ironically titled So It’s Come to This. Even South Park had fun with the idea with The City on the Edge of Forever, playing with audience expectations by having the flashbacks skew radically from what the audience remembered.
This isn’t just something unique to comedies. When the classic Star Trek ran into this problem midway through its first season – at a point where a compilation clip show wasn’t necessarily viable – the show responded by constructing a clip show out of an episode that never aired. The Menagerie may not be a franchise highlight, but it demonstrates a degree of ingenuity and creativity entirely absent from Shades of Grey.
The only vaguely interesting aspect of Shades of Grey is the decision to focus on Riker. Riker is hardly the show’s breakout character, and so it seems strange to build a flashback episode around the character. Indeed, the structure of the flashbacks in Shades of Grey reveals the decision to be somewhat pragmatic. Riker tends to be a character who is around for interesting events without being the focal point of them.
So it’s amazing how many of the scenes in Shade of Grey – an episode about Riker’s memories – feature Riker as the least interesting character in a given scene. We get his introduction to Data in Encounter at Farpoint, for example, and an extended conversation from Symbiosis where Riker is stunned and held hostage. I have to admit, Riker’s recollection is surprisingly clear for a guy who was being electrocuted during that entire scene.
In a way, Shades of Grey feels like a criticism of Riker’s character. It presents him as a character who was simply always there, in the background, but who seems to seldom get his own plots that don’t revolve around him seducing beautiful women. It’s essentially Riker’s blandness that allows Shades of Grey to work as a clip show, presenting him as a character with an identity so weak that most of his memories amount to memories for the ensemble.
That said, it is also pretty telling that as soon as Pulaski “intensifies” Riker’s memories, his mind wanders back to his sexy encounters. That feels perfectly in character for Riker, even if you’d imagine having Troi in the room would be a bit awkward. “It’s just that Commander Riker’s emotions are rather passionate,” she explains. “As in erotic?” Pulaski responds, unwilling to let her friend away with a euphemism like that. “Very much so,” Deanna concedes.
Shades of Grey is hardly the best use of Deanna imaginable. She remains one of the more problematic characters on the show – indeed, perhaps the most problematic character to last all seven seasons of The Next Generation. The second season has not been kind to her – bookended with two less than flattering uses of Deanna. The Child featured an alien intelligence using her as an incubation chamber before forcing her to watch her son die. Shades of Grey reduces her to the role of fretting girlfriend. For bonus sexism, it even works in that crying clip from The Icarus Factor.
Still, there’s really not that much to talk about. Shades of Grey is a lazy and cynical piece of television, but it’s a lazy and cynical piece of television that makes it possible for the show to produce Q Who? or Elementary, Dear Data. Under Michael Piller, the franchise would get much more inventive about making those sorts of financial and scheduling decisions, but there’s at least a plausible argument that Shades of Grey is a necessary evil executed in an unnecessarily shoddy manner.
Read our reviews of the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation:
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Filed under: The Next Generation | Tagged: action, arts, borg, Cinefantastique, DVD, february, games, grey, Hulu, matt groening, Maurice Hurley, Michael Piller, Next Generation, Q Who, Rob Bowman, Space Combat, star trek, Star Trek Games, Star Trek Next Generation, star trek: the next generation, StarTrek, Television, Tracy Tormé, Video game, video games, youtube |Posted By: Adrian Garcia | Feb 24, 2013 at 1:11 am EST
Two UCLA Researchers discover Battery that charges in seconds
“I think the eureka moment [was] when Mahar dragged me into the lab and said ‘take a look at this.’ He turned on a light bulb using this little piece of graphene. But the amazing thing is, it doesn’t stop working. After charging for two or three seconds, he ran this light for over five minutes. I thought, ‘We have something very important here.”
[dropcap2]T[/dropcap2]wo UCLA researchers, Ric Kaner and Maher El-Kady, who were actually experimenting with ways to manufacture graphene in a better way, have accidentally created a graphene supercapacitor that can potentially revolutionize the world of batteries and technology. Their supercapacitor, which is easy to manufacture, is biodegradable and is amazingly able to charge up to 1000 times faster than a normal battery.
They quickly realized the applications their discovery could have on future technologies, imagining charging an iPhone in 30 seconds, or fully charging an electric car in minutes. And best of all the supercapacitor is biodegradable.
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[posts_carousel category=”art” items=”9″]Independent city in Virginia, United States
Staunton ( STAN-tən) is an independent city in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,746.[3] In Virginia, independent cities are separate jurisdictions from the counties that surround them, so the government offices of Augusta County are in Verona, which is contiguous to Staunton.[4]
Staunton is a principal city of the Staunton-Waynesboro Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2010 population of 118,502.
Staunton is known for being the birthplace of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. president, and the home of Mary Baldwin University, historically a women's college. The city is also home to Stuart Hall, a private co-ed preparatory school, as well as the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind.
History [ edit ]
Bird's-eye view c. 1910
The area was first settled in 1732 by John Lewis and family. In 1736, William Beverley, a wealthy planter and merchant from Essex County, was granted by the Crown over 118,000 acres (48,000 hectares) in what would become Augusta County. Surveyor Thomas Lewis in 1746 laid out the first town plat for Beverley of what was originally called Beverley's Mill Place.[5] Founded in 1747, it was renamed in honor of Lady Rebecca Staunton, wife to Royal Lieutenant-Governor Sir William Gooch.[6] Because the town was located at the geographical center of the colony (which then included West Virginia), Staunton served between 1738 and 1771 as regional capital for what was known as the Northwest Territory, with the westernmost courthouse in British North America prior to the Revolution.[7] By 1760, Staunton was one of the major "remote trading centers in the backcountry" which coordinated the transportation of the vast amounts of grain and tobacco then being produced in response to the change of Britain from a net exporter of produce to an importer. Staunton thus played a crucial role in the mid 18th century expansion of the economies of the American Colonies which, in turn, contributed to the success of the American Revolution.[8] It served as capital of Virginia in June 1781, when state legislators fled Richmond and then Charlottesville to avoid capture by the British.
Lewis Miller, Sketchbook of Landscapes in the State of Virginia, 1853-1867. Courtesy, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia; slide 84-896c.Titled, "Slave trader, Sold to Tennessee." The caption states: " The company going to Tennessee from Staunton, Augusta county, the law of Virginia suffered them to go on. I was astonished at this boldness, the carrier stopped a moment, then ordered the march, I saw the play it is commonly in this state, when the negro’s in droves Sold."
Like most of colonial Virginia, slavery was present in Staunton. For instance, in 1815, a slave named Henry ran away from John G. Wright's Staunton plantation. Wright placed an ad in the Daily National Intelligencer in Washington, D.C. seeking Henry's return. It notes that Henry was an excellent cook and was widely travelled, having been as far as the West Indies.[9]
The Civil War and immediately prior [ edit ]
In August 1855, President Franklin Pierce visited Staunton. He gave a speech at the Virginia Hotel, in which he stated that his "feelings revolted from the idea of a dissolution of the union." He said that "[i]t would be the Iliad of innumerable woes, from the contemplation of which he shrank."[10]
Located along the Valley Pike, Staunton developed as a trade, transportation and industrial center, particularly after the Virginia Central Railroad arrived in 1854. Factories made carriages, wagons, boots and shoes, clothing and blankets.[11] In 1860, the Staunton Military Academy was founded. By 1860, Staunton had at least one pro-Union |
not that these women are pathetic wimps, rather that often they can't win: if they push, they're pushy (humiliating); if they don't push, if they're respectful and patient, they'll waste even more time. Frequently, these men go on to start families with younger women, leaving their original partners scouring dating sites, lampooned as desperadoes on the hunt for viable sperm.
Some might say: "Diddums, that's life." Fine, so long as we acknowledge that this is something many women put up with during their fertile years, and that to castigate them is unfair. Sometimes it's not women who are picky, it's men. Ergo, such men should at least be part of the ongoing debate about late female procreation. After all, a stalled relationship at the wrong time with an immature, untruthful, or simply unwilling, man, is enough to compromise or even destroy a woman's fertility. If the GBF campaign really is aimed at both sexes, perhaps they need to include a photograph of a man with the caption: "Play fair and, by the way, sperm deteriorates too." Meanwhile, women may need another mantra – don't let anyone waste your precious time.
Baz's claim to greatness seems a mite premature
Baz Luhrmann has hit back at criticism of his adaptation of The Great Gatsby, saying that F Scott Fitzgerald was also "horrendously criticised" when he published the novel.
Luhrmann makes it sound as though he'd have been positively offended if the film had received blanket rave reviews, thereby robbing him of creative kinship with Fitzgerald. What's he rattling on about?
Why do some film people assume the grandeur of their source material in this way? It's akin to the director of a biblical turkey, huffing: "Well, some people also disliked the way Matthew, Mark, Luke and John did the New Testament!"
It's all conflation; there's no genuine link between the two projects. The fact that Luhrmann made this film places him in no greater cultural proximity to Fitzgerald than ordinary people who've read and enjoyed the book. It's also a trifle early for Luhrmann to be making these claims to joint creative martyrdom with Fitzgerald: comparing a film that's just opened to a novel written in the 1920s. Give it a little time, Baz, (a century?), then we'll have a better idea how much you've got in common with Fitzgerald.
Let him go, Nick. He's not right for you
How intriguing to hear that senior Tories are working out the best way to "divorce" the Lib Dems before the next election.
Is it true? Who cares? What's not to love about the divorce analogy? I'm picturing David Cameron, fuming, wine glass splintering in his hand because Nick Clegg forgot to put the bins out yet again. "Is it too much to effing ask?" he'd roar, as Clegg appears with a terry nappy slung over one shoulder, screaming back: "How dare you judge me? After all I've done for you!" The nappy is thrown down, wine spills from the glass, as both flounce to other ends of the kitchen, lips trembling, an unspoken question hanging in the air: "What has become of us?"
Cut to later that evening, both mournfully sipping chablis, giving each other wistful smiles, before Clegg breaks down: "I can't go on like this, Dave. I'm back on the gaspers!" Both fall silent, remembering past desperate attempts to salvage what once felt so right, so good, such as that planned mini-break to discuss Lords reform (anything!), just to see if they could patch things up. But it never happened. They were both too busy. For each other. For coalition love.
At the end, the unutterable decency, as Cameron helps Clegg pack up his proportional representation pamphlets, their fingers occasionally touching in what may be lingering tenderness for what might have been. Then it gets ugly, with Cameron refusing to hand over the rose garden photographs that remind them both of happier times. More recriminations and door slamming as Clegg takes his voting blocs and leaves forever … or until it's next politically convenient. I have to admit – I can't wait. If the coalition play this right, this could be the funniest ugly divorce ever.Roark (Gravund) Oreburgh City's Relaxed Farmer
"Welcome! This is the Oreburgh Pokémon Gym! I'm Roark, the Gym Leader! I'm but one Trainer who decided to walk proudly with Rock-type Pokémon! As the Gym Leader, I need to see your potential as a trainer. And, I'll need to see the toughness of the Pokémon that battle with you!"
It being unclear what type he is, it ending up probably being Rock type anyways, it's the same type he was before, AND I've developed a hatred for designing Rock and Ground types after how many we've fought in all the randomizers... This kills the motivation...
I opted to go away from the "Dancer Kate" thing that happened when designing him. Yeah it may be amusing as all hell but I'd be driving myself up a wall if I tried redesigning all these animations to make them all dance about, so I'm designing them all as I would previous randomizers. I went with a farmer motif cause I felt that it both fit his existing andustrial looking outfit, but also it works cause he uses a mix of rock and water type pokemon. So I figured a farmer would work.
His original name "roark" comes from mixing together the words Rock and Ore together. So I came up with Gravund by mixing Ground and Gravel together.In an apparent effort to engage Arab and North African countries, North Korea on Thursday raised the issue of refugees’ human rights, asserting that the problem originated from U.S. foreign policy.
The accusation, leveled on the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), argued that the Color Revolution – the democratic movements in Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the early ’00s – and the more recent Arab Spring in the Middle East and North Africa were sponsored by the U.S. to expand its hegemony.
“In Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, the U.S. encouraged rebellious powers to initiate anti-government riots, disguising them as ‘democratic parties,’” the statement reads.
“North Korea wants to argue regime ‘stability’ is important, saying the refugee issue would not have happened if (Syria’s) Assad regime had remained stable. This is also a message to South Korea,” Go Myong-hyun research fellow of Asan Institute told NK News.
Go said that this explains why North Korea criticizes the U.S. for sponsoring anti-Syrian government forces, saying it is interesting that North Korea is aware of their position in global society.
Phil Robertson, deputy director for Asia at Human Rights Watch, said this shows Pyongyang’s paranoia of being overthrown by demonstration.
“They just want to stifle any type of protest from North Korea which could mean the end of the road for Kim Jong Un,” Robertson told NK News.
Choi Jae-hoon, from Beyond the Borders, a civil organization dedicated to anti-war activities, said that North Korea had distorted the actions of democratic movements.
“It is true that Islamic extremists expanded through the Syrian civil war. However, it is unreasonable to criticize the Syrian people for their anti-dictatorship demonstration and for arming themselves in March 2011,” Choi told NK News.
Choi said the fundamental problem is not citizens’ movements, but foreign powers that don’t care about the lives of those affected.
“Specifically, foreign powers, which wagered for their own interests regardless of people’s deaths – for example Saudi Arabia and the U.S., which financed Islamists, and Iran and Russia, which supported the Assad regime,” Choi said.
Considering that a debate on North Korea’s human rights record is expected next month at the UN Security Council, North Korea is also intending to reveal weaknesses in the U.S. position on human rights.
“This is all about trying to denigrate the US so that its human rights interventions with the international community about North Korea will face more obstacles,” said Robertson.
An article published on Monday in the Rodong Sinmun echoed this message, saying it was Iraq’s mistake, that people welcomed U.S forces expecting freedom and democracy.
“The millions of refugees from Iraq are wandering endlessly. They are regretting and deploring after all this time,” it said.
The accusation emphasized that yielding to the U.S. ends up damaging a nation’s prospects and causing a catastrophic destiny.Matters Russia have been prevalent in U.S. politics since news of the Kremlin’s meddling in the 2016 elections first surfaced. It's time to pay some serious attention to the Russian surveillance apparatus. Andrei Soldatov, a Russian investigative journalist and co-author of the book, “The Red Web,” brings a unique interpretation of the Kremlin’s actions as an independent reporter in the very country Americans find so confusing. Special guest host Alina Polyakova, David M. Rubenstein fellow in Brookings’s Foreign Policy Program, interviewed Soldatov last week to discuss Russia’s perspective on the 2016 election meddling, the Kremlin’s surveillance operations, Edward Snowden, and much more.
This is the first podcast in a new project that will shed light on Russian politics and society on the Lawfare Podcast in an effort to understand the Kremlin’s intentions toward and engagement with the West.News Corp co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch has invoked his grandfather's reporting of Gallipoli to lash the Abbott government's new national security laws that could jail journalists for up to 10 years.
Mr Murdoch said Australia's press freedom was under threat and had already fallen dramatically by world standards.
Lachlan Murdoch arrives with Sarah at the annual Keith Murdoch Oration at the State Library of Victoria. Credit:Darrian Traynor
"It might surprise you that today Australia ranks 33rd, just behind Belize, on the Freedom house index. 20 years ago we ranked 9th," Mr Murdoch said during the Keith Murdoch Oration at the State Library in Melbourne on Thursday night.
Mr Murdoch said the government was frequently asking Australians to trust them 'we're from the government', when attempting to censor the media.“The Father of Survival Horror” awarded by the Spanish Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences
Shinji Mikami has left quite a mark on the gaming industry. He is known as the father of survival horror, popularizing the genre into what it’s become throughout the years. This was thanks in large part to the Resident Evil franchise, which got tagged with the genre “survival horror” back when players were first welcomed into that iconic mansion. Flash forward to today, and the genre is quite a different beast than what it was back then. But there’s no denying the continued importance of Shinji Mikami.
The Spanish Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has awarded the famed developer with their 2015 Gamelab Honor Award in Barcelona. His latest game is, of course, The Evil Within.
No matter how many console generations come and go, Shinji Mikami will always have a special place in the gaming industry’s pantheon of beloved developers.
[Source](Yerevan) – Armenian police used excessive force against peaceful protesters on July 29, 2016 and assaulted journalists reporting on the demonstrations, Human Rights Watch said today. Police used stun grenades, which wounded dozens of demonstrators and some journalists, some severely. The police also beat journalists and protesters and detained dozens of people.
Armenian authorities have opened an investigation into police actions on July 29.
“Armenia’s investigation of the police assaults on demonstrators on July 29 should be swift and thorough,” said Giorgi Gogia, South Caucasus director at Human Rights Watch. “While the police have an obligation to maintain public order, they do not have carte blanche to use violence against people gathered to peacefully express their views.” Protests have been ongoing in Armenia since July 17, when armed men from a radical opposition group seized a police station in Yerevan’s Erebuni district, killing one policeman and taking several hostages, demanding political concessions from the government. Before the gunmen surrendered on July 31, public support for them grew into a wide protest movement in Yerevan.
While police and protesters have scuffled several times, on the night of July 29 police used excessive and disproportionate force to disperse a peaceful crowd. Other protests took place without incident or police interference.
Human Rights Watch spoke with victims and witnesses of the violence. Several said that at about 11 p.m., police rapidly fired numerous rocket-projected stun grenades and threw hand-held stun grenades into the peaceful crowds near the police station in the Erebuni district. When the grenades landed, they emitted thick smoke and a loud sound, stunning many people for several seconds. The grenades then exploded, causing first- and second-degree burns and fragmentation wounds on the legs of people standing nearby.
Human Rights Watch interviewed several injured journalists and protesters in a Yerevan hospital. “Suren,” 25, whose name was changed for his protection, had just joined the protest when a stun grenade landed at his feet. He was briefly blinded by thick smoke and felt severe pain in his head. As he struggled to flee, he saw that his pant legs were almost entirely burned and his legs were covered in blood. Suren has 30 lacerations and first- and second-degree burns covering both legs. Doctors removed five plastic fragments from the stun grenade from his legs. He was not able to walk normally at the time of the interview.
One doctor Human Rights Watch interviewed said he treated a young man whose eye had been hit by stun grenade fragments. The eye had to be removed. The doctor also reported seeing 20 to 25 victims with burns and fragmentation wounds, apparently caused by the stun grenades.
Journalists and protesters said that although police told protest leaders that the crowd had to disperse, the police did not make any meaningful effort to warn the crowds to disperse or about their plans to use force. Police did not use other means of crowd control before resorting to stun grenades.
In a statement on July 30, the Armenian police alleged that protesters attempted to break through a police cordon established to keep people away from the police station and that the police actions were necessary. According to the authorities, they have opened an investigation into the organization of and participation in mass public disorder, and have arrested 23 people.
Interviewees told Human Rights Watch that the crowd was not attempting to cross the cordon when police started launching the stun grenades. Video footage of the events reviewed by Human Rights Watch supports the witness accounts.
While police could legitimately seek to prevent protesters from getting too close to the police station, they were still bound to uphold human rights and respect standards on the use of force, Human Rights Watch said.
Security forces should not fire stun grenades directly into crowds. Although the grenades are technically non-lethal, their fragmentation can foreseeably cause serious injuries in an indiscriminate manner, exposing non-violent protesters and on-lookers to grave harm. Polystyrene in some stun grenades will melt in the heat created when they are discharged, and cause serious burn wounds. Human Rights Watch documented that many protesters had first- and second-degree burns.
Police had told several journalists to move away from the main crowd, claiming it was necessary for their safety. Most journalists complied, but were still injured by the exploding stun grenades. Journalists said police fired several stun grenades in their direction. Video footage supports these accounts.
Immediately after firing and throwing the stun grenades into the crowd, uniformed police and unidentified people in civilian clothes acting with them, ran toward the protesters, detaining many.
Police and the unidentified men also punched, kicked, and used wooden clubs to beat some journalists and protesters, and damaged or seized journalists’ equipment. Marut Vanyan, a cameraman for the Lragir.am news site, told Human Rights Watch that two unidentified men grabbed him by the arms and dragged him behind the police line, swearing at him and shouting, “What were you filming?” A group of eight to ten unidentified men then beat Vanyan with wooden clubs in the arms, back, and leg and kicked him in the stomach as he tried to protect his head with his backpack.
Vanyan showed the attackers his press badge and repeatedly told them that he is a journalist, but they did not respond. He has not seen his video camera or other equipment since the attack. Vanyan had been covering the protests since they began on July 17 without incident. “I had filmed a lot of police actions before,” he said. “I had the sense that night it would be the same: that because we are journalists we would be protected. But that night [July 29] felt like a deliberate attack on journalists.”
“Police should not interfere with the legitimate work of journalists, let alone attack and punish them for doing their jobs,” Gogia said.
Governments are obligated to respect basic human rights standards on the use of force in police operations, including in dispersing both legal and illegal demonstrations. The UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials require police to use nonviolent means, such as demands to vacate an area, before resorting to force and firearms. Police should adhere to a principle of measured escalation of force. When using force, law enforcement officials shall exercise restraint and act proportionately to the threat posed, and seek to minimize damage and injury.
The European Court of Human Rights has also found that governments should show a high tolerance for peaceful assembly, even assemblies that the authorities deem unsanctioned or illegal.
Physical assaults, including punching, kicking, or using wooden truncheons on unarmed demonstrators and journalists are never a legitimate use of force and violate the prohibition against torture and inhuman treatment.
Armenia’s Special Investigative Service opened an investigation into police actions on the night of July 29. Police also announced an internal investigation.
The authorities should ensure any investigation is thorough and effective and leads to holding accountable those responsible for the police violence, including those who gave the orders, Human Rights Watch said. The authorities should provide a full account of all munitions fired and the role of the men in civilian clothing acting with police. The authorities should also fully review all laws, regulations, and guidelines on the use of force and response by law enforcement to public order concerns, to ensure that the framework and relevant training comply with human rights standards. Law enforcement officers should always wear clear identification while on duty, as this is essential to accountability.
“If protests in Yerevan continue, police should not use excessive force against peaceful demonstrations,” Gogia said. “Violence against peaceful protestors and journalists is never justified.”
For detailed accounts, please see below.
Human Rights Watch conducted interviews in Yerevan, from July 30 to August 1, with victims and witnesses of the police actions on July 29, including eight people injured by police actions, six of them journalists. Several reported seeing other injured people on the street, in nearby houses, in an ambulance, and at the hospital.
Human Rights Watch also interviewed five residents of the Sari Tagh neighborhood, where the police violently dispersed the protesters, who witnessed the events, a doctor who treated victims in the hospital, one protest leader, and five lawyers of detained protest leaders. A Human Rights Watch researcher visited the site of the violent dispersal in Sari Tagh and examined remnants of stun grenades there. Human Rights Watch also examined video and photos of the events of July 29, and reviewed official statements. Human Rights Watch has yet to meet with authorities to discuss the violence of July 29 and share the findings.
Lead-up to Police Violence
Several hundred demonstrators gathered in two locations in the Erebuni district of Yerevan at about 10 p.m. on July 29. Many had gathered earlier at Freedom Square in central Yerevan and marched to the Erebuni district, approximately three kilometers away. Both protest sites were in the same neighborhood as the police station captured by the armed group on July 17. One group of protesters gathered in the Sari Tagh neighborhood, which is on a hill above the police station and has numerous small, narrow, winding streets. Another group gathered on Khorenatsi Street, approaching the entrance to the police station, and the site of several other protests since July 17.
On the night of July 29, riot police in riot gear and helmets, with shields and truncheons, formed cordons in both protest areas. Other uniformed police as well as unidentified men in civilian clothing, many in black shirts and black pants, acting in close cooperation with the police, were in both locations. Some police officers and men in civilian clothing wore masks.
Police Violence Against Protestors, Journalists in Sari Tagh
As the crowd gathered in Sari Tagh, protest leaders attempted to negotiate for approximately 20 minutes with police officials to allow the protesters to remain there. Police refused, telling protest leaders that the group had five minutes to disperse. Police suggested that people gather at another location, such as Liberty Square.
As during previous protests, journalists, including cameramen, many of whom were live streaming, stood between the police cordon and protesters. Journalists reported that an unidentified person in civilian clothing, apparently working with police, warned them at approximately 11 p.m. to move aside to a more secure location, to be clear of police actions against protesters. Most complied.
Police then forcibly detained a protest leader, Armen Martirosyan of the opposition Heritage political party, and began firing stun grenades into the crowd and in the direction of the journalists. Protesters and journalists began to flee. Victims and witnesses described the scene as chaotic, with people panicking and struggling to see and hear as a result of the stun grenades. Widely available video footage corroborates these statements.
Many protestors and journalists had leg injuries from the exploding stun grenades, including from grenade fragments and first- and second-degree burns.
One doctor at a Yerevan hospital said that hospital officials called him in on his day off to help treat the injured. He said the hospital treated 20 to 25 people with injuries, all of whom had burns and other lacerations on their legs. He said he saw wounds a few centimeters deep caused by plastic fragments. He said that the largest fragment removed at the hospital was three centimeters long.
Human Rights Watch examined remnants of two types of the stun grenades; one appeared to be made of a hardened polystyrene painted gray. When the bodies of stun grenades are made from this material, the polystyrene can melt in the heat created when they are discharged, and cause serious burn wounds.
Attacks on Journalists, Protesters
Police and unidentified men in civilian clothes detained protesters, beating some, and also beat journalists and damaged or took their equipment. Victims reported assaults that included dragging, punching, kicking, and beatings with wooden clubs. Victims were variously injured in their faces, arms, hands, shoulders, backs, and legs.
Robert Ananyan, A1+ Journalist
Ananyan, from A1+ information agency, said he reported and did live streaming from the Sari Tagh demonstration. He said a police cordon blocked the road. He saw high-ranking police officers telling the protest leaders to disperse within five minutes, but without making any public announcement. About 15 minutes later, police told journalists to step aside as something was about to happen: “This was the only warning we got, and within two minutes, stun grenades started exploding. There were so many of them that you could not escape.” Ananyan had multiple injuries, including stun grenade fragment wounds on both of his legs, and multiple bruises on both hands.
A local resident drove Ananyan, who was bleeding, to a hospital. Two other journalists, including a cameraman from another news outlet with fragmentation wounds on his legs, and another local resident, were also in the car. After about 800 meters, police stopped the car and forced the journalists out, detaining the driver and the resident, and taking them away. Ananyan and the cameraman found other journalists and called an ambulance, which took them to a hospital.
When Human Rights Watch visited Ananyan in the hospital, he was unable to walk due to the leg injuries.
David Harutyunyan, 1in.am Cameraman
Harutyunyan, cameraman for an online news agency, was working with a reporter for the site, Mariam Grikorian, in Sari Tagh on July 29. He also remembered police warning journalists to step aside because something was about to happen. He then heard explosions of stun grenades:
Police started beating batons on their shields and moved forward on demonstrators; also throwing stun grenades. They would take the safety pin out and throw the grenade right away toward the protesters. The grenades caused shrapnel and that’s how I got wounded. I was still filming as the attack started, but was able to move for only few meters when shrapnel hit me on my right leg.
Harutyunyan continued to film, but several men in civilian clothes started beating him with wooden clubs, breaking his camera, chasing him, and continuing to assault him:
As I was filming the dispersal, men in civilian clothes started to beat me, first breaking my camera by hitting it with a wooden club, and then beating me. I don’t know who they were. I tried to run away, but they followed me. I ran toward other journalists, but the men caught up, they pulled my PRESS badge and my bag with camera batteries. One of them tried to hit me on my head with the club, but I covered [my head] with my hand and got hit there instead. Then I bent down to cover my head and they continued to hit me on the back.
Harutyunyan managed to escape and found shelter in a local resident’s house. An ambulance later took him to the hospital. He had multiple bruises on his back, side, limbs, and hands.
Mariam Grikorian, 1in.am journalist
Grikorian was interviewed separately from Harutyunyan. She said that like other journalists, they followed the protesters from Liberty Square to the Erebuni district, providing live coverage. Grikorian also noted heavy presence of unidentified men in civilian clothes at the site, describing them as athletic men, wearing black shirts and pants, one of whom warned the journalists to step aside as something was about to happen. She said that police started the operation following the detention of Martirosyan, one of the protest leaders:
They [police] started throwing stun grenades at the public before they moved on the crowd…. Soon they threw them toward the area where the journalists were gathered. One of the grenades exploded in front of me. I could not see or hear anything; I thought I was dead. Then I realized that I could move my hands and only had difficulty moving my leg, and I realized that I was alive.
She had fragmentation wounds on the upper left thigh and right ankle. She lost sight of Harutyunyan as she ran and found shelter in a local resident’s house. Inside, she saw several other people who were bleeding, apparently also from fragmentation wounds. Grikorian was later hospitalized for several hours, as doctors extracted one plastic fragment and bandaged her ankle.
Grikorian said that as she was leaving the protest site, she saw a young man, his face covered in blood, lying on the ground. She tried to help him run, but the man said he was in too much pain and could not get up. In the hospital, Grikorian also spoke with a young woman who said she had been at the protest and who had burns on both legs, her hands and her back.
Anushavan Shahnazaryan, freelance journalist
Shahnazaryan also went to Sari Tagh on July 29 and was filming near other journalists when a man in civilian clothes, who appeared to be cooperating with police, spoke to him and other journalists. Shahnazaryan explained what happened next:
We all [journalists] moved to the side. And what I saw then from police was a kind of aggressiveness and swearing that I hadn’t seen at any other protests. The police started to launch [stun] grenades. Three or four landed where we were standing, where all the journalists were together. Seven of us [journalists and cameramen] ran and hid in some bushes. […]
We saw that one cameraman…had fragments in his legs, so we took him to the nearest house and tried to help him and get him to a hospital. …I was also injured. I was burned and had cuts on my arm from the stun grenade explosion. I went to the hospital because my ear was hurting. It’s better now. I also had very bad swelling in the left side of my face, along the jaw.
From the balcony of the house where we went I could see how men in civilian clothes, wearing all black, grabbed people who were hiding in the alleys and passageways in the neighborhood. They hid as they fled. The men beat at least 10 of them and then threw them in police cars, and drove behind the police cordon.
Armenian and international media also reported on beatings of other journalists and protesters on July 29, including three journalists from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Armenian Service.
Police Violence on Khorenatsi Street
Marat Yavrumyan, Yerevan State University Lecturer
Human Rights Watch interviewed Yavrumyan, 37, who was detained at a parallel protest at Khorenatsi Street, a few blocks from the main protest site, and reviewed video footage from the same event. Yavrumyan went to Khorenatsi Street with his 15-year-old daughter. When he arrived, there were only few people, but the crowd grew to several hundred by 10 p.m. He said there was a heavy police presence at the site, and that as people were gathering, police announced over a loudspeaker that this was an unsanctioned demonstration and that everyone should disperse within 15 minutes. Police gave another warning few minutes later.
Yavrumyan said that he could not hear the announcement well, and moved closer to the police cordon to understand what they were saying, but police moved on the crowd right after the second announcement. He said that police first fired four or five munitions that lit up in the air, and then started to attack demonstrators, roughing up and detaining some of them.
He said that he could not run fast, as it was dark, and he feared for his daughter’s safety. Instead they waited on a street corner and planned to go home. However, several policemen approached them:
When I saw them charging toward me, I put my hands up in from of me, saying we see you, we are going to leave. I have my daughter with me, stay away. Don’t touch us. But they started to detain me, dragging me away, holding my feet and hands with me facing down. I shouted and cursed, telling them to let me go, but they started to kick me from below. Several of them were beating me, cursing me, broke my nose, and threw me into a police vehicle.
Police took Yavrumyan to the Nor-Nork police station, where they also took about 25 other detainees. He asked police to call an ambulance, as he knew his nose was broken. About an hour and a half later an ambulance came, and medical personnel insisted on taking him to a hospital. Police refused to let him leave without signing three unspecified documents. Though he hadn’t read the documents, Yavrumyan felt compelled to sign so he could get needed medical assistance.
He was taken to a hospital around 2 a.m. on July 30, where he was treated for a broken nose and received multiple stiches inside his left cheek and the side of his mouth.
Police did not detain Yavrumyan’s daughter, who tried to come to her father’s aid. Police pushed her away and carried Yavrumyan off. A passer-by helped the daughter make her way home.Chinese internet chatrooms are awash with a hubbub of hilarious, if somewhat baffling, catchphrases. Has your forum buddy dropped a deft witticism into the conversation? Then show your appreciation by typing “666,” a frenetic play on the Chinese word liu, which means “skillful, adept, or smooth.” Are a user’s boorish comments in chatrooms rubbing you the wrong way? Then call them a “dog’s leash” — a Mandarin approximation of the English phrase “go die.”
Internet catchphrases have proliferated as China has developed socially and young people have started to follow all manner of fashions and fads. Back in 1997, only 620,000 Chinese people had access to the internet; this year, that number exceeded 750 million. As the number of Chinese internet users increases at an exponential rate, online individuals have caught up with — and in many cases surpassed — traditional state-owned media’s ability to shape how we communicate.
China’s internet users first grew used to the relative freedom of expression in online chatrooms around 2005. Compared to traditional forms of media, with their inherent limitations, the internet is freer, decentralized, and user-driven. This has profound impacts on the power dynamics between different speakers, methods of communication, and the subject matter under discussion. In contrast to the serious tone and relatively homogenous viewpoints of Chinese traditional media, the internet brims with new possibilities and divergent opinions, despite the evident control that the state wields over online expression.
Ten years ago, People.cn — the online arm of People’s Daily — began to publish its “Annual Analysis of Popular Online Sentiment in China.” The project aims to document online responses to real world events that were influential nationwide.
In the years that followed, as a succession of online trends took hold of the web, members of the popular microblogging platform Weibo began to invent and popularize a large number of slang terms. For instance, the word shanzhai, popularized in 2008, can be used to describe anything that is fake, a knock-off, or out of the mainstream, such as a “shanzhai cellphone” or “shanzhai celebrity.” Pindie, which shot to popularity in 2009 and refers to adult children who depend on their parents for financial stability or employment, hinted at young people’s fear of a lack of social mobility. Later, 2011’s meng became one of modern Chinese pop culture’s defining terms, describing a playful charm which attracts affection from others.
The use of internet buzzwords contrasts starkly with the biased portrayals of public personages in traditional media. - Li Mingjie, professor
Chinese netizens also generate new slang on WeMedia while discussing the latest news and gossip. One typical example is that netizens have created new families of online slang terms, such as “sharp brother” (xilige) and “BMW sister” (baomajie). The former describes a once-homeless man who used to reside in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo and became an online sensation after netizens saw his ruggedly handsome features and tattered but well-coordinated outfit. The latter, meanwhile, refers to a woman named Ma Nuo who participated in the matchmaking show, “If You Are the One,” and whose materialistic views on courtship was subject to fiery online debate, not least her assertion that she would “rather be crying in a BMW than laughing on the back of a bicycle.”
Although these online sensations are only fleetingly fashionable, they are nonetheless defining figures of a particular era in China’s cyber history, in that they reflect netizens’ changing tastes as well as their desire for novelty. This contrasts starkly with the biased portrayals of public personages in traditional media, which tend to emphasize their subjects’ merits at the expense of more nuanced depictions of their flaws.
What’s more, netizens have broken linguistic conventions by creatively adapting certain vulgar or political expressions into their daily lives. For example, diaosi was a popular online slang in 2012 and 2013, and continues to be used in conversations today. While it originally referred to a man’s pubic hair, netizens turned this word into an epithet for “losers,” “down-and-outs,” or people generally seen as occupying society’s lowest rungs. People.cn once defined diaosi as a vulgar term — its first character, diao, is derived from a slang term for a penis — but in 2014, it was used on Weibo over 100 million times.
Similarly, the online catchphrase “Tuhao, let’s be friends” appropriated a historically highly politicized term for rich, power-hungry local bullies. The subsequent use of the term “tuhao gold” further diversified the definition of the word, referring to a limited-edition gold-colored iPhone 5S as a means to convey the garish, kitsch tastes embraced by many of China’s nouveau riche.
Words like pindie, diaosi, and tuhao are cynical and often self-deprecating witticisms highlighting young people’s concerns about how China’s growing wealth disparity affects their own future prospects. Adapting and using words that carry political connotations, or that state media outlets frown upon, is a canny form of linguistic subversion that seeks to wrest back an element of power from the social and political elite.
Internet buzzwords help net users to better express their thoughts and feelings, and avoid the tightening restrictions on web content. - Li Mingjie, professor
During the roughly seven-year “golden age,” from 2007 to the end of 2013, popular online expressions began to overturn state-sponsored linguistic conventions, in turn encouraging the development of civil society. Of course, this phenomenon had taken place previously — the word “comrade” (tongzhi), appropriated to refer to gay people, is perhaps the best-known example — but the vast scale and fragmented nature of these acts in the internet era are truly unprecedented.
In those years, in online forums and chatrooms, Chinese netizens deconstructed official linguistic conventions, largely losing faith in traditional media, and expressed themselves more often on WeMedia. Then, in 2013, the Chinese government closed some social media accounts of popular social commentators for the accusation of spreading fake news and harming national honor and interests.
Since then, online discourse in China has gradually distanced itself from politics in favour of more personal, commercial, and entertainment-oriented content. Advertisements for Singles’ Day, the world’s biggest online shopping holiday, are typical examples of where netizens now reimagine linguistic tropes: In an all-or-nothing bid to seize shoppers’ attention, online merchants create advertisements that push boundaries with their vulgar language and risqué innuendo. While some commercials generate controversy, they are nonetheless popular among young people and the middle class.
Since 2013, netizens have taken to expressing themselves within smaller online cliques, as online and official discourse become increasingly divergent. Online messaging app WeChat allows users to share their opinions within their own private circles, while public WeChat accounts tend to gather users with similar values and perceptions. For example, although online content creator Mimeng sometimes uses vulgar expressions to attract the attention of the 10 million people who read her social commentaries, her audience is nonetheless a relatively small group of like-minded individuals — in China, at least. Such highly targeted |
transformed the original space in a breakneck three-week stretch and managed it with gusto for the rest of the spring and summer.
But that first day at the PieLab was a success. There was music, courtesy of a customer with an acoustic guitar. The crowd was diverse. Ideas were exchanged. Intergenerational friendships were forged. The take, at two bucks per apple-pie slice, was something like $400.
PieLab had visual style. And PieLab had a formula, a back-of-the-bar-napkin equation, sketched in Maine and refined on the ground in Greensboro:
PieLab = a neutral place + a slice of pie.
A neutral place + a slice of pie = conversation.
Conversation = ideas + design.
Ideas + design = positive change.
Yet for all its ambition, PieLab never had a business plan or a firm grasp on what sort of change was sought. This was intentional. Bielenberg wasn’t much interested in long-term goals; he believed in setting something in motion and letting the momentum guide the effort.
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The plan was simply to open PieLab’s doors, begin conversations with the people of Greensboro and encourage them to create progressive inititatives of their own. “We had an idea,” said Brian W. Jones, a collaborator from Virginia. “That was it. We opened without a business license or the complete approval of the health inspector.”
PieLab’s logo — two crimp-crusted pie slices, positioned tip to tip to form a double beaker, an hourglass or some other old-school scientific apparatus — said it all. Here food wasn’t just fuel. And design wasn’t merely a way to arrange your living room furniture. Design, when applied to food, could be a catalytic force for good, even if the good wasn’t specified.
PieLab operated out of temporary quarters for four months. HERO, under the direction of Pam Dorr, served as host and landlord. Six years earlier, Dorr left a job as a production manager for the Gap in California to join the social-service efforts in Hale County. Dorr collaborated with Project M on earlier projects, finding practical applications for their ideas. To support PieLab, she secured government grants, helped build ties in the community and served as a hands-off adviser.
That first PieLab space, in a tin-roofed clapboard home behind the HERO offices, was spare and studied, with glossy white walls, high ceilings and open shelving. A hand-cranked cash register sat on the front counter, alongside a silverware tray and a decommissioned library card catalog. Inscribed with the names and check-out histories of old books, the cards served as sketch pads and, on occasion, order pads for $3 slice-and-coffee combos.
The earnestness was palpable. The Project M crew baked pie and brewed coffee. They crimped crusts with forks and piled on pears and pecans gathered and delivered by neighbors. They designed Web sites for the Hale County Humane Society and created logos for the nearby city of Northport.
For the socially engaged members of Project M, PieLab was a clubhouse. For small-town characters, it was a magnet. College students from Sewanee, Tenn., ate through all the pecan pie one afternoon. A film director just back from Thailand came in for coffee and talked about his next project, a Big Foot horror movie.
Over time, the Project M folk befriended Scott Hamilton, an aspiring artist. They designed a Web site on which he posted his paintings of cities of the future, shaped like skyscraping minarets. When Charles Johnson, a regular, was in a good mood, he performed on the pine floors, moving to a line-dance routine called the Cupid Shuffle.
Within a few months of opening, following a spate of positive design-industry press, PieLab-inspired efforts popped up in cities like Portland, Ore. In Greenville, Ala., southwest of Montgomery, Nancy Rhodes recently opened Polka Dots Café, cater-corner from the town’s Confederate memorial. She serves kolaches, a Czech pastry popular in Texas. Inspired by PieLab, she plans to operate a “neutral space,” where people of all races and classes can gather.
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“THAT FIRST SPACE was really grass roots,” Megan Deal recalled. “It was so easy to build, so easy to run. There was an honesty about it, a purity. It was all about pie and conversation. All about what we intended. It worked.”
More significant, it seemed to work in the Black Belt, a region that a New York Times writer, in the days before the cotton economy went bust, described as a “garden of slavery.” Poverty rates may register higher in other counties in the region, and racial disparities have proved wider, but Hale County has long been the Black Belt’s front porch. Hale was where James Agee and Walker Evans drew their famed portrait of Depression-era tenant farmer life, “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men,” a book that has served as a primary text for students of rural America in the decades since. And Hale was where Samuel Mockbee and D. K. Ruth established the Rural Studio, a design-and-build program for Auburn University architecture students, focused on creating high-concept, low-cost homes for indigent residents. Don’t be “house pets to the rich,” Mockbee told his charges, sounding a clarion that inspired, among others, John Bielenberg.
All this attention to social ills did not come without social costs. Almost 75 years have passed since Agee and Evans traveled the county to document the lives of poor white folk, but their work still has the power to inflame residents. If outsiders see Evans’s photos and Agee’s text as a candid examination of an ailing region, insiders often see the book as the product of crusading interlopers, the sort of people who parachute into the region today with little understanding of local concerns.
Amanda Buck is not the only Project M collaborator who has walked into the Hale County Library on Main Street to check out “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men” and learned that lesson. “Everybody who comes down here wants to read that book,” Buck recalled a librarian saying as she handed her a copy. “You know this doesn’t paint the whole picture. There are other perspectives.”
BUCK, A NATIVE OF Brunswick, Ohio, who was a member of the original 2009 Project M program and later traveled south to work at PieLab, showed up thinking that she was to be a “change agent.” But when she talked about change, many Hale County residents heard condemnation. No matter, she thought. “What are we doing here if we’re not working for change?”
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In the Black Belt, Project M collaborators could afford to be idealists. They worked hard, but their lives unspooled like summer-camp deferments. “On weekends we swam in the river,” Brian Jones recalled. “We wandered down Main Street at sunset and admired the way the light bounced off the buildings.”
They ate lunches of fried whiting and fried okra at Flava, a soul-food cafe set in a brick compound one block off Main Street. And they listened as Eugene Lyles, who built the restaurant in the 1960s, told them that, back when the black-power movement was ascendant, he was an idealist, too. Weekday afternoons, they walked the town, past shuttered storefronts. At night, they sometimes played four-square games on Main Street, sidestepping pulpwood trucks as they downshifted from the highway. They measured success in modest exchanges. Buck and Robin Mooty, another early PieLab worker, designed and painted a new sign for Charles Johnson’s salon. In return, Johnson took Buck and Deal golfing.
PieLab efforts played well to the news media. Here was hope, and apple pie, and a seemingly robust new economic engine in the Black Belt, a seemingly hopeless American place. And here was an effort that aligned nicely with the national trend toward food activism. “PieLab provides a neutral environment in a traditionally segregated town where people from every race and class are welcome to sit together and talk candidly about whatever is on their mind,” Brian Jones told Fast Company magazine.
PieLab, along with projects like Mission Pie in San Francisco (which employs at-risk youth and uses local ingredients for its pies), is part of an American movement to deploy food-focused initiatives, including restaurant operation and artisanal food production, to foster social change. The culinary establishment embraced PieLab. The magazine Southern Living, the prevailing arbiter of middle-class regional taste, dubbed its apple pie one of the South’s best. The James Beard Foundation named the Main Street PieLab space one of three 2010 finalists for its restaurant design award.
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All the attention buoyed the PieLab collaborators. But it also created problems. When Project M first arrived in Greensboro, some folk bristled at the language it employed. The conflicts began with the 2007 Buy-a-Meter project. To get the initiative under way, Project M used stark black-and-white photos (and starker messages) to draw attention to area families who lacked access to the municipal water supply. The pamphlet campaign raised about $50,000. HERO, working in conjunction with Project M, used this money to purchase and install more than 100 water meters. Beyond Alabama, Buy-a-Meter was celebrated as a financial and critical success. But back home, the slogan — “In Hale County, Alabama, Water Is Not a Right,” splayed across a gatefold photograph of Greensboro’s Main Street — did not always play so well. Tensions increased when a group of designers proposed a National Design Center for Rural Poverty Programs in Greensboro. To make clear the need, they described Hale County as a place where an “impoverished population suffers from substandard housing, education, health care and job opportunities.”
In Greensboro, such sweeping generalizations, no matter their accuracy, stung. “What does some guy in Maine know about my life in Alabama?” asked Ann Langford, chief clerk of the Hale County Probate Court and onetime Rural Studio administrator. “Who gave him the right to speak for us?”
By that point, a number of new voices were speaking for the Black Belt. At least seven windmill-tilting organizations were doing good works in Hale County, including Project Horseshoe Farm, a residential mental-health facility. Those programs brought youthful energy to Greensboro. They also brought trouble.
“You have the same town-and-gown tensions here that you would find in a small Massachusetts college town,” said Winnie Cobbs, a retired college professor who operates a local bed-and-breakfast. As she talked, two young women, wearing jogging bras and college mascot tank tops, race-walked through downtown. Inside PieLab, a Horseshoe Farm fellow hunched over her laptop, filling out medical-school application forms.
“It’s universal,” Cobbs said. “You hear the same talk about the loose morals of young kids. And you hear the same suspicion of the motives of outsiders.”
“I WAS NAÏVE,” BUCK SAID. “I knew nothing about baking pies and running a business.”
As Buck talked, she squirmed in her chair in what was the original pop-up PieLab space and is now used by AmeriCorps Vista volunteers who run BikeLab, a bicycle-repair and reclamation project also initiated by Project M and HERO. “We came with preconceived notions about what we would find in Alabama,” she said.
In October 2009, as the PieLab crew worked to refurbish their new brick-fronted space on Main Street — the one with polished wood floors and a balloon-whisk bathroom light fixture — tensions reached a pitch in what came to be known as the “cake thing” or the “poster incident.”
Designed by a couple of the PieLab workers, the poster was printed in an array of colors, the most arresting of which was bright red. Rendered in a bold, black font and capped by an exclamation point, were the words: “Eat pie.” Stacked beneath, in far smaller type, was a command that began with a sexually explicit four-letter word and ended with the word “cake.”
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To the PieLab crew, the poster was an over-the-top exercise in sloganeering. To members of the Greensboro community, who followed the workings of PieLab on various Web sites, the document was a totem of the group’s cultural insensitivities.
“The humor might have played well in Brooklyn,” Buck said, taking pains to explain that the posters were never intended for local distribution. “But here it wasn’t funny at all.”
Posters quickly found their way into the hands of city and county powerbrokers. Things came to a head during a heated conversation in the street, which Pam Dorr, of HERO, playfully described as a “near riot.”
“I understand what they intended,” Winnie Cobbs said. “It was playful and frivolous. I got the Marie Antoinette reference. It takes us back to the time of the French Revolution. But you have to pick your place to use that word. And posters, plastered around this town, would not have been that place.”
Ann Langford still keeps a rolled copy beneath her desk at the courthouse. “I can’t take a poster with that word on it home,” she said. Langford understands youthful indiscretion. Yet she still gets agitated when she talks about the incident.
“So is that the best that you can come up with after going off to college?” she asked a group of PieLab workers who came to apologize. “Is that what your parents sent you to school to learn? I thought y’all were supposed to set examples.”
THREE MONTHS HAVE now passed since “the takeover.” That’s the term that Pam Dorr uses to describe the process by which she jettisoned the design side of the PieLab equation. Her technique was simple: Rather than renew some of the governmental programs under which the original crew was employed, Dorr allowed certain sources of financing to lapse. One by one, the founders departed.
Under Dorr’s leadership, PieLab may still realize some of the transformative goals imagined by the original crew. Early in the process, PieLab began working with YouthBuild, a job-training-and-remedial-education program, affiliated with the U.S. Department of Labor. At first, 20-somethings from programs like that were ancillary to the PieLab effort. Now job training appears to be primary. Some of the changes have been more pragmatic. PieLab no longer opens at 9 in the morning, as it did when the Project M crew ran the show. Gone are the stacks of take-one, leave-one cards with recipes for graduate-student fodder like tofu stroganoff. Gone, too, is the pie-only menu. PieLab now serves homemade biscuits at 7 in the morning to farmers and construction workers. In the afternoon, it sells butter-crusted quiches, piled with precut nubs of ham, to lunchtime tourists, drawn by glossy photos in magazines like Bon Appétit.
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One recent morning, Melvin Webster, who is studying construction skills through YouthBuild while working on his G.E.D., drank coffee and talked of how he learned to blend pecan butter from cracked nuts for a HERO-sponsored initiative called Pecans! It was a task in which he seemed to take great pride. Across the counter, Sam Heartsill, a mother of two whose work at PieLab is financed in part by a federally subsidized employment program, drained a bottle of lemon-juice concentrate into homemade custard. At PieLab, both the food and the focus are still works in progress. Dorr leads the progress. As executive director of HERO, she has helped dozens of Hale County families move from busted trailers to tidy bungalows. Now, in her work with PieLab, she has proposed courses for young cooks to learn about the virtues of local produce and traditional techniques. And she holds hospitality classes for those aspiring to careers in the food industry.
When Dorr talks about PieLab, she typically drops the word “lab” and the baggage associated with it. As in, “Let’s go down to Pie and get a slice.” Or, “Modern Woodmen of America are having their lunch meeting at Pie.” Or, “Let’s go see what the girls are up to down at Pie.”
“It began as cool place to drink coffee and eat pie,” she said between bites of a blueberry-and-cream-cheese pastry cup. “Now it has the chance to be more than that. It may not be as cool, but it’s a life-full place.”Vice President Joe Biden has to get into the Democratic presidential race to prevent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders from winning the nomination, political strategist Dick Morris toldon Thursday."I don't think there's any possibility that they will not let him run," Morris said of party officials in an interview with "Newsmax Prime" host J.D. Hayworth."If he doesn't run, Bernie Sanders can beat Hillary [Clinton] and be the Democratic nominee — and that would be just unbelievably bad for the Democrats."Watch Newsmax TV onandGet Newsmax TV on your cable system —Morris is the co-author of The New York Times best-selling book,He added that Republican front-runner Donald Trump could end up on the better end in his battle with Fox News and chairman and CEO Roger Ailes."It'll hurt Fox. I don’t think it will hurt Trump," Morris said. "Fox is going to have to cover Trump as part of the news — and if they don't, nobody's going to watch their news."I believe that Fox is in the tank for Bush," he added, referring to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. "Roger Ailes was really [George H.W.] Bush's mentor and guide in politics."Morris worked with Ailes on the elder Bush's campaign against former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis' campaign in 1988."I do not think they would have let Megyn Kelly open their debate unloading on Trump if they were not trying to dampen Trump and bolster Bush," Morris said.Sasheer Zamata knows she’ll have her work cut out for her in the next few months.
The “Saturday Night Live” cast member will return for her third full season on the legendary late-night comedy show — although this year will be a bit different.
Along with losing cast members Taran Killiam, Jay Pharoah and Jon Rudnitsky, “SNL” will be cutting 30 percent of its commercials, allowing more time for more content.
“It will be exhausting I’m sure. It’s a lot to do every week and will mean more time at work and less time at home,” she said Tuesday afternoon by phone.
So how will she prepare for it? By heading out on the road to do standup comedy of course.
A mini-tour that has her performing seven shows in nine days stops Tuesday at The Milton Theatre. She will headline a night of laughs with local comedians Tom Sherman and Billy Peden and Philadelphia’s LaTice Klapa starting at 8:30 p.m.
The increased workload isn’t all bad. Doing standup and having more time with the show will allow her to get out what she’s been thinking about all summer.
“Whenever we’re off, things come to mind and then I think ‘Aww man.’ We can’t immediately talk about it when things happen. I have a hard time turning that part of my brain off. Now we’ll have more time to take advantage of it all,” she said.
It will be especially nice as the show heads into the homestretch of the presidential campaign.
“The show always gets a lot of attention in a political season. It’s such a politically driven show and we talk a lot about what’s happening of course and people will be watching to see what we’re going to do and say. That will be fun,” said the 30-year-old Indianapolis native, who was hired in the middle of the 2014-15 season to help add some diversity to the cast.
She has gone on to make a name for herself on the show, doing some memorable turns on “Weekend Update” and showing off impressions of such notables as Michelle Obama and singer Rihanna.
She has also appeared on Comedy Central’s “Inside Amy Schumer,” FX’s “Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell” and on NPR’s “This American Life.”
Despite an already impressive comedy résumé, music was in the forefront when she was younger.
“I sang a lot growing up. I auditioned to be on my high school’s improv (comedy) team but it ran into show choir rehearsals so I had to drop it. Choir was always a priority whether it was in school or church. Even in college, I would end up doing more musicals than anything else,” she said.
“When I moved to New York after college, I thought I wanted to be a stage actor and I still might be. I would audition for plays but I kept seeing shows at UCB and started going in that direction.”
UCB, also known as Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, is the one of the country’s leading improvisational comedy schools in the country, with locations in New York and California. Many past and current “Saturday Night Live” cast members are graduates and one of the school’s founders is “SNL” veteran Amy Poehler. Ms. Zamata still performs there regularly.
Her interest in comedy started in middle school as an avid watcher of shows like “SNL,” “Mad TV” and “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”
“In middle school we had a teacher who would take us to different improv shows and I always thought it would be cool to be on something like that but I never knew anyone from Indianapolis who went on to do that and didn’t necessarily think it was a viable career,” Ms. Zamata said.
The comedy bug continued in college and she went on to become a founding member of the University of Virginia’s improv comedy troupe, Amuse Bouche.
Graduating in 2008, it was off to New York where UCB took hold.
“I took a class to see what it was all about and got hooked immediately. I went through the whole program and made a home there and realized that comedy was where I was headed,” she said.
Her life as a standup comedian blossomed around the same time.
“Most of the other people who I was doing improv with at the time were scared to try it but I like trying scary things. I tried it and didn’t die and found it really fun and challenging. I had been performing a good amount of my life and here was this new skill that I needed to develop in writing jokes and getting what’s inside of my brain outside and making it all understandable,” she said.
The Milton audience will undoubtedly hear her takes on relationships, family and, as she puts it, “grace and society.”
Ms. Zamata heads back to ‘SNL’ the last week of September to get ready for its 42nd season. She says working on the show, with all of its late-night writing sessions, subsisting on takeout food and jockeying for laughs, is an experience like no other.
“You can’t be prepared for it because there isn’t any other show that works like that. The environment is unlike any other environment there is,” she said.
“You have to adjust quickly to it. This will be my third full season and fourth season overall and I think I have a better idea of how things work. But I still don’t know how everything works and I don’t think I’m supposed to know.”
She still gets butterflies when the red light goes on at 11:30 p.m. and thinks she should.
“It means that I care,” she said.
But she doesn’t concentrate on the estimated 6 million people who watch the show every week on TV.
“I’m used to performing in front of a live audience. So all I’m thinking about are those 150 people sitting in front of me. That’s a much easier way to think about it.
“I also look to the crew and the people around the set. They have seen so much comedy over the past decades. I kind of base my humor judgment on them. If they laugh, I know I’m OK.”
Tickets for Tuesday night’s show are in limited supply but available for $15 by visiting miltontheatre.com or by calling (302) 684-3038.
The theater is at 110 Union St. in downtown Milton.
More at Milton
Bringing a nationally known comedian like Ms. Zamata to Milton will not be a one-time thing if promoter Todd Lesser and Milton Theatre executive director Fred Munzert have anything to say about it.
“I moved to Rehoboth last year from Baltimore, where I book concerts and live events,” said Mr. Lesser of Monozine Presents Inc.
“I have family in Milton, who gushed about the theater. After seeing it and meeting Fred, I loved the concept of bringing some events in. I had worked with Sasheer last year and it went great, so in lieu of bringing her back to Baltimore, we brought it here to see how it would do.”
“So far we’re very excited to see how it turns out and will hopefully bring more to town. With local support, this area and especially that room, has amazing potential for more.”
Fulkerson Fest IV
Fulkerson Fest IV, in memory of the late local musician Steve Fulkerson, will be held Sunday at 4 p.m. at Seafood City in Felton.
Proceeds raised will toward music lessons, rock camp and school music lessons for kids.
The day will include NFL tickets for raffle, Chinese auction items, 50/50 a moon bounce and face painting.
Items from Dover Homebrew, Bow Wow petique, Dynamic Dips and signed items by Deep Purple will also be up for grabs.
The event will also be livestreamed on Facebook.
The music will kick off at 4 p.m. with Jordan Amado followed by Hoochi Coochi, Kyle Offidani, The Blues Reincarnation Project and The Joey Fulkerson Trio with Tommy Alderson.
Seafood City is at 9996 S. DuPont Highway in Felton.
Kent arts funding
The Kent County Fund for the Arts recently awarded $21,300 in grants to 13 local arts programs in Kent County.
This year’s recipients were: Biggs Museum of American Art, CERTS Inc., Delaware Choral Society, Delaware Friends of Folk, Dover High School, Dover Public Library, Dover Symphony Orchestra, Inner City Cultural League, Mispillion Art League, Schwartz Center for the Arts, Delaware Children’s Theater, VSA Delaware and Wesley College.
The Kent County Fund for the Arts is a fund of The CenDel Foundation, in partnership with the Delaware Community Foundation.
For information, call 724-7538 or visit www.cendel.org.
Symphony signs Amado
It was announced this week that The Delaware Symphony Association and music director David Amado have entered into a new agreement that will extend through the 2022-2023 season.
That season will mark Mr. Amado’s 20th anniversary as music director of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Amado was named music director of the Delaware Symphony beginning with the 2003-2004 season.
The orchestra will open its 2016-2017 season with a Sept. 23 Classics Series concert conducted by Mr. Amado in Copeland Hall at The Grand Opera House in downtown Wilmington.
The program features violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson performing André Previn’s Double
Concerto, a work he wrote for Mr. Laredo and Ms. Robinson. Mr. Previn will attend the performance and receive the DSO’s 2016-2017 Season A. I. du Pont Composers Award. The concert will conclude with Symphony No. 5 by Gustav Mahler.
Single tickets for this performance are available through The Grand Opera House Box Office at 818 N. Market St. or by calling (302) 652-5577, or by purchasing at www.ticketsatthegrand.org.
Now showing
New this weekend in theaters is a remake of “Ben-Hur,” Jonah Hill in the comedy-drama “War Dogs” and the animated family film “Kubo the Two Strings 3D.”
On DVD and download starting Tuesday is Chris Hemsworth in “The Huntsman: Winter’s War,” Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe in the suspense comedy “The Nice Guys” and the animated “Ratchet and Clank.”
Reach features editor Craig Horleman at chorl@newszap.comA rendering of a proposed project at 4156 Shelbyville Road that features apartments, retail and restaurant space. (Photo: Courtesy Investment Property Advisors, LLC)
Plans for a $40 million retail and apartment project on Shelbyville Road are on hold, pending an effort by the developer to appease some neighbors' concerns.
Investment Property Advisors recently asked the St. Matthews City Council to delay acting on its pending development plan until it can get more input from residents.
A community meeting for discussion of revisions has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 5, at the St. Matthews Community Center on Ten Pin Lane.
The developer plans the project at 4156 Shelbyville Road, land it currently has under contract — a site long occupied by the Tafel Motors luxury auto dealership.
Read this: Historic synagogue near St. Matthews to be torn down for luxury apartments
Tafel plans to relocate to a suburban site near Old Henry Road and the Gene Snyder Freeway. The Tafel buildings would be demolished. The adjacent Mini of Louisville dealership at Hubbards Lane would remain.
The plan for developing the Tafel site features an eight-story building, with 276 apartments on the upper seven floors and about 15,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space on the ground level.
The site already carries the correct zoning for the IPA development. The plan was recently recommended for approval by the Metro Planning Commission, after which the plan was forwarded to the St. Matthews council for final review.
Background: Large apartment complex coming to old Tafel Motors site in St. Matthews
Related: Tafel Motors details plan to move Mercedes-Benz dealership to suburban site
But Jonathan Baker, the attorney for the developer, said in an interview Friday that some significant concerns were raised by residents before the St. Matthews council. They focused on traffic congestion and access to Church Way.
Baker said the developer asked the council to hold off on considering the plan until after the neighborhood meeting.
"We want to take a step back. We want to see if there is some way to accommodate" some of the residents' concerns, he said.
NEWSLETTERS Get the Breaking News newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Breaking news alerts Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-866-2211. Delivery: Varies Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for Breaking News Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters
Investment Property Advisors was founded in 2004 and the company specializes in developing student housing.
The proposed St. Matthews project calls for the apartment amenities to include a pool, an exercise room, and 18,000 square feet of green roof space.
The apartments will range from one- to three-bedroom units and have "high-end finishes" with washers and dryers, the initial plan filing with metro regulators said. The units will rent for around $1,100 a month.
Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at 502-582-7089, or via email at sshafer@courier-journal.com.
Read or Share this story: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2017/09/01/st-matthews-apartment-complex-shelbyville-road-on-hold/624731001/The Barcelona and Spain defender talks eloquently about the Catalan referendum and says he is not retiring from international football because that would give satisfaction to the people who ‘whistle and insult’
Gerard Piqué has admitted he considered leaving the Spain team after he was whistled and verbally abused by supporters at a training session on Monday but insisted he would not give those fans satisfaction by walking away. The Barcelona defender appealed for respect and dialogue in the wake of Sunday’s Catalan referendum as the political situation grows increasingly tense. He also refused to reveal whether he had voted yes, describing that as the “$1m question”, but did dismiss the popular assumption that he is in favour of independence.
Gerard Piqué jeered by spectators at Spain’s World Cup training session Read more
Barcelona played behind closed doors on Sunday in protest at the conduct of Spanish police in trying to prevent Catalonia holding a referendum that the central government and constitutional courts declared illegal. As images of violence emerged, Barcelona asked for the game against Las Palmas to be postponed, opting to play in an empty stadium when the request was denied. Afterwards Piqué, visibly affected and close to tears, criticised the Spanish government and reaffirmed his long-standing public support for the Catalans’ right to vote. He said he felt Catalan and offered to step down from international duty if the coach, Julen Lopetegui, wanted him to.
The following evening, with political positions increasingly entrenched, supporters gathered for the evening session at the Spanish Football Federation’s Las Rozas headquarters. Piqué has been whistled playing for Spain before but he admitted he had not expected the intensity of what awaited him on Monday. Some carried banners demanding he leave the national team. There were reports that his relationship with the captain, Sergio Ramos, had broken down and worse is expected when Spain play Albania in Alicante on Friday. The situation appeared to have become unsustainable.
Piqué, who said he had decided to speak because he wanted to find a solution and because it was not fair on his team-mates who have grown “tired” of the issue to have to face endless questions about him, said that it “hurt” that people questioned his commitment to the national team. He said he had thought about departing in the wake of the referendum, but also that he had thought about continuing after 2018 – the date he had previously set for his international departure. “I don’t want to leave out the back door,” he said.
Play Video 1:24 Emotional Piqué offers to end Spain career after Catalonia violence – video
“From the age of 15 I have considered this a family: that’s one of the reasons I’m here,” Piqué said. “My commitment to the national team is maximum. I feel very proud to be here. I have thought about [leaving] and I think the best thing is to stay. Going would mean that those people have won, those who think the best solution is to whistle and insult. I’m not going to give them that satisfaction.
“There are lots of people who want me to stay. If you talk, you can reach an understanding. I am sure that if I sat down with them all, it would be different. There are people in Spain whose positions are very diverse and if you talk, you can find a solution. I’d like people to listen and think: ‘What he says is reasonable.’ And the Sergio Ramos thing is a myth. I’ve said it 15,000 times: we get on fantastically well. In fact we’re going to go into business together.
“Politics is a drag, but why shouldn’t I express myself? I understand those players who don’t want to say anything. We’re footballers but we’re people too. Why can a journalist or a mechanic express themselves but not a footballer?”
Piqué insisted his politics were not incompatible with the national team. He reiterated that he has “never” declared for independence. Indeed, the way he returned to the theme and framed his argument implied he does not support separatism. He agreed when it was put to him that Spain and Catalonia would be weaker in the case of independence; argued that the “world is so connected that countries are the least important thing”; and described his family as “Colombian, Lebanese, Catalan and Spanish”.
Asked if his Catalan sentiment meant that he should not play for the national team, he replied: “No. And I would take it even further than that – and this is not the case with me – I would say that even a supporter of independence could play for Spain. There is no other national team and they’re not against Spain. Spain is a country that’s the hostia [the business] and the people are de puta madre [bloody brilliant], so why not play for Spain? I repeat: it’s not the case with me. But why not? We reduce it to sentiment, but we’re here to help Spain win.”
Chelsea optimistic Álvaro Morata injury is not as severe as Spain fear Read more
“I am in favour of people voting. They can vote yes, no, or abstain,” he said. “I’m not on the front line. I don’t think I have ever positioned myself on one side of another. And my opinion is not so important. I have never fought tooth and nail to defend a particular side. Some say there should be independence, some say there should be a vote, some say there should be nothing. All three points of view are licit. There are lots of people in Spain that support Catalans voting. There were demonstrations in Madrid and Seville.”
When it came to direct questions, Piqué avoided a direct answer. How had he voted, he was asked. “That’s the $1m question,” he said. “I can’t give an answer on that. I can’t back one side or the other: I would lose half of my supporters.”
And who would he choose to play for if Catalonia did get independence, he was asked.? “I imagine it would be a process of three or four years, like Brexit,” he said. “I’ll be 33, so I haven’t really thought about it.”
Piqué said he had not seen King Felipe’s speech the previous night accusing the Catalan authorities of attempting to break the unity of Spain the previous night before because he was playing cards but said people in Catalonia would have liked a more conciliatory message and he appealed for dialogue. “Spain has a history that goes back I-don’t-know-how-many years, and there is a part that wants to go. That’s way more important than what I think.”Washington: Researchers have described an ancient skull recovered from a cave in the Annamite Mountains in northern Laos as the oldest modern human fossil found in Southeast Asia, pushing back the clock on modern human migration through the region by as much as 20,000 years.
The discovery |
of for this question, though whether it will actually happen is another matter, is that in a few months' time if somebody suggests that proofs aren't all that important one can refer them to this page for lots of convincing examples that show that they are.
Added after 13 answers: Interestingly, the focus so far has been almost entirely on the "You can't be sure if you don't have a proof" justification of proofs. But what if a physicist were to say, "OK I can't be 100% sure, and, yes, we sometimes get it wrong. But by and large our arguments get the right answer and that's good enough for me." To counter that, we would want to use one of the other reasons, such as the "Having a proof gives more insight into the problem" justification. It would be great to see some good examples of that. (There are one or two below, but it would be good to see more.)
Further addition: It occurs to me that my question as phrased is open to misinterpretation, so I would like to have another go at asking it. I think almost all people here would agree that proofs are important: they provide a level of certainty that we value, they often (but not always) tell us not just that a theorem is true but why it is true, they often lead us towards generalizations and related results that we would not have otherwise discovered, and so on and so forth. Now imagine a situation in which somebody says, "I can't understand why you pure mathematicians are so hung up on rigour. Surely if a statement is obviously true, that's good enough." One way of countering such an argument would be to give justifications such as the ones that I've just briefly sketched. But those are a bit abstract and will not be convincing if you can't back them up with some examples. So I'm looking for some good examples.
What I hadn't spotted was that an example of a statement that was widely believed to be true but turned out to be false is, indirectly, an example of the importance of proof, and so a legitimate answer to the question as I phrased it. But I was, and am, more interested in good examples of cases where a proof of a statement that was widely believed to be true and was true gave us much more than just a certificate of truth. There are a few below. The more the merrier.News in Science
Ancient marsupial tougher than Tassie tiger
Punching above its weight Australia was once home to a carnivore that was powerful enough to bring down prey larger than itself, a new study has found.
The finding, published in the journal PLOS ONE, compared the meat-eating Miocene era marsupial Nimbacinus dicksoni to its closest relative, the recently extinct Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) and its cousins, the Tasmanian devil, the spotted-tailed quoll and the Northern quoll.
"We wanted to know if it hunted small or large prey, relative to its size, and if it had similar feeding ecology to its more recently extinct relative, the Tasmanian tiger," says the study's lead author, Dr Marie Attard of the University of New England.
N. dicksoni was part of a now extinct family of Australian and New Guinean marsupial carnivores known as Thylacinidaes.
Most information about species in this family comes from a few scattered fragments of skull.
The recent discovery of a particularly well-preserved N. dicksoni skull from Miocene deposits at Riversleigh in north-western Queensland, provided Attard and colleagues with an opportunity for biomechanical and ecological species studies.
The authors digitally scanned the skull, which included the cranium and part of the mandible, and reconstructed it as a 3D model, which could be compared to similar models of the Tasmanian tiger, and the three living marsupial carnivores.
"This allowed us to do different simulations in the computer, such as shaking, twisting the head, pulling back, and chomping down, all of which reflect different eating behaviours in life," says Attard.
"We could see how well each would bite down and with how much muscle force, and also what sort of stresses each could withstand."
'Opportunistic marsupial'
The authors found the mechanical performance of the skull of N. dicksoni was most similar to that of the spotted-tailed quoll.
"We found that N. dicksoni had quite a powerful bite for its size, showing lower levels of stress in its skull, compared to the thylacine," says Attard.
By comparison, its close relation, the Tasmanian tiger, was showing very high levels of stress along the snout compared to all the other species tested.
"Although only about five kilograms in size, N. dicksoni was a highly opportunistic carnivore, which was able to eat anything from a small marsupial, bird, frog, lizard or snake, to something as big as a bandicoot," says Attard.
The findings provide further support for Attard's earlier study, which showed the Tasmanian tiger could only hunt small prey relative to its size.
"And since it wasn't able to eat a wide variety of species, it was quite vulnerable to extinction. It was much more specialised and limited in the range of prey it could capture," says Attard.Top Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are independent and do not represent the views of Zavvi.
A Decent Entry in The Franchise The Arkham Series of games are among my favourite video games of any genre. Arkham Asylum is the first game that really captured what one imagine's it would be like to be Batman. Arkham City took those great foundations, built on them, expanded the world, and somehow created an even better game. Arkham Origins feels, at best, like a sideways step. If you haven't played the first two, then you'll probably love this. If you have, you'll probably be underwhelmed. Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0) Report this review
Batman: Arkham Origins The dark knight is returned with another epic game of the BEST batman saga on ps3!!!!! All this in an incredible price!!! Thank you ZAVVI!!!!!! Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0) Report this review
not so great This game looks morre like a huge Arkham City DLC, which is not bad, but sold as an separate game.....i don't know...for the price that zavvi offers, it's a great game, but still it's the weakest in the series... But I had great fun with it....so whoever played the previous Arkham games, just go ahead and buy it. However if this will be your first entry to the series, you probably should buy Arkham Asylum instead.... Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0) Report this review
Good, but no surprises It's the third one in this well loved franchise and at this point you should know what you get...because that's EXACTLY what you'll get: nothing more(no surprises gameplaywise) but also nothing less (gameplay and setting are still great). Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0) Report this review
Great The Negatives are that it has some glitches here and there so the game won't save after you pick an enigma pack. There are also some minor glitches when you are in combat mode so the enemies will get stuck behind or on top of a car. But these don't happen that often, not enough to ruin the experience. On the positives, it is my favorite game of the series, it has great boss fights, a good story, the combat system remains great, the gliding throughout the city is still fun. Just for the sake of those couple of glitches I can't give it 5 stars, but you should definitely buy this game if you like the previous ones. Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0) Report this review
Good Buy A must buy game!gr8 action and a gr8 prequel! Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0) Report this review
Batman: Arkham Origins Great addition to the Series for a great price. We'll worth the money for hours of game play and looking forward for the the next chapter Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0) Report this review
Awesome If you liked previous Arkhams, you must buy this!!! Delivery in Italy was very good. Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0) Report this review
Spettacolare! Un gioco veramente spettacolare, è un multilingua (comprende l'italiano). Voto 10 su 10. Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0) Report this reviewAn ocean-going tanker is to be fitted with a type of “spinning sail” invented almost a century ago in a step that could lead to more environmentally friendly tankers worldwide.
The unusual sails are rotating columns fixed to the deck of the ship, whose interaction with the wind provides forward thrust. The trial is backed by Maersk, one of the world’s biggest shipping companies and Shell’s shipping arm.
International shipping runs largely on highly polluting “bunker” fuel and the industry is coming under increasing pressure to play its part in tackling climate change by reducing emissions. Technologies being explored to cut pollution include kites, batteries or using biofuels.
As British tourists take to the seas, giant cruise ships spread pollution misery Read more
The spinning, or rotor sail, was invented by the German engineer Anton Flettner and he put it into practice on two ships, one of which crossed the Atlantic in 1926. It propels the ship because when wind passes the spinning rotor sail, the air flow accelerates on one side and decelerates on the opposite side, creating a thrust force perpendicular to the wind direction.
The rotor sails being installed on a 240 metre-long Maersk tanker are modern lightweight versions produced by the Finnish company Norsepower. They will be 30 metres tall and 5 metres in diameter, the largest rotor sails ever deployed and the first to be used on a tanker.
In favourable wind conditions, each rotor sail can produce the equivalent of 3MW of power, much more than the 50kW of electricity needed to turn it, said Norsepower’s CEO, Tuomas Riski. If the wind direction reverses, the rotation of the sail can be also be reversed.
Riski said that overall fuel savings of 7-10% were expected, equivalent to about 1,000 tonnes of fuel a year: “We are pretty confident we are in this kind of range.” The company has already deployed its rotor sails on a roll-on/roll-off ferry and saw a saving of 6%.
Riski said technology improvements and the rise of environmental regulations mean the rotor sail could take off now, having failed to compete with diesel power in the 1920s. “Wind is the only renewable energy available at large scale in the ocean,” said Riski.
The new sails will be fitted during the first half of 2018, then analysed at sea until the end of 2019.
“This is one of the few fuel-saving technologies that could offer double-digit percentage improvements,” said Andrew Scott at the UK’s Energy Technologies Institute, an industry-government partnership that is helping fund the trial.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The German company SkySails uses large kites to provide wind power to reduce fuel costs and emissions. Photograph: SkySails GmbH
Shipping moves much of the world’s goods but is a significant source of air pollution and carbon emissions. A deal agreed by the UN’s International Maritime Organisation in 2016 will cut sulphur emissions from 2020 but was heavily criticised for postponing any action on greenhouse gases.
“The IMO was first charged with acting by the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and now, two decades later, the IMO’s latest greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan envisages a further seven-year period to collect data and navel gaze with no commitment to act at the end of all this,” said Bill Hemmings at the NGO Transport & Environment.
However, some shipping companies are already exploring cleaner energy systems, with the cruise liner firm Hurtigruten ordering a pair of hybrid powered ships that will use a battery system to help power them. Another approach is to use the waste heat from a ship’s diesel engines to produce electricity.
The German company SkySails uses large kites to provide wind power to modern shipping, while another, Enercon, fitted four rotor sails to a transport ship in 2010, though Norsepower’s rotor sails will be larger.
Riski said: “Flettner sailed across the Atlantic and proved they worked. Now the world might be ready to make this real product. I think it will be a no-brainer.”Shocking discovery explains powerful novae
In a typical year, there are around 50 novae, nuclear explosions on the surface of white dwarf stars, in our galaxy. Some of these explosions are so bright and powerful, they exceed the scale of scientific explanation.
Employing two powerful telescopes, astronomers at Michigan State University have proven a theory that explains these super-luminous novae and other astronomical explosions. The results, published in the current issue of Nature Astronomy, indicate that powerful shockwaves amplify the explosions beyond any traditional scale for nuclear explosions.
“Astronomers have long thought the energy from novae was dominated by the white dwarf, controlling how much light and energy are emitted,” said Laura Chomiuk, MSU astronomer and study co-author. “What we discovered, however, was a completely different source of energy – shockwaves that can dominate the entire explosion.”
As the explosion begins, it ejects a cooler, slower wave of gaseous material, relatively speaking. Behind it, though, is a hot, fast wave speeding right behind it. The collision of the two ejections produces a shockwave, which results in a spectacular explosion of heat and light.
“The bigger the shock, the brighter the nova,” Chomiuk said. “We believe it’s the speed of the second wave that influences the explosion.”
This study explains a theory held by Brian Metzger, Columbia University astronomer, who also is a co-author for this paper.
"While the presence of shock waves in novae has been understood for some time, they were generally relegated to a side feature of the phenomenon," Metzger said. "This event shows that shocks are the main event."
Now that the theory has been proven, astronomers use novae to better understand other super-charged explosions, like those that mark the death of massive stars in galaxies far away.
“Novae are little laboratories in our galactic backyard that we can use to study some of the most luminous explosions in the universe,” Chomiuk said. “As future novae happen, we’ll be able to observe them to better understand how shocks light up and fuel explosions. We really want to find out how common and energetic shocks are.”
The discovery is marked by the researchers’ dogged persistence. When novae happen, there’s a good chance they’re being observed by Ohio State University’s All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae. ASAS-SN is a suite of robotic telescopes in the northern and southern hemispheres. In fact, ASAS-SN discovered this particular nova featured in this study – ASASSN-16ma.
When ASASSN-16ma was discovered in October 2016, collaborator Paul Luckas observed its spectrum and identified it as a nova. Then, Kwan-Lok Li, MSU astronomer lead author, and Chomiuk, requested another telescope – NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope – also observe the explosion and measure the gamma rays the nova released. Gamma rays are a direct tracer of shockwaves.
Leaving no stone unturned, Chomiuk also alerted the American Association of Variable Star Observers. This international band of professional and amateur astronomers joined in and provided much of the optical data that proved this discovery.
The observations collected from these sources provided data that was unparalleled. The unequivocal results, when expressed through a graph, display a pulsating line of energy – resembling a galactic heartbeat, of sorts – with the optical light and the gamma rays mirroring each other and proving the theory. The gamma rays and the optical light come from the same source – showing that shocks dominate the nova's luminosity.
“The nova’s brightness and how strong our data were really surprised me,” Li said. “Other novae may take days or weeks for us to collect sufficient data. This one, though, was visible after just one day, and we knew it was a good one.”
Additional MSU astronomers contributing to this study include: Jay Strader and Thomas Finzell. Researchers from Columbia University, Tartu Observatory (Estonia), University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Observatories, Ohio State University, Universidad Diego Portales (Chile), Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (Chile), American Association of Variable Star Observers, University of Western Australia and Variable Star Observer’s League in Japan also were a part of this research.March 4, 2015
NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has signed guard Elliot Williams to a 10-day contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Williams, 6-5,180 has most recently played for the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League. Appearing in 25 games for Santa Cruz, Williams has averaged 21.8 points, 7.6 assists and 4.5 rebounds in 36.8 minutes per game while being named a NBA D-League All-Star. Previously this season, Williams has signed 10-day contracts with Utah and Charlotte. Williams appeared in five games for Utah, averaging 3.6 points in 8.4 minutes per contest.
Selected by Portland with the 22nd overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft out of Memphis, Williams has appeared in 96 career games with Portland and Philadelphia in addition to Utah, averaging 5.3 points and 1.6 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per game.
Williams will be available for tonight’s game against Detroit at the Smoothie King Center. New Orleans’ roster now stands at 14.After you’ve deployed your new virtual machine with a hosted Jenkins instance, you will notice that by default the instance listens on port 8080 using 'HTTP'. If you want to set up 'HTTPS' communication, you will need to provide an SSL certificate. Unfortunately, most certificate authorities are not cheap and other free services like Let’s Encrypt have a very small quota (about 20 certificates per week for the entire 'azure.com' subdomain). The only other option is to use a self-signed certificate, but then users must explicitly verify and mark your certificate as trusted, which is not recommended.
If you do not setup 'HTTPS' communication, the best way to make sure the sign-in credentials are not leaked due to a Man-in-the-middle attack is to only log in using SSH tunneling. An SSH tunnel is an encrypted tunnel created through an SSH protocol connection, which can be used to transfer unencrypted traffic over an unsecured network. Simply run this command:
Linux or Mac ssh -L 8080:localhost:8080 <username>@<domain name>Auditors: No creative accounting by Brazil's Rousseff
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Independent auditors hired by Brazil's Senate said in a report released Monday that suspended President Dilma Rousseff didn't engage in the creative accounting she was charged with at her impeachment trial.
For supporters of the embattled leader, the report underscores how fragile the case is.
But backers of her once ally-turned-enemy and acting President Michel Temer say that the document requested by the Senate's impeachment commission won't change her slim chances of returning to office.
FILE - In this June 14, 2016 file photo, suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff speaks during a press conference for foreign journalists at the Alvorada residential palace, in Brasilia, Brazil. Auditors of Brazil¿s Senate published a report on Monday, June 27, 2016, clearing suspended Rousseff of some of the accusations made in her impeachment trial. According to three independent experts, Rousseff did not delay payments to state-run banks, which violates Brazil¿s fiscal laws and partially founds the impeachment proceedings. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
The report says Rousseff did not delay payments to state-run banks as charged. That would have violated Brazil's fiscal laws.
But the auditors did say that it is "without controversy" that Rousseff authored three 2015 decrees releasing additional credits without Congress' consent. The auditors said a fourth presidential decree seemed legal.
Two-thirds of the Senate voted in May to suspend Rousseff for allegedly breaking fiscal laws. Lawmakers don't have to follow the auditors' findings when they vote again, probably in the end of August.
In an interview with Radio Guaiba, Rousseff said the report shows there is no legal basis to impeach her and insisted she might order a plebiscite on Brazil's political future if she is returned to office.
"The auditors don't even say I signed those three decrees deceitfully, which is required in our laws," she said. "This impeachment is no more than an indirect election (of acting president Temer) in Congress."
Rousseff, who has presided over Brazil's worse recession in decades amid a sprawling corruption scandal at state-run oil giant Petrobras, was removed from office on May 12.Colorado’s 40 casinos — and hundreds of others, including in the gaming mecca in Las Vegas — are bound by the same money-reporting rules that have made banks reluctant to let legal marijuana businesses open bank accounts, federal authorities now say.
That means casinos can keep anyone associated with legal weed enterprises — from dispensary to grow operations — away from gaming tables anywhere in the country.
And if they do allow them to play, casinos must file the same suspicious activity reports banks must file whenever they handle money derived from pot profits, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a division of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
“FinCEN’s guidance applies to all financial institutions covered under FinCEN regulations, including casinos,” FinCEN’s public affairs director Stephen Hudak told The Denver Post.
Because the government says casinos are financial institutions, like banks, they must have stringent anti-money-laundering programs in place.
Filing suspicious activity reports, or SARs, to crack down on money laundering by criminal and terrorist organizations is not new for casinos.
What is new is that it now extends to the legal marijuana trade.
While FinCEN in February announced how banks could work with legal marijuana businesses, the government only now realized it extends to casinos.
That’s in any casino in the country — whether in Colorado, Atlantic City or Las Vegas — on land, on water or on sovereign American-Indian soil. So a casino on the Las Vegas strip would, by law, have to pay attention to the owner of a marijuana dispensary in Colorado who heads there to gamble.
Currently, 22 states have legalized the sale of medical marijuana and two — Colorado and Washington — have legalized recreational sales. Colorado and 41 other states have some form of legal casino gambling.
The news — revealed June 12 at a Las Vegas conference directed at curtailing money laundering — has stopped state regulators and the casino industry in its tracks.
“The (Colorado) Division of Gaming was unaware of the FinCEN guidance,” spokeswoman Cameron Lewis told The Post. “Division management will be taking this matter under discussion.”
Similarly, the Colorado Gaming Association, the trade group that represents the state’s casinos, was unaware of the requirement.
“To my knowledge, we have not been contacted by FinCEN regarding any issues dealing with … marijuana suppliers,” executive director Lois Rice said.
Like banks, casinos must “know their customer” and have some knowledge of their source of funds. The casino industry keeps close track of gamblers through a variety of methods including high-roller clubs, frequent-player programs and other in-house incentives.
“Casinos most comply with the government’s guidance on filing suspicious-activity reports” said Jim Dowling, an anti-money-laundering consultant.
“Their alternative is to not conduct a financial transaction with these individuals who were involved directly, or indirectly in the MJ business,” said Dowling, a former IRS agent who was also an adviser on money-laundering issues to the White House.
Because marijuana is illegal under federal law, FinCEN’s requirements for doing business with the marijuana industry modified how financial institutions are to file SARs.
The reports must now reflect that clients are in states where marijuana sales are allowed.
Although the pot industry saw it as a first step in obtaining banking services — and more recent efforts have included the theoretical creation of a marijuana financial cooperative — Colorado banks have mostly shied from opening the door too widely.
The marijuana-specific reports would either identify the cannabis-related business or employee as legally operating under appropriate guidelines, identify them as one conducting suspicious activity, or as one where the casino has ended its banking relationship “in order to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering” compliance program.
The seven-page guidance also notes a number of “red-flag” scenarios that would require a bank or casino to file a SAR, including for a customer “depositing cash that smells like marijuana” who might be trying to conceal involvement in marijuana-related business activity.
“There are a number of ways money laundering can occur in a casino,” Dowling said, “and keeping track of this is very labor-intensive.”
FinCEN Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery told attendees at the Las Vegas conference that it’s no secret casinos are targets of organized crime.
“Illicit actors are also looking to game the system so that they can move or hide funds among the many cash and non-cash transactions you conduct daily,” she said. “Think about what happens each time a customer enters your casino. Often, the first thing a customer does is conduct a financial transaction — they buy chips. And the last action a customer takes is usually also a financial transaction — they cash out those chips.”
Casinos, like banks, must know who is bringing them money, she said, and meeting that obligation relies on the casino’s ability to understand with whom it is doing business.
“It’s one thing when it’s organized crime or terrorist money laundering, when the individuals might be unknown,” Dowling said. “It’s quite another matter when it’s a licensed business and the individuals associated with it are indeed known.”
With a dispensary’s difficulty in obtaining a banking relationship, casinos could become an easy substitute.
For instance, “chip walking” — when chips are not redeemed — is a well-known problem at casinos. A marijuana business without a bank account could choose to pay its employees with casino chips, which are redeemed for cash, a transactions that is, by definition, now laundered.
Chips purchased with marijuana-derived funds also can be redeemed for cash or a casino’s check, which could then be deposited into a personal bank account.
Though Colorado has a $100 limit on the size of a bet, there is no limit on how many chips a customer can purchase. FinCEN’s rules require casinos to file SARs when it “knows, suspects, or has reason to suspect” a transaction is suspicious, but only when the amount of money involved — typically buy-ins or cash-outs — is at least $5,000, at once or in a single day.A New York policeman has been convicted of plotting to kidnap and cook women to dine on their “girl meat” in a macabre case that subjected jurors to grisly evidence.
The jury reached the verdict in the kidnapping conspiracy trial of Gilberto Valle, a 28-year-old father with an admitted fetish for talking on the internet about cannibalism.
Valle’s lawyers at what was dubbed the “Cannibal Cop” trial chose not to hide what they called his “weird proclivities.” But they insisted that he was just fantasising and noted that none of the women were ever harmed.
The accused bowed his head and looked teary when the verdict was announced. He hugged his lawyer, Julia Gatto, who said later that she had been crying.
“It’s a devastating verdict for us. We poured our hearts and souls into this,” she said. “The jury was unable to get past the thoughts,. Obviously, the case involved thoughts that were unusual and bizarre and frankly very ugly.“
Valle’s mother, Elizabeth, shook her head as the verdict was rendered. “I’m in shock and want to be left alone,” she said after her son was led away. She said to herself as she sat on a court bench alone: “This is going to kill my mother.”
Valle faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced on June 19th.
The defence team said it would appeal. Defence lawyer Robert Baum said the verdict set a dangerous precedent. “People can be prosecuted for their thoughts and convicted,” he said.
Prosecutors said that an analysis of Valle’s computer found he was taking concrete steps to abduct his wife and at least five other women he knew.
They said he looked up potential targets on a restricted law enforcement database, searched the Internet for how to knock someone out with chloroform, and showed up on the block of one woman after agreeing to kidnap her for $5,000 for a New Jersey man, now awaiting trial.
Valle “left the world of fantasy and entered the world of reality,” prosecutor Hadassa Waxman said during closing arguments. She said the officer’s arrest near Halloween last year interrupted a ghoulish plan to “kidnap, torture, rape and commit other horrific acts on young women.”
The jury, which deliberated for just over two days, heard Valle’s potential victims say that they were trading innocent-sounding emails and texts with him, unaware he was supposedly scheming to make meals out of them. The government also sought to drive home the point that Valle was more of a threat because he was a police officer.
The trial opened a window on strange online underworld where people share sick and twisted fantasies of torture, murder, dismemberment and cannibalism.
APSenator Leila de Lima on Tuesday dared Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to freeze her alleged banks accounts that would purportedly link her to illegal drugs.
But if he could not prove his allegation, then he should remove his toupee, de Lima told reporters in jest.
“Nagsasawa na po ako kaya nakikipagbiruian na lang ako sa inyo (I’m sick and tired [of these issues] that’s why I’m joking with you). I can’t help myself so pasensyahan nyo ako kung medyo pinapatulan ko na lang yang ganyang mga style (so please forgive me if I’m riding on that style). I’m just giving them a doze of their own medicine dahil katawa tawa na po so gusto ko na ring magpatawa kasi naman ako’y magkakasakit na parating seryoso sa kade-deny ng mga yan kasi (because these are ridiculous so I would like to make jokes because I’m getting sick in seriously denying [these issues] because) these are really lies,” she said.
“Pwede ko syang (Aguirre) i-dare ngayon kung totoo pong accounts ko yan na mga nasa pangalan ng iba pero accounts ko yan lang. Pwede ba sabihin nya sa mga bangko na yan, ano man yang mga bank accounts na yan na i-freeze ang mga accounts na yan?
(I could dare Aguirre if these are indeed my accounts under the names of other people. Could he ask the banks to freeze those accounts?)
De Lima was confident, however, that the banks would not do that because she said the accounts did not belong to her.
The banks, she said, could not just freeze the accounts without the permission of the true owners or without a court order.
“Pero yan ang pinaka challenge ko sa kanya ganun pa rin, patatanggal ko sa kanya yung peluka nya kung hindi na naman nya magawa yan (But that is my challenge to him, I would ask him to remove his toupee if he fails to do it),” the senator said.
If the banks believe that the accounts indeed belonged to her or her dummies, then de Lima said they “can very well accede to that demand of mine.”
“I-freeze na nila yan kung totoong sa akin yan (They could freeze them if those indeed belong to me),” she added.
De Lima reiterated that the bank accounts being linked to her were fake or not authentic, noting the absence of adverse or negative findings of the Anti-Money Laundering Council. RAM/rga
READ: De Lima denies millions in banks
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment are determined to shake things up for San Diego Comic-Con this year, introducing a whole new Special Event: The WBTV/DC Entertainment Saturday Night, taking place on Saturday (obviously!) 26th July, premiering the full pilots for highly anticipated upcoming shows, Gotham and The Flash.
UPDATE (01/07/2014): Mere hours after we posted this story, announcing that the Event would take place in Hall H off the back of a post on the DC Comics website, it was spotted that the post had been moved from one category to another, renamed and edited to remove any mention of Hall H from it. Had the post blown the surprise early? Had somebody at DC Comics merely made an assumption and went ahead with a blog entry? Is the Event actually now happening in a completely different location? Only time will tell. One thing’s for certain: there’s an intern webmaster who’s sitting on the naughty step right now…
Fans will also be given the opportunity to see brand new footage from hit show Arrow, returning in October 2014, as well as brand new programming addition Constantine, starring Welshman Matt Ryan and based on the classic Hellblazer comic, written by Alan Moore.
This is big news and really puts the cat amongst the pigeons: never before has a studio taken over a full evening of programming – a three-hour event, located somewhere within the SDCC programming – featuring cast appearances and world premiere screenings, available to all attendees, outside of Preview Night (which takes place on the Wednesday of Comic-Con week and can only be attended by those lucky few with PN badges).
While the studios are obviously taking the opportunity to showcase their stellar product in a massive way, the event may also be a reaction to the recent leaks of both The Flash and Constantine pilots online – having the cast appear at the official world premiere presentations of these shows, with a full enthusiastic audience, certainly is a big difference from a grainy screener on a laptop.
However, the timing of the event raised a big question; namely, where was this incredible showcase going to be shown? Ballroom 20? The traditional home of large-room television is already nailed down as being the venue of the Comic-Con International Masquerade, celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year. So, that was out. Indigo Ballroom was the most likely possibility as it has the capacity, equating to B20. But these are big shows and Indigo just might not be able to cut it.
As it happens, DC Comics have confirmed exactly where this is all taking place – and it’s the mighty Hall H, meaning WB/DC plan to box in Marvel Entertainmen by planning the mother of film panels (rumoured to be featuring footage from Batman vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice, as well as any revelations of a future DCU) and bookending then the day with the mother of television panels – Kevin Fiege is really going to have to knock it out of the park to compete with this!
But wait! After a full day of Saturday programming, for a number of years now, another tradition has taken place: Kevin Smith usually wraps up with a Q&A session which tears the roof off the mighty Hall. And no Kev Smith Saturday night lol’s at Comic-Con?! Heresy!
More details on who exactly will be showing up from the massive cast lists detailed in the release below as we hear them – follow us on Twitter to keep up to date…
The official release from Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment, posted on thewb.com:
WARNER BROS. TELEVISION AND DC ENTERTAINMENT
JOIN FORCES TO PRESENT THE
FIRST EVER WBTV/DC ENTERTAINMENT
SATURDAY NIGHT, FEATURING THE WORLD
PREMIERE OF GOTHAM AND MUCH MORE
ON SATURDAY, JULY 26 AT COMIC-CON 2014
DC Comics Fans Get Ready for the Only Comic-Con Screening of Gotham, a
Complete Pilot Screening of The Flash, Plus Exclusive Footage
From Constantine and Season Three of Arrow
BURBANK, Calif. (June 30, 2014) — Get ready for a spectacular Saturday night at Comic-Con 2014, courtesy of Warner Bros. Television (WBTV) and DC Entertainment (DCE). For the first time ever at SDCC, WBTV and DCE will present a three-hour special event on Saturday night, July 26, designed specifically for DC Comics fans and featuring some of DC Comics’ greatest characters. Kicking off the exclusive evening is the world premiere public screening of the highly anticipated new drama series Gotham (the only screening of Gotham at this year’s Comic-Con), followed by a screening of the complete pilot of new action-drama The Flash, and exclusive video presentations from returning hit Arrow and new thriller Constantine. Cast members and producers from all four shows will make special appearances throughout the night.
Gotham World Premiere: For the first time ever, DC Comics fans will enter the dangerous and compelling world of Gotham with a screening of the pilot episode, followed by an appearance by the cast and producers.
The Flash Pilot Screening: Following a full-length screening of The Flash pilot, cast and producers will stop running long enough to take the stage.
Constantine Exclusive Footage: The enigmatic John Constantine makes his television debut at Comic-Con with footage from the upcoming series, and fans will be treated to a visit from the cast and creative team.
Arrow Season Three: Arrow returns to Comic-Con with never-before-seen teaser footage from the upcoming third season followed by cast and producers taking on fans’ most pointed questions.
Additional WBTV Comic-Con 2014 panels will be announced in the near future. For additional information about WBTV activities at Comic-Con, please follow us on Twitter at @warnerbrostv and join in the conversation by using hashtag #WBSDCC, or visit http://comiccon.thewb.com.
About Gotham
Before there was Batman, there was Gotham. The origin story of some of DC Comics greatest Super-Villains and vigilantes, this one hour drama follows Detective Jim Gordon’s rise to power in a dangerously corrupt city that would spawn iconic characters such as The Penguin, Catwoman, The Riddler and a |
excluded from shallower ecosystems. There is a drop in functional richness, although not in generic richness, between the Pliensbachian and Toarcian in offshore environments (Fig. 2 C; Dunhill et al. 2017, fig. S2), with the loss of many shallow and deep‐infaunal guilds.
Inshore environments record a drop in raw generic and functional richness across the T–J boundary, although this is not retained after subsampling (Fig. 2 C; Dunhill et al. 2017, fig. S2). The LTE appears to driven the loss of some epifaunal and infaunal groups, which returned in the Sinemurian, but pelagic and facultatively mobile suspension feeding crinoids disappeared earlier. Neither of these functional guilds returned to inshore environments until the Middle Jurassic, suggesting that Early Jurassic shallow marine conditions remained inhospitable to some groups of motile, suspension feeding crinoids.
Reefs suffered greater losses than other depositional settings during the LTE (Fig. 2 C). The generic and functional richness of reef environments plummeted across the T–J boundary, with the loss of over 90% of genera (Fig. 2 C; Dunhill et al. 2017, fig. S2). With the exception of benthic suspension feeders, represented by one bivalve, one echinoid and seven coral genera, all functional guilds are absent from Hettangian reef ecosystems. All known Hettangian reefs are from mid‐palaeolatitudes. The complete absence of tropical reefs is not due to sampling failure as there is a large sample size of Hettangian tropical occurrences in general. Reef ecosystems also record low functional diversity in the Toarcian (Fig. 2 C). This decline in the Toarcian is similar to the LTE, with the temporary exclusion of most functional guilds apart from certain surficial suspension‐feeding coral and bivalve genera. However, in contrast to the Hettangian, all Toarcian reefs are from the tropics, with none recorded from the mid‐latitudes despite a large sample size of mid‐latitude Toarcian occurrences in general.
The effects of the LTE are much more apparent in Panthalassa than in the Tethys or Boreal oceans (Fig. 2 B). Pelagic suspension feeders apparently disappeared earlier in Panthalassa, at the end of the Carnian. Facultatively mobile, erect suspension feeders, all of which are crinoids, are absent from Panthalassa during the Hettangian. A number of epifaunal and infaunal suspension feeding guilds are also absent until the Sinemurian or Pliensbachian. Panthalassan generic and functional richness recovered to pre‐extinction levels by the Sinemurian, although functional richness decreased once more through the Pliensbachian and Toarcian before recovering again in the Aalenian (Fig. 2 B; Dunhill et al. 2017, fig. S2). The effects of the LTE appear less pronounced in the Tethys Ocean: the slight drop in raw generic and functional richness vanishes entirely after subsampling (Fig. 2 B; Dunhill et al. 2017, fig. S2). Although generic richness was higher in the Late Triassic than the Early Jurassic, the decrease appears in the Norian–Rhaetian transition (Dunhill et al. 2017, fig. S2), rather than across the T–J boundary, and functional richness appears to be stable across the entire study interval. However, pelagic suspension feeders disappear at the LTE along with the temporary absence of some semi‐infaunal and deep infaunal guilds until the Sinemurian and Pliensbachian. The Toarcian OAE is characterized by the temporary loss of some infaunal guilds, which all returned in the Aalenian. We see no evidence for a pronounced LTE or early Toarcian event in the Boreal Ocean (Fig. 2 B), although the data are too sparse to carry out meaningful subsampling.
In contrast, the mid‐latitudes record a markedly different pattern, with only a slight decrease in generic and functional richness across the T–J boundary (Fig. 2 A; Dunhill et al. 2017, fig. S2). Although pelagic suspension‐feeders and a single guild of deep‐infaunal suspension‐feeders disappeared, most other guilds are present in the Hettangian. After subsampling, functional richness shows a much more pronounced drop from the Pliensbachian to the Toarcian, suggesting that although the LTE profoundly affected tropical and polar latitudes, the Toarcian OAE extinction was a more important event in the mid‐latitudes. The drop in functional richness across the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary is associated with the temporary loss of ten infaunal modes of life, of which seven returned in the Aalenian.
Based on subsampled data, the LTE records the biggest declines in both generic and functional richness in tropical latitudes (Fig. 2 A; Dunhill et al. 2017, fig. S2). Erect, facultatively mobile, suspension feeders disappeared from the tropics and did not return until the Middle Jurassic. A number of mostly suspension‐feeding, surficial and infaunal modes of life also vacated the tropics, but returned in the Sinemurian–Pliensbachian. Tropical functional diversity returned to pre‐extinction levels by the Sinemurian–Pliensbachian, but generic richness remained much lower than it was prior to the extinction, in the Carnian–Norian. Similar patterns are recorded in polar latitudes, but both generic and functional richness took longer to recover and remained low until the Aalenian (Fig. 2 A; Dunhill et al. 2017, fig. S2).
Similar losses of global functional diversity that are recorded in the aftermath of the LTE are also recorded between the Carnian–Norian (Tuvalian–Lacian) and across the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary (Fig. 1 B). Neither of these reductions in functional diversity are reflected in the generic richness curve, but approximately correspond to known lesser extinction events: the Carnian Pluvial Event (CPE) in the mid‐Carnian (Dal Corso et al. 2015 ) and the early Toarcian Ocean Anoxic Event (OAE) (Little & Benton 1995 ). The early Toarcian OAE is only detected in the occurrence (raw and subsampled) data and not in the ranged‐through data, suggesting that extinctions may have been regional with functional groups rapidly recolonizing affected environments in the Middle Jurassic.
In the immediate aftermath of a mass extinction, it is hypothesized that there would be a radiation in functional diversity as taxa evolve to fill vacant ecospace left by the high levels of extinction (Bambach et al. 2007 ). Despite this, only one new mode of life originated in the aftermath of the LTE (Fig. 1 B): semi‐infaunal, slow‐moving, deposit‐feeding gastropods of the family Nerinellidae. However, a greater increase in ecospace occupation apparently preceded the LTE, in the Rhaetian, with the occupation or reoccupation of three modes of life: semi‐infaunal, slow‐moving, predators; shallow infaunal, slow‐moving, ‘other’ feeders; shallow infaunal, facultatively mobile attached, ‘other’ feeders (Fig. 1 B).
Global genus‐level extinction across the LTE is estimated at between 46% (using ranged‐through data) and 72–73% (raw and subsampled occurrence) (Fig. 1 A). There are considerable differences between the ranged‐through and occurrence data throughout the results, with the former providing lower extinction estimates. This is unsurprising as the incomplete nature of the fossil record leads to inflated levels of extinction in occurrence data due to disappearances brought about by Lazarus taxa. The same difference between the datasets is evident in functional diversity loss too: seven modes of life apparently disappeared across the LTE according to the occurrence data, whereas five of those modes of life are recorded as being present by the range‐through data (Fig. 1 B). A maximum of two modes of life, therefore, disappeared across the Triassic–Jurassic (T–J) boundary: pelagic, facultatively mobile, suspension feeders and semi‐infaunal, unattached non‐motile, ‘other’ feeders, associated with the extinction of pelagic crinoids and megalodontid bivalves, respectively.
Discussion
Although the LTE caused significant reductions in generic richness within almost all classes of animal life, we find very little evidence for significant reductions in global functional diversity. Global functional stability appears to be a common factor among mass extinction events, having been previously recorded for the Late Triassic (Kiessling et al. 2007), late Permian (Foster & Twitchett 2014) and the end‐Cretaceous (Aberhan & Kiessling 2015). The LTE fits the ‘skeleton crew hypothesis’ of Foster & Twitchett (2014), in which each ecological guild survives, but is ‘manned’ by only a few individual taxa during the recovery period.
The two modes of life that are apparently lost across the extinction interval are both equivocal because of uncertain taxonomy and autecology. The pelagic, facultatively mobile, suspension feeders are all represented by one order of crinoids, the Roveacrinida, which originated in the Ladinian (Hess et al. 2016) and range‐through to the Rhaetian when they apparently became extinct at the LTE. However, different taxa assigned to the Roveacrinida appear again in the Bajocian (Middle Jurassic) and range‐through to the Miocene (Gorzelak et al. 2011). As this mode of life is re‐occupied by the same order of organisms in the Middle Jurassic, we consider it unlikely that this mode of life was completely vacated at the LTE, and instead infer that the Roveacrinida persisted in abundances that were too low to be recorded in the fossil record, or in areas that have yet to be sampled for Early Jurassic fossils, as observed for Cenozoic occurrences of this group (Gorzelak et al. 2011). Alternatively, if the Roveacrinida is in fact paraphyletic, as has been suggested (Simms 1990), then this may represent a real functional extinction and later re‐occupation of the same niche by a different lineage of hemi‐pelagic crinoids.
The surficial, unattached, ‘other’ feeders are represented by certain genera of megalondontid bivalves that have been interpreted as possessing photosynthetic symbionts (Yancey & Stanley 1999). A number of megalondontids that are not regarded as photosymbiotic are, however, known to have survived the extinction (Ros‐Franch et al. 2014). Given that the identification and interpretation of photosymbiosis in alatoform bivalves is regarded as problematic (Yancey & Stanley 1999; Vermeij 2013) the apparent loss of this mode of life may be an artefact of palaeoecological interpretation, where either: (1) no megalodontids were photosymbiotic; or, (2) some photosymbiotic megalondontids also survived the extinction.
The single new mode of life that appears in the aftermath of the extinction and the three new modes of life that appear in the Rhaetian, immediately preceding the extinction, are all reoccurrences of niches that are found earlier in the Permian or Triassic, but not previously in the Late Triassic (i.e. Carnian and Norian). The reappearance of semi‐infaunal, slow‐moving, deposit feeders and predators, represented by nuculoid bivalves, gastropods, asteroids and ophuiroids, which were apparently absent through the Carnian and Norian, is probably an artefact. These taxa are rare throughout the entire sequence and their absence from the Carnian and Norian is probably due to sampling failure. A further two modes of life in the Rhaetian are reoccupied following gaps in the Middle–Late Triassic and are represented by shallow infaunal, slow moving or facultatively mobile, chemosymbiotic bivalves of the family Lucinidae known also from the Early Triassic (Hautmann & Nützel 2005). Therefore, as has been recorded for the late Permian mass extinction (Erwin et al. 1987; Foster & Twitchett 2014), even though taxonomic richness was low in the aftermath of the Late Triassic extinction, global ecosystem functioning of keystone species was maintained with each functional group occupied by only a few individual genera.
As happened in the late Permian mass extinction, the LTE was felt most intensely in the tropics and disproportionally affected reef‐dwelling organisms with suspension and/or photosymbiotic feeding habits, whilst deposit‐feeding modes of life appear to benefit (Kiessling & Aberhan 2007; Kiessling et al. 2007; Martindale et al. 2012). The strong extinction signal in the tropical latitudes and the preferential extinction of reef taxa supports the hypothesis of a CAMP‐driven, climate‐warming kill mechanism driving high sea surface temperatures and anoxia for the LTE (Hallam & Wignall 2000; Kiessling et al. 2007; McRoberts et al. 2012; Jaraula et al. 2013; Bond & Wignall 2014; van de Schootbrugge & Wignall 2016).
Previous studies have suggested that global warming driven by rapid CO 2 release should also preferentially impact heavily calcified marine organisms, due to the effects of acidification (Hautmann 2004; Knoll et al. 2007). Although heavily calcified organisms do record the highest extinction rates across the T–J boundary, it is not clear that acidification was driving extinction because lightly calcified organisms also record high rates of extinction. This result contrasts with those of some previous studies where there appear to be clear differences in extinction rates between physiologically buffered and unbuffered organisms (Hautmann et al. 2008a; Kiessling & Simpson 2011). In other warming‐related extinctions in the study interval, such as the early Toarcian, selection against heavily calcified organisms is much clearer (Fig. 6). The extinction pattern across the LTE is consistent with that of previous studies, which show that although heavy calcifiers experienced higher extinction rates, there are not huge differences between light, moderate and heavy calcifiers (Bush & Pruss 2013) and that selectivity against heavy calcifiers only becomes apparent after the removal of other confounding factors (Payne et al. 2016b). Therefore, it appears that even if acidification contributed to the LTE and reef collapse, other kill mechanisms (i.e. temperature change) were also important.
The reductions in suspension‐feeder richness contrast with the slow moving, surficial, deposit feeders, grazers and predators, which increase in relative richness in the early Hettangian and maintain this throughout the Early Jurassic and into the Middle Jurassic. This is a common pattern that is also recorded in the aftermath of the late Permian (Twitchett 2006; Foster & Twitchett 2014; Foster et al. 2016, 2017) and end‐Cretaceous (Aberhan & Kiessling 2015) extinction events, when suspension feeders suffered a crash primarily attributed to epicontinental shelf turbidity (Foster & Twitchett 2014) or a productivity crisis (Aberhan & Kiessling 2015) respectively. Given the similarities between the causal mechanisms of the late Permian and LTE events, it seems more likely that high sediment fluxes and eutrophication‐driven dysoxia caused by increased runoff from the terrestrial realm may have spelled the downfall of benthic suspension feeding groups at the LTE (Algeo & Twitchett 2010; Jaraula et al. 2013; Foster et al. 2015; Schobben et al. 2015, 2016). Such a scenario may also explain the earlier exclusion of suspension feeding guilds after the Carnian as a result of the CPE (Dal Corso et al. 2015; Ruffell et al. 2016). Increased runoff and subsequent eutrophication of shallow shelf sea settings would have simultaneously choked suspension feeders, pushing them offshore, whilst benefiting deposit‐feeding organisms (Algeo & Twitchett 2010). It is also possible that reductions in suspension feeder richness may be, in part, because many are heavily calcified (i.e. crinoids, brachiopods etc.), and heavily calcified organisms, particularly in reef settings, were selected against.
Although the LTE appears to have been concentrated in the tropical latitudes, the Toarcian OAE appears to have been felt most severely in the mid‐latitudes, with the temporary exclusion of infaunal taxa being consistent with widespread dysoxia and/or anoxia being the main driving force of the early Toarcian extinction (Little & Benton 1995). This is further supported by the complete absence of reef environments in the tropics during the Hettangian and the mid‐latitudes during the Toarcian. High extinction levels in Panthalassa, as compared to Tethys, particularly amongst erect suspension feeders and infaunal taxa may be a real signal, or may be a consequence of the high levels of extinction recorded in tropical latitudes and reef ecosystems. Further investigation of the determinants of extinction is required to answer this.
Although we see a general trend of reduced generic richness within modes of life across the LTE, a number of modes of life actually show an increase in richness. These functional groups, although not particularly diverse, all display feeding strategies that are expected to fare well in a stressed, post‐extinction world (i.e. deposit‐feeding, mining and chemosymbiosis) (Foster & Twitchett 2014; Clapham 2017). Some functional groups, such as pelagic, fast‐moving carnivores, suffered a significant reduction in relative richness at the LTE, but then quickly recovered to pre‐extinction levels by the late Hettangian, reinforcing the idea that both vertebrates (Thorne et al. 2011) (excluding conodonts which become extinct) and cephalopods (Longridge & Smith 2015) passed through an evolutionary bottleneck at the T–J boundary where rapid turnover rates aided rapid recovery. Despite this reduction in relative richness across the LTE, we see an increase in relative occurrences of pelagic, fast‐moving carnivores. An explanation for this discrepancy is that the ranged‐through richness data is compiled at the substage‐level, and thus distinguishes the lower and upper Hettangian, whereas the occurrence data from the PaleoDB is compiled at the stage‐level, and thus bins together the entire Hettangian. Several studies have demonstrated that recovery was rapid and complete by the upper Hettangian (Barras & Twitchett 2007; Hautmann et al. 2008b; Mander et al. 2008) and it is likely that some of the extinction effects are being masked due to the resolution of this study. Nevertheless, some of the pre–post‐extinction changes are still evident in the occurrence data, most notably the reduction in non‐motile suspension feeders and the increase in motile grazers, deposit feeders and predators.
Whilst dissimilarity analyses show that the global ecological shift from Rhaetian to Hettangian communities was greater than would be expected by chance, it is not notably larger than the ecological shifts witnessed at many other stage‐level transitions and is similar to the ecological shift witnessed between the Toarcian and Aalenian (the Early to Middle Jurassic transition). Comparing the dissimilarity between the Rhaetian and each Jurassic time bin in turn shows that dissimilarity is higher between the Rhaetian and Hettangian than it is between the Rhaetian and Sinemurian, indicating that the global ecosystem was returning to its pre‐extinction state by the Sinemurian. This is followed by a slight increase in dissimilarity between the Rhaetian and Pliensbachian, followed by a large increase in dissimilarity between the Rhaetian and Toarcian, as a result of the early Toarcian OAE. However, the Aalenian has a more similar ecological composition to the Rhaetian than the latter does to any of the Early Jurassic time intervals, thus signifying a recovery to something more similar to pre‐extinction levels at the onset of the Middle Jurassic, probably driven by the beginning of the recovery of reef ecosystems (Hautmann 2012, 2016).
Benthic marine deposit‐feeders, predators and grazers, dominated by gastropods, echinoderms and malacostracans, flourished during the earliest Jurassic in the aftermath of the crisis. Non‐motile epifauna declined across the LTE, but infauna, motile epifauna and pelagic predators all increased in taxonomic richness and number of occurrences. This trend is associated with the Mesozoic Marine Revolution and was ongoing throughout the Late Triassic (Tackett & Bottjer 2016), before being invigorated by the preferential extinction of non‐motile, suspension‐feeding benthic guilds at the LTE. Our findings are somewhat at odds with previous studies of a single clade (i.e. bivalves) which showed selectivity against infaunal taxa (McRoberts & Newton 1995; McRoberts et al. 1995). Apparent high rates of extinction seen in infaunal bivalves are most likely to be the result of preservational biases (Mander & Twitchett 2008). Also, similar increases in deposit‐feeders, grazers and predators, as well as in predation‐resistant modes of life, have also been recorded in the aftermath of the late Permian (Foster & Twitchett 2014) and end‐Cretaceous mass extinctions (Aberhan & Kiessling 2015). Although initial recovery from the LTE was rapid in level‐bottom and pelagic communities, full benthic recovery, i.e. the reestablishment of reef ecosystems, appears to have been delayed by the subsequent crisis in the Early Toarcian. Overall, the similarities in functional, environmental and biogeographical extinction selectivity and recovery between the late Permian and the Late Triassic events are striking, although not surprising given the similarities in the causal mechanisms of the two events (van de Schootbrugge & Wignall 2016).A former Snapchat employee alleges that the company has been faking its growth numbers in order to boost its value in an IPO, according to a lawsuit filed in L.A. Superior Court.
Anthony Pompliano, who was the company’s growth lead, alleges that he was fired after just three weeks with the company because he refused to go along with Snapchat’s plans.
Pompliano was hired away from a similar job at Facebook, Snapchat’s arch-rival. According to the lawsuit, Pompliano came to understand that he was only hired because Snapchat wished to obtain confidential and proprietary information from Facebook.
He said he was fired after blowing the whistle on the company’s misrepresentations with several higher-ups.
“Snapchat’s leadership saw Mr. Pompliano as an impediment to their planned IPO because he refused to turn a blind eye to Snapchat’s misrepresentations,” the lawsuit alleges.
Pompliano also alleges that after he was fired, Snapchat set about smearing his reputation.
“His opportunities have been compromised significantly,” said Pompliano’s attorney, David Michaels. “He’s had difficulty securing employment. It would be a red flag to an employer that you were there for three weeks and were terminated. We believe when they make the inquiry to Snapchat, they hear a bunch of lies.”
Related Snapchat Expands NHL Pact to Add Hockey Highlights, Curated Stories Snap Shares Skyrocket on Better-Than-Expected Earnings, User Growth Still Flat
Much of the suit is blacked out, including the specific metrics that Pompliano alleges were misrepresented. Michaels said the information was withheld pending a determination on whether it is covered by a confidentiality agreement. It is possible that that portion of the complaint — which appears to contain a detailed account of Pompliano’s brief tenure at Snapchat — could become public.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction barring Snapchat from harming Pompliano’s employment prospects, in addition to damages. Pompliano is also pursuing a wrongful termination claim through the arbitration process, in accordance with the terms of his contract.
Mary Ritti, a spokeswoman for Snap Inc., Snapchat’s corporate parent, said the suit is without merit.
“We’ve reviewed the complaint,” she said. “It has no merit. It is totally made up by a disgruntled former employee.”
Pompliano v. Snapchat by gmaddaus on ScribdThere’s no proof that this would work, but that won’t stop competitors. As Science News reported, a track coach in Germany was caught looking for Repoxygen, an experimental virus used to insert a gene into DNA.
So what we have now is not a level playing field. The system punishes some innocent athletes and rewards others with the savvy and the connections not to get caught. The more that the authorities crack down on known forms of enhancement, the more incentive athletes have to experiment with new ones — and to get their advice from black-market dealers instead of doctors.
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If athletes didn’t have to cheat to win, they and society would be better off, says Bengt Kayser, the director of a sports medicine institute at the University of Geneva. In a 2005 article in The Lancet, he and two bioethicists argued that legalizing doping would “encourage more sensible, informed use of drugs in amateur sport, leading to an overall decline in the rate of health problems associated with doping.”
In the British Medical Journal last month, more than 30 scholars signed a statement supporting an article co-authored by Dr. Kayser calling the current system a failure that needs to be changed. The article also criticized the medical authorities for undermining their credibility with “prophylactic lies” that exaggerate the dangers of drugs like anabolic steroids based “on scant evidence tainted by a misguided moralistic motivation to protect sports.”
No one denies that there are risks in taking drugs like anabolic steroids, and there is wide agreement that minors shouldn’t be allowed to take them (or other performance drugs). But the popular fear of steroid use by adults is based in large part on a few sensationalized cases, like the news articles blaming steroids for the fatal brain tumor of Lyle Alzado, the former football player.
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“You’d be on firmer scientific ground blaming his brain cancer on beer drinking,” said Norman Fost, a professor of pediatrics and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin. “The claims of the common fatal or irreversible harms of anabolic steroids are without any medical foundation. There’s no reason to think the risk of injury or death is as high as the risk from simply playing sports like football or baseball.”
It’s possible, of course, that gene doping or other techniques could turn out to be much riskier. But is that a reason to ban them? Society has always allowed explorers and adventurers to take risks in exchange for glory. The climbers who died on K2 this month ascended it knowing that one climber dies for every four who scale it.
If elite adult athletes were allowed to push the limits of human performance in return for glory, they might point the way for lesser mortals to coax more out of their bodies. If a 50-year-old sprinter could figure out how to run as fast as her 25-year-old self, that could be useful to aging weekend warriors — or any aging couch potato.
I’d like to see what would happen if someone started a new anything-goes competition for athletes over 25. If you have any ideas for how to run it or what to call it — MaxMatch? UltraSports? Mutant Games? — submit them at nytimes.com/tierneylab. Maybe fans would object to these “unnatural” athletes. But maybe not. The fans, after all, include people with laser-corrected eyes, chemically whitened teeth and surgically enhanced anatomies. Not to mention the pharmacopeia coursing through our veins.
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We all know the body can be improved. We all know Olympic athletes have the highest-functioning bodies in the world. They can call themselves natural, just as they used to call themselves amateurs, but at some point that claim may seem the most unnatural thing of all.This review contains spoilers.
1.13 Diamonds Are Forever
(Incidentally, this episode makes no allusions or references to the 1971 Bond movie of the same name, starring Sean Connery.)
It seems somewhat incredible that it has taken thirteen episodes to actually get a Jo-centric story, which is what Diamonds Are Forever sets out to provide. I’d be misleading you to say that I wasn’t disappointed about what it contained, which really didn’t do what one might reasonably expect.
Given that Jo Martinez is the episode's focus, do we know anything more about her at the end than we did at the start? The shadow hanging over her regarding her husband’s death isn’t news, and during the proceedings she doesn’t progress significantly in dealing with it. That’s at best a missed opportunity, and at worst makes her out as somewhat stuck in a rut. We know Henry is the key, so the show desperately needs to get on with explaining how.
What we did learn is that Mike Hanson (Donnie Keshawarz) has a major soft spot for Jo, even though he’s married and has children. It seems unlikely this will actually ever progress to anything in the future, despite his very obvious interest.
What also seemed strange was that given the chance to progress Jo’s character, most of the show was actually spent solving the crime, with brief interludes to her coping with evidence previously touched by her late husband.
Thankfully the rest wasn’t totally without merit.
For some time now there’s been a parallel story running that explains what happened to Henry after discovering his immortality. Previously he’d been incarcerated for claiming the power, and in this story we find him sharing a cell with Catholic Priest. They rather brushed over how he switched from being in Bedlam to a jail, something made me initially wonder if his companion just thought he was a priest.
This character is played with some finesse by Brit actor Roger Rees, who has an amazing film and TV resume that includes Cheers, The West Wing and Elementary. The only problem with these scenes is that it appeared to jump to a conclusion that Henry could only make now, that being the original resurrection wasn’t a unique event.
Unless I’ve missed something at this point he’d only died and come back once. So it was something of a jump to assume that it would happen again, even if this was the most obvious means to get out of the cell. And, surely, if they’d both made a mistake, then the Priest was committing a mortal sin, by helping Henry’s act of suicide? An ecumenical conundrum at their very best.
As enjoyable as these historical reveals are, the one we’re not given is what happened to his last wife Abigail, which presumably contains some critical plot information. That’s been held back, probably for the season finale.
Each Forever episode needs an Abe sub-plot, if only to provide justification for the wonderful Judd Hirsh. The one this week wasn’t great, but it did throw a nice twist in at the end where he calls the cops on a young antiquities expert. I’m not sure if the character of the young man with an eye for fakes will appear again, but it might enhance the Abe plots if he was.
Overall, I really wish that the writers had a clearer idea of what they wanted to do with Jo, because based on this they have very little. Other than them setting up a life-changing event that involves Henry, there seems an awkwardness about this that isn’t evident elsewhere.
Forever is still enjoyable, mostly because of the excellent work of Ioan Gruffudd, but it needs to work this out soon, because characters with unresolved problems with no resolution in sight can become tedious rapidly.
Normally I like to end my reviews with a quick reference to the next show, and what might happen then. Except at this time I don’t even have an air date for episode 14, never mind a synopsis. Hopefully it won’t be long, as this show desperately needs some momentum injecting.
Read Billy's review of the previous episode, The Wolves Of Deep Brooklyn, here.
Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.Sydney Trains have revealed the quick-thinking cooperation between control room staff, HAZMAT crews and police that helped them nab a man who allegedly set off capsicum spray in Central Station.
Control room staff first noticed passengers covering their mouths and rubbing their eyes in a tunnel at Central Station in the July emergency, before one person collapsed.
Equipped with 10,000 cameras across the rail network, the control room is able to easily identify trouble and dispatch assistance or contact emergency services.
Police were immediately alerted to reports of a strong smell and burning sensation, and the response team used footage to identify a group of four young men in the area.
The group of men were spotted on a platform. (9NEWS) ()
Within two hours, the group had been arrested after being spotted on a platform.
“The people who work on the cameras there, real-time, looking at the footage, become very attuned to picking up unusual behaviour, and remarkably they picked up these four characters very quickly,” NSW Police Force Chief Superintendent Donna Adney said.
“Over that period of time, we noticed they were on a certain train… we guided police back to that train which arrived back at Central Station,” Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins said.
Hazardous materials crews were called in to evacuate the worst-affected parts of the station and some trains.
A 19-year-old man was ultimately charged over possessing capsicum spray.
“There is always someone watching and there is always someone ready to respond,’ Chief Supt Adney said.
© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2019Antti Raanta, Clint Reif left off the Stanley Cup
The Hockey Hall of Fame unveiled the latest Blackhawks to be engraved on the Stanley Cup on Sunday, and perhaps most notable were two names that were missing: assistant equipment manager Clint Reif and goaltender Antti Raanta.
A spokesman for the NHL said that the team gets to choose which 52 names it wants on the Cup, and that the league only goes through those names to verify whether they meet the requirements. So basically, it’s up to the team who makes the cut and who doesn’t. The only rule is a player must appear in half of a team’s regular-season games, or at least one Stanley Cup Final game.
Raanta played in just 14 games, but dressed in more than the required 41. Traditionally, the backup goaltender is included even if he doesn’t play 41 games — Scott Darling is on the Cup even though he played in just 14 regular-season games and dressed as the backup for all six games in the Final — but the NHL said there was no set rule for backup goalies who dress but don’t play.
When asked why Raanta was left off, the Hawks simply said only players who play in 41 games or one Final game make the cut.
Raanta — who lost his backup job to Scott Darling late in the season and was traded to the New York Rangers during the draft — was embroiled in some controversy over the summer when a Finnish magazine quoted him as saying he rooted against the Hawks during the first round of the playoffs, so he could go home to Finland. Raanta told the Sun-Times that was greatly exaggerated, and that he was just briefly frustrated after he was called up to be a Black Ace rather than keep playing in Rockford.
“It only took one day,” he said. “[Because] then I came to Chicago and saw my teammates, and everybody was so happy to see me. So it was [a] big help for the first couple days. … I’m not that kind of guy that I would say something like that, and hope my team to lose, even if I’m not paying goalie.”
Reif, meanwhile, is the popular assistant equipment manager who died last December. The Hawks honored his memory with “CR” stickers on their helmets, and Reif’s family was on the ice to celebrate the Stanley Cup victory in June. Reif’s name is on the Cup twice already, as he was a part of the 2010 and 2013 championship teams, too.
The Hawks did petition, successfully, to have forwards Daniel Carcillo and Joakim Nordstrom engraved on the Cup, even though they came up just short of the required 41 games. Among the 52 names were 11 first-timers: Antoine Vermette, Kimmo Timonen, David Rundblad, Andrew Desjardins, Teuvo Teravainen, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Darling, Nordstrom and Kyle Cumiskey, along with coaches Kevin Dineen and Jimmy Waite.This is Geekologie reader Doug's home-built Guitar2-D2 electric guitar. He said at first he wasn't gonna send it to me because he felt like that would be too narcissistic of him. Then I think he chugged a couple beers and warmed up a little.
I've avoided spreading this link around simply because it's mine and don't to seem self-righteous. Then again, it's pretty f***ing awesome, and so am I. I built and designed this guitar myself.
That's the spirit, Doug! When you've got something good, you've got to show it to the world. It will ENRICH lives. Like, what if I didn't show my privates on the bus all |
Da (Choi Byeong-Heon) and BBoongBBoong (Choi Jong-Hyuk). No other progamers or coaching staff have been implicated.Brokers and "financial backers" were also arrested, including former progamer and esports journalist Enough (Seong Jun-mo) who acted as a broker. The two financial backers—who paid brokers to attempt to fix matches—were gangsters with ties to organized crime.A total of five professional StarCraft 2 matches were found to have been fixed according to the investigation. Four were played by YoDa, and one was played by BBoongBBoong. The matches took place in GSL and Proleague matches between January and June of this year.PRIME head coach Gerrard is charged for acting as a middleman between the brokers and the players. The first match with manipulated results is alleged to have occurred in January. Gerrard is said to have passed along 5,000,000 Korean won ($4,450 all figures are approximate) from an unnamed broker to BBoongBBoong, in exchange for arranging to have BBoongBBoong lose his Proleague match. Gerrard then went on to connect YoDa with brokers as well, and also helped transfer funds to YoDa on one occasion. Additionally, Gerrard is charged with spending over 57,000,000 KRW on illegal internet gambling (gambling is strictly regulated in Korea).YoDa is charged with manipulating the results of four matches he played in. The matches were played in a variety of tournaments including Proleague, GSL Code A, and GSL Code S. YoDa dealt with the brokers directly on some occasions, and went through Gerrard on others. While YoDa received a total of 30,000,000 KRW for intentionally losing two matches, he was also blackmailed into fixing two other matches with no compensation.The official investigation did not disclose full details on the matches. However, TeamLiquid users have been able to determine or narrow down the range of suspicious matches based on the given information:
List of fixed matches, based on information from the official investigation
2015 Proleague• 06-09 match against HerO2015 Season 1 GSL• 02-13 - Code S Ro16 vs Life OR TY (Gerrard named as middleman)2015 Season 2 GSL:• 04-01 - Code A Ro48 vs DRG• 05-13 - Code S Ro32 vs Bbyong (Gerrard named as middleman)2015 Proleague:• 01-20 match against Flash (Gerrard named as middleman)
VODS
YoDa - 4 match daysBboongBboong - 1 matchThe brokers approached PRIME in different ways. Some posed as sponsors and earned Gerrard's trust by providing the team with operating funds before broaching the topic of match-fixing. In the case of Enough, the only broker specifically named by Korean media, he used his web of connections stemming from his career as a progamer, journalist, and broadcast host to approach Gerrard and YoDa.The financial backers behind the match-fixing schemes sought to make money in different ways. The unnamed Mr. "H" paid brokers to approach progamers and arrange fixed matches. Mr. "H" then bet directly on those matches through illegal websites. Over the course of two matches, Mr. "H" bet approximately 31,500,000 KRW and received winnings of approximately 41,500,000 KRW.On the other hand, unnamed financial backer Mr. "I" failed to fix any matches, as his broker was unable to find any takers. This did not stop the broker from feeding Mr. "I" bogus information on fixed matches. Nor did it stop Mr. "I" from running a gambling ring, where he charged commission fees to over fifty members in exchange for fraudulent information on fixed matches.
Gerrard reported to have been in financial trouble from running Prime team
Source: Fomos Esports outlet Fomos speculated that financial difficulties led Gerrard to resort to such extreme measures, reporting that the head coach was in considerable debt and had reached out to friends and family for funds.
Former Prime players: "We had our pay withheld"
Source: Inven Inven has learned from anonymous ex-Prime team players that the team withheld salaries from its players. According to one player, they were promised regular salaries after a new sponsor was found, but payments stopped after around four months.
KeSPA: Gerrard, YoDa, and BBoongBBoong banned for life
Sources: KeSPA press release ( Oct 19 In response to the match-fixing, KeSPA announced they would ban Gerrard, YoDa, and BBoongBBoong for life. According to KeSPA, they had been tipped off to Gerrard and YoDa's match-fixing and had been holding their own investigation before becoming aware of the criminal investigation taking place. KeSPA also said they would file civil suits for damages against the match-fixers, in addition to the criminal charges already being brought against them.
Full KeSPA statement, October 19th:
Hello, this is director Cho Man Soo of the Korean e-Sports Association.The association opened a disciplinary hearing today. We plan to ban Gerrard (Prime head coach) and YoDa for life and permanently suspend their licenses.Since 2010, the association has worked alongside the rest of the industry to fight against the illegal betting that has continued to threaten the foundation of e-Sports. It is extremely regrettable that a related incident has occurred again, and we apologize to all of the fans who have shown e-Sports their love and support.This is the association's understanding of the situation:Toward the end September, we confirmed that PRIME's Gerrard and YoDa had been arrested and incarcerated by public prosecutors on charges related to illegal betting and match-fixing.The case is currently under investigation, and as such we expect details to be released at a later time by the Prosecutor's office. The association will actively cooperate in the investigation, and if any others are found to be involved in the case, they will be banned for life regardless of the result of a trial. Depending on the circumstances, the association may sue for damages and/or file charges on grounds of obstruction.Since 2013, the association has enacted regular anti-corruption education for all head coaches, coaches, and players competing in Proleague. The association also received agreements from coaching staff and players that they could be subject to measures under civil and/or criminal law should they be involved in illegal betting. Furthermore, starting in 2014, we started a program reward those who reported or confessed to illicit activities, and signed an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the police department's Cyber Bureau, the Korea Communications Standards Commission, and the Korea Internet Self-governance Organization for a clean e-Sports environment.The association independently learned that Gerrard and YoDa were involved illegal betting from an anonymous source seeking a reward. While investigating the case internally, we learned that the Prosecutor's office had made arrests and were holding an investigation, and we have been receiving legal advice since then.The association will pursue strong legal measures based on recent reports, and will be utterly uncompromising should investigators find any hint of connection. Going forward, the association's stance toward illegal betting will continue to be one of zero-compromise, and we will continue to respond strongly to create a healthy e-Sports culture.The League of Legends team SBENU, which was run by Gerrard, will be run under the association's stewardship, and there will be no interruptions in the operations of the team.Once again, we apologize for worrying all of the fans of Korean e-Sports and everyone who works tirelessly for the advancement of e-Sports.
UPDATE:
On October 19 2015 11:06 supernovamaniac wrote:
According to the news posts,
2 (YoDa + Gerrard) + 4 brokers + 3 who bet via brokers + 2 people who were not arrested but chargedYeah, I had Dinesh on our show last season, and brought that up to him. You know, I was just agreeing with what he said. I was concurring, as a good host does, you know? And maybe extrapolating a little. But yeah, I could have used a little cover from Mr. D'Souza.
Are you tired of talking about the events of 9/17?
No!
It's now been 13 years. Do you feel like HBO has your back in a way that ABC did not?
Absolutely. They always have. And, of course, let's be honest, it's easier for them to have my back because they don't have to deal with advertisers. You know, I was never mad at ABC for firing me. I totally understood that I was on a broadcast medium that depends on advertisers, and if the advertisers pull out there's really not much you can do. I was only pissed at them because they lied about it. They said we lost our audience and we never did! We always had good ratings, and we retained good ratings, and very high retention ratings from Nightline. It took a long time for Jimmy Kimmel to come up to the ratings that we used to get in that timeslot. So, that was the only thing that pissed me off about it.
You're a comedian. But Real Time is somewhere between a pure comedy show and, say, Morning Joe. When you sit down to write your show, are you thinking that your job is to generate laughs, or are you trying to convey a perspective on the news? It's been observed that many young people now get their news from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Who's your intended audience, and what are you trying to communicate to them?
Part of it is what you just attributed to those other two shows. You said people get their news from those two shows, but I'm guessing at least as many people watch my show. So, I think I'm trying to do the same thing. Give people news. The main thing I'm thinking of, because we are after all a weekly wrap-up show, is I'm doing this show for people who are interested in the news, but don't have time to follow it like I do. They have lives. They have kids. They have jobs. They can't read the paper every day. So, Friday night at 10 o'clock when they sit down in front of the television set, I want them to be able to feel as they watch it—an hour of Real Time—in one section of the show, either the monologue, in the New Rules, in the panel, in one of the one-on-one interviews—I want them to feel like every important issue, or at least what I feel is important, that happened that week got in some way mentioned. And then, of course, I do want to make it as entertaining as possible. And we have enough prewritten stuff that I know there's always going to be laughs throughout the show. And the panel is lively too, but the panel, you know I have no control over what three other people say, or how amusing they're going to be.
How do you view Stewart and Colbert? Do you see what you're doing as kind of comparable to what they're doing? Or are you doing something different?Getty Images
The Chiefs have crossed one player off the list of pending free agents on their roster, although they didn’t make much of a fuss about it.
Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star reports that NFLPA records show that the team has re-signed long snapper Thomas Gafford well ahead of the start of free agency on March 11. It’s a one-year deal worth $730,000, which represents a $15,000 raise over last season although Paylor points out there’s no mention of any workout or other bonuses that Gafford may be eligible to receive.
Gafford has been with the Chiefs since 2008, longer than all but six other players on the roster, and has played in every game for them over the last five seasons.
With Gafford out of the way, the Chiefs can move onto making decisions about some of the other players heading for free agency. Left tackle Branden Albert, defensive end Tyson Jackson and safety Kendrick Lewis are some of the biggest names on that list.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The so-called Cambrian Explosion - a critical juncture in the history of life on Earth when a dizzying array of animals first burst onto the scene half a billion years ago - may have been even more explosive than previously known.
Scientists on Wednesday identified a weird sea creature dating from 520 million year ago that, like today’s baleen whales and whale sharks, evolved from an apex predator to become a filter feeder - sifting the tiniest animals from the water.
The creature, called Tamisiocaris borealis, was a primitive relative of the arthropods - the group that includes crustaceans, insects and spiders. Nothing like it exists today.
Its fossilized remains were unearthed in 2009 at the northern-most tip of Greenland, the researchers said.
They recognized that it belonged to a group typified by the famous Cambrian Period creature Anomalocaris, known from a rich Canadian fossil site called the Burgess Shale, that were the first large predators ever to appear on Earth. They also were among the most bizarre-looking creatures on record.
While the size of Tamisiocaris - roughly 28 inches long - may not sound impressive, it was among the biggest animals alive at the time, said paleontologist Jakob Vinther of the University of Bristol in Britain, who led the study.
“It was a gentle giant,” said Vinther, whose findings were published in the journal Nature. “Even though this thing was not a whale or a whale shark, it evolved to become the equivalent.”
Like its predatory cousin Anomalocaris, Tamisiocaris possessed a pair of spiny, grasping appendages up front to catch food, a pair of insect-like compound eyes on stalks and a circular mouth. Its body boasted a series of flaps down the sides that could be used for swimming, but it had no legs.
Spines on the grasping appendages of Anomalocaris were developed to spear or grab sizable prey. But in Tamisiocaris, these two appendages had a comb of long, slender, finely spaced spines that could be swept through the water to trap tiny creatures in the water like zooplankton, the researchers said.
“It would sweep its net-like appendages through the water, and then suck up whatever it caught,” said University of Bath paleontologist Nicholas Longrich, another of the researchers.
It lived alongside primitive jawless fish that were the earliest vertebrates, horseshoe crab-like trilobites, primitive shellfish, relatives of starfish, jellyfish, sponges and others.
‘NEW MODES OF LIFE’
The Cambrian Period, from about 542 to 488 million years ago, was a pivotal point in the history of life when many major animal groups first appeared. The relatively short span of time in which this unfolded inspired the term Cambrian Explosion.
“It was a very active period of evolution. We were seeing the appearance of complex animals for the first time - things with eyes, brains, jaws, legs and fins,” Longrich said.
“Animals were trying out new modes of life - burrowing, swimming and crawling. Previously, before the Cambrian Explosion, there were probably animals but they would have been minute, simple little worm-like things,” Longrich added.
The presence of a large, free-swimming filter feeder like Tamisiocaris indicates the Cambrian oceans were rich with life and, in particular, loaded with plankton, the researchers said.
Several times in Earth’s history, large marine predators have given up active predation - attacking sizable prey - in favor of the more passive approach of filter feeding.
Baleen whales like today’s enormous blue whale - which have plates of material called baleen on the upper jaw that act like a sieve to filter plankton, small fish and crustaceans - evolved from toothed whales that were active predators. Filter-feeding sharks like today’s whale shark, basking shark and megamouth shark arose from sharks that were fearsome hunters.
The newly identified creature’s genus name, Tamisiocaris, means “sifter shrimp,” and its species name, borealis, means “northern,” for the northerly locale where it was found.ISLAMABAD: High drama unfolded in the Maulana Abdul Aziz case on Thursday, as two factions emerged from within the ranks of Lal Masjid supporters, even as lawyers and civil society activists moved the district courts against the cleric for inciting violence and rebelling against the state.
For the first time ever, Lal Masjid issued a press release on its own official letterhead, sidelining the Shuhada Foundation, which has hitherto handled all of Maulana Aziz’s interactions with the media.
The release, issued by ‘Lal Masjid (Official)’, was signed by Mufti Tehseenullah and not Hafiz Ehtesham Ahmed of the Shuhada Foundation, who had been the official spokesperson for the cleric and his family up until now.
Umme Hassan, Maulana Abdul Aziz’s wife, is the chairperson of the Shuhada Foundation, which was established in 2008 but registered in Islamabad in 2013.
Maulana Abdul Aziz appoints new spokesperson, distances himself from wife’s Shuhada Foundation; activists move district courts against cleric
The internal schisms appeared to permeate not just the cleric’s followers, but also his family, and seem to have emerged after he announced that he had forgiven former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf and all those responsible for the military operation against Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa in 2007.
Speaking to the media after posting pre-arrest bail on Tuesday, Maulana Aziz even said that he had forgiven those who were “plotting against me”.
When contacted, Mufti Tehsinullah confirmed to Dawn that he had been made the official spokesperson for Lal Masjid. “I am part of the mosque’s ‘school of decrees’ and I am well-aware of developments there,” he said, adding, “Hafiz Ehtesham is not attached to the mosque, nor is he aware of the policies of Maulana Abdul Aziz.”
The matter of pardoning Musharraf and others has obviously been taken to heart by the Shuhada Foundation, with its spokesperson Hafiz Ehtesham insisting that forgiving Gen Musharraf would be against the principals of Sharia.
Meanwhile, Shuhada Foundation President Advocate Tariq Asad – who also represents the families of those killed in the Lal Masjid operation – said that Maulana Abdul Aziz was not authorised to pardon Gen Musharraf in all the cases following the 2007 military operation.
“He is only authorised to forgive the death of his own son, not his brother. Nor can he speak on behalf of the families of all those who died,” Advocate Asad told Dawn.
“This is not fair on his part – even his wife Umme Hasaan had tears in her eyes after Maulana Abdul Aziz made this announcement,” he added.
Hafiz Ehtesham claimed that the Shuhada Foundation would reveal certain facts about the death of Ghazi Abdul Rasheed, the younger brother of Maulana Abdul Aziz who was killed in the 2007 operation.
On the other hand, new Lal Masjid mouthpiece Mufti Tehsin said that Maulana Aziz would soon explain his plans to withdraw the murder case against the former military ruler.
Incidentally, the first press release issued on the Lal Masjid (Official) letterhead is a clarification related to an application filed on Thursday by activist Jibran Nasir before the court of Additional Sessions Judge Raja Asif Mehmood.
The application was related to the registration of a case against Maulana Aziz, the students and the administration of Jamia Hafsa, for pledging allegiance to the Middle Eastern terrorist group, Daesh.
Mr Nasir has attached several video clips, in which Maulana Abdul Aziz can be seen praising Daesh and admitting that Jamia Hafsa students made a video calling on Daesh to overrun the state of Pakistan. The case will be heard on Feb 12, 2016.
The Lal Masjid press release clarified that the video was allegedly released in 2014 by former students of Jamia Hafsa and had nothing to do with Maulana Abdul Aziz, Jamia Hafsa Administrator Umme Hasaan and the management of Lal Masjid or Jamia Hafsa.
“However some people are trying to implicate Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa and trying to fan sectarianism in the country,” the press release said, accusing a recently-elected PTI local government member of conspiring against Lal Masjid.
The statement also singled out activist Khurrum Zaki for promoting sectarianism. Mr Zaki, incidentally, also filed an application before an Islamabad civil court on Thursday, seeking the registration of an FIR against Maulana Aziz over his latest video, where he spoke disparagingly of ISI officers and made derogatory references to members of other sects. This application will be heard on Feb 11, 2016.
Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2016Buy Photo Two people were found dead early Sunday, March 12, in a house fire in Henrietta that lacked power and was running off a generator. (Photo: OLIVIA LOPEZ, @olopez4/staff photographer)Buy Photo
Six people have died as a result of last week's windstorm, according to the Monroe County Department of Public Health.
Two individuals fell down stairs in homes without power, one person fell off a roof, and two individuals died in a house fire in Henrietta, health commissioner Dr. Michael Mendoza said Monday afternoon.
The fire is still being investigated, but Mendoza said information suggests it was related to the use of a generator at a home without power.
Police on scene of a two-car in Spencerport at S Union (259) and Nichols. Two people taken from scene with serious injuries. #roc@dandcpic.twitter.com/2TpRgHQSTN — Will Cleveland (@WillCleveland13) March 10, 2017
The office of the Monroe County Medical Examiner ruled the death of 70-year-old motorist Frank Palermo also was related to the storm.
Palermo, of Holley, collided with another vehicle about 7:45 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of Route 31 and South Union Street in Spencerport. Traffic signals had been knocked down during the storm Wednesday and had not yet been replaced. Stop signs were posted to indicate a four-way stop, but Ogden Police Chief Christopher Mears said they may not have been visible due to the power outage.
PSINGER@Gannett.com
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Read or Share this story: http://on.rocne.ws/2mD4TQEToronto city officials unveiled a balanced budget on Thursday morning that relies heavily on profits from a tax on home sales, but councillors were quick to question why key initiatives they approved were not in the budget.
Councillors pointed out the proposed 2018 budget doesn't including some $41 million worth of initiatives, including most of the city's poverty reduction strategy, the TransformTO climate change plan, and allowing two-hour transfers on the TTC — something Mayor John Tory has already announced will be happening.
Budget Chief Gary Crawford says the city is committed to those unfunded projects, but they will have to be added during the budget debates that will play out in upcoming months.
"We do have some work to do," he told reporters.
Budget Chief Gary Crawford says the city's in good financial shape, and many of the projects left unfunded for now will be added into the city's 2018 financial plan in the coming months. (John Rieti/CBC)
Crawford says overall this is a "good news" budget and the city is in a far better place financially than it was last year.
The city can largely thank all those real estate bidding wars.
Crawford defending why investments approved by council aren’t baked into the budget: ‘we have to follow a certain process.’ And yes, he expects that process will involve fights at council. Buckle up. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TOpoli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TOpoli</a> —@johnrieti
City on pace to net $783M from tax on home sales
The municipal land transfer tax is set to bring in some $793 million in 2017 — over $85 million more than anticipated. That money helped make up nearly a fifth of the city's now-closed budget gap.
City Manager Peter Wallace warned councillors they can't keep banking on that "extraordinarily positive" growth, noting the real estate market did weaken through the year.
"Those signals have not yet shown up in our data," he said, adding there could be some "softening" toward the end of the year.
I have a sense what the mayor wants is a quiet budget with a few highly identifiable perks in it. - Coun. Janet Davis
Citywide, Wallace says services will be maintained at their current level, however they have not been adjusted based on population growth, something many will consider a cut.
Wallace says councillors can choose to invest in new and enhanced services, but if they want to do that they will have to figure out how to pay for it.
The budget ties property taxes to the rate of inflation, a campaign promise of Tory's. Earlier this week, he said he's confident the city can pay for everything it wants without raising that rate.
"We're going to be able to do it because of efficiencies and savings achieved from existing budgets," he said.
Protesters say it's time for the city to invest
What do demonstrators want? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TOpoli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TOpoli</a> <a href="https://t.co/3ztiPhGk2p">pic.twitter.com/3ztiPhGk2p</a> —@johnrieti
Community groups demonstrated in front of city hall ahead of the budget drop, calling on the city to make good on its promises — accusing councillors of talking a big game when it comes to climate change and fighting poverty, but not following through.
Bee Soh, a low-income Torontonian who relies on transit, came to city hall hoping to hear the fair fare pass, which will discount TTC rides for people like her, would be approved. It wasn't.
"Frustrated," she said, when reporters asked her how she felt about the city's move.
While it's likely the pass will be approved eventually, Soh questions why she has to keep waiting.
Councillor says this will be an 'election budget'
Coun. Janet Davis says she's hopeful council will fund the key strategies it has already approved, and was visibly frustrated Thursday while she asked staff why those measures hadn't been baked included into the preliminary budget.
She notes the spending is more likely to stay because "this will be an election budget," she told CBC Toronto.
"I have a sense what the mayor wants is a quiet budget with a few highly identifiable perks in it," Davis said.
Davis says she'll be urging councillors to consider new revenue tools, or raising taxes already in place, noting those who live in nearby GTA municipalities pay far more.
"The land transfer tax is not going to be the golden goose forever and we cannot rely on it."The Society of Woman Geographers was established in 1925 at a time when women were excluded from membership in most professional organizations, such as the Explorers Club, who would not admit women until 1981.[1]
Organized by four friends Gertrude Emerson Sen, Marguerite Harrison, Blair Niles and Gertrude Mathews Shelby, to bring together women interested in geography, world exploration, anthropology and related fields. Membership was restricted to women who had "done distinctive work whereby they have added to the world's store of knowledge concerning the countries on which they have specialized, and have published in magazines or in book form a record of their work."[1]
Among its founders were Harriet Chalmers Adams, the society's first president in December 1925, a post which she held until 1933. [2] In 1930, the society presented its first medal to Amelia Earhart. Famous members included: historian Mary Ritter Beard, photographer Margaret Bourke-White, novelist Fannie Hurst, mountain climber Annie Smith Peck, anthropologist Margaret Mead, Eleanor Roosevelt, and author Grace Gallatin Seton Thompson. Margaret Mead was presented with the society's Gold Medal in 1942.[1]
The society based in Washington, D.C. presently has approximately 500 members. Groups are located in Chicago, Florida, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.
References [ edit ]
a b c Ware. 1988 ^ Anema. 2004
Bibliography [ edit ]
Anema, Durlynn (2004). Harriet Chalmers Adams: Adventurer and Explorer. Aurora, Colorado: National Writers Press. ISBN 0-88100-131-7.
Olds, Elizabeth (1985). Women of the Four Winds. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-36199-0.
Ware, Susan (1988). Letter to the World: Seven Women who Shaped the American Century. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-04652-4.
See also [ edit ]Mississippi became the latest state to tighten its civil forfeiture laws when Gov. Phil Bryant signed a bill on Monday that will require warrants for police to seize property. Through civil forfeiture, law enforcement agencies do not need to file criminal charges, or even secure a criminal conviction, to permanently confiscate cash, cars and other forms of personal property.
Under the newly signed bill, HB 812, whenever an agency seizes property, it must obtain a seizure warrant from a circuit or county court within three business days of the seizure. Agencies that do not procure a warrant with that timeframe cannot forfeit the property and must return it to its owner. In addition, agencies now will have to request prosecutors file for forfeiture within 30 days of a seizure.
Most importantly, HB 812 implements new transparency requirements to track seizure and forfeiture activity. For the first time, Mississippi agencies will now have to record a description of the seized property, its estimated value, its final deposition, as well as if anyone attempted to contest the forfeiture. Those records will then be uploaded to a public, searchable website, which will be created and maintained by the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. Agencies that do not comply with the new reporting requirements will not receive state or federal grants.
“HB 812 will hopefully inform the public about how often law enforcement seizes and forfeits property,” Lee McGrath, Senior Legislative Counsel at the Institute for Justice (IJ) said in a statement.
“Equally important, the bill will produce data on which state legislators may rely to make additional reforms to a civil process that has come under widespread criticism, including from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas,” McGrath added.
Previous investigations paint a worrying picture. An extensive report by The Washington Post into a federal forfeiture program known as equitable sharing found that Mississippi law enforcement conducted nearly 400 cash seizures “without warrants or indictments.” Through that same federal program, Mississippi police and prosecutors collected $47 million in forfeiture revenue from the U.S. Department of Justice, according to a report by the Institute for Justice.
In January, Reason magazine uncovered “strange and petty seizures by police” in Mississippi, including cases where law enforcement confiscated car batteries, a comic book collection, garden hoses, a horse saddle, and even had a white couch forfeited to a sheriff’s office. (“The whereabouts of the couch remain unknown.”) Their investigation also revealed that the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics had seized almost $4 million in cash, just in 2015, with the median seizure just under $13,000.
Later that month, Mississippi received failing grades from IJ for its utter lack of transparency and accountability. Yet the new law does not require transparency for how police and prosecutors spend forfeiture funds.
“Mississippi’s failure to account for spending from forfeiture funds is particularly troubling,” said Jennifer McDonald, a IJ research analyst. “With forfeiture, law enforcement agencies can keep some or all of the proceeds from the property they take. This enables them to generate and spend funds outside the normal appropriations process, which undermines the legislature’s power of the purse. At a bare minimum, agencies should have to publicly report how they spend forfeiture proceeds.”
Most infamously, police in Richland (which has barely 7,000 residents) funded a “$4.1 million police station, a top-level training center and a fleet of black-and-white Dodge Charger police cars” entirely through civil forfeiture.
Reforming civil forfeiture was remarkably popular, both with citizens and legislators. A poll last year found 88 percent of registered voters oppose forfeiting property without a criminal conviction. In the legislature, HB 812 was approved by wide margins, passing the House of Representatives by 118 to 3 and the state Senate unanimously. Mississippi is now the third state this year and the 19th state since 2014 to have passed civil forfeiture reform.As Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton prepares to testify before the House Select Committee on Benghazi, here's a breakdown of what happened from the attack on Sept. 12, 2011 to the current political controversy. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)
As Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton prepares to testify before the House Select Committee on Benghazi, here's a breakdown of what happened from the attack on Sept. 12, 2011 to the current political controversy. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)
If this were one of Trey Gowdy’s murder prosecutions, it would be declared a mistrial.
For 17 months, the former prosecutor who leads the House Benghazi committee has labored to give the appearance of diligence and impartiality. But, in an inexplicable and ruinous outbreak of honesty in recent weeks, the thing is unraveling just in time for Gowdy’s moment in the spotlight: Hillary Clinton’s testimony Thursday.
First came House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s admission that the committee was empaneled for the purpose of hurting Clinton’s poll numbers.
This was followed by Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) voicing his view that “there was a big part of this investigation that was designed to go after people and an individual, Hillary Clinton.”
Then there was Bradley Podliska, an Air Force Reserve intelligence officer and self-described conservative, who was fired as a Republican staffer on the committee — in part, he said, because he resisted pressure to focus on Clinton. Podliska called it “a partisan investigation” with a “hyper-focus on Hillary Clinton.” He said the “victims’ families are not going to get the truth.”
Prosecutor Gowdy is most displeased. “I have told my own Republican colleagues and friends: Shut up talking about things that you don’t know anything about,” the South Carolina representative said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “And unless you’re on the committee, you have no idea what we’ve done.”
But it appears some on the committee, more than $4.5 million into its investigation, have no idea what they’re doing either. Various Keystone Kops moments performed by the committee have Gowdy looking less like Jack McCoy and more like Jacques Clouseau as he goes after the likely Democratic presidential nominee.
Gowdy this month made the sensational allegation that one of the e-mails on Clinton’s private server contained the name of a CIA source, “some of the most protected information in our intelligence community.” But the CIA said the name to which Gowdy referred was not classified. The State Department asked that the name be redacted — not for security reasons but for the individual’s privacy. Gowdy, completing the comedy of errors, then released the e-mail publicly on Sunday with the person’s name — apparently unaware that the State Department had failed to redact it.
As that mess was being cleaned up, Gowdy was dealing with another, courtesy of my Post colleague Mike DeBonis. Gowdy has spoken piously about keeping his investigation above politics and about refusing to raise money from it. But DeBonis reported that Gowdy’s campaign had returned three donations after The Post inquired about the money’s ties to a political action committee that ran an incendiary ad during last week’s Democratic presidential debate. Three $2,000 contributions had been made to Gowdy by groups affiliated with the treasurer of Stop Hillary PAC. Stop Hillary PAC had spent $10,000 on robocalls last month to boost Gowdy in his district, and its treasurer had been involved with Gowdy’s former leadership PAC.
Perhaps alcohol is to blame for the clumsy pursuit of Clinton. Podliska told the New York Times that committee members had started a “Wine Wednesdays” club and drank out of glasses imprinted with the words “Glacial Pace,” a reference to complaints about the leisurely investigation from Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), the panel’s top Democrat. GOP staffers also formed a gun-buying club. The slow pace leaves the strong impression that the panel is trying to extend its probe as far as possible into the 2016 election cycle.
The ham-handed targeting of Clinton predates the Gowdy panel. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who led an earlier Benghazi investigation, suggested, falsely, that Clinton had issued a “stand-down” order to block a military response the night of the Benghazi attack. Issa also alleged, falsely, that Clinton personally authorized security reductions in Libya with her “signature” on a cable.
The contretemps have continued under Gowdy. The chairman claimed that he had “zero interest” in the Clinton Foundation and hadn’t issued a subpoena related to it or interviewed a “single person” about it other than the staffer who set up Clinton’s private e-mail server. But Gowdy had armed marshals serve a subpoena at the home of Clinton adviser Sidney Blumenthal, and Gowdy and others asked Blumenthal numerous questions about the foundation.
1 of 31 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × The attacks in Benghazi View Photos A year after the fall of longtime dictator Moammar Gaddafi, on Sept. 11 and |
. More than a year ago the scholarly assembly called the factions to a merger and Ahraar Shaam was one of the first to answer to this call.
But this initiative stopped all of a sudden as some factions refused to enter because of their own reasons. After that a number of scholars and students wanted the complete authorization to initiate a merger, we gave them this complete authority, but this initiative also stopped because some factions refused without clarifying the reasons. And the scholars are the ones who know who these factions are. After a new attempt to merge was initiated around three months ago and fifteen factions joined it, some fundamental agreements were made, and then this imitative stopped due to Jabhat Fath Shaam without clarifying the reasons. After that this latest attempt came. Ahraar Shaam wants a merger which achieves the demands of the arena, meaning a military and a political unification, which encompasses the majority of factions on the arena. If not all of them then at least most of them. What happened is that Ahraar Shaam initiated a coordinational front of a high level in matters of military, political and judiciary orders, and the unification of checkpoints and security. And some factions accepted it.
We informed the factions that we would propose this imitative to all the factions on the arena including Jabhat Fath Shaam. In this period a gathering occurred with Jabhat Fath Shaam and the brothers from Harakat Nurdine Zinki. And we discussed some issues which were paused in the merger of three months ago. So it was as if we picked up the merger talks of three months ago and this merger encompasses most of the factions on the arena. When some obstacles were removed, which paused us three months ago, we signed an agreement for this merger which would be presented to all the other factions. Including the factions who agreed on the coordinational front three months ago. So we considered this to be a continuing process which started three months ago. But when we presented this to the factions they felt that they were left out from the agreement so they refused to enter this merger. And they requested a gathering to renew the discussions concerning all the matters of the merger. While Harakat Nurdine Zinki was authorized by a number of factions to negotiate the merger on their behalf.
But when the factions were called to join this merger they said that they were left out from the merger talks and that they did not attend the merger agreements. We reminded them that this merger was a follow up on the merger which was paused three months ago in which you yourselves attended. But they said that the length of three months between the two proofs that this is a new merger, so we want to renew the discussions about it. We gathered most of these factions in one meeting and discussed this issue, but Jabhat Fath Shaam refused to renew the discussions from the beginning because of certain reasons of their own. So a complete merger was therefore not achieved, the unification we want of the arena, in one entity, with one military and political order. We then proposed a coordinational front of a high level to these faction as the most realistic choice we have right now which guarantees the unification of the military and political orders and decrees in the coming period, and the end result of this front will be a merger; after a period of time, depending on the circumstances, we hope that this will be in a short period. But we have to solve several concerns, among them the unification of military and political decrees. And the current polarization on the arena has to stop.
Like the polarization of accusations and Islamic verdicts. We were avoiding the polarization that every party would see himself as the truth. The difference of opinion that occurred between the scholars is not more than a difference of opinion. Some viewed that the merger is achieved this way and that it was obligatory to join it, and others saw this as merely one of ways to merge and that there are other ways as well. We do not view the verdict which obliged the factions to merge as a verdict of overpowerment, but we differ with them about the statement that those who do not join this merger are sinful, because we are convinced that the merger has many images, but the goal of a merger is the unification of decrees on the arena. And this was not achieved in this merger, rather there were two decrees.
What we desired from this merger was not achieved sufficiently. So our proposal was the coordinational front. This front will achieve the goals of the merger through the unification of orders and decrees, military and politically, and its end-result will be a merger. With it we would have removed the polarization and achieved a merger in a certain way. This is being discussed and consulted at the moment. The people without a doubt want a merger which is not spoiled by harms even if they do not state this, so we are perusing a merger without harms which could be abused by the enemy with incitements and mobilizations. This could be achieved in the near future, and the reality of the arena is that it is walking the path of mergers, because the number of factions today are less than the number of factions a year ago. But again we do not want mergers which carry harms that could be abused by the enemy.”
Hadi Abdullah asks Abu Amar Al-Umar: People complain about the lack of security in the liberated territories, we see nearly every day corpses laying around of civilians and fighters and most of them are from Ahraar Shaam. What is the reason for this security breach?
“There are several parties who disrupt the security in the liberated territories most prominent are cells connected to ISIS which have reorganized themselves after it defected from Jabhat Fath Shaam, who had joined it under the umbrella of Jund Al-Aqsa. It has reorganized and started attacking civilians as well as fighters. Jabhat Fath Shaam guaranteed that it would oversee them in an agreement between us but its terms were not implied unfortunately. And the brother from Jabhat Fath Shaam may answer why the terms were not met. Secondly there are cells connected to the regime, our security personal have caught several of such cells, we have showed some of them and others are still under investigation and we will publish it in the appropriate time. And here we want to call upon the civilians to inform us about anything suspicious they have seen, and we will deal with it correctly with the will of Allah.”
Hadi Abdullah asks the leader of Ahraar Shaam Abu Amar Al-Umar: We have recently witnessed an increase in the US air strikes on the men from Jabhat Fath Shaam including their leaders and bases. What is your position as a movement concerning these operations?
“We have showed our position previously. Ignoring the militias spread all over Syria who target civilians and rape women and violate honors, most prominent the Lebanese Hizballah which is internationally designated as a terrorist organisation, including Afghan, Iraqi and Iranian militias. Ignoring all of these entities which spreads corruption on the earth, while striking a faction which is actively fighting against the regime, and most of their men are from this country, is prejudice in favor of the regime against the revolution. And we reject this matter completely and we consider it to be a policy of double standards.”
Hadi Abdullah asks the leader of Ahraar Shaam Abu Amar Al-Umar: The subject of Aleppo. The fall of Aleppo. It shook us all, what are the reasons for the fall of Aleppo.
“The regime started its campaign against Aleppo during the second half of 2015 and it used different methods, most important the policy of a scorched earth with the help of the invading Russian air planes and the increase of numbers on the ground which were gathered from outside the borders, most prominent the militias of Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Lebanon. Until the regime reached Nubl and Zahraa, after reaching these two cities they began to advance gradually until they besieged the city of Aleppo. In addition to the neutral territories under the control of ISIS who guaranteed the regime safe passage to attack them from their side. And ISIS was also attacking the territories of the Mujahideen at the same time with the regime.
The regime besieged Aleppo for over five months and the regime used the tens of thousands of civilians present in Aleppo as a pressure card, whom they bombed day and night by the regime and the Russian airplanes. The factions sacrificed in two attempts to break the siege on Aleppo. But the magnitude of the campaign was enormous in addition to the policy of a scorched earth by regime and Russian airplanes. This fierce campaign led to the siege on Aleppo. After the siege the regime and Russia used the civilians as a pressure card, tens of thousand of civilians in Aleppo were confronted by the uncontrolled barbaric bombardments. All the hospitals in Aleppo went out of service due to the bombardments, in addition to the lack of humanitarian aid, this was used- and put great pressure on the factions.
All of this led eventually to the negotiations, in addition to the fighting spirit that was lost and the disputes that occurred between the factions during the siege on Aleppo. The absence of leaders in the media to raise their fighting spirit could be one of the reason but the major reasons was the fierce campaign by Russia and the regime and the militias. These are the real reasons that led to the fall of Aleppo. The military leaders did their best in the campaign we have mentioned and they have targeted many positions of the regime simultaneously to pressure the regime to stop the campaign. Al-Faruq Abu Bakr is one of the leaders of Ahraar Shaam in Aleppo he oversaw the negotiations with the leaderships counsel in Aleppo, he achieved an agreement with the regime that would minimize the harms by letting the civilians leave in safety and the fighters with their weapons, by placing Kfarya and Al-Fua against Aleppo on the table. We were able to link this in the negotiations agreement.
There is no doubt that the fall of Aleppo is a great loss for the revolution but this does not in any way mean that the revolution has ended. Every revolution passed through stages of victory and it could pass through a stage of decline. The regime after they took Aleppo, and after they depended on the support of Russia, and the policy of a scorched earth, and the Iranian occupation, and the militias that entered from all directions, does not occupy but one fifth of Syria. While the revolution is still standing and carried by the people, the demonstrations we are witnessing today is indicating the renewal of the revolution.
And we must mention that the revolution started without any elements, they were peaceful in the beginning and when they carried weapons they carry very simple weapons. Today we posses advanced weaponry to a certain degree and we have thousands of fighters and we control vast amounts of territory, we have many methods we can use to carry on the initiative. No doubt that there are many glad tidings and the most important is the perseverance of the revolution in the hearts of the revolutionaries. These demonstrations we have mentioned indicate that the revolution is still ongoing and young and full of life. And we have many methods like I said we can use at the appropriate time, and there are many military operations which we can start in the coming period, which will reenergize the revolution again.”
General translation by Al-Maqalaat:
Follow our new (!) channel: https://t.me/Al_Maqalaat_PA Pennsylvania couple is accused of having subjected a 12-year-old girl to waterboarding last spring as a form of punishment.
The Beaver County Times reports that the girl told police and Beaver County children and youth services officials that she was dragged into the Aliquippa home's basement in April, a wet towel was placed over her face and her chair was tilted backward as a bucket of cold water was poured onto her, preventing her from breathing.
Aliquippa police said the couple told them they learned about waterboarding through a movie.
Thirty-four-year-old Dion Stevens and 41-year-old Malisa Stevens were charged Wednesday with strangulation, aggravated assault, unlawful restraint, child endangerment and reckless endangerment. Court documents don't list an attorney and a listed number for them couldn't be found Saturday.It has not been a good couple of days for Washington State Cougars starting quarterback Jeff Tuel. First, the QB was forced to sit out the beginning of WSU's game against Idaho State due to a stomach virus. Then, when he entered the game, he was injured and forced to come out of the game during his first series.
He was taken to the locker room for x-rays, and it has since been revealed that Tuel has suffered a fractured left clavicle, or a broken collarbone. He appeared to sustain the injury before he came out of the game, finishing the drive while he was probably in some considerable pain.
Tuel will likely be out for a considerable period of time as a result of the injury. His replacement is Marshall Lobbestael, who has performed well so far against Idaho State. However, that's unlikely to take too much of the sting of the injury away from Tuel or Washington State fans.
Stay tuned to the opening Saturday of college football with SB Nation's huge assortment of college football blogs and SB Nation's college football news hub. For more on Washington State, visit CougCenter and SB Nation Seattle.Daggers, switch or automatic knives of any mechanism would be legal
(January 28, 2015) – Several years of work culminated yesterday in the introduction of a bill to remove all references to knives under Pennsylvania state law Section 908 “Prohibited Offensive Weapon.”
PA H 230 would delete “dagger, knife, razor or cutting instrument razor which is exposed in an automatic way by switch, push button, spring mechanism, or otherwise” from Section 2 Section 908 (c) of Title 18.
The only prohibition under existing law is for a knife with a blade exposed in an automatic way. If enacted PA would have no knife prohibitions and statewide uniformity or “preemption.” The amendment to Section 908 is part of a broader bill also dealing with firearms.
As a native of Pennsylvania, lawyer, and knife expert, AKTI’s legislative consultant Daniel C. Lawson has been working relentlessly to make his state free of knife laws.
“The American Knife & Tool Institute is making a huge difference state by state repealing or clarifying knife laws and I’m very pleased that legislators in Pennsylvania have listened to my request to introduce this legislation,” said Lawson. “My own representative, John Maher, of Upper St. Claire, was very understanding of the problems created when types of knives used as valuable tools are classified as offensive weapons.”
Joining Representative Maher as bill sponsors were Representatives Saccone, Dunbar, Maloney, Diamond, Krieger, Cutler, Kauffman, Reese, Roae, Saylor, James, McGinnis, Everett, Sankey, Hickernell, A. Harris, Readshaw, Metcalfe, Tallman and Cox.
AKTI will continue to report on progress. In the meantime, please contact your State Senators and State Representatives and politely encourage them to support H 230.
History on AKTI’s previous efforts in Pennsylvania.
Read about AKTI’s State by State plan announced in 2001.
The Pennsylvania legislature convened on January 6, 2015 and is scheduled to adjourn approximately January 4, 2016.
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Pennsylvanians – Sign up as a Free Grassroots Supporter to receive any email notices of Call to Action.(Image: Natural Visions/Alamy)
Most would choose the cuddly gerbil over the much-maligned rat. But the latter’s bad reputation may not be fully deserved. Central Asian rodents, not rats, prospering under warm variations in climate, could have been to blame for the arrival of the Black Death in Europe in 1347 and for repeated outbreaks of plague over the next four centuries that killed millions of people.
The plague is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium, which is carried by fleas and mostly affects rodents. Plague has hit Europe a number of times, but the second pandemic – the one that caused the Black Death – remains the most notorious today. Believed to have originally come to Europe from Asia via the Silk Road trading route, it was thought that the repeated plague outbreaks that followed the Black Death epidemic were caused by rodent reservoirs in Europe – bacteria-infested fleas hiding out in rats.
But Nils Christian Stenseth at the University of Oslo, Norway, and colleagues say that instead of rats, it is their furry counterparts in central Asia that are to blame. The team analysed 4119 historical records of post-Black Death plague outbreaks and found that the vast majority were probably caused by similar outbreaks nearby. But they were able to identify 61 outbreaks that took place in 17 harbour areas, including London, Hamburg, Barcelona and Dubrovnik, that were likely to have been caused by maritime imports from Asia.
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By comparing these cases with historical records, Stenseth’s team were able to identify 16 years within the period from 1346 to 1837 in which brand new introductions of Y. pestis are likely to have been responsible for plague outbreaks, as opposed to infection from neighbouring regions or local trade partners.
Feeling the heat
When they compared the dates of these outbreaks with tree ring data, they did not find a correlation with European climate patterns. However, climate fluctuations in Asia – above average temperatures followed by sudden drops – consistently preceded plague reintroductions in Europe by around 15 years. In other words, the new plague outbreaks were linked to Asian rodents, not rats living in Europe, as had been thought.
“Warmer climate increases the activity of fleas and their ability to spread the bacterium from individual to individual,” says Stenseth. “We have previously shown that an increase of 1 °C doubles the prevalence [of plague] in wild rodents in central Asia.”
Under such conditions, not only do the fleas become more active, but the rodents they live on – most likely gerbils and marmots – become more numerous. When the temperature suddenly falls again, as indicated by a change in the thickness of tree rings, rodent populations crash, and their fleas are forced to find new hosts – perhaps camels, perhaps humans.
“The study is interesting and convincing,” says Hartmut Dunkelberg of the University of Goettingen in Germany. “Climate influences different factors such as the development of fleas and the distribution of plague reservoirs. Many human infections are seasonal.”
Stenseth’s team believe the 15-year time lag between such crashes and the introduction of new plague-ridden fleas to Europe comprised three stages: a couple of years finding new hosts and coming into contact with humans, around 10 years travelling westward along trade routes such as the Silk Road, and finally the plague’s reintroduction to Europe via marine trading harbours.
Camel ride
The long, middle stage across central Asia may have involved camels, says Stenseth, who could have caught fleas from gerbils and passed them on to humans.
This explanation for where fresh European plague outbreaks came from explains how countries like Norway, which did not have rat populations at the time, could have suffered repeated outbreaks.
Today, climate fluctuations are likely to affect wildlife plague reservoirs in different ways, depending on their location, says Stenseth. “In central Asia and northern China, the current climate change is likely to increase the occurrence of plague, whereas in the southern part of China it is likely to decrease.”
Dunkelberg says that individual cases of plague could occur in Europe, but that outbreaks would be unlikely. “I cannot see any greater risk of an epidemic outbreak.”
Journal reference: PNAS, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1412887112With the recent guilty verdict of Ross Ulbricht, creator of the “Black Market” website Silk Road, Bitcoin has once again made the news. So, what is Bitcoin, you ask? As a Baby Boomer, I come from an age when the dollar was pegged to a specific value in gold, unlike the fiat currency we have today. Obviously, this gives me and my Baby Boomer peers an interesting vantage point when vetting the strengths and weaknesses of Bitcoin.
Millennials, before you go out and get Bitcoin, I implore you to understand what this is all about. Hold on, because it all sounds like something that was conceived during a Star Trek episode.
Taking a Bite Out of Bitcoin
Bitcoin is a payment system allegedly invented in 2009 by a person under the alias Satoshi Nakamoto, who obviously had a lot of time on his hands and is undoubtedly a math and computer wizard. You have to research it yourself to fully understand or to be fully confused by the explanation. Nonetheless, the system created the largest virtual digital currency and works without any administrators.
Bitcoin is described as a “crypto-currency” with each Bitcoin having its own private digital fingerprint that can’t be used again, once activated. Bitcoins are created as a reward for payment processing work in which users offer their computing power to verify and record payments into a public ledger. This is called, “mining.”
Essentially, Bitcoin is a form of payment for products and services, stored in a digital wallet. Each Bitcoin has a token of value and a means to transfer that value. Bitcoins are not tied to any one currency and float in value.
“The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” of Bitcoin
My goal is to help advise Millennials about “the Good, the Bad and the Ugly” regarding this new currency that is luring them in.
The Good:
Bitcoins are free of government control because they are a decentralized virtual currency. That means that there are not fees attached to it, including taxes, in most cases. This makes Bitcoin a cheap way to sell things. Also, fees are paid by the purchaser and not by the vendor. Merchants have an incentive to accept Bitcoin because fees are lower than the 2-3% typically charged by credit card processors.
The U.S., thus far, is Bitcoin friendly, although it is still a gray area. Bitcoinvalues.net offers a list of companies that accept Bitcoin; however, some receive Bitcoin directly and some accept Bitcoin via a third-party payment system. Well-known names that accept Bitcoin either directly or indirectly include; Amazon, Dell, Sears, Home Depot, CVS, Victoria’s Secret, Subway, Zynga, Tesla, Virgin Mobile and Virgin Airlines.
Also, for the person who likes to speculate, Bitcoin can offer that opportunity, but beware. They supposedly float freely according to market demand. What seems to drive the price increases? According to CoinDesk, which cited a study conducted by two researchers at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Poland, the evidence shows that it is not a free-floating supply and situation that drives the prices, but rather “popularity” that drives the price. They have concluded that when there are articles or hype around Bitcoins, the price is driven up. According to the research, a “1% increase in the number of articles mentioning bitcoins raises the return by 30 basis points.” So, when Google searches go up around Bitcoin, so does the price.
The Bad:
Not all countries and companies will accept Bitcoin currency. Russia has virtually declared war on the currency. Last January, “the Central Bank of Russia issued an official warning stating that all Bitcoin transactions will be considered potentially suspicious and added that use of Bitcoins in Russia is illegal.” (One may argue that, with the subsequent devaluation of the ruble, Russia does not need any competing currency in their country to potentially cause further weakness.)
In China last year, one could call that the “promised land for crypto-currencies. Bitcoin and its rivals were traded freely and on-line exchanges proliferated,” according to the Economist.com. But the Chinese government stepped in and declared that Bitcoin is not a currency and buying Bitcoin in yuan is subject to restrictions and Bitcoin exchanges are not allowed to have bank accounts. The Bitcoin door shut.
China and Russia are not alone. Many U.S. companies have also banned its use.
Another questionable aspect on Bitcoin is whether or not your information is private. Actually, they define privacy as not identifying the owners of Bitcoin addresses, but all transaction data is public, which ultimately sunk Ulbricht’s ship. The users are identified by Bitcoin address and not names and the transactions can and have been linked to individuals and companies. Also, exchanges where people buy and sell Bitcoins for cash may be required to collect personal information.
The Ugly:
Corruption has thrived in this unregulated marketplace. Another case-in-point related to Silk Road, was the arrest earlier in the year of Charlie Shrem, CEO of BitInstant. He allegedly helped a man to “convert over a million dollars worth of Bitcoin for use on the drug bazar Silk Road.” The ugly continues, according to Business Insider, who reported that pedophiles are using this source of payment for their vile pursuits. Drug dealers have also gotten into the act and are among the other nefarious Black Market users of Bitcoins. It can’t get much uglier.
Not so fast. It continues... In this world of very sophisticated hackers, what would make any of us think that Bitcoins are not ripe for their handy work? Why couldn’t hackers break into the “controlled” system, mine Bitcoins, drive the price up through market the manipulation of let’s say, lots of hype, only to dump their Bitcoins at the top of the market, thus crashing the prices for the unsuspecting? This would leave Millennials feeling the bite a bit!
My conclusion, as a Baby Boomer who has been through the ups and downs of many “sure-thing” markets, this could be the same. What’s the best advice to Millennials from this Baby Boomer? If you must, put a small toe in the Bitcoin water. Try it out. Just know that, like in any large body of water, there may be sharks lurking.Guys, I’m in love with Josh Chan from “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” And the most amazing thing is, I’m not the only one.
What’s not to love about him? He’s sweet, funny, has killer boy-band moves, and biceps for days. He’s the kind of guy that you give up a successful career and minimalist-chic apartment in New York City and move 3,000 miles for. At least that’s the conceit of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” And what’s more remarkable is its main character Rebecca Bunch (played by series creator Rachel Bloom), who is a white Jewish lawyer, does it all for an Asian dude.
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Television these days seems to finally be learning what I’ve always known (I was raised on Jet Li movies and had an early crush on Shang in “Mulan”): that Asian men are hot. Between Josh Chan (played by Vincent Rodriguez III), Steven Yuen’s Glenn in “The Walking Dead,” and Aziz Ansari’s Dev in “Master of None,” it seems that Asian men on television are finally getting what they’ve been denied in American entertainment for so long: they’re getting laid. And that’s not counting the Asian leading men with wives such as in “Fresh Off the Boat” and “Dr. Ken.”
When John Cho appeared as the male romantic lead in the very short-lived sitcom “Selfie,” in 2014, much was written about what a revolutionary casting move it was. For so long, Asian men have been the asexual sidekick, a comic punching bag who hung out in the sidelines while the lead (usually a white guy) got all the action. Unlike Asian women, who have been objects of desire since the 1800s with "Madama Butterfly," Asian men have rarely been afforded the same treatment. (Not to diminish the fact that the sexual objectification of Asian women continues to be an issue in entertainment, when we’re not being white-washed.)
Even when Asian men were the heroes in an American-made film, they never got the girl (how often did Jet Li or Jackie Chan get laid in their movies?).
But with “Selfie,” here was an Asian man who was a main character, who was on the fast track to romance with the female lead, Karen Gillan’s Eliza, before the show was cancelled. While Cho’s character was revolutionary, he wasn’t an anomaly. Yuen’s Glenn has had a girlfriend on “The Walking Dead” since 2011 (and he was considered by the show’s former executive producer, Glen Mazzara, as “the heart of the show.”)
Cho and Yuen have ushered in the long-awaited era of the multifaceted Asian leading man. After all, Asian men aren't all accountants at PricewaterhouseCoopers (sorry to disappoint, Chris Rock). These men aren’t dweebly, kind of misogynist scientists (I’m looking at you Raj from “Big Bang Theory”), or smartass computer programmers who can write code but can’t read women (“Silicon Valley”’s Dinesh), or whatever the hell Han Lee is in “Two Broke Girls.” And in the case of Rodriguez’s laid-back and unambitious Josh, they aren’t academic overachievers. They’re also not any of the types laid out in E. Alex Jung’s 2014 Vulture analysis of Asian men on television.
What these men have in common is that they are charming, funny, caring, badass, and (this is the most important part) sexy as hell. They’re the heroes in their respective stories (Rebecca in “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” called Josh her prince last week).
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And they’re not afraid to be in-your-face about their sexuality. “Master of None” opened in a way that was a first for American television: it opened on an Asian man having sex. And not awkward, fumbling sex but vigorous, bed-shaking sex that breaks a condom.
That’s not the only action that Ansari’s Dev has on the show. In the episode “The Other Man,” Dev gets to bang a character played by Claire Danes not once, but twice! The episode “Mornings” is equal parts romance, cutesy banter, and sex between him and Noël Wells’s character Rachel. Ansari and show co-creator Alan Yang deserved that Critic’s Choice Award not just because “Master of None” is a genuinely funny portrayal of modern millennial life, but because it dared to show an Asian man being fuckable.
But a man’s sexiness isn’t dependent on how many women he beds. Rodriguez’s Josh is a ladies' man, but he’s also supportive and caring. “Josh represents the kind of undying, unconditional love [Rebecca] never got from her own family,” Rachel Bloom recently told Buzzfeed. In the most recent episode of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” Josh was torn between longtime girlfriend Valencia, a hot and skinny yoga instructor, and Rebecca (who he had just kissed). And he approached the decision in a way that wasn’t stereotypically Asian or macho-male. He did the honorable thing: he came clean with Valencia and has decided to stay with her, despite his growing feelings for Rebecca. Because while he is a bro, he’s not a typical emotionally stunted man who can’t talk about his feelings; he has a good heart and a conscience, and treats the women in his life with honesty and respect.
All of the men mentioned in this article do.
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And even though these characters are Asians, it’s a non-issue. Their ethnic identity is touched upon, such as in the “Master of None” episode “Indians on TV” or in the “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” episode “My First Thanksgiving with Josh!,” as background information. Being Asian doesn’t define who they are or why they’re on the show. In other words, they don’t act in a stereotypical way. There’s no agonizing about loving non-Asian women, no insecurities about their value as a man, no scenes of parents pressuring them to be doctors or lawyers, and no one ever says the word “assimilation” (except on “Fresh Off the Boat,” but that’s what the show is about).
Because the women who love these men don’t love them because they’re Asian. They love them because they’re great guys who just happen to be Asian.
Because in real life, Asian men can be computer programmers, but they can also be easygoing bros or devoted fathers who can give their sons love advice (such as Randall Park’s Louis in “Fresh Off the Boat”). These men have sex and are loved by all kinds of women (and men, too). How else do you explain the collective freakout that occurred in November when it looked like “The Walking Dead” had killed off Glenn?
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It’s about time Hollywood realized that Asian men are as worthy of love and respect as any white man.
With the news that “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” has received a second season, and “Master of None” will no doubt come back for a second season with a new love interest for Dev, there’s no doubt that Asian men will be allowed more humanity on-screen for the foreseeable future.Ballina shark attack: NSW Government committed millions to barriers not delivered
Updated
It has emerged the NSW Government signed contracts worth more than $2.6 million for shark barriers that were never installed, a day after a teenaged surfer survived a shark attack on the far north coast.
One of the barriers, worth $1.3 million, was due to be installed at Ballina's Lighthouse Beach, where 17-year-old surfer Cooper Allen was mauled by a shark on Monday.
The teenager is still recovering in Lismore Base Hospital following the attack in which he was bitten on the upper-thigh.
However, attempts to install the barrier were abandoned in August, due to the weather and tidal conditions at the beach.
Another barrier at nearby Lennox Head, valued at $1.33 million, was scrapped after the design was deemed inappropriate for the beach.
The contracts, with suppliers Eco Shark Barrier and Global Marine Enclosures, state they will provide "design, construction, transportation, installation, maintenance and removal" of the shark barriers.
Opposition primary industries spokesman Mick Veitch called on the Minister, Niall Blair, to explain the cost to taxpayers.
"The people of NSW need to know exactly how much has been spent to date on the failed eco-barriers," Mr Veitch said.
"More importantly, were there exit fees or breach of contract fees because of the failure?"
Mr Veitch said the Government should have known the eco-barriers were an unsuitable solution.
"If they'd spoken to the locals, they'd know there was a great risk with these eco-barriers."
"[It's] because of the tidal action of that part of the coastline and the waves."
Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair defended the cost and said some of the $2.6 million could be spent on other measures to prevent shark attacks.
"We've had a go at putting these in the water, they haven't worked," Mr Blair said.
"The first stage of the trial has met those hurdles.
"We'll now look at redirecting the funds that were allocated for the rest of the trial on those barriers into other mitigation strategies."
The attack on Monday was the fourth serious shark attack along the one-kilometre stretch of beach in less than two years.
Surfers call for shark cull on north coast
Le-Ba Boardriders president Don Munro said the NSW Government was not doing enough to protect north coast surfers.
"We want drum lines in, we want the commercial fisherman locally to be given back their licence to manage and remove a shark permanently," he said.
He said, while "wholesale slaughter" was not the answer, but that there should be some sort of local cull.
"We're going to just continue to see more attacks and they'll end up, through sheer weight of the percentages... that we're going to have fatal ones.
Surf Life Saving NSW announced that Ballina's Lighthouse, Sharpes and Shelly beaches had reopened on Tuesday.
Seven Mile, Lennox Head and South Ballina beaches have also re-opened.
The beaches were closed for 24 hours following the attack on Monday.
"Surf lifesaving assets were on the water from 8am conducting a roving patrol along the coastline as part of the comprehensive process of reopening local beaches," a statement from Surf Life Saving NSW said.
"After a meeting involving the NSW Department of Primary Industries, local council representatives, NSW Police and lifeguards, the decision was made to reopen the beaches with the exception of Lennox Head.
"Lifeguards will continue to monitor the beaches for any shark activity, with the safety of the public remaining the number one priority."
A statement from Ballina Council said the Department of Primary Industries had doubled aerial patrols and was deploying smart drumlines.
A trial of a shark-spotting drone, known as a'mini ripper', resumed off Ballina's Lighthouse Beach on Tuesday.
Little Ripper Rescue chief operations officer Ben Trollope said the mini ripper drone was fitted with a loud speaker, sirens, SOS lights and a flotation device with a shark shield.
He said no sharks were spotted on Tuesday.
"This morning there was quite a large bait ball of the coast, quite a few dolphins coming through, and a couple of whales passing as well," Mr Trollope said.
"[The goal] is to be able to give people in the water early warning, rather than having no idea that the animal is actually there."
He said the drones would spend about 25 minutes of every hour in the air throughout the day.
Queensland Premier offers to build shark nets
Queensland's Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has offered to help extend the state's shark nets into Northern NSW in the wake of the attack.
Ms Palaszczuk said she would contact her southern counterpart on Tuesday to make the offer.
"We have the technology, we have the skills," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"I am prepared to work with the NSW Government to extend our drum lines and shark nets down the northern NSW beaches to protect people."
However, it is understood that NSW would be expected to pay for the lines.
Ballina Mayor David Wright said increasing surveillance was a better idea than the mesh used to protect Sydney and the Gold Coast.
"Because it kills so many dolphins and turtles, I just don't think the local community - Seabird Rescue and all those things - that they would countenance it," he said.
"We know it's a risk if you go in the water. There are other means, and I think shark spotters or whatever."
Topics: shark, animal-attacks, human-interest, state-parliament, states-and-territories, ballina-2478, lennox-head-2478, nsw, qld
First postedAfter sneeringly referring to President Obama as “a charismatic guy with a teleprompter” in February, Sarah Palin apparently required two of the prompting devices when she delivered the keynote address to the National Rifle Association convention in Charlotte yesterday.
You can hear Palin’s speech VIDEOYou can hear Palin’s speech via the videos here. (Warning: Her voice has been known to cause aural bleeding.)
It’s unclear whether she has used teleprompters in the recent past, and if so, how often — but in February, during her appearance before a tea party conclave, she was caught red-handed, so to speak, with crib notes written on the palm of her hand. Around that same time, during a Fox News softball interview, she said she didn’t want to be the |
endeavours and a political novel is expected to follow.
The Tory MP Willam Cash, a respected constitutional lawyer and medieval historian who leads the anti-Maastricht campaign from Great College Street, thinks that McAlpine is writing of himself. Cash describes the peer as 'a deceptively deep thinker and one of the shrewdest people I've ever met', adding that he combines 'a natural levity, real gravitas and an immense sense of humour'.
Others focus on his well-concealed self- discipline, his firmness of purpose and his Machiavellian skills as a political in- fighter. They quote as an example the occasion on which Lord Thorneycroft, Conservative Party chairman from 1979 to 1985, removed McAlpine's friend Gordon Rees from Central Office. McAlpine leaked the false story of his own protest resignation from the treasuryship in the belief that Thatcher would prevail upon him to stay. Thorneycroft eventually departed, undermined by his nominal subordinate, and by the Prime Minister. It was one among a number of classic Servant and Prince exercises that McAlpine engineered from Conservative Central Office.
And yet most commentators would agree with the friend who insists that there is a 'disorderly, undisciplined, anarchic streak' to the man. They wait with some alarm for further revelations from the villa outside Venice.
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 nowChinese authorities are trying to stop protests by Tibetans A Tibetan monk has been shot after setting fire to himself during a protest at Beijing's rule, reports say. The incident happened in the Tibetan-populated town of Aba in southwest China's Sichuan province during a gathering of more than 1,000 monks. The monk, named Tapey, is said to have shouted slogans and waved a Tibetan flag, then used petrol to start a fire. Campaign groups said witnesses then saw Chinese police shoot the man. Banned meeting The monk collapsed and was taken away by the police. China's official Xinhua news agency confirmed a man had set himself on fire, saying he was taken to a hospital and treated for burns injuries. It made no mention of any gunshot wounds. The protest began after more than 1,000 Tibetan Buddhist monks gathered at a temple in the town to celebrate the third day of the Tibetan new year. Chinese officials had earlier banned the gathering. After the incident, news agencies reported a heavy police presence on the streets of the town. "There are many policemen on patrol in the street and all of them have guns," an employee at a teahouse in Aba told the AFP news agency. It is extremely difficult to independently confirm any information coming out of Tibetan areas. China's authorities have restricted access to the region. Next month marks the 50th anniversary of the escape into exile of the Dalai Lama and China wants to make sure there are no Tibetan protests in support of the exiled spiritual leader like those of a year ago, says the BBC's James Reynolds in Beijing. More than 200 Tibetans are thought to have been killed in a Chinese crackdown in the region, which it has ruled since an invasion in 1950. China claims Tibet is part of its historic territory, but Tibetan groups in exile regard the invasion as a tragedy.
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StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable versionLate Monday the other side of the story began emerging in the shooting of a teenager who was running from police. The boy was shot by another teen, who says he was trying to help Houston police.
As of Monday night, Derrick Green, 17, was still in ICU at Ben Taub after his mom says he was shot three times in the back while running away.
However, the attorney for the teen accused of shooting him told KHOU late Monday his client has never been in trouble with the law and was trying to help police.
Nearly a week later, the reminders are still fresh of the Feb. 28 shooting that happened between two homes on the 9800 block of Canoga in the Spring Branch area.
Janice Albrecht, who lives nearby, said she heard several gunshots just moments after hearing a car hit the fire hydrant outside,
"All the police cars started coming, speeding up into the driveway,” said Albrecht. “(Police were) getting out of the cars with the guns drawn."
Anthony Bentley, 17, who lives blocks away, was arrested at the scene. He was charged with Aggravated Assault for allegedly shooting 17-year-old Derrick Green after Green got out of that stolen car.
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"(Green) wasn't even charging the young man,” said community activist Quanell X. “He had his back to (Bentley) running away, so where was the dangerous life threatening circumstance shooting this man three times from behind?"
Now, Quanell X is calling on the Harris County District Attorney’s office to upgrade the charge of Aggravated Assault to Attempted Murder.
“We believe very well that attempted murder could be proven in this case because this young man was shot in the back three times,” said Quanell X. “He had no weapon.”
He later added, "The charge needs to be sufficient to make sure that somebody else doesn't do the same thing.”
"(Bentley is) devastated that he shot this guy,” said Joseph Gutheinz, Bentley’s defense attorney. “He never wanted to shoot anybody."
Gutheinz says his client was driving his mom's car to the bank that Tuesday afternoon when he got a message from a fellow member of HPD Explorers, a program for teens and young adults interested in law enforcement, about the manhunt for a suspect after HPD Officers Ronny Cortez and Jose Munoz had been shot in Southwest Houston a short time earlier.
“(Bentley) drives a block, almost gets wiped out by someone going 60 70 miles an hour through a residential neighborhood,” said Gutheinz, referring to Green’s vehicle. “He hears the sirens in background but knows there’s not a line of sight.”
He says Bentley had only planned to call police when Green's car crashed into the fire hydrant and was “totally believing that this guy just shot the two police officers”.
“'(Bentley) never left the car,” said Gutheinz. “(Bentley) points the gun at (Green), says ‘stop’, thinking that the police were gonna be there in a second."
That’s when he says Green ran behind a “metal object” between the two homes, then “turned on him as though he was gonna fire back on him.”
He says that’s when his client fired four shots with a gun kept in the car for protection.
Bentley is out of jail after posting $30,000 bond. No one answered the door at the address listed in court records.
A neighbor tells KHOU he’s seen Bentley out in the neighborhood with a gun before, including one time when he says Bentley walked over to a vacant home he believed was being burglarized.
Dane Schiller, Director of Communications for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, told KHOU in an emailed statement, “We are evaluating all facts and evidence in the case. It has not been presented to the grand jury. At that time, additional charges or a different charge may be considered.”Image zoom Getty Images
“If you don’t want your boobs to hit your knees by the time you’re 30, always wear a bra, even to bed,” Halle Berry recently told InStyle. But the star—who credits wearing a bra around the clock as the reason she sports such a perky pair—may be misinformed. Take this true-or-false quiz to see just how much you know about what does (and doesn't) cause your dynamic duo to droop.
Your breasts droop as you get older
TRUE. That’s due to stretching of the Cooper's ligaments, the connective tissue in your breasts that helps keep 'em up and looking perky. “Like all the tissue in your body, they’re made up of collagen and elastin, which break down as you age,” explains Dan Mills, MD, vice president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. In addition, as you go through menopause, dense glandular tissue is replaced by fat that’s more likely to droop, he says.
RELATED: 13 Everyday Habits That Are Aging You
Wearing a bra can prevent breasts from sagging
FALSE. We hate to break it to you, but contrary to what Berry maintains, nothing can prevent the girls from going south. “A bra will hold up your breasts to give you the shape and look you want, but it can’t prevent further sagging, which is caused by age and gravity,” says Dr. Mills. In fact, one French researcher even suggested last year that wearing a bra encourages sagging by weakening the breast's supporting tissue. The one exception: a supportive sports bra. Running or other high impact aerobic exercises cause boobs to bounce up and down, which over time can break down connective tissue. So sports bras do help in that department.
RELATED: 12 Sports Bras for All Body Types
The right exercises can keep your breasts perky
FALSE. All the push-ups in the world can’t reduce the droop—since breasts are made up of fat, not muscle—and so technically there’s nothing to tighten and tone. But chest exercises can help improve the appearance of your pectoral area by strengthening surrounding ligaments, including Cooper’s ligaments, which in turn may make your girls look more lively, notes Anne Taylor, MD, a clinical assistant professor of plastic surgery at Ohio State University.
Breastfeeding can cause sagging
FALSE. A 2008 study published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal concluded that breastfeeding isn't a risk factor for ptosis (that’s a fancy name for drooping). The real culprit? Pregnancy itself. (Weight gain during pregnancy can cause ligaments to stretch, which can lead to drooping later.) While you can’t avoid sagging completely, you can minimize it by making sure you stick to a relatively healthy weight gain when you’re pregnant, says Dr. Taylor.
RELATED: How Much Weight Should You Really Gain During Pregnancy?
Smoking and suntanning affect how your breasts look
TRUE. Lighting up is a significant risk factor for breast drooping, according to the 2008 study mentioned above. The same can be said for any poor lifestyle habit that breaks down skin’s collagen—like soaking up UV rays or eating a nutrient-poor, high-fat diet, notes Dr. Mills.
RELATED: 18 Fashion and Makeup Mistakes That Age YouWhen you walk into Dick’s Drive-In and Dairy Dip, you’re transported back to the 1950s, with its classic music, homemade milkshakes and mint barstools — minus the roller skates.
The eatery at 1485 Merivale Rd. has been a mainstay on the strip for 13 years, with regulars who call it their favourite family restaurant because, they say, it’s food as good as mom would make.
“It’s always high quality food,” said longtime customer Mike Branchaud, sitting at a booth with a friend, as Elvis’ Jailhouse Rock played in the background. “When you order a cheeseburger, they cut a slice of cheese off a brick of cheese. If you want some bacon, it’s not paper thin — it’s a nice piece of bacon. The food is extremely flavourful and it’s just like going back home and having your mom make you something.”
The owners, Kelly and John Nguyen, who are now 50 and 57 years old respectively, took over the business 13 years ago from a previous owner who had opened and sold the building after four months.
The Nguyens have worked tirelessly since then to keep the joint afloat, serving everything from malts, chili dogs and their signature club sandwiches to fresh beef, turkey and chicken burgers — along with unique meat options like ostrich, bison, venison and kangaroo.
But that work has taken a toll, and they’ve decided it’s time to hang up their aprons to enjoy “the easy life.” Now that their two children have grown, they plan to travel, work casual jobs and take care of their aging parents.
As Kelly sat at the circular counter on Tuesday, she started to tear up. The change, she said, is bittersweet.
“I spend all my life in here, from open until close, seven days,” she said, looking down. “Whatever day that you open, you have to be here. I’m very happy to sell … I don’t have time to enjoy my life. I’ve put in 13 years, my kids are grown up a bit now and we will step back from a busy life … but I will really miss the customers, and we’ve had some staff as long as 11 years. You don’t see many restaurants like this anymore. They are mostly franchises.”
Kelly said Dick’s last day will be Sept. 12. The new owner plans to open a Korean restaurant.
“Oh no, sad face, really sad face, I like the nostalgia,” said regular customer Heather Bruce, when she heard the news about the closing. “And the food is delicious, so a great combo, good all-around service and good atmosphere.”
When she paid for her meal at the counter, she told Kelly to expect an increase in customer traffic before they close.
“I’ll have to come back with my son. It’s been great, I think you’ll see a bit of a rush.”
Kelly said the couple will switch from being employers to employees. John plans to work as a school bus driver and she will return to her previous vocation as a hair dresser. It will amount to fewer work hours, and more importantly, less responsibility.
“Some of our customers have said, ‘Oh, we will miss you’. But on the other side, they know how hard we work in here. They say, ‘It’s sad but good for you.’”Just because you’re locked away in a federal prison doesn’t mean you can’t get excited for Orange is the New Black Season 2 (alright in real life you probably can’t get too excited, but this is TV people).
The immensely popular Netflix series returns to screens of all sizes June 6, and binge-watching parties are being planned all over the nation. To join in on the excitement, the characters from the show shared their thoughts on Twitter. How? Maybe the series transcended the concept of television itself and broke in to reality. Maybe I made six different Twitter accounts with six different email addresses. Maybe we’ll never know.
Either way, this should kill some time until you can sit in from of your screen for 13 hours soaking up that sweet, Orange is the New Black goodness.
https://twitter.com/Taystee53/status/474623264242028546
https://twitter.com/BigBoo1234/status/474625914161364992
https://twitter.com/PipeChap/status/474607840565690368
https://twitter.com/SamHeal1234/status/474610238520582144
https://twitter.com/crazyeyes4123/status/474611867357556736About This Game
4 unlockable classes with unique fighting styles and build options
3 unique multi-level weapon systems (Rockets, Lasers, Gauss)
class-specific abilities
3 different maps, each with unique play style
infinite number of possible ship designs thanks to vast building options and mirror mode
high level of replayability
player profiles and top ladders
skill-based matchmaking with players from all around the world!
brand new game mode: Galactic Conquest
reworked game mechanics and abilities
class system overhaul
Tactical Communication Interface
revamped game start
AI opponents
sales and new DLCs
is a tactic sci-fi free-to-play shooter arena - a combat game mixed with almost infinite ship building possibilities.Build anything. Fight anyone. In space.What used to be a prosperous universe is now a post-apocalyptic rusty dump full of galactic junk. Savage arenas became the only amusement we have. To fight and destroy, we use all necessary means from super advanced beam weapons to makeshift torpedoes made from a rusty fridge. The most valuable thing here? Your team.Build your junk ships to literally any shapes and sizes and fight against the creations of other players in 7v7 PvP capture arenas across 3 new maps. The more you fight the better ships you can build. Pick one of the classes (Frigate, Cruiser, Battleship and Destroyer) and research all the blocks to build your ultimate junk ship. Every classs has its own role in the team.New with the full release (compared to Early Access):After spending nine months indulging President Donald Trump’s desire to renegotiate NAFTA, agricultural groups representing farmers in Trump-supporting states across the heartland are now moving aggressively to save an agreement they consider crucial to their industry.
The once-powerful agricultural lobby was somewhat muted in its warnings about losing a significant portion of the $17.9 billion worth of agricultural products exported last year to Mexico, the U.S.’ third-largest trading partner, believing that the Trump administration would reach a settlement on other aspects of NAFTA while leaving agricultural trade alone.
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Now, with Trump threatening to issue a formal intent to withdraw from the deal, farming groups say it’s clearer than ever that their pleas to save the pact are barely registering with a president intent on its destruction.
“I’ve come to believe this administration is determined to end NAFTA,” said Gordon Stoner, a fourth-generation Montana wheat farmer who leads the National Association of Wheat Growers.
The fearful tone now coming from many of the nation’s farm groups has only amplified as America’s agriculture sector confronts the loss of its main profit driver — foreign exports. Many are now mobilizing behind the scenes to stave off what most believe would be a disaster for American farmers.
A reversal on NAFTA would be a clear measure of the industry’s lack of influence over Trump and his administration. There’s also a growing recognition that the agriculture industry, while united on the importance of NAFTA, may have failed to coordinate an effective strategy to counter the threat that Trump posed to the trade pact since his first day in office.
“The importance of trade to economic growth in the food and ag sector is so fundamental that there tends to be an assumption that everyone understands that,” one association leader told POLITICO. “We can get lazy about our meeting our educational challenge in explaining that part of our industry to others.”
But the newly energized, growing frustration of the agriculture industry has hit what some are calling a milestone after it recently released a letter directly challenging Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross after he publicly disputed the idea that a NAFTA withdrawal would lead to a serious drop in exports.
“Unless countries are going to be prepared to have their people go hungry or change their diets, I think it’s more of a threat to try to frighten the agricultural community,” Ross said during an public event on Oct. 11.
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The letter also responded to a threat Trump has been amplifying both publicly and privately to lawmakers in recent weeks: He would send notice that the United States would withdraw from the pact in order to pressure Canada and Mexico to agree to U.S. demands.
But agriculture groups say even that action would be cataclysmic and render meaningless the administration’s continuing promise to “do no harm” to agriculture through the NAFTA talks. Mexico has also said with no uncertainty that it would walk away from the talks if Trump resorted to that tactic.
“Contracts would be canceled, sales would be lost, able competitors would rush to seize our export markets, and litigation would abound even before withdrawal would take effect,” more than 80 associations wrote in their letter to Ross, which they made public soon afterward.
The six-page missive was meant to be an unequivocal recognition there was little expectation that the Trump administration would be helpful in trying to preserve NAFTA’s benefits for U.S. agricultural producers, according to sources who helped organize the effort.
“It was a huge departure,” said one strategist involved in the effort. “I see this as a major sea change of people saying the administration is not going to be helpful on this.”
The letter was in fact a culmination of what many agriculture groups had sensed for months: The Trump administration viewed agriculture’s benefits from the deal more as a bargaining chip rather than something that needed to be defended at all costs.
Ross "told aggies straight up that they’ve just got to get used to the fact that they’re a minor part of the economy and that trade policy isn’t going to be constructed around their interests,” said one industry consultant.
In numerous meetings between Ross and industry groups starting last spring, he said he believed the United States held all the leverage based on the volume of food and agriculture products it sold to Mexico. He argued that if the United States wanted to press Mexico into making concessions on issues such as auto-part imports, Mexico would agree rather than risk losing inexpensive access to U.S. farm products, according to people briefed on those meetings.
“All the ag groups looked at him and their mouths dropped open and said, ‘Don’t you get it? The leverage is in their hands. We are completely dependent on them as this major export market,’” said one person who received the briefing.
“If you try to twist Mexico’s arm to give in on rules of origin [on autos], they’ll just stop buying,” the person added. “That’s just an inconvenience to them because there are so many other places they can go. Sure, consumers might pay a little more, but it’s not as if they can’t get it.”
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Trump’s threats to withdraw from NAFTA and the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement have “generated a response that I don’t think that he fully expected,” said Kent Bacus, the international trade director at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
“It’s been difficult, to be honest with you, because even though we have a lot of support from people within the Trump administration, President Trump has made statements that obviously have caused us a lot of concern,” he said.
Bacus said his group’s lobbying effort had “evolved" from simply reminding the administration of the positive benefits of trade to strongly opposing the administration’s positions.
“People are just shocked and kind of angry that the [ag] sector is not being taken very seriously or that these administration officials who prided themselves on understanding business and being business-friendly are dismissing the massive costs [of NAFTA withdrawal] at a time of low commodity prices and a really hurting ag sector,” said another agriculture industry consultant.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue — one of the industry's few allies in the administration — recently acknowledged Trump’s “bombastic” statements on trade during a meeting with farmers in California, but he still predicts a positive outcome from the NAFTA talks.
“The president is determined to get a better deal for American agricultural producers. At the end of the day I think he will achieve that,” Perdue said in a statement to POLITICO.
Still, the Agriculture Department is actively engaged in developing contingency plans if a NAFTA withdrawal actually happened.
"We're talking with the administration and Congress about some mitigation efforts if that were to occur; about how we could protect our producers with that [farm] safety net based on prices that may respond negatively to any kind of NAFTA withdrawal," Perdue told reporters this week.
Perdue acknowledged that pulling out of NAFTA could have "some tragic consequences" for U.S. producers, but added that he believed that farmers could adapt to changes in the market.
Mexico’s ‘Plan B’
Mexico, meanwhile, is moving forward with its “Plan B,” which involves accelerating trade deals with other countries and establishing new buyer-seller relationships with commodity powerhouses in Latin America like Argentina and Brazil — a specter that both shocks and haunts U.S. farmers.
The Mexican government announced last month that it would import 30,000 metric tons of Argentine wheat in December. That’s a drop in the bucket compared to the 3.3 million metric tons of wheat U.S. farmers exported to Mexico last year, but many farmers saw it as a testing of the market in anticipation of a U.S. withdrawal from NAFTA.
Stoner, the Montana wheat farmer, said his own bottom line has yet to be affected, but it would only be a matter of time once NAFTA’s benefits are gone.
“We all know the story of the little Dutch boy that had his thumb in the dike, trying to plug the leak,” he said. “This Argentine wheat is just the first trickle of water in the dike, and the dike may break loose.”
U.S. grain producers are heading to Jalisco, Mexico, to tend to their seller-buyer relationships during a conference this week, where there is sure to be talk of alternative sourcing, said Tom Sleight, head of the U.S. Grains Council.
The uncertainty over NAFTA has made many buyers in Mexico, who purchase grain for animal feed or milling for human consumption, wary of entering into monthslong contracts. As a result, Mexico buyers are turning more to the spot market, Sleight said.
“Obviously, South American sellers have been more aggressive in this market where in the past they might have said, ‘We can’t compete with that U.S. sourcing as vigorously as we want to,’” Sleight said. “Over the past six to eight months, yeah, you’ve seen a greater presence of South American sellers.”
U.S. farmers have a natural advantage over other sellers in Mexico because of low tariffs under NAFTA, lower transportation costs and 23 years of relationships between buyers and sellers. But Sleight said agricultural goods from South America, where farmers in Brazil and Argentina now produce on the scale of U.S. growers, can be cost-competitive depending on the time of year.
“Plan B is very much alive and being talked about in Mexico,” Sleight said.
Struggling to find a voice
As the agriculture industry has struggled to find its voice on NAFTA with the administration, even those champions of agriculture in Congress and in Trump’s cabinet are having little sway.
“There is sort of a pervasive view that NAFTA might be terminated, and they feel that basically that is a means to an end, but … I think that’s the wrong message,” Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts told reporters outside a Chamber of Commerce event on Oct. 31, referring to the Trump administration. "I think that’s the wrong way to approach it, and I think we have an awful lot of support in farm country to make that case."
Despite strongly signaling that he would proceed with his withdrawal tactic, Trump sought to assure Republican senators during a conference lunch in the Capitol in late October that he already saw the need to protect agricultural interests, Roberts said.
“He was telling people, ‘Everything’s going to be alright, I understand the value of trade, don’t get excited,’” the Kansas Republican said. “That’s when I stood up and said, ‘I’m excited.’ So I think he understands that.”
Still, Roberts said ag groups and others who support the industry are doing everything they can “to change the attitude, which I called very troubling.”
Make it personal, Roberts exhorted the crowd during his speech at the Chamber.
“Everybody talks about numbers in Washington, and so it just seems to me that we can make a better point if we make it very personal,” he said, referring to the expected job and income losses up and down the export chain.
On Capitol Hill, farm groups are trying to push the right buttons with lawmakers.
Industry groups met with members of the House Agriculture Committee on Tuesday where they told lawmakers they expected Congress to play an aggressive role to retain NAFTA's benefits for farmers.
“They were pretty candid; actually, they were very candid in their comments to the members about … how they’d like to see the administration move forward,” Chairman Mike Conaway said during a somewhat impromptu press briefing where he was flanked six industry officials representing the interests of grain, dairy, produce and pork farmers.
But from his vantage point in Outlook, Mont., Stoner said it was still a challenge to get his fellow farmers to stand up to Trump on trade.
“We need a groundswell from the country, quite honestly from folks that put this administration in place: Rural America tipped the scale and placed Trump in office,” he said. “I don’t know how to accomplish it.”
There is some effort being put toward mobilizing grass-roots protests, but it’s unclear yet if it is having any effect. A new campaign called Farmers for Free Trade, headed by former Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana and former Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, was set up earlier this year to counter the administration’s trade threats.
“For the administration, it’s especially important that farmers and ranchers who are Trump supporters are weighing in as well,” Baucus said. “If we’re going to rebuild bipartisan support for trade, it has to be done on the ground, with farmers and ranchers demanding trade policies that give them improved access to foreign markets.”
But without a well-coordinated and clear messaging campaign across the sector, “farmers don’t feel armed and ready and comfortable making this argument,” said one industry consultant.
“I don’t think the individual ag groups have been as vocal as they could be because a lot of their members voted for Trump and they don’t want to seem anti-administration, even though they are quite scared and concerned about the trade agenda,” the consultant said. “And I think there is the real fear of retaliation — being tweeted at, being frozen out of conversations on future topics. You have a farm bill coming up.”
The Perdue card is played
Earlier this year, Perdue was hailed as NAFTA’s savior when he persuaded Trump to stand down from issuing a notice to withdraw from the deal in April. Perdue was able to make his case armed with maps showing Trump’s deep red base spread across a rural American heartland that has grown dependent on agricultural export revenue.
But that strategy may carry less water now that Trump has a chief trade negotiator in place, Robert Lighthizer, who shares an equally dim view of NAFTA’s overall worth to the American economy.
Farmers are feeling increasingly alone in the trade battle, doubting whether Perdue can or will do much to change the trajectory of the talks.
“I’m not sure he’s as effective as he was when it was a little bit of a wake-up call to say, ‘Look at your electoral map, look at where the costs of NAFTA are, proceed with caution, please,’” said an agriculture industry lobbyist. “I think that was a little bit revelatory, but OK, now that you’ve been heard, what else do you have up your sleeve other than the facts, which are highly inconvenient to some of the people at the table?”
Industry officials say Perdue will have to be selective in asserting his priorities, especially before an anticipated fight over the 2018 farm bill in which he will have to defend a tangled web of crop insurance and subsidy programs that are easy targets for budget hawks.
“I think he needs to pick his battles with care to stay highly effective,” said an association executive. “It’s very appropriate his first priority is being supportive of the president. I just think his work has to be seen in that context.”
And Perdue may have only limited options to stand up to a president who doesn’t shy from publicly shaming his Cabinet members.
“Clearly the secretary is a champion for agriculture, but he’s one voice,” said Stoner, the wheat farmer. “As we’ve seen in this administration, if you cross the president, if you disagree with the president in public, the reality of his reality show is you’re fired.”
Megan Cassella and Catherine Boudreau contributed to this report.The glory days of super cheap Royal Caribbean cruises may be over but there are still ways to find a cheap Royal Caribbean cruise vacation if you look hard enough.
The ever increasing popularity of cruising these days has been good news for the cruise industry, and with rising numbers of people going on a cruise, prices have also crept up a bit.
The good news is there are still deals to be found but you need to be flexible and a little creative when looking for that perfect cruise deal.
These days, when we refer to a "really cheap" cruise deal, we are talking about cruises that are below or right around $100 per person, per night.
Go when others don't want to
If you are looking for a Royal Caribbean cruise deal, you likely will not find it over Christmas, New Years, Spring Break or Summer. Why? Because everyone else is looking to cruise then!
What you want to do is cruise during times of the year when most folks, especially families, cannot cruise.
The average school calender should be a good indication of when to cruise becaue when school is in session, there are less families out there looking to book a cruise. Families often try not to take their kids out of school and so they wait for school vacations to take a cruise.
Some great times of the year to start with are
September
Early October
Early November (minus the weeks of Veterans Day and/or Thanksgiving)
First two weeks of December
January (minus Martin Luther King weekend)
First week or two of February
Early May
You want to avoid holidays, because that is when lots of people have days off from work and school and will also be looking for a vacation.
September and early October are your best bets because school is in session and it is the peak of hurricane season. The first two weeks of December and the weeks following New Years in January are good times for deals too because with Christmas and New Years holidays, most folks will not take a vacation right before or right after. Plus, school is in session during both times.
Pick older ships
Royal Caribbean likes to shine the spotlight on its newest and greatest ships and it makes sense because those ships offer so many cool new innovations. But if you are in the market for a deal, look past them to the other ships.
Royal Caribbean has a fleet of 23 ships and the basic rule is the newer the ship, the higher premium for it.
You can often find better deals on these ships
Adventure of the Seas
Brilliance of the Seas
Enchantment of the Seas
Grandeur of the Seas
Independence of the Seas
Jewel of the Seas
Majesty of the Seas
Navigator of the Seas
Deals can also be found on other Vision, Radiance and Voyager class ships but it will largely depend on other factors.
Just because a ship is older, does not mean it will be boring or not worth your time. Rather, Royal Caribbean has poured millions of dollars into these ships in the last few years to refurbish them with ammenities and activities that were first introduced on the Oasis and Quantum class ships.
As new ships get added to the fleet, the premium pricing gets applied to those ships while the other ships in the fleet can be had for less money.
For price savy consumers, an older ship can be a terrific bargain.
Cruise in a competitive market
Even with the first two steps, you may still not find a really good deal and so what you want to do is look for a cruise somewhere that has other cruise lines competing with Royal Caribbean.
As of this blog post, the China, Australia and Asian cruise markets are commanding some high prices because of the booming demand there.
Cruises out to the Caribbean and even in Europe, can be had for a lower fare, especially when you factor in the first two steps of the blog post.
Book early
The old way to get a cruise deal was wait and book at the last minute. But Royal Caribbean has been phasing out those last minute deals so if you absolutely want the lowest price, book early.
The cruise lines want to book their cruise ships up earlier and earlier, so they offer the best deals early on.
Time and time again, the lowest pricing for all sailings comes when they first go on sale.
The caveat to this tip is you have to be prepared to book a cruise 1-2 years in advance. For a lot of folks, that is not very practical since work and school calendars are rarely published that early.
Your best bet is to book something with just a deposit and have the flexibility to change it later. Even if you book only 7 or 8 months in advance, that is still better than trying to book 4-5 months in advance.
Pick shorter cruises
This may seem obvious but generally speaking, the shorter the cruise, the less expensive it is.
If you really want to just get away, 3 and 4 night cruises are going to be a heck of a lot less expensive than a 7 night or longer cruise.
There is also an interesting price dynamic with 5 and 6 night cruises because they tend to be overlooked by guests as they are too long for a weekend but not long enough for a week. Think about it, if you are going to take 4-5 days off work for a 5 or 6 night cruise, why not just book a 7 night cruise for the same amount of time off?
Look at cruises that are between 3 and 6 nights for deeper discounts, especially closer to their sailing date when Royal Caribbean may lower the price to get more bookings.
Travel agents & web sites
There are hundreds and thousands of Royal Caribbean cruises out there and it can difficult to sift through results to find all those cruise deals.
Travel agencies provide a true service in highlighting particularly good deals as well as providing service to guests in making their booking and cruise planning processing simpler.
Keep in mind that the price of any Royal Caribbean cruise is strictly controlled by Royal Caribbean so the price you can get from Royal Caribbean directly or from a travel agent should be the same.
The reason why travel agencies and cruise discounting web sites are a good means of finding cruise deals is because they can bring certain deals to your attention as well as offer an agency-specific deal on top of the price.
These agency specific deals can sweeten the deal and it often comes in the form of onboard credit, free gratuities, free shore excursions and more.
There are a ton of travel agencies out there and be sure to consider the level of service with any of them, since they will be managing your reservation. Here are a few of the really popular cruise sellers:
With any agency, I suggest contacting them about a quote and also ask the agent questions. It can even be questions you know the answer to. The key is to get a sense of their level of responsiveness and service. Remember, some things are more important than saving an extra $20.
I will be honest and say I usually just book with the travel agency that I have worked with for years |
Law School. Entitled, "The Brussels Effect: The Rise of a Regulatory Superstate in Europe", it offers important insights into the way regulation works and – of particularly relevance – why it is that certain regulations predominate at global level, and not others.Without putting too fine a point on it, this paper kicks into touch many of the ill-informed posturing of those who would argue that there is any immediate regulatory relief to be had from leaving the EU. But, as with many things of value in this world, the argument is relatively complex. There are no short-cuts, when it comes to trying to understand the issues.With that in mind, summarising Anu Bradford's paper is extraordinarily difficult. It is over-long, not well structured, and repetitious. However, in attempting to sum it up, one has to say that the paper is a slow burn, with Bradford telling us that "a deeply underestimated aspect of European power that the discussion on globalisation and power politics overlooks: Europe's unilateral power to regulate global markets".The European Union, she writes, sets the global rules across a range of areas, such as food, chemicals, competition, and the protection of privacy. EU regulations have a tangible impact on the everyday lives of citizens around the world. To her specific audience, she adds, few Americans are aware that EU regulations determine the makeup they apply in the morning: the cereal they eat for breakfast, the software they use on their computer, and the privacy settings they adjust on their Facebook page.The EU, we learn, also sets the rules governing the interoffice phone directory they use to call a co-worker. EU regulations dictate what kind of air conditioners Americans use to cool their homes and why their children no longer find soft plastic toys in their McDonald's Happy Meals. This phenomenon, the "Brussels Effect", is the focus of her article.From there, we begin to get an explanation of what is called "unilateral regulatory globalisation", a process that occurs when a single state is able to externalise its laws and regulations outside its borders through market mechanisms, resulting in the globalisation of standards.to exploring this phenomenon, Bradford takes a look at the so-called "California Effect" where, due to its large market and preference for strict consumer and environmental regulations, California is, at times, effectively able to set the regulatory standards for all the other states.Businesses willing to export to California must meet its standards, and the prospect of scale economies from uniform production standards gives these firms an incentive to apply this same (strict) standard to their entire production.This effect expand to become the "Brussels effect", when firms trading internationally find that it is not legally or technically feasible, or economically viable, to maintain different standards in different markets. When trading with the EU requires foreign companies to adjust their conduct or production to EU standards - which often represent the most stringent standards - or else forgo the EU market entirely, they tend to adopt those standards uniformly throughout their entire enterprises.We saw this in our interview Bjorn Knudtsen, Chairman of theFish and Fisheries Product Committee. He told us that, when it comes to Norway, trade in fish and fisheries products is a vital national interest, with 95 percent of products, worth €3 billion annually, being exported. And as an exporting country, he said – like other major exporters – strict regulatory standards are a necessary and acceptable price to pay for what he terms "certainty".Companies preparing a product for export did not know from the outset the destination of any particular batch. Therefore, they wanted to be able to produce to a generic standard which would be accepted in any and every country to which the product might be despatched. They don't want to be producing different batches to different standards.Thus, we find processors adopting the highest posted standard, as a means of ensuring that the product has access to the largest number of markets. This, Bradford elaborates on, when she argues that, while the EU regulates only its internal market, multinational corporations often have an incentive to standardise their production globally and adhere to a single rule.It is this mechanism which converts the EU rule into a global rule - the "Brussels Effect". Then, when these export-oriented firms have adjusted their business practices to meet the EU's strict standards, they often have the incentive to lobby their domestic governments to adopt these same standards in an effort to level the playing field against their domestic, non-export-oriented competitors - the "Brussels Effect".Interestingly, Bradford sees other states are lacking power to affect this process. Countries whose regulatory preferences are overridden by the EU's standards gain nothing by entering into a regulatory race with the EU. Outpacing the EU only leave them with even higher, and hence less desirable, regulatory standards.As to international institutions, these are regarded as having only an imperfect ability to dampen the EU's regulatory ambitions, which – argues Bradford – means that the greatest check on the EU's regulatory powers comes from within the EU itself. As the EU's powers grow, internal divisions within the EU will increase. In the end, she says, the boundaries of the EU's regulatory reach will be defined by the EU's own evolving conception of the limits of its regulatory authority.Here, we have to disagree with the Bradford script, as she fails to mention the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, to which the EU is bound and which is increasingly defining the regulatory agenda. Once that is factored in, one sees that international institutions have far greater influence than Anu Bradford would allow.Nevertheless, Bradford's article is helpful in further exploring the "California Effect" and its transformation in the "Brussels Effect". Existing scholarship, she says, recognises the importance of market size and scale economies as a source of a jurisdiction's external regulatory clout. There are, she says, additional factors, which can prevent a company from producing different varieties for different markets and thereby give effect to the "Brussels Effect".Wading through this over-long paper (running to 67 pages), the essence is that the "effect" has its greatest impact when Brussels wins the "race to the top". In other words, it is the highest, or strictest standard that wins out, at global level, and for the reasons already set out. This is summed up in one paragraph, telling us that:This is the crunch issue. As trade has globalised, so has regulation, and when it comes to the choice of standard, firms will always opt for the most demanding, simply because it is cheaper and more efficient to work to a single standard than it is to work to multiple standards.Thus, anyone who thinks that leaving the EU is going to bring about the fabled bonfire of regulation is deluding themselves. Trade may be driven by the demand for goods and services, but it is facilitated by harmonised standards and, whoever produces the strictest standards gets the cream. In or out of the EU, we will continue to see the "Brussels effect" dynamic, and it will ensure that our statute book remains more or less intact.Pride of Detroit is counting down the top 10 Lions players of 2012, as voted on by readers of the site. More than 400 ballots were submitted, and today we are taking a look at the No. 8 player on the list.
No. 8 - WR Titus Young - 1,024 points
There was a pretty small gap between No. 9 Jason Hanson and No. 10 Jahvid Best on the top 10 Lions of 2012, but that wasn't the case between Hanson and the No. 8 player, Titus Young. Young ended up with 274 more points than Hanson, giving him a comfortable lead for the eighth spot on this list. Young didn't even receive a single vote for first or second, but the fact that he was included on a total of 265 ballots pushed him way past Hanson and Best.
Young has had a notable offseason in 2012 both for good and bad reasons. The negative aspect of his offseason was when he allegedly sucker punched teammate Louis Delmas in a skirmish during workouts. The Lions reportedly told Young to stay away from the facility for a bit after this, and he was absent for a week of OTAs before returning and apologizing for his actions.
Since Young has been back, seemingly every report about him has been positive. Not only is he impressing the media with what he has done on the field, but he has also been impressing his teammates off the field. Given what happened earlier in the offseason, the news has been extremely promising, to say the least.
A lot of people think Young is poised to have a breakout season for the Lions in 2012. As a rookie in 2011, he had 607 yards and six touchdowns on 48 catches, and he proved to be a reliable target for Matthew Stafford. He seemed to get better as the year went on, and in 2012, it seems like he could become Stafford's favorite target not named Calvin Johnson, as indicated by him coming in at No. 8 on the top 10 Lions of 2012.
Reminder: You can follow Pride of Detroit on Twitter and like us on Facebook.Daniel Victor Snaith (born 1978) is a Canadian composer, musician, and recording artist who has performed under the stage names Caribou, Manitoba and Daphni.
Career [ edit ]
Snaith originally recorded under the stage name Manitoba, but after being threatened with a lawsuit by Richard "Handsome Dick" Manitoba (real name Richard Blum),[1][2] formerly of punk band The Dictators, Snaith changed his performance name to Caribou. Snaith's previous full-length albums were then re-released under the new moniker, and The Milk of Human Kindness was released in 2005 by Domino.[3][4][5] In June that year the album topped the!earshot Campus and Community Radio Top 200 chart.[6]
When playing gigs, Snaith usually performs with a live band and plays percussion. Ex-bandmates include bassist Andy Lloyd of Born Ruffians and drummer Peter Mitton, now a producer for CBC radio. Currently, the live band consists of Snaith, Ryan Smith, Brad Weber, and John Schmersal. Live shows also often include complex video projections on a large screen, as captured in a DVD released in November 2005. "In music I will have an idea to put some different sounds together or a melody that meshes with a chord sequence or a sonic mood," said Snaith in an interview. "I'm not the type of person who takes physical things apart and plays around with them, but I like taking mental ideas apart and playing around with them. That's what appeals to me about what I've spent my life doing."[7]
Caribou's 2007 album Andorra won the 2008 Polaris Music Prize,[8] and his DJ-influenced[9] 2010 album Swim was on the 2010 Polaris Music Prize shortlist.[10] In June 2013, Snaith's studio album, Jiaolong, released under the moniker Daphni, was longlisted for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize.
In December 2011, Caribou curated the All Tomorrow's Parties "Nightmare Before Christmas" festival in Minehead, England, alongside co-curators Battles and Les Savy Fav.[11]
Caribou was awarded Essential Mix of the Year in 2014 by Mixmag for his "Essential Mix" on 18 October 2014.[12]
Caribou's 2014 album Our Love received the IMPALA Album of the Year Award.
In 2015, Up In Flames was selected by fans to be one of the ten albums re-issued by The Leaf Label as part of the label's 20th anniversary celebrations. This saw the album released on limited edition double vinyl and made available to fans via the PledgeMusic service.[13]
Personal life [ edit ]
In 2005, Snaith received a doctorate in mathematics from Imperial College London, for work on Overconvergent Siegel Modular Symbols under Kevin Buzzard.[14] Snaith described his work as "original, but I would still call it trivial"[15]
Discography [ edit ]
Studio albums [ edit ]
as Manitoba [ edit ]
as Caribou [ edit ]
as Daphni [ edit ]
2012: Jiaolong
2017: fabriclive.93
2017: Joli Mai
EPs [ edit ]
as Manitoba [ edit ]
People Eating Fruit EP (30 October 2000)
EP (30 October 2000) give'r EP (26 November 2001)
EP (26 November 2001) If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be an Airport 12" (13 January 2003)
Most of Snaith's older Manitoba material has been subsequently rereleased under the Caribou name.
as Caribou [ edit ]
Tour-Only CD (Super Furry Animals Tour, Fall 2005)
(Super Furry Animals Tour, Fall 2005) Marino (DVD) (November 2005)
(DVD) (November 2005) Tour-Only CD (September 2007)
(September 2007) Tour-Only CD (April 2010)
(April 2010) Caribou Vibration Ensemble – live album featuring Marshall Allen (ATP 2010)
– live album featuring Marshall Allen (ATP 2010) CVE Live 2011 (January 2015)
as Daphni [ edit ]
Resident Advisor, February 2011 (5 tracks of episode #246) [16] [17]
, February 2011 (5 tracks of episode #246) Daphni Edits Vol. 1, 12" [Resista], March 2011
, 12" [Resista], March 2011 Pinnacles / Ye Ye, 12" split with Four Tet [Text], March 2011
, 12" split with Four Tet [Text], March 2011 Daphni Edits Vol. 2, 12" [Resista], August 2011
, 12" [Resista], August 2011 JIAOLONG001, 12" [Jiaolong], October 2011
, 12" [Jiaolong], October 2011 Ahora, 12" [Amazing Sounds], November 2011
, 12" [Amazing Sounds], November 2011 Julia / Tiberius, 12" featuring Owen Pallett [Jiaolong], April 2014
Singles [ edit ]
as Manitoba [ edit ]
"Paul's Birthday" CDS (26 February 2001)
"Jacknuggeted" CDS (24 February 2003)
"Hendrix with Ko" CDS (14 July 2003)
as Caribou [ edit ]
"Yeti" CDS/12" (22 March 2005)
"Barnowl" (2005)
"Melody Day" CDS (August 2007)
"She's the One" (March 2008)
"Eli" (2008)
"Odessa" (24 April 2010)
"Leave House" (2010)
"Bowls" (19 July 2010)
"Can't Do Without You" (15 July 2014)
"Our Love" (September 2014)
"Your Love Will Set You Free" (2014)
"All I Ever Need" (2014)
"Mars" (2015)
Music Videos [ edit ]
as Caribou
Can't Do Without You - 2014
Sun - 2010
Odessa - 2010
Awards and recognition [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]Could it be that Mitt Romney is correct from a strategic point of view to tell us little about what he’d do as president?
There are, of course, excellent civic reasons for a candidate to say where he or she would lead the country. But the debate raging right now in Republican circles is about politics, not civics. Conservatives, including the editors of the Wall Street Journal’s canonical editorial page, are telling Romney that his “insular staff and strategy... are slowly squandering an historic opportunity.” In the Weekly Standard, William Kristol fumed: “Is it too much to ask Mitt Romney to get off autopilot and actually think about the race he’s running?”
There are grounds for such skepticism. This week’s Washington Post/ABC News poll found the race dead even but gave President Obama a 12-point advantage among registered voters on the matter of which candidate has a clearer plan for dealing with the economy. After several months of disappointing jobs numbers, Romney is behind Obama in other national surveys and tends to lag in the swing states.
Far be it from me to get in the way of internecine Republican bickering, but Romney’s GOP critics are wrong in seeing his specifics-lite approach as his core problem. His difficulties lie elsewhere.
A defense of Romney’s minimalism starts with the matter of timing. The best rationale I’ve heard for the current Romney strategy came from former U.S. representative Vin Weber, a Romney adviser who noted in an interview that the very first question voters have to answer in a reelection race is whether there is “a compelling reason to remove the incumbent from office.”
“There’s a broader indictment of the incumbent that’s necessary before the country decides to replace him,” Weber argued. Only when a majority has reached this decision can a challenger begin to present himself as a plausible alternative. Only then is the country prepared to listen.
Viewed this way, the relentlessly negative approach of the Romney campaign so far (summarized in top adviser Stuart Stevens’s favorite slogan, “Obama isn’t working”) is the essential first step toward opening the electorate to the idea of changing leadership. If Romney wins, Weber said, hindsight might suggest that this tipping point was reached this month with the latest jobs report.
Moreover, those calling on Romney to be more specific tend to be staunch conservatives who are absolutely convinced that the country would respond to a full-throated right-of-center agenda. Here, they are allowing their philosophical commitments to cloud their political judgment.
Romney’s economic recovery strategy is rooted in the same old conservative ideas that have been around for more than 30 years: lower taxes on the wealthy and economic deregulation. These nostrums are wildly popular with the Republican base — especially very rich donors — but not with swing voters. More details about a largely unpopular program would not do Romney much good. Conservatives are forever fond of pointing back to Ronald Reagan for having run a highly principled campaign in 1980. But Reagan’s most effective line was the decidedly non-ideological question: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” That is the Romney campaign in a nutshell.
Now to the drawbacks with the Romney campaign’s theory. Operatives in both parties are surprised that Obama has been allowed to tell a negative story about Romney that is moving poll numbers without any competition from positive ads building Romney up. Romney could be rendered unacceptable before he has a chance to make his case.
And David Winston, a Republican pollster, has asked one of the campaign’s most interesting survey questions. He found that only 32 percent of voters said that “the economy is not getting better at all.” At the other end, 26 percent thought it was getting better at an “acceptable” rate. Fully 40 percent said “the economy is getting better, but the rate of progress is still unacceptable.”
Romney’s argument is aimed squarely at the third of the electorate that feels the economy is in disastrous shape. Obama’s messaging, on the other hand, is directed toward those “better but not good enough” voters — and it is members of this group who will decide the election. The problem with Romney’s campaign thus lies less in his lack of policy beef than in his failure to talk enough to the right voters. A message of economic pessimism will keep Romney close. But barring another major downturn, it won’t close the deal.
ejdionne@washpost.comOn today's episode we're going to be talking about Uber's legal troubles in Europe and Asia, Uber and Lyft drivers facing recategorization in the U.S., the Evolution exit scam, AB-1326 update, and last, but certainly not least, Greg Slepak and Scott Santen join the show to talk about basic income.
Petition to save bitcoin businesses in California [<-- click here and sign]
The okTurtles Foundation - developers of DNSChain, BlockchainID, and the okTurtles browser extension
Bitseed - dedicated hardware for Bitcoin full nodes
Uber HQ raided in France, UberPop banned in Germany, CEO and 28 employees charged in South Korea
Lyft and Uber drivers face legal reclassification in the U.S.
Evolution exit scam PSA
"Evolution Exit Scam Shows Multisig Isn't Enough; We Need Decentralization"
John Powell sentenced to 48 months in prison for selling bitcoin (!!)
Basic Income Links
The Liberia Pilot
Manna by Marshall Brain
Robotic Nation by Marshall Brain
Basic Income and prices
Scott Santens Patreon campaign
The Basic Income Community on Reddit
Peter Barnes on the Alaska Model
What we learned from the AIMEs
Basic Income as Capitalism 2.0 with further decreased centralization
How technology increases inequality and how technological deflation is not going to save us
~~~
Patreon patron LTBcoin giveaway program
P2P Connects Us Patreon Campaign
P2P Connects Us Twitter
P2P Connects Us Soundcloud
P2P Connects Us YouTube
Content for today’s episode was provided by John Light, Greg Slepak, and Scott Santens
Music for today’s episode was “Curbside Killers” by Pskov
Views: 3,108Foreign Minister Margot Wallström is set to pay a three-day visit to Palestine this week, to discuss democracy, equality and its relations with Israel.
Islamic Hate Education in Palestine
The Swedish foreign minister will meet President Mahmoud Abbas and her Palestinian counterpart Riad Malki during her visit from December 15th to 17th, said the foreign ministry.
“The focus of the talks is how Sweden and Palestine can deepen relations after Sweden’s recognition of Palestine, the importance of democratic development, respect for human rights and gender equality and what can be done to strengthen the hope of a two-state solution, in which Israel and Palestine can live side by side in peace and security,” her office said in a statement.
Sweden’s ruling centre-left coalition recognized Palestine as a state shortly after it came to power two years ago, a controversial move hailed in some quarters and strongly criticized in others.
Israel responded by recalling its ambassador Isaac Bachman. He returned to Stockholm a few weeks later, but the relationship between Sweden and Israel has been frosty since.
Wallström’s outspoken comments about the Israel-Palestine conflict made the country declare her persona non grata earlier this year. And repeated requests by the Swedish government to allow its representatives to visit Israel have been denied.
The visit to Palestine comes as France continues to push for an international conference to breathe new life into the peace process and bring the two countries back to the negotiation table.
Israel has said Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström is no longer welcome in the country after she called for investigations into the killing of Palestinians by the Israeli army in recent months.
The Times of Israel reported on Wednesday afternoon that Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely had declared that Stockholm officials were no longer welcome in the country following controversial statements by her Swedish counterpart.
Tel Aviv Palestinians terror attack
“Israel is closing its gates to official visits from Sweden,” the newspaper quoted Hotovely as saying.
But a spokesperson later confirmed to Swedish newswire TT that the ban only extended to Wallström herself.
“It’s just Margot Wallström,” said Emmanuel Nahson from the Israeli foreign ministry. He later added that Sweden would not be allowed to play a role in the Israel-Palestine peace process as a result.
Wallström stirred debate after she responded to a question in parliament by an opposition member on the controversy raised in December by her statement on the need for Israel to avoid “extrajudicial executions”.
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Via: thelocal.seBy analyzing the DNA of two prehistoric dogs from Germany, an international research team led by Krishna R. Veeramah, Ph.D., of Stony Brook University in the USA has determined that their genomes were the probable ancestors of modern European dogs.
The study also suggests that all contemporary dogs have a common origin and emerged through a single domestication process of wolves 20,000 to 40,000 years ago. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) also participated in the study, the results of which recently have been published in Nature Communications.
Dogs were the first animals to be domesticated by humans. The oldest remains of dogs that can be clearly distinguished from those of wolves originate from what is now Germany and are about 15,000 years old. Unfortunately, the archaeological record is ambiguous, with claims of ancient domesticated dog bones from the most varied locations as far away as Siberia.
Only last year were researchers able to sequence the genome of a 5,000-year-old dog from Ireland using the latest paleogenomic techniques. The results of the study led the research team at the University of Oxford to suggest dogs were domesticated not once but twice. In addition, the research team also hypothesized that an indigenous dog population domesticated in Europe was replaced by incoming migrants independently domesticated in East Asia during the Neolithic period.
“Contrary to the results of this previous analysis, we found that our ancient dogs from the same time period were very similar to modern European dogs, including the majority of breed dogs people keep as pets,” explained Veeramah, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University. “This suggests that there was no mass Neolithic replacement that occurred on the continent and that there was likely only a single domestication process for the dogs observed in the fossil record from the Stone Age and that we also see and live with today.”
In their article “Ancient European dog genomes reveal continuity since the Early Neolithic,” Veeramah and his colleagues used the older 7,000-year-old dog to narrow the timing of dog domestication to the 20,000 to 40,000 years ago range. They found evidence that the younger, 4,700-year-old dog represents a mixture of European dogs and a population that resembles current Central Asian/Indian dogs. This finding may reflect people migrating from the Asian steppe to Europe at the beginning of the Bronze Age, bringing their own dogs with them.
“Our study shows how the analysis of entire ancient genomes can help us to gradually understand complex processes, such as dog domestication. Only direct insights into the past like this enable us to disentangle the effects of the many parallel and successive events that are involved, including targeted breeding by humans as well as population movements and admixture of multiple populations,” added Dr. Amelie Scheu, one of the primary authors of the article and a research assistant in the Palaeogenetics Work Group at the Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.
Overall, however, the question where exactly dogs were first domesticated in geographic terms remains a mystery, although Krishna R. Veeramah expects that the sequencing of additional ancient Eurasian genomes will help to eventually solve the issue.
JOHANNES GUTENBERG UNIVERSITAET MAINZ
Header Image – The skull of the 4,700-year-old Neolithic dog was found in the Kirschbaumhöhle (Cherry Tree Cave), here still in situ before whole genome sequencing. Credit : photo/©: Timo Seregély, University of BambergNew Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has been having a rough time since winning a landslide re-election in November.
First, he unsuccessfully tried to oust the state Senate's Republican minority leader (who happens to be the son of one of his own allies). Then he appeared to walk back his past support for in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, drawing ire from critics who accused him of having endorsed the policy solely to help his campaign.
Now he's caught in an even more bizarre scandal in which his allies at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey allegedly closed a portion of the nation's busiest bridge for five days in September as political payback, causing horrendous traffic jams for one town and its intransigent mayor.
The scuttlebutt started over the summer when Mark Sokolich, mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey, declined to follow the lead of dozens of other Democrats around the state and endorse Christie's re-election bid. Soon after, two of the three access lanes to the George Washington Bridge — which connects Fort Lee to New York City — mysteriously shut down, snarling traffic and turning the town into a parking lot.
The state claimed the closure was part of a traffic study. One problem: Multiple Port Authority officials subsequently testified that there was no such study.
Rumors that the closure was petty retribution percolated for months, with the Christie administration flatly denying the connection as "crazy." Then last week, David Wildstein, the Port Authority official who ordered the lane closures, abruptly resigned, once again igniting the lingering scandal. And now another official has stepped down: Bill Baroni, Christie's top appointee with the Port Authority.
Baroni came under fire after the Wall Street Journal unearthed emails in which he urged New York's top Port Authority official — the agency is jointly run by the neighboring states — to keep the story under wraps.
So were the resignations a sign that the closure was politically motivated after all? Nope — at least not according to Christie, who claimed Baroni's resignation had nothing to do with the bridge debacle.
The Democratic National Committee, meanwhile, isn't buying it. Here's the DNC's ad accusing Christie of throwing a temper tantrum and shutting down the bridge.
That fits neatly into the narrative of "Christie the hot head." But it's highly unlikely that the story will seriously jeopardize Christie's political aspirations. If anything, conservatives might come to like him more if they think he did something to mess with that dreaded metropolis of sin, New York City.
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Like The Week on Facebook - Follow The Week on Twitter - Sign-up for The Week's Daily NewsletterChief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is set a demand €57bn (£48bn) in a divorce settlement from Britain following talks in Brussels this week.
Sky News understands the precise figure was agreed at a meeting on Monday, in which France and Germany demanded the UK is forced to pay upwards of €70bn (£59bn).
Britain is committed to tens of billions of euro in spending on EU wide projects up until 2020 as well as the pensions of officials.
MPs approve triggering of Article 50
The discussion ended with an agreement that any trade negotiations could only begin when the final bill is reached.
Britain had hoped that any future EU trade agreement could be agreed in parallel.
The technical meeting, ahead of Theresa May triggering Article 50 next month, is likely to cause problems as any settlement will be disputed.
In a wide-ranging discussion it was also concluded that reciprocal rights for EU nationals would have to start from "ground zero".
This is despite the Prime Minister wanting to settle the rights of EU nationals in the UK and British nationals elsewhere as a priority.
Sources close to the negotiations revealed that Brexit Secretary David Davis may have to spend up to two days a week in face to face talks with Mr Barnier.
Salmond lashes out at 'English Tory Brexiteers'
There is also increasing concern in Brussels and Dublin that the impact of custom controls on Northern Irish has been underestimated.
The Irish Prime Minister, Enda Kenny, on a tour of European capitals said in Warsaw on Thursday, said: "We have a particular set of circumstances in Ireland.
"We are the only place in the EU where there is a peace process, supported by both the European Union and the United States, and this gives us special status as it is."
He added: "The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are both the places most adversely affected by Brexit, and we need to be imaginative and creative as to how we deal with the situation.
"It does give us a special situation, which is increasingly recognised in Europe."Texas Grand Jury's Use Of A 'Shooting Simulator' Questioned After Police Cleared In Every Shooting Incident Over The Last Decade
from the to-acquit-a-cop,-you've-got-to-think-like-a-cop dept
We've discussed the multiple problems with the grand jury system here in the US -- a system that only survives in a handful of states. Grand juries are known both for their expedience and their willingness to indict nearly anyone for anything. True, they don't decide whether a person is guilty or innocent, but an indictment is the next best thing to a verdict for those indicted, many of which are imprisoned until they can be properly tried.
The grand jury in Harris County, Texas has an additional tool at its disposal, one not in use anywhere else in the state.
The armed carjacker projected on a large screen threatens to kill you if you don't give up your keys. Holding a modified gun that emits a beam, you pull the trigger when he draws his weapon, and seconds later fire again at another person who jumps in front with something in his hand.
The second person turns out to be a bystander holding a cellphone.
This interactive way of illustrating the use of deadly force is part of unusual training that Houston-area grand jurors can receive before they begin hearing cases, including those involving police officers.
[A]n investigation by the Houston Chronicle last year found that Harris County grand juries have cleared Houston police officers in shootings 288 consecutive times since 2004.
Sandra Guerra Thompson, a criminal law professor at the University of Houston Law Center, said grand juries usually give officers the benefit of the doubt in shooting cases because of the dangerous nature of their jobs.
This shooting simulator (which appears to be " Mad Dog McCree : Law Enforcement Edition," at least according to the published photo and the description above) puts grand jury members in the shoes of accused police officers. Grand juries may be able to indict ham sandwiches, but this particular grand jury has reached the conclusion that, despite derogatory slang linking the two, police officers areham sandwiches.Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any data on the simulator's effect on non-police shooting indictments. That the cops have been cleared 288 times without an indictment may not have as much to do with the shooting simulator's empathetic capabilities as it has to do with the grand jury being a grand jury.The problem is that the more this benefit of a doubt is given, the less likely it is that officers will use training or restraint when in unsafe situations. If a teen answers the door carrying a Wii remote, they're free to open fire before ascertaining that the held item isn't a weapon. Harris County's shooting simulator plays into that mindset, inserting jurors as proxy cops into situations they're not trained to handle and using those visceral reactions to guide their indictment decisions.So far, the courts have sided with the use of the simulator. The DA's office finds it to be "educational and helpful." Opponents say it promotes "pro-law enforcement bias." Sadly, these viewpoints aren't contradictory. Most DAs would find anything that locks "bad guys" up and keeps "good guys" on the street "helpful." A "pro-law enforcement bias" achieves these aims. And the track record -- 288 consecutive findings in favor of police officers -- speaks for itself.
Filed Under: grand jury, police, shooting simulator, texasSAN FRANCISCO -- Somebody forgot to tell the San Francisco Giants that batting practice was over.
Because once Freddy Sanchez and those Giant bats finished teeing off on Cliff Lee in the World Series opener, the Texas Rangers were done, too.
The Giants battered Lee and the bullpen, with Sanchez hitting three doubles and keying a six-run burst in an 11-7 romp Wednesday night that looked even more lopsided.
So much for the unbeatable Mr. Lee.
"You never think you're going to have success against a pitcher like that," Sanchez said. "He's one of the best pitchers in the game, been unhittable in the postseason."
What shaped up as a pitchers' duel between Tim Lincecum and Lee quickly deteriorated into a rout. By the end, the Rangers played like the World Series rookies they are -- they made four errors for the first time 2008, Ian Kinsler took a mistaken turn around first base and manager Ron Washington may have waited too late to pull his ace.
"It wasn't quite the game we thought it would be," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Great pitchers, sometimes they're a little bit off."
Just like that, the Giants added Lee to their hit list. They have now handed Lee, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt their first career losses in the postseason -- all in the last few weeks.
Sanchez sprayed balls down the lines. Cody Ross and Aubrey Huff hit line drives up the middle. Juan Uribe launched a shot far, far over the wall.
"I think it's just baseball. That's the only thing you can say," Sanchez said. "This is a crazy game."
Former Giants slugger Barry Bonds had plenty to cheer for from his seat next to the San Francisco dugout, especially when a tie game suddenly became an 8-2 thumping in the fifth inning. Rangers president and part-owner Nolan Ryan sat there glumly in a suit and tie, his prized pitcher a wreck.
"I was trying to make adjustments," Lee said. "I was up. I was down. I was in. I was out. I was trying to find it, and I was never really consistent with what I was doing."
Lee came into the game with a 7-0 record and a 1.26 ERA in postseason play. Texas gave him an early 2-0 lead, but the Giants swung things in their favor in a hurry.
"We weren't too worried," Sanchez said. "We were actually surprisingly calm in there. We were able to get some things going.... We still felt like we had a chance.In the most nested SELECT, we're only keeping the cities in a 23km radius around the reference point, then we're applying a country filter and city pattern filter (these two filters are optional), and we're only getting the closest 50 results to the reference point.
Next, we're reordering by population because geonames sometimes has districts and neighbourhoods around bigger cities, and it does not mark them in a specific way, so we just want to select the larger city and not a district (for example let's say the geolocation service returned a lat/long that would resolve to one district of a larger metropolitan area. In my case, I'd like to resolve this to the larger city it's associated with)
We're also creating a gist index (the @> operator will make use of the gist index) which we're using to find points within a radius of a reference point.
This function takes a point (using latitude and longitude) and returns the city, region and country that |
in the tail, “we need a movement independent of Labour.”
The SWP’s Charlie Kimber’ writes today in Socialist Worker on the faults of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party.
It he has not called on people to demonstrate—probably because he does not want to upset the pessimistic and timid steel unions. A Corbyn-backed call for protests in Port Talbot and Scunthorpe could have put tens of thousands on the streets. It could have given confidence to steel workers to launch militant resistance. Corbyn and shadow chancellor John McDonnell have called for some sort of temporary steel nationalisation. But their vision is to nurture the plants back to health and speedily hand them back to private firms—with all that means for jobs and pay. Labour will not come out in support of the junior doctors’ strikes. John McDonnell does as an individual, and attended picket lines. But Labour’s official position is just to criticise the Tories, regret the events that have led to strikes and demand proper negotiations. Constrained by the opposition of Labour MPs, and anxious to preserve “party unity”, Corbyn makes concessions to the right. Corbyn and McDonnell did not call for people to take to the streets last weekend when Cameron faced calls to resign.
Kimber sagely notes,
Our main task is to build resistance alongside Corbyn supporters, whether they’re in the Labour Party or not. At the same time we have to debate how Labour won’t be able to challenge austerity, racism and capitalism effectively.
To point out effectively the errors of their ways and to further build ‘resistance’ alongside Labour Party Corbyn people and other members an important method is to stand candidates against the party in the May local elections.
The left alternative to Labour is small. The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), which the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) supports, will be running some 300 candidates in the councils.
They will show up the faultlines in Labour’ politics,
It wants to highlight the need to fight the Tory cuts and Labour’s failure to do so..
The SWP will not stand against anybody who agrees with their political line.
Care has been taken to avoid standing against any councillor who is pledged to vote against all cuts or supports Corbyn.
But they warn to be on guard against backsliding:
Of course, deciding not to stand against a candidate doesn’t mean being responsible for what they do in the future.
There follows some kindly advice to Labour’s mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan.
Oddly they do not back the SWP’s former best friend, George Galloway. Instead they call for a vote for Khan.
AdvertisementsTo the young men and women who are braving the overreaction of local authorities to raise their voices against the corruption and manipulation of our nation that emanates from Wall Street: I say to you that your presence is making a difference. You are exercising the right every American holds most dear, the right of freedom of expression, and with that expression you are finally getting the attention of the nation.
Wall Street banks got billion-dollar bailouts but the American people get austerity. Fourteen million Americans are out of work. 50 million people don't have health insurance and a million homes a year are lost to foreclosure. Our policies take the wealth of the nation and accelerate it into the hands of the few.
We need a government of the people and for the people. We need a financial system that is of the people and for the people. It is time we take our nation back and take our monetary system back from the big banks.
I recently introduced H.R. 2990, the National Emergency Employment Defense Act, to put the Federal Reserve under the Treasury, to end the practice of fractional reserve banking and to take control of our monetary policy and make sure it works for the people.
We can use our Constitutional authority to coin money and spend it into circulation to put millions of Americans back to work in a way that is noninflationary. The time for bold change is now.
We are the American people. Our dream of freedom and prosperity is too big to fail.This post is concerning a beer I brewed last year, one of my single hop saisons. This time using Palisade. One of the goals for this project is to better understand hops through this series of single hop saisons. One of the more popular threads in this blog is the experimental hop saison posts. For those posts, most people haven’t used or sometimes even heard of those hops. They get a lot of hits and if the hops have a cool name, it helps my blog’s SEO. But despite being a hop head, for years I brewed primarily with amarillo, citra, cascade, centenial and chinook. So there are dozens of hop varieties that I overlooked from the comfort of a bunch of high alpha acid American hop varieties that started with the letter “C”.
So in an effort to embody the academic rigor of “never stop learning”, I pick up half pound bags of hop pellets for a series of varieties I have never used before and make a single hop saison. (See Wakatu, Falconer’s Flight, Mandaria Bavaria). I am continuing my ongoing series on single hop saisons with Palisade.
Palisade are an American hybrid hop variety, a Tettnanger varietal specifically. Tettnanger hops are typically on the milder side with regard to flavors and bitterness. Palisade may be described as a more aggressive Tettnanger variety. Tettnanger (American, Swiss, or German) is a hop I’ve only used rarely and perhaps I’m mistaken but it is in the category of hops in MY MIND that you use when you don’t want your beer to taste like hops. Palisade typically have about a 5 – 10% alpha acid content, mine were 6.5%, with a co-humulone content around 25%. So you can see that both of these numbers are pretty low…still higher than more Tettnanger varietals. The myrcene oil content is also rather low (~10%) but this hop can still give that herbal, grassy / earthiness typical noble hop flavor but stepped up slightly.
5 Gallon Batch
Brew date: March 8th, 2015
Kegging date:
OG: 1.045
FG: 1.005
ABV: 5.5%
SRM: 3.5
IBU: 40 (approximately)
Grain-bill:
8.5 lbs of 2-row
1 lb wheat
0.5 lbs of flaked barley
I am playing with the grain bill a little bit but I want to keep it pretty simple. This is very similar to the grain bill from the chinook wet hop saison, probably one of my favorite beers I’ve ever made. So I’m pushing my grain bills in that direction. Honestly, grain is something I need to research a lot more, it is a growing gap in my knowledge base.
Mash Conditions:
The grains were mashed at 148 F for one hour, the wort was collected after a minimal vorlauf and batch sparged with almost 5 gallons of water at 170 F, minimal vorlaufed. Almost 9 gallons of wort was collected.
Brewing Procedure:
Wort was boiled for 90 minutes, there was a slight boil over at the beginning but it was brought under control quickly. Otherwise an uneventful brew. About 6 gallons was recovered. Wort was chilled with an immersion chiller for 40 minutes.
Hop Schedule:
2 ounces of pellets at 10 minutes before flame out
2 ounces of pellets at flame out, allowed to sit for 30 minutes prior to chilling
2 ounces of pellets dry hopped in the primary fermenter after krausen has fallen for 7 days
2 ounces of pellets added to keg in hop bag
Fermentation Conditions:
Yeast was harvested from Chinook Wet Hop Saison. Fermentation started within hours of pitching the yeast.
Tasting Notes:
See the photo below, these beers all look about the same. Yellow, hazy, nice white head small and medium bubbles, decent carbonation (force carbonation in the keg). Looks like beer.
Aroma is sweet with a nice floral earthiness, mild fruit to it, non-specific fruit. I suppose it smells a little like citrus but it is pretty subdued.
Beer is light in body but has some nice creaminess to it, I love that flaked barely feel. Carbonation is light and the beer doesn’t finish too dry. The hops are really the star of this beer, almost tea-like flavors with nice floral-ness and moderately bitter finish. The fruit flavors are there as well, nice, subtle fruit flavors again it tastes like a orange but not quite like an orange.
I like the beer a lot. The hop is a good, mild, floral citrus hop with no pine or resinous feel to it. The mouthfeel and lack of a dry finish really help to showcase this hop. It’s far from my favorite hop but it definitely has a usable aroma and flavor. I bet it would pair well with a hop from the nugget-family.
I would definitely use this hop in the future.
Possible Improvements for Future Batches:
Generally, I enjoy playing with hops in this manner. I usually get the comment whenever I post one of these “Why did you use a saison yeast? Wouldn’t a neutral yeast be better?” My basic answer is always, “I know I’ll end up with a good, interesting beer no matter what I do.” I think I could play with the dry hopping schedule a little or ferment these under pressure, I’d really like to get into that. Maybe do a more “NE IPA” treatment with these beers or make the grain bill a bit more interesting. I think this a fine process for me to specifically do what I need to do to learn more about these hops. In general, I like how these beers turn out and how they taste and I love making them.
Upcoming Brews:
The posts I’m writing right now are a post about Single Hop Loral Saison (almost done) and a post about ADHA529 for the experimental hop series. I have some NZ Waimea, NZ Sticklebract and El Dorado hops that are going to be fed into this series as well. I’m writing more about the science of brewing as well, exploring why yeast makes alcohol at all…a little bit of an existential question but still something interesting to contemplate. I’m also updating my set-up and system at home over the winter so I might have some posts about construction and what not. Stuff to look forward to.
I am trying to build a lifestyle that allows me to post more often but the brewery is in flux (I really should write more about the brewery) and that is taking up all of my free time. I think this winter might be a good opportunity for me to clear out some back-log and post more regularly. I guess time will tell.
“Across the troubled maelstrom of time, people always need a beer.” ― Ellen Kushner
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Reports have emerged this morning that Kellyanne Conway, President Donald Trump’s special adviser and liar-in-chief, allegedly punched a man three times during the Liberty Ball in Washington DC last Friday.
Conway supposedly tried to break up a fight between two men, but after being unable to stop the blows Conway joined in herself, punching one of the men repeatedly in the face.
Charlie Gasparino, a FOX Business correspondent, gave his account of the version of events on a Facebook post yesterday. Gasparino claims the event was already heated when he arrived, with protesters allegedly calling him a fascist before he’d even entered the building. Once inside Gasparino says he witnessed the fight:
“Inside the ball we see a fight between two guys in tuxes and then suddenly out of nowhere came trump adviser Kellyanne Conway who began throwing some mean punches at one of the guys. Whole thing lasted a few mins no one was hurt except maybe the dude she smacked. Now I know why trump hired her. Btw I exaggerate none of this [sic]”
Conway is currently the center of media ridicule after presenting White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s comments on Donald Trump’s inauguration “alternative facts.” Spicer falsely claimed that the event attracted “the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe.” The absurdity of this claim was highlighted by the rapid response of various media outlets who simply compared photos of Trump’s inauguration with that of Obama’s eight years earlier. Kellyanne Conway has already tried to force America into an alternate understanding of truth less than a week after Trump’s ascent to the Oval Office, now she has clearly demonstrated her unhinged violent streak as well.
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Add your name to millions demanding that Congress take action on the President’s crimes. IMPEACH DONALD TRUMP!Today I welcome Willem Gonggrijp aka @BergkampFlick Follow Willem!, as a guest blogger to North London Is Red. Willem recently launched his own blog, BergkampFlick and describes himself as a realistic idealist. As a countryman of van Basten and Johan Cruijff, he’s looking to entertain us with the written word and I think he will with this delightful piece. Take it away Willem…..
I would like to tell you something about God. God has always been an important figure in my life, ever since I was a little boy. As a matter of fact, I remember my first encounter with Him like it was yesterday.
Six-year-old me had a boring summer. The Dutch weather is known to be very changeable, but 1998 was an utter disappointment. There was lots of rain and no sun to be seen. It was gloomy stuff back then but luckily there was a World Cup for me to look forward to.
The Netherlands topped group E with 5 points, and had beaten Yugoslavia in the round of 16. A thrilling quarter-final against a dangerous Argentine side awaited. Players like current Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone, Batigol, Juan Sebastian Veron and never-ageing Javier Zanetti were part of their starting line-up. You can imagine why I wasn’t exactly confident.
Oranje took an early lead, but that 12th minute goal from Kluivert looked futile when Claudio Lopez scored the equalizer five minutes later. It was absolutely nerve wrecking to watch, especially when Dutchman Artur Numan got his second yellow with fifteen minutes to go. The boys in orange fought very hard, but it seemed like we were heading for extra time. Then “it” happened.
Frank de Boer found himself in possession after Lopez over hit his cross to Batistuta. The Dutch captain – a playmaker from central defense – ran all the way to the edge of the centre circle. He looked up and took a swing with that fantastic left foot of his. On the ball went; thirty yards, forty, fifty. As the camera panned, I saw a man running. He wore an orange shirt, with number eight on the back. Fittingly, as ∞ is the symbol for infinity.
Did he know? Did he know what he was going to do after he took that first touch? Did he know that he was about to rock a six-year-old’s world? Whether he knew it or not, that’s exactly what he did. God received the ball on the edge of the six yard box and in a flash or brilliance he flicked the ball past Roberto Ayala. He struck the ball with the outside of his supernatural right foot and it arced goal-wards. The ‘keeper never stood a chance – the ball rippled the net; He had scored. It was magic, a pure explosion of magic.
I was absolutely stunned. It was beyond comprehension that someone could manipulate a football like that. In that moment I found religion. I became a believer. Shortly after I found out He played for an English club called Arsenal FC. From the moment the ball left his foot, Dennis was my God, and Arsenal became my church.
Now, almost 16 years later, I’m still a believer. Wengerball is now my Dennisism, and through harmony we’ll be victorious.
The Lords Prayer Our Dennis,
Who art in Winter Wonderland
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom [penalty area] come
A goal will be done
On Earth as it was in seasons ’95 to ’06
Give us this day our daily chiselled Dutch Features
And forgive us our trespasses offside
As we forgive those Spuds who think they’ll finish above us
Lead us not into Stoke
But deliver us from Piers Morgan
‘Arry, Pubis and other scab ridden fools
For thine is the Highbury, the clock end & marble halls
For ever and ever
Amen.
Thanks Willem, that was a lovely story about how you found Arsenal and wonderfully written. I still can’t believe that is only your second blog in English. Thanks for reading guys and helping me support my fellow Gooner bloggers. Please do leave your comments and don’t forget to click that follow button!
Advertise your business here! Click here for details.Ontario police arrested a 16-year-old boy suspected of throwing a kitten into the street that was posted as a Snapchat video over the weekend.Authorities were notified early Saturday about the social media video showing a young man launching the kitten into the air and across the street. Officers began an investigation and were able to identify the boy that same day.He was found around 1:45 p.m. in the area of 7th Street and Berlyn Avenue in Upland. He tried to flee from police, but was tackled and taken into custody.Authorities said the 16-year-old Ontario resident was booked into the San Bernardino County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of felony animal abuse.The kitten and its owner were located after the video surfaced. The kitten, who suffered a fractured leg, is in good condition and recovering at the Inland Valley Humane Society.Anyone with more information is urged to call Detective Gary Naranjo at (909) 395-2764.While most of the attention in yesterday’s UN speeches was centered around the US delegation’s faux-impromptu walkout on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s talk, President Barack Obama’s own talk had a notably absent delegation, the Israeli one.
Officially the Israeli government denies that this was an organized boycott and insists the absence of their delegation was planned well in advance, and was related to the relatively minor Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The weeklong holiday does not appear to have traditionally meant Israeli officially snubbing major international events, however.
Moreover President Obama’s speech sparked no small level of outrage among top Israeli officials, and a number of Israel’s ruling coalition MPs made public comments in condemnation of the president and the speech late last night. This is only adding fuel to the belief by many that the snub was about the speech and not the holiday.
AIPAC spokesmen angrily denied this belief, however, and insisted that it was a “malicious” lie against Israel. The empty chairs seem to remain an issue for many, however.This was an interesting piece for me, and a hard one to feel like I can fully describe because of the sheer volume of thought and material involved in it.
I think the simplest way to talk about this piece is to first physically describe it and the work I did to complete it, talk about my thought process leading up to it, and finally talk about some of my thoughts on the piece as I was “doing” it. Finally, and this will likely be a separate post, I’ll include some of my favorite images and transcribe all the writing.
The Piece
This piece consists of a little over 200 pictures and 50 notecards. The images come from an entire day of walking with my camera, walking from sunrise to sunset and taking roughly 10 pictures every half hour. I walked a total of 28 miles, leaving my dorm at 7:36 (sunrise) and ending up at Chimborazo park a few minutes before the sunset at 6:10. The note cards were written at intermittent intervals, basically as a thought worth writing down occurred to me. The prints are laid out in a -roughly- left to right chronological fashion in a similar arc to the sun on that day.
Leading up to this Piece
The prompt for this assignment was an introspective diagram of our lives. We had a half assignment due partway through which involved 10 studies (which I have pictures of and may write up at some point for this blog). I had an idea from that set that I kind of liked, and I decided to go with that one just because it seemed like it’d be easy. I never really got excited about it though, and decided, sort of, ‘maybe I can’t always have stellar ideas, this is good enough…’
Then I had the idea, and I can’t even remember what sparked it, “what if I followed the sun for an entire day and took pictures of sunlight related things?” I knew I had my idea to get excited about.
The two weeks leading up to the actual creation of the piece were basically planning and brainstorming, including laying out the route and thinking about some of the ‘how’ this was going to get done. I got the sunrise and sunset times. I got a route that led out of the not to sketchy part of Richmond and got out into the country quickly, and I thought could be done in the time the sun was up. I figured out the layout of the pictures. I half laid out the pics on photoshop to make sure they would all fit. I decided to add in a narrative element with the notecards, and I decided it would be important to have the actual cards I wrote on while walking as a part of the piece. I got my date picked out, I’d walk on Saturday November 2nd. Finally, I figured out all the “why” of this assignment.
As a photographer, I intersect with the sun but never study it for the entire duration of its path through the sky. When doing landscape photography, I get very concerned about the sun for a short period of time. I’ll go out during “golden hour”, or step out of my car for ten minutes and wait for favorable light then drive off and think about other things or look around the landscape from the comfort of my car. The fairly long duration of this piece was me thinking, “what can I do to get more insight and connection into how the sun moves through the landscape in a day?”
When doing landscape photography, I get very concerned about the sun for a short period of time. I’ll go out during “golden hour”, or step out of my car for ten minutes and wait for favorable light then drive off and think about other things or look around the landscape from the comfort of my car. The fairly long duration of this piece was me thinking, “what can I do to get more insight and connection into how the sun moves through the landscape in a day?” I love to walk, and I love being alone. One of the cards said “Being alone makes me realize how much I need people, and being around people makes me realize how much I need to be alone.” I’ve always needed both extremes, and after a very taxing couple of weeks I decided it would be good to simply be alone, do something physically grueling and artistic on my own as sort of an introspective as well as physical journey. This thought was originally where the notecards sprang from; I wanted some way to record my ideas and incorporate them into the piece.
One of the cards said “Being alone makes me realize how much I need people, and being around people makes me realize how much I need to be alone.” I’ve always needed both extremes, and after a very taxing couple of weeks I decided it would be good to simply be alone, do something physically grueling and artistic on my own as sort of an introspective as well as physical journey. This thought was originally where the notecards sprang from; I wanted some way to record my ideas and incorporate them into the piece. Other bits. The two reasons above form the foundation for the imagery and the notecards, however there were several smaller reasons that sort of ended up incorporated into and between those two components. I wanted more insight into the idea of distance and the amount of distance one can cover in one day. I wanted to study the transition between city and country and how quickly and in what manner that happens. I wanted to carry my food and water for an entire day, I wanted to do something hard, and I just wanted a bit of adventure. Nothing wrong with that.
“Doing” the piece.
One of the questions my surface professor gave me for consideration while working on this was, where does the piece exist? Is the piece the walk itself which the pictures serve as documentation of? Am I collecting photos and thoughts to make a piece on the wall, or does the piece exist somewhere between those two physical locations? It’s a question I still can’t quite answer, and if i had to I’d probably say it exists in between the two spaces. I don’t feel that I was affecting the landscape such that the piece was out there, and I don’t feel like the end product on the wall is the most significant manifestation of this work. I suppose the piece was how the landscape affected me, and what’s on the wall serves as a physical manifestation of that, since I have the artifacts of the journey as well as the “secondhand” imagery of photos I took along the way.
The other interesting thing about this piece was how its meaning changed and the new things I picked up along the way. If I transcribe all the cards that will be much more evident, but I’ll write about a few thoughts I had now.
The piece became, to me, an interesting metaphor for aspiration vs reality. I had originally intended to make the loop back to my dorm in the time that the sun was up. I ended up at a park about 40 blocks east of my dorm, but when I got there I was able to witness an absolutely stunning sunset, and now I can’t think of a better end point for the whole trip. Throughout the day (and even as I was mounting pictures) I was constantly having to react to how things were actually unfolding vs how I planned them and then slightly adjust my plans and expectations in order to fit reality.
. I had originally intended to make the loop back to my dorm in the time that the sun was up. I ended up at a park about 40 blocks east of my dorm, but when I got there I was able to witness an absolutely stunning sunset, and now I can’t think of a better end point for the whole trip. Throughout the day (and even as I was mounting pictures) I was constantly having to react to how things were actually unfolding vs how I planned them and then slightly adjust my plans and expectations in order to fit reality. On that note, I realized the piece was very reactionary. At first, I had limited myself to only taking any given picture once. That is, once the picture was taken, it was set. I would only take 10 pictures every 30 minutes and I couldn’t delete bad pictures. I made exceptions to this many, many times and finally ditched it formally 3-4 hours in. I realized that the “reaction” to the picture in which I took a picture and adjusted the camera settings and took a new picture and deleted the old one made sense within the context of the project; the whole idea was to be affected by my surroundings and be changed by them as I moved through them.
At first, I had limited myself to only taking any given picture once. That is, once the picture was taken, it was set. I would only take 10 pictures every 30 minutes and I couldn’t delete bad pictures. I made exceptions to this many, many times and finally ditched it formally 3-4 hours in. I realized that the “reaction” to the picture in which I took a picture and adjusted the camera settings and took a new picture and deleted the old one made sense within the context of the project; the whole idea was to be affected by my surroundings and be changed by them as I moved through them. I couldn’t settle on how to take pictures. The project was conceived as a sun study, so as I left the dorm I figured I was going to force myself to take pictures of only sun related things, such as compositions with primarily sky, shadows, things dramatically lit by sunlight, etc. However, midmorning found me taking pictures which was more documentary of where I was going. Around midday I just started taking pictures of things that were interesting or pretty to me. In the late afternoon and evening I got really hung up on taking pictures that fit the themes that I saw coming up in my head, in the cards, and which were coming from the images.
The project was conceived as a sun study, so as I left the dorm I figured I was going to force myself to take pictures of only sun related things, such as compositions with primarily sky, shadows, things dramatically lit by sunlight, etc. However, midmorning found me taking pictures which was more documentary of where I was going. Around midday I just started taking pictures of things that were interesting or pretty to me. In the late afternoon and evening I got really hung up on taking pictures that fit the themes that I saw coming up in my head, in the cards, and which were coming from the images. There was this interesting undertone of setting lifetime goals. I think the connotation of a day as a lifetime isn’t a foreign one, and the sunset/death connections aren’t giant leaps to make. As such, as I walked throughout the day, I couldn’t ignore the idea of setting goals before death; in the project, the goals were where I wanted to walk to and death was sunset, simply because I couldn’t take pictures justified by the assignment after sunset and yet I really, really wanted to get back into the city before the sunset. With this and what felt like the very literal deterioration of my body towards the end of the walk, I felt like death metaphors were easy to make.
That’s about the short of it. I could probably talk about this project for another thousand words, but I think this is pretty good overview of what this piece was and I’ve hopefully answered the question of “so wait, you did what?” You walked 28 miles in a day? Why???”
AdvertisementsDan Aykroyd originally wrote 'Ghostbusters' with stars John Belushi, John Candy, and Eddie Murphy in mind for the roles of Peter Venkman, Louis Tully, and Winston Zeddemore, respectively. But Belushi passed away before they could make the film, and Candy couldn't commit to his role -- as for Eddie Murphy, he chose to star in 'Beverly Hills Cop' instead. 'Ghostbusters' was temporarily the highest-grossing comedy of all time that year, but when 'Beverly Hills Cop' was released just a few months later, it knocked 'Ghostbusters' off the throne.
Perhaps it was for the best that Eddie Murphy didn't star alongside Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and Dan Aykroyd in the paranormal comedy classic -- Murphy has a larger-than-life screen personality, and the film needed actors that could share the screen and the laughs.Bosnia filed its application for European Union membership Monday, hoping to catch up with its neighbors on the EU path but confronting the reality that many in the country have grown tired of waiting for jobs and prosperity and are already voting with their feet.
President Dragan Covic submitted the application to the Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister, Bert Koenders, in Brussels. The Netherlands currently holds the EU presidency.
"There is no way back for Bosnia-Herzegovina, we must catch up with our neighbors," Covic said. He said the country would speed up the required reforms in the expectation that the EU will grant it candidate status in 2017.
Bosnia first knocked on the EU door in 2008 when it signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement with the bloc, 13 years after the end of the bloody conflict that left the country ethnically divided. But unresolved wartime quarrels have hindered the necessary reforms as Bosnian Serbs feared for their autonomy within Bosnia. This frustrated the Muslim Bosnians and some Bosnian Croats, who felt they were hostages to the Serb lack of will to reform the country at least enough to attract foreign investments that would kickstart the economy.
The stalemate has produced an unemployment rate over 40 percent and a general feeling of apathy among Bosnians. Every year, tens of thousands decide to leave the country.
In 2014, about 68,000 Bosnians, mostly aged between 25 and 40, permanently left the country of 3.8 million. For 2015, the figure will be 20 to 30 percent higher, parliamentarian Senad Sepic told The Associated Press.
"The very substance that should be building this country is leaving," he said.
Things only started moving with the EU application in 2014, when Bosnian Serbs split their votes between two blocks — one that favors the reforms and one that continues to pursue a separate Serb state. Pro-EU Serb officials managed to push for the required reforms, enabling Bosnia to submit Monday's application.
"It is a day of celebration for all of us: only 20 years ago, it was in the Balkans where one of the most awful pages of European history was written," said a joint statement from the EU's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn.
But the recent progress comes too late for many. They are choosing to run toward the EU rather than limp there with Bosnia.
"Just from the town of Livno, 60 whole families left in January 2016 alone," Sepic said. Livno is a town in the south of the country with 9,000 residents.
Germany is looking for 40,000 medical workers alone each year so in the past two years the number of applicants for German-language courses at the Goethe Institute in Sarajevo has doubled, and it keeps growing.
Amer Cekic, 20, a student of political science, attends the course because he believes it will help him find a job in Germany.
"I feel I have no future here," he said.
In Sepic's constituency of Cazin in the northwest of the country, the number of first-graders was down in 2015 by 40 percent compared with 2011. If the trend continues, there will be no first graders at all by 2022, Sepic says.
"And if there are no people left here, then the whole story of EU membership is pointless," he said.
The Associated PressSEATTLE (Reuters) - Paul Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft Corp, is opening an office in Silicon Valley to make new investments in emerging technology and internet companies.
Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder and the world's fourth richest man according to Forbes Magazine, speaks to the media after he announced plans to build a $20 million science fiction museum adjacent to his Experience Music Project, in Seattle, Washington, April 17, 2003. REUTERS/Anthony P. Bolante
The Palo Alto office, set to open in the next few weeks, will operate under the name of Vulcan Capital, the investment arm of Allen’s Seattle-based Vulcan Inc, which manages his personal fortune, valued at about $15 billion.
Allen, 60, co-founded the world’s largest software company with Bill Gates in 1975, but left in 1983 after a bout with cancer. The riches he amassed through his large stake in the company, plus successful investments in sports and real estate, have made him the world’s 53rd richest person, according to Forbes magazine.
A pioneer in the early development of PC software and Microsoft’s technical leader for its first eight years, Allen has been a prolific tech investor since the mid 1980s, starting several companies and founding a tech incubator called Interval Research.
He has put money into hundreds of enterprises in the past 30 years, including large stakes in AOL, Ticketmaster, film studio DreamWorks SKG and cable firm Charter Communications. His record has been checkered, making money on AOL and DreamWorks SKG, but losing billions of dollars on the bankruptcy of Charter.
Newer tech investments include online real-estate agent Redfin, shopping adviser Decide.com and smartphone audio software maker Audience Inc.
The new office in Palo Alto will focus on emerging internet, software and technology companies, including middle and late-stage venture capital and pre-IPO deals, Paul Ghaffari, Vulcan Capital’s chief investment officer, told Reuters.
“We are going to expand our footprint in broad tech investments, we’d like to get more resources, people on the ground there (Silicon Valley),” said Ghaffari. “We have a real appetite to put new ideas in the portfolio.”
The leader of Palo Alto office is expected to be announced in the next few days.
The arrival of Allen’s empire in Silicon Valley may not be immediately popular with the biggest local companies.
The now-defunct Interval Research filed a lawsuit in 2010 against Valley stalwarts Apple Inc, Google Inc, Facebook Inc and others, claiming they stole its inventions, 300 of which are patented. The case is proceeding slowly in the courts.It's rare to hear about a researcher from the National Institute of Health collaborating with a reality TV show. But that's exactly what Dr. Kevin Hall, a clinical researcher at the NIH, did after watching episodes of The Biggest Loser. Kevin's lab investigates how metabolism and the brain adapt in response to a variety of interventions to diet and physical activity. After watching the cast lose dramatic amounts of weight over the show's season, he wondered how that affected their long-term health.
Kevin actually visited the set of The Biggest Loser to monitor the contestants' health and six years later, he brought the former contestants to the NIH to research how their body adjusted since the competition. He found they surprisingly maintained a very low metabolic rate even though they regained most of their lost weight. So even if you have the incredible willpower to shed those pounds, it's ultimately really difficult to maintain that weight loss. What we can do is be more forgiving of ourselves and relieve some of the pressure to diet.
Adam is on Twitter @AdamConover and you can find past episodes and bonus content from the TruTV show at AdamRuinsEverything.com.
Produced by Shara Morris for MaximumFun.org.Mark Salling Sued Woman Says 'Glee' Star Forced Sex Without Condom
'Glee' Star Sued -- Woman Claims Mark Salling Forced Sex Without Condom
EXCLUSIVE
Salling's publicist, Janice Lee, tells TMZ... "There is no truth to this. It's the textbook case of a disgruntled girl looking to cash in on a TV star's success."She adds, "We turn the rest over to Mark's attorneys and have no further comment."-- a "" star -- is being sued by a woman who claims he committed sexual battery by forcing sex without a condom.claims in her lawsuit... she began dating Mark in Sept., 2010. She says in |
also one of the simplest. A motorcycle helmet is basically just some Styrofoam glued into an outer shell, with a hole cut in the front so you can see out.
Well, I use the term "basically" very loosely, because that Styrofoam is made in several layers of precisely tailored densities designed to slow the rate of deceleration your head experiences in an impact. The shell that's then glued into is made from a strong, yet flexible material like plastic that can prevent penetration, deflect some of the impact energy and help absorb it by flexing. The visors (or "shields" as they're known in 'Murika) that protect your eyes are tested by firing steel ball bearings at them at over 100mph. Helmets work.
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But yeah, even if they're effective, they're still simple devices. The old adage, "If you've got a $[insert cheap price here], then buy a $[cheap] helmet," simply does not apply. Independent testing has shown that cheap helmets can be as safe as even the most expensive ones. And, in some cases, even safer.
Rather than worry about spending up to a fancy brand, worry more about fit and which safety standard the helmet meets. I like to tell people that helmets are like bras — there's both a shape and a size to consider. Your helmet should fit your head tightly, but also with all-day comfort. There should be no pinches or pressure points.
To see if a helmet is the right size for you, put it on and try to move it around your head with your hands while holding your actual head still. If the helmet doesn't want to rotate, it's the right size. No one's ever bothered to quantify the various differences in head shape and size, so you'll just have to try a bunch on. Shapes vary throughout the ranges of even a single manufacturer.
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Do this at a large brick and mortar store, but don't necessarily listen to the advice of the staff; motorcycle dealerships and similar businesses are notoriously shitty. Do your own research and go in armed with substantial knowledge about what you want and what you want to spend. Notable exceptions are the people that work at RevZilla (you can chat with their staff online or ask for Kat if you visit the Philly showroom), Sportbike Track Gear, Portland's MotoCorsa, Beach Moto or Pro Italia in LA, Transportation Revolution in New Orleans and the D-Stores in San Francisco, Orange County or Chicago. Otherwise you're just going to get taken advantage of.
The minimal legal standard for helmets to be road legal in America is DOT — you'll see a sticker with those letters on it affixed prominently to the rear of any legal helmet. But, that's only a very, very minimal standard. Two voluntary standards then vie for your dollar on top of DOT. Snell M2010 was cooked up by Arai and Shoei to try and make you think the helmets they sell are safer. They're not. The basic formula for that standard involves simulating two large impacts of equivalent force. Rumor has it, the only reason for that is the ceiling in their original test lab wasn't tall enough to create a drop for one really big impact. Which is what ECE 22.05, the superior European standard, is designed to deal with — one big hit, followed by several smaller ones. Makes sense, you fall off the bike, take a big whack to the head which slows you down, then have some subsequent, smaller whacks as you continue to slow. This disparity has been subject to much controversy and you can read about it at length if it interests you.
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As it stands right now, you'll get a lighter, softer, marginally safer helmet if it's made to ECE 22.05. Icon, AGV, Schuberth and many other reputable brands sell helmets made to that standard in America and every single racer on the MotoGP and SBK grids is wearing an ECE helmet, even American riders sponsored by brands which sell Snell helmets in America. Having said that, a Snell M2010 helmet is still pretty safe, just don't believe the marketing hype and don't feel the need to spend more for a helmet made to it.
There's also the question of full-face or some other type of helmet like a ¾ or those ridiculous half-helmets preferred by middle-aged accountants on Harleys. I'll make this very simple for you — 45 percent of all impacts to the head in motorcycle crashes occur to the face region. Getting your face smashed in and ground off would be no fun.
Full-face helmets do not impair your peripheral vision; the minimum peripheral vision they can allow is 105 degrees to either side. Us humans are only able to use 90 degrees of that. If you feel claustrophobic in a full-face, just suck it up and get used to it — you will in short order.
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My favorite helmet going right now is the $180 Icon Airmada. Made to ECE 22.05, it's as safe as anything out there and it's the best-ventilating helmet I've ever worn regardless of price. It's also comfortable, has relatively slim external dimensions, is respectably light and exceptionally stable aerodynamically. Spending more money than that may net you more "features," a fancier paint job and a more desirable brand, but it will not give you a better product.
Helmets have a lifetime of five years from their date of manufacturer. After that time, the glue bonding the layers of Styrofoam together and to the shell begins to degrade, impairing their safety. No, you can't wear your dad's old helmet from the '80s. Helmets are also designed to destroy themselves in a crash in order to protect you. Throw them out after one crash.
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Gear really does get the job done. Want to walk away from a 210mph crash? You'll need a Shoei X-Twelve ($600), Alpinestars GP-Tech Gloves ($300), Alpinestars Supertech R boots ($450) and a TechAir race suit ($5,000).
Gloves: After your helmet, these are the most important item of safety gear. Why? We humans instinctively try to catch our falls, so your hands are likely going to be the first thing to touch down in a crash. Hands are also an awesome combination of extreme fragility and utter necessity. Even a parking lot speed get off will injure them if you're not wearing gloves.
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Like other items of safety gear, only products made especially for motorcycling by brands that specialize in motorcycle gear should be considered. The leather or textile used in motorcycle apparel is vastly different from "fashion" materials and the way it's stitched together also differs greatly.
A proper pair of motorcycle gloves will protect your hands both from impact and abrasion. To do this effectively, the gloves need to stay on your hands throughout the crash and, to do that, they need a retention strap, which wraps your wrist tightly. Do not bother with "motorcycle" gloves that do not fasten tightly and securely around your wrist.
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While most gloves include "armor" for the top of your hand and knuckles, it's actually the base of your palm that tends to hit the road first and with the most force. It's that impact which frequently breaks wrists by shooting energy straight up into the radius and ulna. I learned this the hard way, breaking my left wrist four times. What I wish I'd known before is that palm sliders are capable of shearing off those direct forces, allowing your hand to slide on the pavement rather than "grab" it. Racer has the most comprehensive range of palm slider-equipped gloves and generally makes a great product.
Poking out into the wind, your hands can also become cold very, very quickly, even at relatively moderate temperatures. You'll need a quality pair equipped with a windproof, waterproof membrane and insulation for bad weather. Well, if you want to retain control of the motorcycle that is.
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Want to have an adventure? I've crashed a long ways from nowhere in this Dainese Teren suit and AGV AX-8 helmet and lived to tell the tale.
Jackets, Pants And Suits: Losing skin across large swaths of your body, breaking bones and suffering organ damage sucks. Enter motorcycle jackets, pants and suits.
Any quality item of motorcycle gear made by a reputable manufacturer will be able to protect you from abrasion. Heavier materials and thicker and/or stronger leather (or Kangaroo skin!) will be more capable of providing protection throughout very high-speed crashes or across multiple offs. Consider that when looking at the cost of this stuff — you can get a crappy motorcycle jacket for $200 at CycleGear, but it'll only protect you moderately well in one crash whereas a quality $500 jacket from Dainese or Alpinestars will provide more outright protection and last through multiple offs.
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In textile garments, look for a named material such as Cordura. 500D Cordura will adequately protect you in a single crash. 1000D will last multiple crashes.
With leather, think about the quality, stitching and thickness. A heavyweight Vanson will last a lifetime. A paper-thin Bilt jacket might last one crash.
Apply a similar approach to waterproof membranes — off-brand materials might get you through a quick shower, but motherfucking Gore-Tex will keep you dry through anything Mother Nature can throw at you. Also look for storm flaps and multiple front zippers and zippers made to tightly seal out water. You'll basically be riding through a car wash if it rains, water can enter with force from all sort of odd angles. Good gear that fits properly will keep it out.
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Oh yeah, buy gear true to size, never size up in order to layer, the space to do so is already built in.
The padding that protects you from crashes is called "body armor." You want it to cover as much of your body as possible. Elbow armor in a cheap jacket, for instance, will just cover the point of that joint. Quality armor will extend down your forearm and wrap it around a more complete radius. It should go without saying, but the armor should locate accurately on your joints and be held to you tightly; loose-fitting clothing can allow the armor to shift out of position in a crash, leaving your joints exposed. If you can roll the armor off your elbow or shoulder with your hand, you can't rely on it to stay in place during a crash, when the forces experienced have been shown to exceed 25Gs.
Any and all armor should be "CE" rated. Back protectors come in CE1 and CE2, the latter is twice as safe. Back protectors that go in jacket pockets are convenient, but only cover a limited area of your back. Separate, strap-on back protectors provide a greater area of coverage. Many cheaper pants and suits scrimp on hip and coccyx protection. If they do, you can wear a pair of padded shorts underneath to add protection in those areas. Take it from me, fracturing your coccyx sucks. Also, it's impacts to your hips that lead to torsion on your spine, which can lead to paralysis; hip armor is a good idea. Chest armor is inconvenient to wear, but protects your heart, lungs and rib cage. I've heard those are important.
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Some of the armor I wear under that Teren suit for ADV and dual-sport riding.
If your budget only runs to a jacket and not pants, go ahead and buy the top-half of a two-piece suit. That'll be designed to zip to a pair of matching pants, so you can upgrade to full protection at a later date. Or just start with a two-piece and wear only the jacket at times when the full thing is too unwieldy.
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One-piece suits are awesome to wear on the bike, but awful off it. The best suit out there, hands down, for commuting, touring and even adventure riding is the Aerostich Roadcrafter. It zips off and on in 10 seconds, adding race-level protection and total weatherproofness in the process. It's my favorite item of riding gear ever.
One-piece race suits make the athletic contortions and control of sport riding possible. Good ones feel like you're wearing pajamas, but are also the safest possible thing you could zip yourself into. They're high-dollar though (or should be, cheap suits suck), so unless you're carving canyons or doing trackdays on the regular, then you're better off spending a limited budget on more widely applicable stuff. Showing up at your local good riding road in a one-piece will net your far more appreciation and respect than simply financing the latest GSX-R ever will.
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Worried about getting hot? Look for a jacket or suit with good ventilation. Vented gear will actually keep you cooler than going without will. At speed, the wind will blow sweat off an unprotected body too fast for the evaporative cooling process to work, a process ventilated gear is designed to facilitate. High-end textile gear often has zip-open vents that, when closed, keep out water, making them broadly applicable to riding in virtually all conditions.
Looking for an excellent, super safe, hot weather jacket? I wear a Dainese Super Speed with the Wave G back protector installed in the back pocket.
Riding in a very wet climate? Look for a suit that has its waterproof membrane laminated to the outer shell. That stops water at the first layer, keeping out sneaky leaks and runs. Again, that's something the Aerostich Roadcrafter excels at.
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The fastest ICE bike in the world, read about it on Road&Track.
Boots: Let's say you weigh 185lbs and your bike weighs 450lbs. You're going to need to support at least 635lbs on one foot on uneven, broken, slippery surfaces every time you come to a stop. Sounds like job for a very serious boot to me.
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And, like your hands, your feet and ankles are so remarkably fragile you can even injure them during everyday activities or while playing ball sports. Sports in which you again never exceed about 25mph and don't have to deal with multi-ton cars, buses and such running into you or over your feet. Take it from me, not being able to walk also sucks.
The good news is, there's many excellent motorcycle boots out there that are capable of providing bomb-proof protection for you feet. Know what I've never injured in any of my crashes? Anything below the level of the top of a motorcycle boot. I've slid down the track at 100+ mph with the bike on top of me, been run over by multiple bikes on a motocross track, been sideswiped by a car on the highway and just generally fallen off several times. No foot or ankle injuries whatsoever.
At the very minimum, you'll need a rugged work or combat boot that provides your foot with good grip, your ankle with tight support and protects your foot from being crushed in an impact with a strong sole. Around town, I wear a pair of Corcoran Jump Boots. Those look nice, support my ankle with dedicated internal webbing and protect from crushing injuries with a steel shank running through the sole.
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For anything faster, you'll want a specific motorcycle boot. Sport boots are designed to provide good articulation and feel without sacrificing protection. Dirt boots are designed to limit the articulation of your ankle and provide a solid, comfortable platform to stand on for long periods. Touring boots are designed to be comfortable no matter how bad the weather while providing decent protection. Dedicated motorcycle boots will also interface better with motorcycle pants, working together to increase weather protection, control and comfort.
Don't bother with boots that are claimed to be for riding, but look like a casual shoe or sneaker. By and large, most of those provide substantially less protection than those Jump Boots, and at a higher price. Riding a motorcycle is a serious job for your feet and legs, use serious footwear.
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Want a way to quickly see if a pair of boots is going to protect you in a crash? Grab the toe in one and the heel in the other, then twist them as hard as you can. Does the shape they contort into look survivable for you foot?
Toodling around the Hollywood Hills on a sidecar? Jeans will get the job done. As will this Alpinestars Huntsman jacket, Shoei RF-1200 and Racer Mickey gloves.
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Riding Jeans: There exists a wide variety of jeans that claim to offer protection for motorcycle crashes. None of them provide anything approaching the impact or abrasion protection of a real pair of motorcycle pants. No exceptions.
Having said that, if you're a normal person, then there'll be times when going full ATGATT just isn't practical. I still wear jeans if I'm just scooting through town to a meeting or to see a friend.
Jeans with Kevlar liners or weaves or made from similar materials will give you a little more protection than that offered by normal, fashion jeans — which, don't fool yourself, is zero.
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It's up to you to effectively manage your own risk. Riding jeans can provide a good halfway house between no protection for your legs and some.
UglyBros makes good, affordable riding jeans. Rev'It makes better, more expensive, more technical options.
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Photo: Kynan Tait
The Gear Mix: I wear a custom kangaroo skin onesie anytime I'm going fast, that Roadcrafter anytime I'm going far, a Dainese Teren two-piece anytime I'm getting dirty and a mix of various jackets and jeans (some riding, some not) around town.
Which setup will work best for you? Well, there is no single answer. You can likely get away with the same helmet, boots and gloves for most situations, but protection for the bits in between that is another story. A leather two-piece is probably the most versatile riding suit, giving you the ability to buy something once that'll last a long time and work across a variety of situations. But, you probably won't want to wear it on a dual-sport ride or when it's insanely hot.
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If you're just getting started or you're a reformed jackass looking to buy your first real gear, there is no super easy answer. Think about the kind of riding you'll be doing, where you'll be doing it and what the weather will be like. That two-piece is a good place to start, as is the Roadcrafter. Over time, you'll figure out what works for you best, in which situations and add flexibility to your setup. A diverse range of gear will enable you to enjoy different kinds of riding across most weather conditions.
Photo: Kynan Tait
The Other Stuff: Oh, it doesn't end there. Let's quickly touch on a few other little things that can vastly improve your two-wheeled experience.
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Earplugs: The noise level inside a helmet passing through the air at highway speeds can reach 115db or more. Permanent hearing damage can occur at just 85dB. Howard Leight MaxLite earplugs are comfortable, effective and cheap. Never ride without them.
GMG may get a commission Buy now
Tinted Visors: Or "shields" for you Reagan-on-a-Raptor types. These are much more effective than sunglasses at totally blocking the sun's glare. Never wear one at night; always carry your clear spare.
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Fogging: If you weren't smart enough to save money and buy an AGV or Icon, then your visor's going to fog. You'll want to fit a Pinlock visor insert to stop that. No, I can't explain why "premium" helmet makers can't sell you a fog-free visor.
Scarves and Balaclavas: In cold weather, you'll need some extra insulation for your head. A basic silk or textile scarf, balaclava or neck roll is all you typically need to achieve this. It's amazing how effective even a little insulation in this area can be.
Luggage: Never strap stuff that could injure you in a crash onto your back. But, a backpack does make the most convenient luggage solution around town. The best motorcycle backpacks and soft luggage are made by Kriega. Know how hiking packs carry the weight on your hips? Kriegas pull it through your chest, similarly unburdening your shoulders for long-term comfort.
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Looking like a biker: So you're riding to a meeting/social event/whatever and you're worried about rocking a leather jacket, heavy boots and helmet hair. The thing is, you're looking at this all wrong. Rather than trying to fit in with everyone else's conformist fashion, just embrace the biker look and standing out. You ride a bike man, you're a fucking badass, be happy about that.
I think that's about it. If you have any questions, ask them in comments. Nothing is too dumb or basic, I'm here to help. And remember, while the cost of this stuff may appear extreme at first blush, it's utterly necessary in order to operate a motorcycle with safety and control. Instead of getting your heart set on a brand new Ducati, you'll be able to ride better for longer by settling for a used Honda and spending the savings on better gear. Well, that and tires.
IndefinitelyWild is a new publication about adventure travel in the outdoors, the vehicles and gear that get us there and the people we meet along the way. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.In a world first, a New Zealand river will be recognised as a person.
Photo: 123RF
The Whanganui River Claims Settlement Bill was passed today, giving the Whanganui River the same status as a legal person.
Te Urewera, the former national park, was granted the same status when Tūhoe settled with the Crown in 2014.
In Whanganui they have a saying: 'Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au' - which translates into English as, 'I am the river and the river is me.'
The river will now be the first in the world to have such a status - but for the iwi of the river, it recognises something they say they have always known.
Te Tai Hauāuru MP Adrian Rurawhe said some people might find the concept strange but it was completely normal for Māori.
"The river as a whole is absolutely important to the people who are from the river and live on the river.
"I'll repeat something that [MP] Chester Burrows said in [Parliament] today - it's not that we've changed our world view but people are catching up to seeing things how we see it."
Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson said the new law would work just like a charitable trust or an incorporated society, with trustees for the river legally required to act in its best interest.
"There some precedents for it overseas - there had been a lot of talk that this is actually a really good way of ensuring that the particular resource is able to have representative to address the kind of environmental degradation that so many natural resources suffer from."
Mr Rurawhe said iwi had been fighting for over 160 years to get this recognition for their river.
"From a Whanganui viewpoint the wellbeing of the river is directly linked to the wellbeing of the people and so it is really important that's recognised as its own identity," Mr Rurawhe said.
Mr Finlayson said the legislation recognised the deep spiritual connection between the Whanganui iwi and its ancestral river and created a strong platform for the river's future.
Māori Party welcomes bill's passing
The Māori Party also welcomed the bill's passage through Parliament, saying it reflected the courage of those who first tabled the claim 26 years ago.
The party's co-leaders, Marama Fox and Te Ururoa Flavell, said history had been made with the creation of the new entity, Te Awa Tupua.
"We have a chance to restore Te Awa Tupua to its life-giving essence and, in doing so, to gift back to the Whanganui River iwi their rightful obligations and responsibilities to the river that runs through their veins," Ms Fox said.
Mr Flavell said the party was proud and humbled to have been able to support the legislation.The liberals at Esquire magazine asked a question almost no one else is asking in the last weeks of this campaign: “Why Are Influential Celebrities Remaining Silent This Election?” As if anyone is thirsting for more political utterances from people who are best known for their acting or singing or joking?
Esquire’s Mark Miller was overtaken by panic: “A shockingly large number of Americans are prepared to make a reality TV star the ruler of the free world. Celebrities literally have the attention of millions of adoring fans at their fingertips, and it's hard to deny these people's influence.”
Miller cannot abide celebrity neutrality: “Maybe these artists are protecting their brand? F--- that! If their brand means to sacrifice the very values that make them human and a contributing member of this society, then they live a sad, hollow life.” Notice how the unabashedly immoral and dishonest Clintons are equated automatically with humanity and compassion.
Miller then lists uncommitted celebrities with very large followings in social media – singers like Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood, athletes like Cam Newton and Phil Mickelson, actors from Tom Cruise to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Liberals always get mad when celebrities don’t get involved in pushing for liberals to get elected. One of their most notorious freakouts was over North Carolina native Michael Jordan failing to endorse black Democrat Harvey Gantt over conservative legend Jesse Helms in a Senate race in 1990. A reporter claimed Jordan told him “Republicans buy sneakers, too,” and it hung on him like a scarlet letter for decades. Jordan denied the quote. Fellow basketball legend (and ardent radical) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar trashed Jordan for a “commerce over conscience” ethos. Jordan hosted an Obama fundraiser in 2012, which shut down that complaint.
But why should a Taylor Swift be forced to endorse Hillary Clinton? Maybe she is that rare celebrity who doesn’t think her platform makes her more qualified to evaluate candidates than the average American.
Maybe Swift and Carrie Underwood concluded that staying on the sideline looks more dignified than Madonna and Katy Perry doing embarrassing “Voting Nude” social media campaigns for Hillary. On October 19, Madonna even introduced liberal comedian Amy Schumer at Madison Square Garden this way: “One more thing before I introduce this genius of comedy. If you vote for Hillary Clinton, I will give you a blow job, okay?” As if that gutter talk wasn’t bad enough, she promised “I’m good” at it, “I take my time, I have a lot of eye contact,” and worse.
This woman is 58 and still perpetually making herself the worst rebuke of her holy namesake.
Have you ever noticed that liberal celebrities can say or do anything in support of the liberals, and it never seems to backfire in the “objective” press?
Conservatives are very used to conservative-leaning celebrities not going public with how they will vote for fear of the damage it can do to their careers. The people with the lectures about the “blacklisting” are the biggest hypocrites. The entertainment media’s demand for leftist orthodoxy is intense and never-ending. It’s no surprise they would demand that everyone get behind the Clintons and against the man Esquire calls the “bright orange demagogue.”CLEVELAND -- New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi benched All-Star catcher Gary Sanchez on Sunday because of his failures on defense this season.
Girardi started usual Yankees backup Austin Romine even though they were playing a day game after a night game. Girardi had said that Sanchez would be behind the plate for Sunday's game against the Cleveland Indians, but the manager said he changed his mind after seeing how well Romine caught on Saturday.
"The start is not the message," Girardi said. "The message came from us verbally that, 'Your defense needs to improve. That you need to get better. You need to work at it.' We have stressed how important it is. There are certain situations that some people may not think that something that happens in the game affects the next game. It could if it leads to 10 extra pitches for a reliever."
Editor's Picks Yankees finally get help from $153 million man Jacoby Ellsbury Ellsbury is an expensive spare part, but his go-ahead triple is the kind of stuff teams dreaming of October hope to get from their fourth outfielder.
Yankees' Holliday (back) placed on 10-day DL Yankees designated hitter Matt Holliday is expected to go on the 10-day disabled list for the second time this season with a lower back issue that manager Joe Girardi described as a "tweak." 1 Related
Sanchez entered the clubhouse Sunday believing he would start.
"I was expecting to be in the game," Sanchez said after the Yankees' 8-1 win over the Indians. "I was not in the lineup. I was on the bench."
Sanchez said he didn't know why he wasn't in the lineup, adding that that was a question for the manager. He did say he needed to improve on his defense.
"The thing is I'm working hard," Sanchez said. "I'm not perfect."
Girardi said Sanchez would start behind the plate on Tuesday in Toronto. The Yankees are off Monday.
Matt Holliday, the Yankees' regular designated hitter, just went on the disabled list, creating the possibility that Sanchez could be used as a DH more. Girardi said that is not what he ideally wants to happen.
"I think if he catches to his ability, then we can DH other people and have his bat in the lineup," Girardi said. "I think that is where we will be at our best."
Agreeing that his decision to go with Romine after a night game was abnormal, Girardi pointed out that Sanchez had played in 11 games in a row. Sanchez had been the designated hitter two of the past three games and just pinch hit over that span.
Girardi said he would not describe Sunday as a benching.
"I really loved what Romine did," Girardi said pregame of the catcher's effort on Saturday.
It was almost exactly a year ago, Aug. 7, that Sanchez hit his first career home run and then became the fastest player to 19 homers in major league history. He ended up finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting.
Girardi said Sanchez, 24, needs his pregame work to translate into games.
"The only way to get better is to practice," Girardi said.
The Yankees disciplined Sanchez as a minor leaguer. When he was 18, he was demoted a level for refusing to catch a bullpen session after not starting a game.
Sanchez's work ethic improved drastically two years ago, which he has said coincided with the birth of his daughter, Sarah.I’m afraid I’ve fallen in to the rather delicious pumpkin spice trap…
It was inevitable, really… now that it’s well and truly autumn (read: dreary skies and perpetual rain), all I want to do (other than wrap myself in about three hundred and sixty-two blankets, of course) is gorge on anything and everything stuffed with copious amounts of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice.
And if they’re drizzled in a maple, cinnamon, and toasted vanilla bean glaze (of which I totally didn’t eat three entire batches over the last few days for, ahem, recipe testing purposes…), I think I have a pretty valid excuse to do so!
If you’d prefer to skip the toasted vanilla bean in the glaze (although it really is worth the extra step in my opinion!), you can use one teaspoon of pure vanilla extract instead!
maple & pumpkin spice macaroons + maple, cinnamon, and toasted vanilla bean glaze by Alessandra Peters Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes 6066656 Ingredients (24 macaroons) For the Macaroons 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup coconut oil
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp coconut milk
1 tbsp coconut flour
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice For the Glaze 1/4 cup coconut butter, melted
2 tbsp coconut milk
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 vanilla bean
1/2 tsp cinnamon Instructions For the Macaroons 1. Preheat the oven to 325F/160C. 2. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir until very well combined. 3. Scoop small balls of the mixture on to a lined baking tray using a melon baller or a small ice cream scoop. 4. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until just golden. Coconut burns very easily, so make sure you keep an eye on them! 5. Drizzle with glaze (see below) and enjoy! Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For the Glaze 1. To toast the vanilla bean, cut it in to 1 inch pieces, then place the pieces in a frying pan over low-medium heat and toast for 1-2 minutes, until they release a delicious aroma. Flip the pieces over and toast for another 30 seconds or so, then remove from heat and let cool completely. Grind in a coffee grinder or food processor until you have a very fine powder! 2. Combine all the ingredients including all of the toasted vanilla bean powder in a small bowl and whisk very well to combine. Powered by RecipageThe Saudi Arabia-led war in Yemen is a tragedy of epic proportions in which the United States is deeply and directly involved. The war has caused mass starvation and a cholera epidemic that is worse than any the world has witnessed in the past 50 years, with the latest estimate of Yemeni victims at well over half a million.
This horrific situation is the result of Saudi/UAE bombing of roads, hospitals, bridges, water and sewage facilities, and the main port of Hodeida combined with a Saudi/UAE naval and air blockade that prevents large-scale humanitarian assistance from reaching the Yemeni war victims.
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The Saudi/UAE coalition could not execute the war without U.S. direct involvement — specifically the refueling of their planes carrying out the bombing — and the further assistance of providing bombs and targeting intelligence.
Even apart from the need to halt this growing humanitarian disaster, Congress has a Constitutional obligation to deal with U.S. participation in this war. Flatly stated, U.S. participation is illegal.
When President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaChicago's next mayor will be a black woman Obama portraits brought more than 1 million visitors to National Portrait Gallery in first year With low birth rate, America needs future migrants MORE ordered U.S. involvement, the Saudi-led war was not covered by the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) issued by Congress in the wake of 9/11. The Houthis and the forces of former Yemeni president Saleh against whom the Saudi coalition is engaged are not affiliated with al Qaeda or any other entity associated with the 9/11 terror attacks.
Trump's State Dept approves $15 billion missile defense sale to Saudi Arabia https://t.co/9OUbFQVoab pic.twitter.com/pulxM5UZXp — The Hill (@thehill) October 7, 2017
That is why a bipartisan group of House members — Mark Pocan Mark William PocanHannity decries Green New Deal as 'economically guaranteed-to-be-devastating' Ocasio-Cortez unveils Green New Deal climate resolution Trump’s AIDS turnaround greeted with skepticism by some advocates MORE (D-Wis.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.)—have introduced H. Con. Res. 81, giving Congress an opportunity to end U.S. support. The resolution instructs the president to withdraw U.S. military personnel from the war — except the U.S. military elements that are strictly aimed at al-Qaeda elements in Yemen.
Even if House members are indifferent to the fact that Congress did not authorize U.S. support for the war, they should take account of the fact that such support has increased the security threat to all Americans. The Saudi-led war in Yemen, enabled by U.S. support, has strengthened America’s most dangerous enemies in the Middle East — al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
U.S. intelligence and counter-terrorism officials have regarded AQAP as even more of a foreign terrorist threat to the United States than ISIS. It mounted efforts to bring down U.S. airlines three times between 2009 and 2012, and nearly succeeded twice. But the Saudi/UAE war in Yemen has made them the most powerful indigenous armed group in southern Yemen, with more money, arms and territorial control than ever before. The Saudi-led coalition and the forces of the Saudi backed former regime have allied openly with AQAP and even fought alongside them. As a result of the war AQAP is now poised for the first time to compete for national power In Yemen.
The war is also increasing anti-American sentiment in Yemen. As Senator Chris Murphy Christopher (Chris) Scott MurphyMcConnell plans vote on Green New Deal before August recess Push to end U.S. support for Saudi war hits Senate setback Feehery: Defining what socialism is (and isn’t) MORE (D-Conn.) has pointed out, Yemenis believe the war is being waged by the U.S., not by the Saudi/UAE coalition, which they view as a U.S. proxy. “(W)e are helping to radicalize the Yemeni population against the United States,” Murphy warns.
Some Members of Congress refuse to support H. Con. Res. 81 because they accept the official rationale for U.S. involvement in the war created by the Obama administration. They argue that the United States has no choice but to support the Saudi-led war because it is necessary to oppose an expansionist Iran. But it is widely recognized that the Houthis are not Iranian proxies; they pursue their own interests and strategy.
Armed US drone shot down in Yemen https://t.co/sw1baNIq7W pic.twitter.com/8wFLyK55Uy — The Hill (@thehill) October 2, 2017
Before the war began, in fact, U.S. intelligence learned that Iran had advised the Houthis against seizing power by force in Sanaa in 2014 but the Houthis ignored the advice and had instead responded to encouragement from their erstwhile foe, former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The Obama administration promoted the idea that Iran had been supplying arms to the Houthis by sea for years before the war started. But that argument was based on old recycled claims by the Yemeni government that were contradicted by the publicly available evidence. After seizing power in 2014, the Houthis did obtain a bon |
hired, up to and including C-suite executives, provided that companies demonstrate that hiring through the program will enhance long-term skills development and job creation for Canadians.
The new stream, set to launch June 12, will let participating employers use a new streamlined labour-market impact assessment program that will guide them through the application process in 10 business days, and process worker applications, also in 10 days.
"Our lens is really looking at the local challenges in Canada, looking at companies that want to grow and scale up, companies that are feeling shortages and gaps in skills," he said in an interview Thursday at the Toronto offices of Peraso Technologies Inc., the wireless chip company that hosted the announcement.
The current process to hire skilled workers can take up to a year. "We've lost more people in that process than we've actually hired," said Ron Glibbery, Peraso's chief executive officer. "It takes so long, they find other jobs. We're just thrilled that this new policy is coming into play. … What this program really allows us to do is scale with quality."
Mr. Bains said losing potential talent isn't uncommon. "The speed and scope and change of technology is really fast. The quick processing time really allows companies to be nimble, to keep pace with the change in demand," the minister said.
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Axonify Inc. CEO Carol Leaman said the program could help entice more workers to Waterloo, Ont., where her company is based, and in which "the talent pool is only so big" compared to labour demand.
"We need more smart people, period," she said. "And people from other places to bring a different perspective, a different experience – and in that respect, it absolutely helps elevate the game."
A spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said that details are still being finalized, but that high-wage foreign nationals are typically permitted two years to work in Canada and extensions are available with no maximum duration.
The Information and Communications Technology Council projects that Canada will need 182,000 workers in its sector by 2019, and has said that Canada will struggle to meet that demand.
Ben Bergen, executive director of the Council of Canadian Innovators, emceed the event and said that while foreign workers won't fill that entire gap, it's a start. "By expediting the process, we'll be able to keep that talent that is so desirable all over the globe," he said.
The ministers declined to put a number on how many applications they expect to get for the Global Talent stream. "Demand will be generated by companies, not generated by individuals living in other countries," Ms. Hajdu said.To kick off my look at the best prospects in the minor leagues this week, I've ranked all 30 MLB farm systems from top to bottom, considering only the players who are currently in their systems and who have not yet exhausted their rookie of the year eligibility. (I use the same criterion for the individual player rankings that will be posted over the next three days.)
I've done these rankings for the past few years, and I was surprised at how few farm systems there were this year that had both impact and depth, fewer than in any of the previous years in which I've gone through this exercise. Some of that reflects all of the major promotions that took place in 2012, but we've also hit a slightly down period in the cycle of farm system quality.The Liverpool squad will enjoy a 'normal Christmas Day' with their families after a morning training session on December 25, Jürgen Klopp has explained.
Having claimed a dramatic, stoppage-time victory over neighbours Everton at the beginning of the week, the Reds will end it on Sunday with more preparation for the visit of Stoke City to Anfield next Tuesday.
Once training has finished at Melwood, the players will return home for the festivities ahead of the resumption of their Premier League campaign.
“Tradition-wise, in Germany it’s a little bit different,” Klopp told Premier League Productions of the plans for himself and his players. “In Germany we celebrate Christmas on December 24.
“On December 25 we will train in the morning at 11am, so everyone will be home around about 1pm. From this moment on it will be a normal Christmas Day for all of us, maybe apart from the analysts! [Laughs]
“But for the rest of us, it’s a normal Christmas Day and we all will enjoy it with our families, which is how it should be.”A former priest found guilty of sexually abusing children in Igloolik, Nunavut, 30 years ago has been sentenced to 19 years in prison.
Eric Dejaeger, 67, was found guilty last year of 32 counts of child sexual abuse dating back to his time as a priest in between 1978 and 1982.
"Your selfishness has devastated a generation of young Roman Catholic parishioners in Igloolik," Justice Robert Kilpatrick, of the Nunavut Court of Justice, wrote in his sentencing decision.
"Many lives have been irrevocably altered by your dark legacy. For many victims, the commission of your offence has marked the end of living and the beginning of their survival. You must now atone for the many wrongs that you have inflicted on others. This sentence is only the beginning of that atonement."
The Crown had asked for a sentence of 25 years in prison, while the defence suggested 12 years.
Both lawyers recommended that the accused be credited two days for every day spent in pretrial custody.
Kilpatrick agreed, crediting Dejaeger eight years for his time spent in remand. That means he has 11 years left to serve on the sentence.
Dejaeger has been in custody since January 2011, following his arrest on immigration charges in his home country of Belgium.
It was discovered his citizenship there was no longer valid. Dejaeger was then returned to Canada to face charges laid in 1995.
Dejaeger's lawyer, Malcolm Kempt, had urged the judge to consider Dejaeger's age and health issues in sentencing.
"This factor [old age] was created by Mr. Dejaeger himself as a direct result of his flight from justice and long self-imposed exile in Belgium," Kilpatrick wrote.
"Had Mr. Dejaeger appeared as required in 1995 to answer the new criminal allegations, he would not have been in a position to raise his age and medical condition in mitigation of sentence."
Dejaeger still faces charges of indecent assault and gross indecency relating to incidents alleged to have occurred in Edmonton between 1975 and 1978 when he was studying at Newman Theological College.
WARNING - The judgment below contains graphic descriptions of sexual offences
On mobile? Click here to read the judgmentHowever hard I’ve tried to deny it, it’s now officially autumn. Boo! It doesn’t have too many redeeming features in my eyes – it means the end of the summer holidays (for both students and teachers, like me), the weather gets cold, and it’s still too early to mention the C-word (no, not that one. I mean Christmas). As far as I can tell, the only good things about autumn are the pretty orange trees, getting to wear big cosy jumpers, and the food – as you’ll see in this humungous collection of vegetarian mushroom recipes, autumn means lots of hearty casseroles, soups and stews (which I’ll continue to eat for about the next 8 months until the sun decides to show again). One of my favourite things to cook with at this time of year are mushrooms – they’re rich and meaty enough for warming autumnal recipes, and they’re really versatile. If you’re also a mushroom fan, here are some of my favourite vegetarian mushroom recipes from around the blogosphere.
Casseroles and stews
Crock-Pot mushroom stroganoff (pictured above)
15 minute mushroom stroganoff
Walnut and mushroom stew with cheesy cobbler topping
Creamy mushroom and chickpea curry [vegan]
Mushroom and black bean chilli [vegan]
Leek and wild mushroom stew from Oh My Veggies [vegan]
Vegan sausage and mushroom etofutée from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen [vegan]
Stuffed mushroom casserole from An Edible Mosaic
Pasta
Goat’s cheese and mushroom pasta with walnuts and basil (pictured above)
Creamy Boursin pasta with mushrooms and spinach
Garlic mushroom macaroni cheese
Pasta in creamy mushroom white wine sauce
Vegetable, paneer and pasta bake from Veggie Belly
Three cheese tortellini and mushroom soup from Skinnytaste
Mushroom kale lasagna rolls from Skinnytaste
Mushroom and chive pasta from What’s Gaby Cooking
Creamy goat cheese pasta with spinach and mushrooms from Two Peas and Their Pod
Porcini and pumpkin ale mac and cheese from Tide and Thyme
Other main dishes
Vegetarian haggis and mushroom wellington [vegan] (pictured above)
Halloumi and portobello burgers with homemade peri peri sauce
Teriyaki mushroom egg fried rice bowls
Mushroom and kidney bean koftas [vegan]
Mini mushroom picnic pies
Garlic mushroom burritos with sriracha rice
Mushroom and brie sausages
Portobello, red pepper and pesto pizza from Pinch of Yum
Portabella mushroom cheesesteaks from Oh My Veggies
Acorn squash stuffed with brown rice mushroom pilaf from Veggie Belly
Green bean mushroom tart with blue cheese from A Spicy Perspective
Creamy polenta with roasted mushrooms from Two Peas and Their Pod
Mushroom, spinach and feta quiche from Tinned Tomatoes
Mini mushroom tarts from Disturbingly Delicious
Sides
Mushroom and chestnut vegetarian stuffing [vegan] (pictured above)
Tikka mushrooms
Beer battered mushrooms
Garlic mushroom bulgur with chickpeas
Brie and mushroom potato gratin
Stuffed fontina portobello skillet from How Sweet It Is
Cheesy garlic and onion stuffed mushrooms from My Life As A Mrs
Mushroom, garlic and parmesan flatbreads from My Life As A Mrs
Wine and thyme mushrooms from Veggie Belly
Enchilada stuffed mushrooms from Lauren’s Latest
Mushroom, farro and fontina salad from What’s Gaby Cooking
Other dishes
TexMex vegetarian cheesesteak sandwiches (pictured above)
Creamy pesto mushrooms and halloumi on toast
Vegetarian full English breakfast
Leek, mushroom and goat’s cheese parcels
Roasted garlic mushrooms with brie
Leek and mushroom rarebit
Mac and cheese stuffed brown sugar balsamic portobellos from How Sweet It Is
Baked eggs with mushrooms and parmesan from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Wild mushroom and goat cheese frittata from A Spicy Perspective
Mushroom and fontina tartine from What’s Gaby Cooking
Caramelised onion and chanterelle mushroom stuffing from Kitchen Treaty
So there you go! I hope you’ve now got a few more ideas for some great vegetarian mushroom recipes to warm you up this autumn. Enjoy!... don't know where, don't know when. Love that song.
Anyway here's the two love birds Iccia and Jakis enjoying each other's company and gave. Though they knew each other in school a bit, well she was a shy girl and he was a bit of a bully they class their first true meeting to be on the Citadel in 2186 after the Reaper war. Both the Turian Navy and Blue Suns were rebuilding what they could and it was by chance their paths crossed like this, both thought the other were dead, thankfully they were totally wrong!
Now in 2189 they returned to the place they first met, a corridor overlooking the Presidium Commons, three long years since they first met they stand in round about the same place they did last time now lovers. Others would kiss or cuddle but right now for them looking at each other is enough, knowing they're lucky to be alive in this new age.
________
Yes that armour looks familiar, belonged to Nyreen Kandros. I thought given that she inspired Iccia's design I made her armour similar. The colour shading is a bit messy but I worked on this when I was experimenting so that explains the two different styles.
Also the watermark/signature, keep, modify or delete?
Iccia and Jakis @
Mass Effect and all that stuff @ Bioware.A big source of deposits for the government is usually the government selling bonds. And that's where the debt ceiling comes in: if the government cannot sell any more bonds because it's hit the debt ceiling, it won't have the funds to pay for all those things it makes withdrawals for. That includes Social Security checks and interest payments on the debt.
So what happens next?
When the government writes a check, it goes to whoever is getting paid. The payee then deposits it in its own bank account. The bank then submits it to the Federal Reserve for clearing.
So far, that's just pretty much the same thing that happens when anyone else writes a check. Except for something very strange--the Obama administration seems to be insisting the Federal Reserve would not allow the U.S. Treasury Department to overdraw its account.
Millions of Americans have overdraft protection on checking accounts that allow them to write checks in excess of the amounts deposited in the accounts. These are sometimes controversial because banks often attach high fees to overdrafts, which mean that you could put a $3 cup of coffee on your debit card and get hit with a $35 fee. But those kind of fees are generally waived for very wealthy bank customers who, ironically, enjoy feeless overdrafts.
When I was a lawyer I was never terribly wealthy. But I did enough business with my bank that it gave me a free overdraft. If I could have that kind of protection as a young associate in my 20s, shouldn't Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner be able to get the same deal from the Federal Reserve bank he used to run?
In truth, the Obama administration is either fibbing or misunderstanding the financial system. The United States almost certainly enjoys unlimited overdraft protection from the Federal Reserve because there is almost zero chance the Federal Reserve would ever bounce a check written by the U.S. government.
Think about it. The check comes into the Federal Reserve. It looks at the U.S. government balance and discovers that we're at zero. What does the Federal Reserve do?
I'm pretty sure the Federal Reserve would go ahead and credit the bank submitting the check with the deposit to account for the fund transfer.
Legally, this is a bit murky. It's not clear that the Federal Reserve would be required to clear a check that exceeded the amount on deposit. It may be within its authority to reject the check.
But rejecting a check written by the government of the United States would probably violate the dual mandate of the Fed to pursue maximum employment and price stability. A U.S. government that bounced checks would just introduce so much chaos the Fed would likely be obligated by its core mandates to credit the check.
This leads to the next question: Would having the Fed credit the account of a bank that presented a check on the U.S. Treasury Department's empty account amount the incurrence of new debt in violation of the debt ceiling?Friday
1. Hill Time, 3 P.M.
Yes, it is firmly on the tourist track, but Parliament Hill is worth the climb. High above the Ottawa River rise the copper-topped turrets and gargoyled facade of the Centre Block, the soaring Gothic Revival building that houses Canada’s Parliament. Skip the guided tour and take the free elevator to the top of the Peace Tower (advance tickets required). At 302.5 feet, it is among the city’s highest structures and is a good perch from which to survey Ottawa, as well as its twin city Gatineau, Quebec, across the river.
2. Historical Views, 5 P.M.
A Unesco World Heritage site, Rideau Canal — 126 miles of locks and waterways completed in 1832 and stretching from Ottawa to Lake Ontario — turns into an ice rink in the frosty depths of winter. For a bird’s-eye perspective, go to Major’s Hill Park, whose grassy bluffs also afford great views of the Ottawa River and Parliament, especially at sunset. Slip inside nearby Château Laurier, the castlelike railway hotel opened in 1912. Just off the lobby hang portraits from the hometown photographer Yousuf Karsh, including his famous 1941 shot of a scowling Winston Churchill, taken seconds after Mr. Karsh snatched a cigar from the P.M.’s mouth.
A statue of Sir Wilfrid Laurier sits near the East Block, part of Parliament Hill. Credit David Giral for The New York Times
3. Bar Politics, 6:30 P.M.
Politicians, staff members and policy wonks descend from Parliament in droves for Hill Hour (4 till 7, weeknights) at the Métropolitain, a Parisian-inspired brasserie and oyster bar. Cozy up to the vintage zinc bar to eavesdrop on political intrigue over oysters from Prince Edward Island (1.50 Canadian dollars, or $1.12) and beers from the local brewery Kichesippi. Barkeeps in pressed vests keep glasses filled, and the conversation in English and French grows more heated as the evening progresses.
4. Food Bank, 8 P.M.
A dose of urban chic just off Parliament Hill, Riviera opened in 2016 in an Art Deco bank building. (Yes, the vault is now a wine cellar.) Inside, a small, changing menu is served to a well-dressed crowd under 50-foot ceilings with brass fixtures. Sit at the kitchen bar and start with the tuna crudo with puffed quinoa (18 Canadian dollars) or shaved black truffle on toast (18 dollars), before moving on to exquisite homemade pastas or smoked short ribs on white-corn polenta (32 dollars). The wine list is complemented by inventive cocktails, including the Jockey Full of Bourbon (Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Taylor Fladgate Port, Ancho Reyes liqueur; 14 dollars). Then head to Elgin Street, home to many taverns and some of the city’s better restaurants. A line often snakes up from the Manx, a tiny, below-ground pub with local beers on tap, including Broadhead Wildcard, a lightly bittered Ottawa ale.“To fear the world we have organized and led for three-quarters of a century, to abandon the ideals we have advanced around the globe, to refuse the obligations of international leadership and our duty to remain 'the last best hope of earth' for the sake of some half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems is as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans consigned to the ash heap of history,” McCain said in the speech.
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The Arizona senator said “we live in a land made of ideals, not blood and soil” and said Americans “are the custodians of those ideals at home, and their champion abroad.”
“We have done great good in the world. That leadership has had its costs, but we have become incomparably powerful and wealthy as we did,” McCain said.
“We have a moral obligation to continue in our just cause, and we would bring more than shame on ourselves if we don’t. We will not thrive in a world where our leadership and ideals are absent.”
McCain, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in July, served in the Navy for more than two decades and spent years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
The former Republican presidential nominee made headlines earlier this year after casting a dramatic vote against a GOP bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare, killing the legislation.CHAKWAL: Built in 1860, a historic mosque in Dulmial village was rechristened a ‘place of worship’ in 1974, when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s government declared Ahmadis to be non-Muslim.
The building, which saw mob violence on Dec 12 that left two dead and three injured, may now become the scene of a legal battle between the village’s Ahmadi community and its Sunni residents.
The place of worship has been sealed by judicial magistrate Chaudhry Zaffar Iqbal, based on an application by Mohammad Nawaz, the station house officer of the Choa Saidan Shah police station. Both parties have been asked to submit their responses to the court on Jan 3, 2017.
The order issued by the magistrate states that Darul Zikr, the religious site in question, is a bone of contention between “Sunni Muslims and Ahmadi sect. Both these sects are in a tug-of-war since long which resulted into carnage,” the order observed.
Dulmial’s Muslim residents have claimed ownership of a religious site built by ancestors of local Ahmadis
It went on to say that the dispute would likely break the peace within the limits of the court’s territorial jurisdiction, and directed the concerned parties to attend court hearings in person or through their pleader on Jan 3. Both the parties have been asked to submit written statements of their claims about the possession of Darul Zikr.
According to members of the local Ahmadi community, the place of worship was built by their ancestors in 1860.
“We belong to the Awan tribe, and our tribe laid the foundation of Dulmial. The minaret of the mosque was built in 1927, and the mosque was known as minar wali masjid. After we were declared non-Muslim by the Bhutto government in 1974, the mosque remained in our possession but was renamed Darul Zikr, because according to the law we could not refer to our places of worship as mosques,” explained an Ahmadi resident of Dulmial who left the village in the wake of the Dec 12 attack.
Some of the Awans of the village became Ahmadis in the early 20th century. Until 1974, Dulmial had been a stronghold for the Ahmadi community, which made up around half the village population. After they were declared non-Muslim, Ahmadi Pakistanis began leaving the country to escape attacks against them, many moving to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The resident added that the Muslims of the village did not make any calls for the possession of the mosque. However, in 1997, some Muslim residents of the village asked the Ahmadis to vacate Darul Zikr, claiming it was founded as a mosque and should be returned to the Muslim community. The demand led to a brief and vague legal dispute that ended without resolution.
“The Muslims filed a civil case with a local court over Darul Zikr’s ownership. The civil judge sealed Darul Zikr and it remained sealed for a few days. In those days, we had to worship in the street,” an Ahmadi resident from the village recalled. He said the building was unsealed after the Ahmadi community appealed against the civil judge’s order before a sessions judge.
The Muslims filed an appeal with Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi Bench. According to local Ahmadis, the Muslims did not follow the case in the LHC while local Muslims said the case file got lost in the court.
Former Choa Saidan Shah tehsil nazim Hafeezur Rehman said: “The case file was deliberately lost in the LHC thrice. That was why we gave up the legal battle.” Mr Rehman is a suspect in the Dec 12 attack.
Dulmial union council vice chairman Faiz Ahmed Faiz claimed that they did not follow the case because Ahmadis were powerful and in a position to get a favourable verdict.
“The LHC would only order Ahmadis to demolish Darul Zikr’s minaret and tomb. In such an expected verdict, Darul Zikr would not fall into our possession,” he said.
Since 1997, the Dec 12 attack is the first of its kind to take place in the village over the Darul Zikr dispute.
“The question is why did the Muslims of the village remain silent over the issue for 23 years? They filed a case in 1997, while we were declared non-Muslim in 1974,” said a village local. “Does it make any sense that we would not have a single place of worship in a village that was not only founded by our ancestors but also remained a stronghold of our community?”
Leaders from the Tehreek Tahafuz Khatm-i-Nabuwat have made a legal panel to fight the ownership case while Dulmial’s Ahmadi community has yet to do so since many have left the village since the attack.
Published in Dawn December 19th, 2016As pressure from the Obama administration mounts on the Ecuadorian government and Assange to halt the flow of Hillary's emails, Wikileaks just posted the following tweet revealing heavily armed "police" outside of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
PHOTO: Heavily armed 'police' appear outside Ecuadorian Embassy in London where Julian Assange has political asylum (photo, Tuesday morning) pic.twitter.com/EOfsrmi3t2 — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 21, 2016
The "police" presence apparently began to amass earlier this week just as Wikileaks confirmed that the Ecuadorian had agreed to cut Julian Assange's internet access after a little political pressure from John Kerry...
We can confirm Ecuador cut off Assange's internet access Saturday, 5pm GMT, shortly after publication of Clinton's Goldman Sachs speechs. — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 17, 2016
BREAKING: Multiple US sources tell us John Kerry asked Ecuador to stop Assange from publishing Clinton docs during FARC peace negotiations. — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 18, 2016
...and as an allegedly bogus plot, with links to the Clinton campaign, was revealed that attempted to link Julian Assange to a pedophilia ring.
Here is the "headquarters" of the front (PAC?) behind the Assange "took US$1M from Russia" plot
More: https://t.co/xOjTy15Mkf pic.twitter.com/ukcZ6O9URv — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 19, 2016
Internet sleuths connect Clinton to mysterious intelligence contractor associated with Assange false accusations 2 https://t.co/idKuVC1BoD pic.twitter.com/ueX2JKhpOw — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 19, 2016
With just over 2 weeks left until the election, pressure definitely seems to be mounting on the WikiLeaks organization...one has to wonder whether a President Clinton could resist the urge to "just drone this guy."
And then, just after 5pm Eastern, Wikileaks tweeted the following: "Mr. Assange is still alive and WikiLeaks is still publishing. We ask supporters to stop taking down the US internet. You proved your point."This August 1st marked the third annual IPA day, which was founded as a way to celebrate the ingredient that many believe has defined the American Craft Beer movement. US beers, particularly those brewed on the West Coast, stand out with their liberal use of hops—and it was with this in mind that Mendocino Brewing decided to make their first 30th Anniversary Ale a hoppy, West Coast style Pale Ale. To further highlight the hops character, this ale will be single-hopped using only Cascade hops, which may be the most influential hop in the history of American craft beer!
America’s Hop
Up until the 1930’s, US brewers imported most of their hops from Germany. However, the impending war in Europe was impacting hop supplies, so the US government re-established the hop research facility at Oregon State University. By 1935, Oregon fields were producing about 26 million pounds of hops—90 percent of which were Cluster hops.
Cluster hops are believed to be the one of the oldest cultivated American hops, but they have what turned out to be a significant failing—a vulnerability to Downy Mildew. It was this weakness that would prompt the later development of what is now the most popular hop in the US, the Cascade hop.
USDA 56013—resistance is not futile
When the USDA and Oregon State University joined forces to develop a hop that would stand up to downy mildew, they likely had no idea the impact this new hop would have on the craft beer industry. The Cascade hop was first known by the rather Borg-like designation of USDA 56013, just one of many other hop varieties being tested for mildew resistance. But the new hop turned out to have more than a hardy constitution—it also had some qualities similar to the German aroma hop Hallertauer Mittlefrueh. The OSU breeders believed they had found an attractive replacement for the imported hops, and, by 1967, USDA 56013 was being produced on a small plot in Oregon.
The Forgotten Hop
The hop breeders of OSU may have had faith in the new hop, but the US beer industry wasn’t quite ready yet. The macro lager brewers that dominated the market were resistant to change, and they preferred to stick with the familiar European aroma hops rather than take a risk on this new, unknown variety. It wasn’t until the late 60s, when the German hop fields were attacked by their own disease, causing the price of imported aroma hops to skyrocket, that the big industry brewers decided to give the newly-dubbed Cascade hop a chance. In 1972, the Cascade hop was released to the public, and was chosen by Adolph Coors (yes, that Coors!) for use as an aroma hop.
Swimming against the mainstream
Coors’s interest in the Cascade hop helped encourage its further cultivation, but it turned out that the Cascade’s aroma was too strong for the mainstream brews they preferred to produce. Coors cut back on the usage of Cascade, but the hop was already starting to get noticed by the more adventurous craft brewers. Fritz Maytag, of Anchor Steam, chose the Cascade hop for his Liberty Ale, brewed in anticipation of America’s bicentennial on July 4, 1976. Liberty Ale was considered the first modern IPA brewed after Prohibition, and Maytag’s use of the Cascade hop, as well as its promotion to craft brewers by Dr. Haunold, helped to build the Cascade’s reputation as an aromatic and well-balanced hop. Now the Cascade is the most popular hop chosen by craft brewers, and has spurred the ever-growing range of IPAs—the fastest growing craft beer style in the US. In fact, as brewers compete for the best beer at beer festivals around the nation, hop growers battle each year for the coveted Cascade Cup, given to the growers of the best example of the Cascade variety.
Hop Independence!
Not only did the Cascade hop help define the style of American craft beer, it also freed the US from a dependence on imported varieties. The Cascade hop is a player in many of Mendocino Brewing’s beers, including White Hawk IPA, Talon Double IPA and Eye of the Hawk. How appropriate that Mendocino will honor this hop with their 30th Anniversary Pale Ale!
Herbal, pine, citrus, floral or fruity. Hop forward or lingering run-out—how do you like your IPAs? Let us know in the comments below!
And for a great video that follows the hop harvest from the ground up, check out this link: Hop Harvest in OregonBy Nik Brumsack at Meadow Park
Arsenal Ladies face an uphill battle to reach the Champions League final after being beaten 2-0 by VfL Wolfsburg at Meadow Park.
Goals in each half from Conny Pohlers and Martina Muller did the damage on a frustrating afternoon for Shelley Kerr’s side in front of 1,406 supporters.
In truth, 2-0 was a harsh reflection of a tie in which luck deserted the Gunners.
Ellen White twice had efforts cleared off the line and also rattled the crossbar on a day when the ball just wouldn’t go in for Kerr’s team.
The Ladies had gone into this tie having recorded a morale-boosting 6-0 win against Birmingham in the FA Cup quarter-final on Tuesday night.
Kerr made just one change to her team from that game, with Jennifer Beattie replacing the suspended Ciara Grant.
With Kelly Smith still injured, Steph Houghton captained the side. Kim Little and Jordan Nobbs, who had both excelled against Birmingham, partnered her in the middle.
Kerr had spoken in the build-up to the game about the urge within the squad to avenge the disappointment of two successive European semi-final defeats.
But Wolfsburg’s rise to the top of German club football has been rapid and they came into this clash seven points clear at the top of the Frauen Bundesliga and full of confidence.
The visitors started the game well. They were quick to press Arsenal in midfield, they used the ball effectively and they came close to taking the lead after seven minutes, when Muller was only denied by Gilly Flaherty’s important sliding block.
The game was tense. Neither side were able to assert complete control on proceedings, with the industry of both midfields preventing a clear chance at either end.
But slowly, Kerr’s side began to grow into the tie.
After 20 minutes, Yankey’s inswinging corner caused pandemonium in the area and, after a goalmouth scramble, Lena Goessling was on hand to head the ball off the line.
Not even a minute later, White and Little linked up before the latter flashed a shot inches wide.
But just as Arsenal began to seize control of proceedings, the visitors took the lead.
Flaherty was robbed by Anna Blasse 25 yards from goal. The winger advanced down the right before whipping in a cross that an unmarked Pohlers volleyed clinically beyond Byrne.
The Gunners’ response was almost instantaneous.
White bustled her way clear of the defence and, after rounding Alisa Vetterlein, toe-poked an effort goalwards. Unfortunately for the England international, Luisa Wensing diverted the ball away from danger.
Wolfsburg had largely managed to stifle the pair’s influence on the tie but five minutes before the break, Yankey got away and was fouled near the touchline.
That Houghton went for goal perhaps caught Vetterlein by surprise, and the goalkeeper was fortunate to see the effort cleared just in front of the line.
The second half began following very much the same trend of the opening 45 minutes.
Wolfsburg worked hard to frustrate their opponents. They defended stubbornly and held the ball well when in possession.
After an hour they could have doubled their advantage.
Alexandra Popp was slid clear through the middle and was met by the onrushing Byrne. The forward went down and when Kateryna Monzul rushed over with her hand in her pocket, the Ladies will have feared the worst.
Fortunately for Arsenal and Byrne, Monzul produced a yellow card for simulation that rules an outraged Popp out of the second leg.
As the second half progressed, the Ladies began to up the pressure.
Jennifer Beattie glanced a header wide before White nodded against the crossbar.
The striker went even closer with 15 minutes to play, rising highest to meet Yankey’s cross but seeing her effort nodded off the line by Wensing.
Wolfsburg had somehow weathered the storm, and in the closing stages they took a big step to securing their place in the final.
Anna Blasse’s cross from the left arrived at the feet of Muller at the back post. The striker made no mistake, placing the ball past Byrne to ensure that Wolfsburg will go into next week’s return leg as favourites to progress.City councillor Doug Ford is blaming a broken window on his SUV on his political rivals.
Coun. Ford, who is managing the re-election campaign for his brother, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, told reporters on Tuesday the rear window of his vehicle was smashed in sometime during the night.
The SUV was one of four vehicles in the driveway of his Etobicoke home, Ford said.
"My neighbours never got touched. No one got touched except my car," Ford told reporters.
Police say they are looking into the incident.
Coun. Ford pinned the blame on his and his brother's political opponents, without naming specific people or offering any proof.
"Like I said earlier, it's going be a dirty campaign and unfortunately a couple of the other camps are lowering themselves to do this," he said.
Coun. Ford has also blamed recent protests against his brother on unspecified political opponents. He suggested Joe Killoran, the now-famous "shirtless jogger," was working for a rival campaign when he heckled the mayor last week, and on Tuesday made the same accusation against the Killoran-inspired "shirtless horde" that has recently taken to protesting Ford events.
Tory, Chow respond
John Tory — a frontrunner, together with Olivia Chow, to replace Ford in the Oct. 27 municipal election — dismissed Ford's accusation.
"That's just Doug Ford going off again and providing entertainment for people," Tory said.
"The notion that my campaign — or I would say for that matter, Ms. Chow's campaign — would have anything to do with this is ridiculous," Tory said.
Chow's campaign also denied involvement.
"As with many of Doug Ford assertions, it's completely without truth or foundation," the campaign said in a statement.Most modes of transport humans have devised are capable of going up inclines. Cars routinely handle 30 degree inclines. Humans ourselves can handle extremely steep inclines around 80 degrees (especially when using stairs or steeper when using climbing gear). But trains have a huge problem handling inclines; the hardest incline in England (the Lickey Incline) is just over 1.5 degrees, and to get a train up that requires adding "banking locomotives" (additional engines in the back, to push).
This is one of those questions I never thought to ask. I've been on lots of trains, but that travel has, in retrospect, been extremely level compared with all the car and bus trips I've taken. If you're curious why this is, let Top Gear co-presenter James May explain why trains are built for level travel, and supremely ill-suited to inclines (and declines!).
If you're curious about the math of how a car goes up an incline, this discussion thread might interest you.
If you'd like some more James May material on trains, check out these outtakes from the above:The Young Ones is a video game based on the British comedy television series, The Young Ones. The game takes place in the students' home. The player can choose to play as either Vyvyan, Rick, Neil, or Mike to explore the house and enter different rooms. The other characters become computer-controlled players. All characters can move around the house, pick up and drop objects, as well as break and fix things. The characters often talk, giving the player clues as |
gave the court occasion to consider whether there is such a right; here is how the court responded:
[P]laintiff bases his fundamental liberty interest argument on Lawrence v. Texas (2003) [which struck down a ban on same-sex anal-sex] …. In order to understand fully the methodology employed under this line of cases, analysis properly begins by considering the most recent of the Supreme Court’s decisions in this line, namely Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) [the same-sex marriage case -EV]. Importantly, Obergefell explicitly establishes that the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses are “interlocking” and each “leads to a stronger understanding of the other.” In other words, Obergefell highlights that the decision to recognize an implied fundamental liberty interest as judicially enforceable turns, in part, on whether the liberty interest at issue has historically been denied on the basis of impermissible animus or, alternatively, on a legitimate basis aimed at protecting a vulnerable group.
[Footnote: Obergefell‘s discussion of the interlocking nature of liberty and equality explains—or is at least consistent with—the Supreme Court’s willingness to recognize constitutionally protected and judicially enforceable implied fundamental liberty interests when the person asserting the right has been denied a liberty based on animus or moral condemnation, but not when the denial is rooted in a desire to protect the vulnerable. See, e.g., Washington v. Glucksberg (1997) (declining to enforce a fundamental liberty interest in obtaining physician-assisted suicide in part due to the vulnerability of certain patients); Cruzan v. Dir., Mo. Dep’t of Health (1990) (similar). Thus, the Supreme Court has made it plain that the government can restrict certain freedoms as necessary to protect or otherwise to further permissible interests. See id.; also, e.g., Casey v. Planned Parenthood (1992) (plurality opinion) (employing an “undue burden” test in the context of the fundamental liberty interest in procuring an abortion because “the State’s interest in the potential life within the woman” justifies certain regulations). ]
Lawrence is not to the contrary. There, the Supreme Court reasoned that a statute criminalizing homosexual sodomy violated a judicially enforceable implied fundamental liberty interest in sexual intimacy because of the history of animus towards homosexuals. See Lawrence (noting that “powerful voices … condemn homosexual conduct as immoral” but that this does not permit “the majority [to] use the power of the State to enforce these views on the whole society through the operation of the criminal law”). Indeed, the Supreme Court has since noted [in Obergefell] that Lawrence “acknowledged, and sought to remedy, the continuing inequality that resulted from laws making intimacy in the lives of gays and lesbians a crime against the State” and “therefore drew upon principles of liberty and equality to define and protect the rights of gays and lesbians.”
Under the Lawrence methodology, history and tradition continue to inform the analysis. See id. (“History and tradition guide and discipline [the implied fundamental liberty interests] inquiry but do not sett its outer boundaries.”). Yet, courts must consider not only the history and tradition of freedom to engage in certain conduct, but also any history and tradition of impermissible animus that motivates the legislative restriction on the freedom in order to weigh with appropriate rigor whether the government’s interest in limiting some liberty is a justifiable use of state power or an arbitrary abuse of that power.
In this respect, the conclusion … that there is no deeply rooted history or tradition of BDSM sexual activity remains relevant and important to the analysis. Also relevant and important to the analysis is the absence of a history of impermissible animus as the basis for the restriction at issue here. Sexual activity that involves binding and gagging or the use of physical force such as spanking or choking poses certain inherent risks to personal safety not present in more traditional types of sexual activity. Thus, as in Cruzan and Glucksberg, a legislative restriction on BDSM activity is justifiable by reference to the state’s interest in the protection of vulnerable persons, i.e. sexual partners placed in situations with an elevated risk of physical harm.
Accordingly, consistent with the logic of Lawrence, plaintiff has no constitutionally protected and judicially enforceable fundamental liberty interest under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to engage in BDSM sexual activity.What's this? We've started displaying a small selection of trending subreddits on the front page. Trending subreddits are determined based on a variety of activity indicators (which are also limited to safe for work communities for now). Subreddits can choose to opt-out from consideration in their subreddit settings.
We hope that you discover some interesting subreddits through this. Feel free to discuss other interesting or notable subreddits in the comment thread below -- but please try to keep the discussion on the topic of subreddits to check out.
Trending Subreddits for 2014-05-13
A community for 4 years, 46,106 subscribers.
This subreddit is for stories of the greatest stupidity. Inspired by How I Met Your Mother, this subreddit was created for the purpose of hearing amusing stories and having other try to guess if you were drunk or a kid.
A community for 1 year, 137,343 subscribers.
For things that are mildly infuriating.
A community for 10 months, 9,896 subscribers.
A subreddit for gifs, Michael Bay style
Does your guy randomly explode for no reason? Submit it here!!
A community for 2 months, 18,235 subscribers.
Get some crayons and a coloring book to turn adorable pictures into twisted and or hilarious corruptions of their former selves.
A community for 4 years, 550,819 subscribers.
The best links to click while you're stoned!
Trippy, mesmerizing, and mindfucking games, video, audio & images that make you go 'woah dude!'
If you like to look at amazing stuff while smoking weed or doing other drugs, come inside for some Science, Philosophy, Mindfucks, Math, Engineering, Illusions and Cosmic weirdness.So remember Smike? Yeah, that Youtuber who made a lot of artists really upset by profiting off of their hard work.He sent me this bogus contract to sign to use my FNAF fanart, yeah? It literally just says "I get to use every piece of FNAF fanart you ever made or ever will make for free with nothing in return". If you were approached with such a contract, please be advised that this is what it says, and I urge you not to sign it since this guy makes a lot of money off of his videos and you aren't going to get one red cent off of it. Moreover,Meaning that he would literallyI really want to make sure you understand this and for heaven's sake,He sent out a bulk email this morning saying he's going to "write up a new contract" and thankfully, anyone naïve enough to have signed over their souls has been freed. Here's the slimeball's email, warning us that we can't sign the contract and graciously assuring us that he isn't going to use our fan art until his shiny new contract is ready. And rest assured, I will be sharing the new and improved model with you, too.Spread this like fire andWrong History as Propaganda
The Internet is abuzz when the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), by virtue of its Freedom of Information policy, declassified over 12 million pages of secret documents online. There are “millions of documents… from the Nazi war crimes to mind-control experiments to the role the CIA played in overthrowing governments in Chile and Iran.” As you guessed it, this is huge! Suddenly a treasure trove for historians is made available.
But then came another trending topic first forwarded by a certain Carlos Munda, a Duterte supporter, that in a declassified document from the CIA, President Corazon Aquino in her capacity (as reposted by several websites), “‘requested US airstrike that could ‘kill Filipinos’ during the 1989 coup’”.
The phrasing is a click bait, and is sure to anger Filipino netizens who usually wouldn’t bother to open the article and read, and critically analyze. In fairness to the article, it featured a screenshot of the one page document. On the other hand, I myself checked it on the CIA website and have successfully verified it to be true. [Click here for the actual document]
But it would be a great injustice to history if we take this document apart from its given historical context. To do so would be to misconstrue its original meaning and misunderstand it. The December 1989 Failed Coup Attempt was fully documented and disclosed by the Fact Finding Commission and released on 3 October 1990. (The full disclosure document here). To give you an overview, the Corazon Aquino Administration suffered seven (7) failed coup attempts led by either the Marcos loyalists, or the Reformed the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) led by Gringo Honasan. The RAM were the same guys who defected from Marcos on February 1986 and who were provided the civilian buffer by millions, in the event that came to be known as the EDSA People Power Revolution.
In August 1987 coup, when the rebels were retreating from their attack of the Malacañan Palace, they were able to gun Cory’s son, Noynoy Aquino’s convoy, killing 3 of his bodyguards and wounding him, having been shot at five times. Up to this day, fragments of the bullet are still lodged in his neck.
These coups were serious enough that the United States offered assistance to the Philippines numerous times, one of which was cited in the primary source in focus.
*Map of Coup Attempts and Military Interventions after Marcos, from the Historical Atlas of the Republic (2016).
As anyone can assess, the situation was desperate. But this does not excuse the fact that Cory Aquino as President would order “killing Filipinos” and that as the document attests, it entailed an involvement of the U.S. military which was, according to opposition congressmen, “unnecessary and unconstitutional.” However, this demands a second look. The phrase, “CIA docs reveal Cory requested US airstrike that could ‘kill Filipinos’ during the 1989 coup” does not completely capture the meaning of the straightforwardness of the document. Scroll up again and take a look at the primary source and examine it. Key words are the phrase lifted directly from the text:
“THE LOS ANGELES TIMES AND THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTED LAST WEEKEND THAT THE AQUINO GOVERNMENT ASKED FOR AIRSTRIKES BUT U.S. OFFICIALS REFUSED BECAUSE OF POLITICAL RISKS IN KILLING FILIPINOS.”
The document says it was widely broadcasted by LA Times and the Washington Post (hence public knowledge), that the Aquino administration’s contemplation of using airstrikes was not a done deal but was under negotiation and discussion. It never said Aquino insisted on using airstrikes EVEN when the U.S. officials told her the risks.
To further the argument that this was a discussion between two parties and was not yet a done deal, here in the same document:
“RAMOS SAID AQUINO TOLD PLATT TO DISCUSS THE OFFER WITH MILITARY OFFICIALS.”
Also consider the entire text’s context. It was the United States that “initiated offer to help,” hence, when the idea of U.S. military involvement was put on the table, and Aquino “asked” for an airstrike, the U.S. officials showed her the risks, and CLEARLY she acquiesced. U.S. war planes indeed only “provided air cover” for the Philippine ground forces to attack the rebels.
Given that the Fact Finding Commission described the 1989 Coup as an “extensive conspiracy” that had been planned to be “conducted with speed, surprise, and surgical precision against key facilities of a government in crisis” and even covered widely by the media, there was no conspiracy here, as if this were secret knowledge only revealed now.
Furthermore, look at the time stamp of the document itself. [Screenshot below]
It was declassified and approved on “2013/09/25″– that’s almost four years ago! So this particular document was not part of the recently declassified CIA docs as purported.
One must ask, why only now? This reveals some ulterior motive of this slight misinformation, that if peddled by fake news websites, do not clear our historical lens but further blurs it, to our detriment.
History, while at many instances, tells a lot of things about politics and the internal goings on in the halls of power, it should always strive to be impartial and therefore apolitical. Like all our past presidents, Corazon Aquino had lapses and errors in judgment. The indiscriminate military firing of protesting farmers at Mendiola on 22 January 1987 that led to 15 dead and the subsequent principled stand of the late Sen. Jose W. Diokno’s by resigning from the Aquino Cabinet due to the incident, comes to mind.
*A scene from Mendiola, 22 January 1987 (Credits to GMA News)
But I’m posting this issue here to encourage readers to be critical in your reading of the Internet, and don’t take news and fake news for what they are. Let us not be lazy. If we are to be researchers, or historians even, remember the unwritten rule–always check the primary sources, corroborate, and always see the bigger context of the document, its provenance, its author. Only then can we make a sound and rational conclusion.
History, an interpretation of past reality, is complex. If we are not careful, we will miss the nuances and the gray areas that would have enriched our historical understanding, and this will make us ready victims of political propaganda.
PS: The CIA declassified documents remain a treasure trove for historians. Who knows what documents still lay there? Interesting times.Getty Image
As a general rule, it’s bad form to refer to somebody who acts outrageously as mentally ill, as that tends to stigmatize mental illness and mental health advocates have enough problems in that department. This is especially true of America’s psychiatric and psychoanalytic personnel, who are trained not to diagnose somebody without that person being a patient. So it should tell you just how poorly Donald Trump is acting that a professional association of psychoanalysts has basically decided it’s OK for their members to admit they’re not sure if there’s something genuinely “off” with our current president.
The issue is one of ethics. A trained therapist can’t look at your public actions and decide you’re mentally ill. After all, our public face and actions can be radically different from our private ones, so our public dealings present a very incomplete picture of our psyche. It doesn’t help that back in the 1960s, therapists were dragged into the 1964 election with disastrous results for the profession, hence why the ethics around this are called the “Goldwater Rule.”
To be clear, we’re not talking about the American Psychiatric Association or The American Psychological association here, although enough people have made the assumption that it warranted a clarification. We’re talking about The American Psychoanalytic Association, or APsaA, which has approximately 3,000 members — compare that to the American Psychiatric Association’s 36,000 and the American Psychological Association’s 117,000 members. And while psychoanalysis is still popular, it’s not exactly the cutting edge of psychiatric science, having largely been replaced by cognitive and behavioral therapy. One more thing: despite headlines to the contrary, the association’s members aren’t just going to be running wild with this, either.
Here’s how one member explained it to The Atlantic:
“I personally am comfortable looking at observable behavior and saying, ‘That was an impulsive act.’ That doesn’t trouble me morally. I think it’s kind of silly to not be able to say. I know that I can confidently say, and I did, that the tweet about Mika Brzezinski showed a lack of discipline and self-control.”
So, essentially, a small professional body has decided it’s OK for its members to use slightly chiding language in its professional capacity, but not diagnose the President of the United States without sitting him down and getting into his personal issues. Just who qualifies as controversial, though, thankfully remains something we can all diagnose.
(Via Gizmodo)How Do European Countries Really See Russia?
Which European countries see Russia as a threat? And what are they doing about it?
That’s the question Prague-based think tank European Values set out to answer. On Monday, its Kremlin Watch program, with support from the European People’s Party, published, “How do European democracies react to Kremlin aggression?” (As the name of both the program and report suggest, the European Values think tank starts from the premise that Russia is aggressive toward Europe, and that that is not a good thing.)
The report, which tracks official statements from all 28 EU member states over the past decade, found the following:
Perhaps not surprisingly, three of the six countries pushing most forcefully for a European response to Russia are the Baltic states. They are joined by Poland, the United Kingdom, and, perhaps surprisingly, Denmark.
Five countries changed their response to Russia after the 2014 invasion of Ukraine, including Sweden and Finland, both of which, though not NATO members, are increasingly working with NATO to counteract Russia. On April 11, the two joined several NATO members in signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the European Center of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in Helsinki, a move meant to complement NATO, which welcomed the new center in a statement.
Two countries occasionally use a pro-Russian stance for domestic purposes. They are Slovakia and, most famously, Hungary.
Greece, Italy, and Cyprus “do not feel threatened and are advocating for better relations with Russia.” European Values argues “it’s hard to imagine” what else Russia would have to do beyond invading Ukraine, spreading disinformation throughout the continent, and meddling in elections to start changing minds in those three countries.
European Values sees the election of Euroskeptic political leaders as a major threat.
But here is another: There is no country ready to take the lead against perceived aggression from Russia. The United Kingdom is on its way out, and, if an all-left coalition is elected in Germany this coming autumn, the German government can be expected to behave even less “hawkishly” than it is now.
One counterweight could be France, which historically had close ties with Russia but which in the wake of the Ukraine invasion cancelled a big arms deal with Moscow and strongly backed European sanctions on Russia (the report categorizes France as trying to “stay away” from issues pertaining to Russia). But nearly all the leading candidates running for French president this year support Russian President Vladimir Putin; the lone exception, Emmanuel Macron, is now the frontrunner to win the election next month.
If France doesn’t do it, it could pass the torch Poland, which is both sizable and, for historic and political reasons, opposed to Russian encroachment on the EU. But Poland, the report says, “is missing out on the chance to be a genuine, legitimate and well-respected leader of this pack because of the unconstructive behavior of its government.”
After all, it’s difficult to be the EU’s eastern defender when your government spends no small amount of its time attacking it and its leadership from within.
Photo credit: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty ImagesApple's latest Mac operating system, OS X Yosemite, is here and boasts a hefty amount of fresh functionality.
Many new features simply aren't publicised by Apple, which is why we put together this list for you. You knew you could count on us.
If you haven't already, open the App Store and download the Yosemite bundle. Assuming you've backed up your important data, go ahead and install the OS now, then meet us back here for 20 quick-fire tips for making your Mac life even easier.
1. Maps show icon
Open up the Maps app and you'll notice it now has a Show icon in the lower left of the window. This additional button allows for faster switching between Traffic and 3D views.
2. Mail markup
If you're sending an image in an email and you think it would benefit from annotations such as shapes, arrows, speech bubbles or text, then look no further than Mail itself. Drop the image into your email's window and click the down-facing chevron that appears in its top-right corner to reveal a spree of mark-up options, just like in the Preview app.
3. Mail Drop
Large email attachments often never make it to their intended target because of server limitations. The usual workaround is to upload the file to a third-party file transfer service, but Apple now offers its own integrated solution called Mail Drop. Mail Drop automatically uploads large attachments to your iCloud account; if the recipient is also an Apple Mail user, the file appears in the received email just like a normal attachment, while non-iCloud account holders receive a simple link to download the attachment separately.
4. Selective Safari History deletes
In previous versions of Safari wiping your browsing history was a binary affair: delete everything or nothing at all. In Yosemite however, you can opt to delete only the last hour, the last day or the last 48 hours, allowing you to preserve your long-term web data.
5. Safari interface changes
Safari has inherited a clean iOS-like makeover in Yosemite, so that the Bookmark button is now tucked away in the Share menu, for example, while Favourites appear under the Address Bar as you type. This might irk users who are used to having plenty of options on view. Fear not: you can easily re-instate all your favourite buttons via the View > Customise Toolbar menu bar option.
6. Mail interface changes
Consistent with the new minimalist Yosemite aesthetic, Mail has also cleaned up its act, but it can catch users off guard. For example, switching accounts is done via the From: field in the Compose window. Also, the BCC option has moved to the dropdown menu next to the Send button, while the photo browser is accessed via the second-to-last button on the right (containing two overlapping rectangles).
7. Safari single Private window
If you want to do some discreet web browsing while also working in a regular window that autofills your usernames and passwords, you can. Select File > New Private Window or hit Shift+Command+N and a separate clandestine window to open alongside your existing one.
8. Stoplights
Time to get used to the new function of window stoplights in Yosemite - specifically the green button in the top-left of all open windows. Previously this would zoom the window to fill the desktop; now it takes the window into Fullscreen mode. To exit Fullscreen at any time press the Escape key, or the drag your cursor to the top-right of the window to reveal the menu bar and click the blue rectangle containing two arrows.
9. Notification Center
Just like iOS 8, Yosemite brings the Today view as well as third-party app extensions to the Notification Center, accessed via the triple-lined icon in the far right of the menu bar (for quicker access, assign a keyboard shortcut to reveal it via the Keyboard System Preferences pane). App extensions are downloaded in the App store - you're notified of new extensions for existing apps in the Notification Center itself.
10. Safari tabs
In Safari, click the Show all Tabs icon to get a clear stacked, file-cabinet-like view of all currently opened tabs in the current window. You'll also see any tabs opened on other Apple devices you own listed below them.
11. iPhone call Continuity
Yosemite enables you to take iPhone-bound phone calls and even make calls right on your Mac. For this to work, you’ll need a late-2011 Mac or newer. With that in mind, you can enable the feature by opening FaceTime on your Mac and checking the Preferences option ‘iPhone Cellular Calls’. If you want to call a number that appears in a web page, say, simply click it with your cursor, click the dropdown arrow that appears and select ‘Call xx-xxx-xxxx using iPhone’.
12. Send audio clips in Messages
To record an audio clip and send it in the Messages app, click the microphone icon alongside the Compose window. Record your message, click again, and the audio is sent just like a normal text message.
13. Activate iCloud drive
Now that both iOS 8.1 and Yosemite have arrived, iCloud is safe to use. So turn it on by going to System Preferences and checking the iCloud Drive option (in iOS, turn it on in Settings > iCloud). You should now have access to all your iCloud files from Finder, just as if they were in a local folder. Neat.
14. Dictation
If you want to use Enhanced Dictation in Yosemite (selected via the Dictation & Speech System Preferences pane) you have to download an extra 1.2GB of speech data to your Mac. If you foresee yourself wanting to use it when you might not have an internet connection, we recommend to download it while you still do...
15. Safari Recent Shares
Safari has a new Share trick up its sleeve: it remembers the recent recipients of your shared links and lists them in the Share menu for quicker access.
16. Dark mode
If you want to save your eyesight in the wee hours from that bright menu bar and dock, try out Yosemite's Dark mode, activated in the General pane of System Preferences.
17. Turn your iPhone into a Wi-Fi hotspot
If your iPhone is running iOS 8 and Personal Hotspot is On (Settings > Personal Hotspot), bring it within Bluetooth range of your Mac. Click on the Wi-fi icon in the menu bar and you'll see it appear as a network option in the list. Select it - you've just connected to your personal hotspot.
18. Quick Type in Text Editor
Press the Escape key when you're typing in Text Editor for a list of predictive results. See the one you want? select it with the arrow keys and press space to insert.
19. Handoff
When using a supported application (such as Mail or Safari) on your iPad or iPhone within range of your Mac, you’ll see an extra icon appear to the left of Yosemite’s dock. Click on it and your Mac will launch that same application with the mail, web page or whatever you were working on just as it appears on your iOS device, ready for you to continue were you left off. Note that only later Macs and devices using iOS 8 support this feature.
20. Batch rename files in Finder
It's now easier than ever to rename multiple files in Finder. Simply highlight your files with a combination of left mouse clicks and held Shift or Command keys, then right-click and choose Rename items from the contextual menu that appears. Choose Format in the dropdown, select your criteria and hit Rename. Done!
Liked this? Why not read iOS 8.1 Will Bring Back Camera Roll, Adds iCloud Photo Library
Words: Tim HardwickWhat are these doing in downtown Vancouver? Jomegat via Stanley Park Ecology Society
Hide your kids and drain your ponds. These strange brain-like blob creatures have emerged at a lake in a park in Canada and ecologists have basically no idea why.
These things are known as a bryozoan. This strange beast is actually a colony of small organisms bound together in a gelatinous gooey mass. There are about 5,000 extant species of this phylum but their lineage can be traced back millions upon millions of years. Most limestone formations from the Lower Ordovician era (488 million years ago) are often sprinkled with bryozoan fossils.
Ecologists have been finding handfuls of these over the last week in the Lost Lagoon of Stanley Park in downtown Vancouver – not the first place you would expect to see them alive and well. On the whole, they’re pretty harmless, although they can be known to get stuck in filtration systems.
This species, Pectinatella magnifica, has only previously been found in British Columbia on Saturna Island, 50 kilometers (31 miles) away over the Strait of Georgia. So what’s it doing in the city of Vancouver? Nobody’s quite sure.
“It's kind of like three-day-old Jello – a bit firm but gelatinous,” Kathleen Stormont, from the Stanley Park Ecology Society, told the Vancouver Courier.
“They’re a colony of tiny organisms that like to hang out together,” Stormont added. “They have a very ancient lineage that hasn’t changed for hundreds of thousands of years.”
Just one of these blobs was spotted at first. After all, they’re pretty well camouflaged in murky brown-green waters. However, after further inspection, the ecologists noticed that this particular pond was “full of them.” They're just not sure why.The 10-page bill was drafted by top senators from both parties. Deal on Ukraine elusive on Hill
Congress is set to head home for recess Thursday with no agreement on how to aid Ukraine and punish Russia for its incursion into the Crimean peninsula.
A key Senate panel on Wednesday approved legislation that would provide aid to Ukraine while leveling sanctions against officials responsible for undermining the nation’s sovereignty. The bill is more comprehensive than the House’s Ukraine bill — and the two chambers were nowhere near resolving the vast differences between their two bills as of Wednesday evening.
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The vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was 14-3. The legislation includes reforms to the International Monetary Fund requested by the Obama administration and Democrats, despite the objections from some Republicans.
( Also on POLITICO: Putin relations hang over Ukraine PM visit)
The legislation now goes to the full Senate for a vote, which hasn’t been scheduled yet.
“I hope so,” Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Wednesday when asked if the Senate will be able to vote on the Ukraine legislation this week. “We’ll see.”
Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, the top Republican on the panel, said he believed the Senate would take up the bill when lawmakers return from recess on March 24. Senate Republicans will insist on a 60-vote threshold to proceed on the legislation, according to GOP Whip John Cornyn of Texas.
The legislation calls for blocking assets and revoking visas of officials responsible for disrupting Ukraine’s sovereignty and those who perpetrated “gross human rights abuses” against anti-government protesters in the Eastern European country.
“President Putin has miscalculated by playing a game of Russian roulette with the international community,” the panel’s chairman, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), said in his opening remarks. “But we refuse to blink, and will never accept this violation of international law.”
( Also on POLITICO: Kerry to see Russian minister in London)
The Senate measure differs greatly from legislation that cleared the House last week, which simply provided loan guarantees for Ukraine. House Republican leadership would prefer that the Senate quickly pass the loan legislation, but on Wednesday, Reid ruled out that option.
“The House bill doesn’t have sanctions in it,” Reid said. “It doesn’t have the money we need.”
The IMF reforms that have been so controversial with Republicans would allow the United States to shift billions from its IMF crisis accounts to its general fund, but some Republicans are worried the change could also dilute U.S. influence within the IMF. Corker called the the IMF language a “poster child for why you want the IMF functioning fully and for us to be able to continue as the only country in the world that has the veto right” over IMF actions.
But not everyone agrees. In a statement, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) pleaded for that language to be pulled from the bill.
“This legislation is supposed to be about assisting Ukraine and punishing Russia, and the IMF measure completely undercuts both of these goals by giving Putin’s Russia something it wants,” said Rubio, a strong backer of aid for Ukraine. “I won’t support flawed legislation that is divisive and actually undermines our efforts to provide quick support to the Ukrainian people in their hour of need.”
( PHOTOS: Ukraine turmoil)
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he preferred that the bill not include the IMF language, but he will vote for it anyway.
“It’s of tertiary importance to me compared to getting the signal out that we’re supporting Ukraine,” McCain said.Giancarlo Stanton: The Miami Marlins Home Run King
In yesterday’s game against the San Francisco Giants, Giancarlo Stanton crushed yet another home run, his 43rd of the season in just 115 games. This home run passes Gary Sheffield for the most home runs in a single season by a Marlins hitter, a record set back in 1996. Stanton now holds three of the top four spots on the list, and four of the top six, with only Sheffield and Miguel Cabrera sharing the list with him.
This was just the latest home run by Stanton in what has been a barrage the last month or so. Going back to 7/4, just a week before the All-Star break, Stanton was hitting.265/.347/.523 with 21 HR in 346 plate appearances. From 7/5 till yesterday, Stanton has been smashing home runs left and right hitting.328/.436/.928 with 22 home runs in just 149 plate appearances.
Overall, Stanton is now hitting.283/.374/.640 with 43 home runs in 495 plate appearances and 115 games.
Stanton and Career Expectations
It took eight seasons of his career, but Giancarlo Stanton has finally turned into the monster power hitter many of us had hoped for. All it took was 22 home runs in his age 20 season in just 100 games, and then 34 the next season in a full season to make MLB fans want more. In 2012, Stanton was on pace for 48 home runs over a full 162 games, but instead played only 123 while hitting a career high 37 home runs. He faced more injuries in 2013 and only hit 24, but came back with 37 more home runs in 2014.
2015 and 2016 were much like 2012 and 2013, with Stanton playing 74 and then 119 games, with 27 home runs both seasons. For some, it seemed as though his star had faded and he may never truly be the elite home run hitter many had envisioned. However, for the first time in a few years, we are seeing a healthy Stanton, one that is showing off his true raw power. Sitting at 43 home runs with 45 games remaining for the Marlins, it looks as though the show has just begun.
The Rest of the Season and the 50 Home Run Club
As it stands, Stanton is hitting a home run about every 2.67 games this season. If the pace continues, this would put him at another 16-17 home runs if he plays every remaining game. This puts Stanton right on the edge of 60 home runs, something that has not been done since Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa in the 2001 season.
The most home runs hit in a season from 2002-present has been Ryan Howard, hitting 58 home runs in 2006. We have also seen Alex Rodriguez hit 57 and 54, Jose Bautista and David Ortiz hit 54, Chris Davis hit 53, Jim Thome 52, Andruw Jones 51, and Prince Fielder 50 on the nose. Seeing as Stanton is just seven home runs shy of the 50 home run club, it’s fair to say that he could rise up to the Ortiz/Bautista/Arod levels before the season is done, if not the magical 60 mark.
If Stanton does keep up the level of home runs that he has been hitting, and does indeed reach 60 home runs, he will become the fifth player to do so, joining Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Roger Marris, and Babe Ruth. This will also be one of nine overall seasons of 60 or more home runs, as both McGwire and Sosa appear on the list multiple times.
NL MVP in Stanton’s Near Future?
While taking a quick look at a possible MVP in Stanton’s future, he leads the MLB in both home runs (43) and slugging percentage (.640), and sits eight in fWAR in the NL (4.4 ) in what has become a very crowded NL MVP race. The Marlins sub-par record this season as well the extreme level of competition will likely hurt Stanton when it comes to the MVP vote.
However, if he manages to 55-plus, or even 60 home runs, other players may have a hard time overcoming such a huge home run total. It also helps that he has a nice batting average (.283) and a well above average OBP (.374) at the moment as well. His wRC+ is 5th in the NL at 156, but not far enough back from the leader (Justin Turner – 166) to make that much of a difference.
Stanton is no stranger to MVP Races, as he finished second to Clayton Kershaw in 2014 with 8 first place votes. At the moment, Stanton still does not appear to be a top three NL MVP candidate. If recent history is an indicator, hitting 50-plus home runs will get you a top four finish in the MVP voting, unless you are Jim Thome in 2002.
2006 Ryan Howard – 58 HR – 1st Place
2002 Alex Rodriguez – 57 HR – 2nd Place
2007 Alex Rodriguez – 54 HR – 1st Place
2010 Jose Bautista – 54 HR – 4th Place
2006 David Ortiz – 54 HR – 3rd Place
2013 Chris Davis – 53 HR – 3rd Place
2002 Jim Thome – 52 HR – 7th Place
2005 Andruw Jones – 51 HR – 2nd place
2007 Prince Fielder – 50 HR – 3rd Place
Leaderboards Since 7/5
As mentioned near the start of the article, Stanton has been going insane with the bat since 7/5. In that time Jose Altuve has a 207 wRC+ hitting.434/.469/.654 in 145 plate appearances. Mike Trout is just behind him with a 195 wRC+ hitting.347/.480/.602 in 123 plate appearances. Giancarlo Stanton leads baseball since 7/5 with a 234 wRC+ hitting.328/.436/.928 in 149 in that time. As excellent as Altuve and Trout have been, both fighting for the AL MVP themselves, Stanton has been just that much better than the pair.
It took eight seasons to get this kind of monster production of out Giancarlo Stanton, but the wait was worth it and he is putting on a show for us almost every night.
Like this: Like Loading...Almost as soon as they announced their 2011 farewell tour, the members of Judas Priest started clarifying that what they meant was that it would be their final major world tour. So if you missed them on that run, don't worry: It sounds like the band has had a change of heart.
During a recent interview with WVOX (via Brav |
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Pictures of the battered and bruised brave men and women who patrol the streets show the dangers they face every time they clock on a shift.
Critics have ploughed into recent PR stunts featuring officers painting their nails, walking in heels or going on dodgems.
But the service, and ex-officers, say the backlash is a smokescreen to take the focus away from spiralling crime rates and a shrinking, under-pressure workforce caused by Government cuts.
More than 40,000 officers and staff have been axed by the Conservatives over seven years, with Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary warning in March of a “national crisis”.
The Met Police, the country’s biggest force, has admitted it will no longer investigate lower-level crime because of budget constraints, while a lack of detectives has seen nine out of 10 burglaries go unsolved nationally.
And crime figures last week revealed a 13% rise in all recorded offences in England and Wales, with even bigger jumps in the likes of knife crime, violence and sex attacks.
Officers have become increasingly vulnerable with falling numbers forcing them to go out to patrol or attend calls alone.
The Home Office say an officer is physically attacked every 22 minutes (24,000 attacks last year).
From its last welfare survey, the Police Federation, the police union, estimated an officer is assaulted in some way - verbally or physically - every four minutes.
Calum Macleod, from the Federation, said: “Let us be clear, the losers in this are the public whose service has been diminished.
“Police officers up and down the country are crumbling under the pressure, moral is at rock bottom and the Government needs to listen to halt this.”
Det Sgt James Dowler was ridiculed by some last week for taking part in a campaign to raise awareness of domestic violence by walking in high heels.
But just two years ago, Sgt Dowler had his eyes gouged and his face smashed as he tackled a gang of five single-handedly.
When he tried to call for back-up, the gang took his radio from him and tossed it away. Colleagues found the South Wales officer lying on the floor with his head in his hands and blood pouring from his face.
Sgt Dowler said at the time: “For the most part I felt fairly safe wearing the uniform but unfortunately I was wrong.”
PC Safia Finlow, a Response Officer in Torbay, Devon, tweeted a photo of herself last week with her leg in plaster after an alleged assault that left her inspector “truly appalled”.
PC Heather Caruana was left unable to see out of one eye after being headbutted in the face when responding to a domestic call-out.
The Surrey constable, 30, said: “We are all single-crewed all the time, which is quite dangerous. We are supposed to double up on night shifts but if there’s not the staff we just go out on our own.
“In Surrey, because we’re quite rural, back up can be 20 minutes away.
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
“You feel sick when you hear someone has been assaulted. There is nothing worse than hearing someone screaming down the radio for help and you’re trying to get there as quickly as possible. It is just horrible.
“In this job you expect it at some point. You can’t go through this job and not be assaulted at some time, which is sad. It shouldn’t be that way.”
Labour’s shadow policing minister Louise Haigh said: “The reason we’re seeing rising demand on our police and rising crime is simply because the Tories have taken officers off the beat.”
It light of recent criticism, Merseyside’s Chief Constable Andy Cooke took to Twitter to joke: “Good job I’m not paranoid or I’d think there was an agenda.”
But ex-Met chief inspector Peter Kirkham went further and said: “The volume of this criticism always seems to rise when there is a rise in crime, an appeal for more funding, or a police pay decision pending, thus distracting the public from things the Government would rather not talk about.”The Henagar Drive-In Theatre in Alabama is under new management. And that management is not happy that the old owners had scheduled Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast as one of the movies they will be showing. Especially now that we know Beauty and the Beast will have a gay character for the first time.
The news was posted on the theater’s Facebook page:
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In case the embed doesn’t expand properly for you, here’s the full announcement:
As of December 16th the Henagar Drive-In is under new ownership. Movies scheduled prior to that date and four weeks after this date were not scheduled by the new owners. That being said...It is with great sorrow that I have to tell our customers that we will not be showing Beauty and the Beast at the Henagar Drive-In when it comes out. When companies continually force their views on us we need to take a stand. We all make choices and I am making mine. For those that do not know Beauty and the Beast is “premiering” their first homosexual character. The producer also says at the end of the movie “there will be a surprise for same-sex couples”. If we can not take our 11 year old grand daughter and 8 year old grandson to see a movie we have no business watching it. If I can’t sit through a movie with God or Jesus sitting by me then we have no business showing it. I know there will be some that do not agree with this decision. That’s fine. We are first and foremost Christians. We will not compromise on what the Bible teaches. We will continue to show family oriented films so you can feel free to come watch wholesome movies without worrying about sex, nudity, homosexuality and foul language. Thank you for your support!
Part of this statement includes the words “If we can not take our 11-year-old granddaughter and 8-year-old grandson to see a movie we have no business watching it.” The theater’s website has two movies on its “Now Showing” page: Moana, a PG-rated Disney film (just like Beauty and the Beast is) starring a Polynesian demigod, and Rogue One, which is rated PG-13 and features insurgents committing suicide bombings at government installations.
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Sopan Deb of the New York Times published an unedited transcript of his interview with Henagar Drive-In Theatre owner Carol Laney. In it, she explains that she has “family members who are homosexuals” and that “it does not mean I’m a bigot.” She puts the decision down to having to take a stand as a Christian:
And here’s her answer to why the movie, where a woman is trapped in a stranger’s home and then falls in love with a beast, was okay before a minor character turned out to be gay:
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It’s unlikely that this is going to put much of a dent in Disney’s bottom line, as the movie is currently on pace to make over $100 million on opening night. But it’s a reminder that there are still people who think the mere existence of a gay character is considered too “adult” for children.He also said that he expected a "much warmer" response from Trump’s administration to China’s One Belt, One Road infrastructure project.
The statement of one of the new American president’s top advisers came after Trump’s harsh criticism of China during his electoral campaign.
Moreover, Trump vowed to review Washington’s stance on all global trade agreements, both in consideration and already ratified.
In this context, representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Jerry Rice recently declined to comment on the possible outcome of Trump’s protectionist approach regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. Experts say that TTP was the very same deal that prompted China to establish the AIIB and the New Silk Road project.
© AFP 2018 / FRED DUFOUR The AIIB Has Been Designed to Benefit All
Analysts reacted to Woolsey’s remark, saying that Washington’s support for the AIIB would be a generous gesture towards Beijing. If Trumps endorsed United States’ participation in the AIIB and supported the Silk Road initiative this could pave the way for new investment agreements between China and the US.
"China can invite the United States to join the AIIB after Trump’s inauguration," Wang Huiyao, a director at the Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization, told South China Morning Post.
In particular, the change-of-heart statement about China was made after Trump has called to introduce 45-percent import levies on Chinese goods and declare Beijing a currency manipulator.
The Chinese government has been seriously concerned about this rhetoric, said Nikita Maslennikov, an expert at the Russian Institute for Modern Development.
"Of course, Beijing is concerned. I guess Trump’s team wanted to send a signal to China that his electoral promises were rhetoric and the actual situation will be different. Possibly, Trump's strategy towards China will be adjusted. The statement by his adviser is a signal of such an intention," Maslennikov said in an interview with Sputnik China.
© AP Photo / CHRISTIAN BRUNA China Hopes for New US Administration’s Support in Creating FTAAP - Vice FM
According to him, Trump has made a clear hint to China that both sides should consider a scenario for cooperation.
Moreover, the words by Trump’s adviser show that Washington wants American banks to play a new role in the Chinese market. In this context, the US wants to stimulate certain steps by Chinese partners, the expert pointed out.
"First of all, Washington wants the Chinese domestic market to be opened for American investment banks, similar to Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley," he suggested.
Currently, such financial institutions can operate in China but there are restrictions for certain operations. They also have to create a joint company with a Chinese partner, thus working on behalf of a Chinese company according to the local market rules.
"I guess this situation will be changed. Beijing has repeatedly sent signals it was working on lifting restrictions for direct involvement of American investment banks in the Chinese market. This would allow for improving risk management and making the Chinese market more transparent for US companies. This is why currently Trump’s team wants to correct his image as a president ready to negotiate and cooperate," Maslennikov said.
Trump may decide to support Washington’s membership in the AIIB and Beijing would support this decision, said Bian Yongzu, an expert of the Center for Financial Studies at the People’s University of China.
"Beijing has said that for the US the doors to the AIIB are open. The main goal of this bank is to fund infrastructure projects across Asia and help regional economies. In turn, Trump has pledged to develop the real sector in the US economy. Washington’s membership in the AIIB could create new opportunities for American economic development," he told Sputnik China.Last week brought us our first Fantastic Four trailer, and, with it, a rekindling of the flame-emoji of news that director Josh Trank has pitched his film as “Cronenberg-ian.” Cronenberg-ian! As in, “Hi, how are you, here’s my Cronenberg-ian Fantastic Four reboot.” That is, with respect, and whatever the thing just better than respect is, one hot influence take. But is it the hottest?
Below are the collected (recent) occurrences of what we will affectionately call Influence Bullshit — cases of directors and producers going some blessed degree of overboard when espousing their influences. These 10 claims have been painstakingly examined, rigorously scored, and, for emotional closure, ranked worst to best. What does “worst” mean, and what does “best” mean? It’s hard to say. Qualitatively measuring bullshit can be tricky like that. But we’ve graded each influence claim on three criteria:
1. Ambition: How ambitious is the claim? (“This sext was heavily influenced by Mozart’s early Vienna concertos.” That would be ambitious.)
2. Delusion: How delusional is the claim? (“This cat food was heavily influenced by the 1994 Olympics.” That would be delusional.)
3. Marketing: How well does the claim serve its claimer at the level of marketing? (“This movie, which I could make only so weird because of studio restrictions but want to convince you is weirder, was heavily influenced by Cronenberg.” That would be marketing.)
You get the point. In the end, perhaps it’s best to think of it like this: Influence claiming isn’t about art, it is art. And so here are 10 artists, and here are the 10 masterpieces they were brave enough to be brilliant enough to claim to be influenced enough to make.
10. Kevin Feige
Work: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Claimed influence: 1970s political thrillers
Citation: “It suddenly became very, very clear that [The Winter Soldier] needed to be a superhero movie … with a Seventies political action-thriller film.”
First impression: This checks out. Seventies thrillers were concerned with the politics of paranoia: Watergate, Vietnam, generational mistrust, and the idea climate left in its wake. But maybe more important than that, and what such a reading of the genre carelessly omits, is the unifying principle of “Robert Redford’s an actor who’s in movies sometimes.” Captain America: The Winter Soldier boldly reclaimed this principle and negotiated it through an eminently — almost too real — ’70s political narrative: the battle against a mysterious super-assassin on a path of terror after his release from cryogenic stasis.
Paramount
Ambition: [4/10] Delusion: [6/10] Marketing: [9/10]
Overall Influence Rating: 6.33
9. Seth Rogen
Work: Preacher, a forthcoming AMC television series adapted from the cult comic
Claimed influence: The Tree of Life
Citation: “Some inspiration for #Preacher.”
First impression: Definitely. The Tree of Life is pretty good, but one of its major problems — to be the thousandth person to say this — is that it doesn’t really work as cinema. As fast-paced, serialized plot? Awesome. As “will they or won’t they” romance? So dope. But Terrence Malick’s imagery, for all the effort, simply lacks a certain magic.
When I saw The Tree of Life in the theater, someone in the audience, a few rows back, whispered something that has stuck with me since: “I wish this were on AMC.” That feels exactly right.
Ambition: [9/10] Delusion: [8/10] Marketing: [3/10]
Overall Influence Rating: 6.67
8. Paul Thomas Anderson
Work: Inherent Vice
Claimed influence: The Zucker brothers
Citation: “We tried hard to imitate or rip off the Zucker brothers’ style.”
First impression: Oh, bro, for sure. The Zuckers — The Naked Gun, BASEketball, My Boss’s Daughter, Scary Movies 3-5 — are well known for lacing their slapstick farces with intense doses of plaintive melancholy. Anderson taps into that here. The director shed light on this secret recipe last month, on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, when he said, “Everyone knows I’m an important genius. What my Inherent Vice press tour asks is, ‘Am I also a hilarious populist?’”
Ambition: [6/10] Delusion: [7/10] Marketing: [8/10]
Overall Influence Rating: 7.00
7. James Mangold
Work: The Wolverine
Claimed influence: Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express and Happy Together
Citation: “Image from [a film] that inspired / influenced The Wolverine.”
I'm posting images from films that inspired / influenced THE WOLVERINE. Name the movies. Even better, go see them. pic.twitter.com/NI28PqvQ20 — Mangold (@mang0ld) March 2, 2013
First impression: Something not a lot of people know is that, if you want to make a movie indebted to Hong Kong cinema, all you have to do is set it in Japan. That might not make a lot of sense at first, but it makes more sense the less you think about it — and even more, if you think about it less and less; and then even less than that; and then only the tiniest humanly possible amount; and then literally not at all; and then eventually you forget that you ever thought about it to begin with, and you’re on your couch, and you’re watching James Mangold’s The Wolverine, and you’re thinking, Hey, this is pretty good, and wait, what was that trivia that made no sense about Japan? And what does Wolverine have to do with one of the greatest filmmakers ever? And, what is Hugh Jackman wearing? And when does Apocalypse come out? And does Famke Janssen need a contracts lawyer? And how did I get here? And who am I? And then you shut your eyes and lower the volume and fall softly, sensibly asleep.
Ambition: [9/10] Delusion: [7/10] Marketing: [6/10]
Overall Influence Rating: 7.33
6. Mitch Hurwitz
Work: Arrested Development, Season 4
Claimed influence: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower
Citation: “Hurwitz revealed that Stephen King’s The Dark Tower planted the seed that ultimately grew into the idea for [an Arrested Development] reboot.”
First impression: Been saying.
Ambition: [8/10] Delusion: [9/10] Marketing: [6/10]
Overall Influence Rating: 7.67
5. Joss Whedon
Work: The Avengers
Claimed influence: Black Hawk Down
Citation: “But it was Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down that really ‘unlocked’ The Avengers.”
First impression: Definitely, definitely. One of the best scenes in Black Hawk Down is when Ewan McGregor’s desk jockey is told he’s going to have to fight, and he says, “Yeah, hell yeah,” but his eyes betray the fear at the heart of the human condition. This is re-created, almost shot-for-shot, in Avengers, when the made-up superheroes have superpowers and do avenging and jokes.
Ambition: [8/10] Delusion: [8/10] Marketing: [9/10]
Overall Influence Rating: 8.33
4. Nicolas Winding Refn
Work: Drive
Claimed influence: Pretty Woman
Citation: “The biggest influence was Pretty Woman.”
First impression: One fascinating similarity between Pretty Woman and Drive is, of course, that they both have people in them. Many scholars now consider the films to be half of modern cinema’s “People Are in This” Tetralogy, along with Dugan’s Grown Ups 2 and Renoir’s The Rules of the Game.
Ambition: [6/10] Delusion: [10/10] Marketing: [10/10]
Overall Influence Rating: 8.67
3. Judd Apatow
Work: Funny People
Claimed influence: Cassavetes
Citation: “[The end of Funny People] was all about Cassavetes.”
First impression: ☺
Ambition: [10/10] Delusion: [10/10] Marketing: [7/10]
Overall Influence Rating: 9.00
2. Josh Trank
Work: Fantastic Four
Claimed influence: Cronenberg
Citation: “I always viewed Fantastic Four … to really fall in line more with a Cronenberg-ian science fiction tale.”
First impression: Really feeling this. At the end of the Fantastic Four trailer, from just offscreen, a voice cautions our hero, “Be ready for what’s coming.” “What’s coming?” asks Mister Fantastic. Those words — uttered as Mister Fantastic stands alongside Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and the Thing, in front of a blinding beam of giant fire-light penetrating through the earth’s crust in symbolic announcement of their megabudget brand-alignment recalibrating origin-story reboot — couldn’t be clearer: “A Cronenberg-ian science fiction tale.” It’s a powerful moment, and emphatically puts this case to rest.
Ambition: [9/10] Delusion: [9/10] Marketing: [10/10]
Overall Influence Rating: 9.33
1. Zack Snyder
Warner Bros.
Work: Sucker Punch
Claimed influence: Blue Velvet
Citation: “A movie that really rocked me was Blue Velvet. … And I thought, ‘Okay, that’s a movie. That’s how you do it. You crush it like that.’”
First impression: YES. Snyder has been compared favorably to David Lynch for years, and nowhere is this more earned than with Sucker Punch, a brilliant reimagining of Girl Power as rote male fantasy. All of Blue Velvet’s famous signatures are there: bluntly manicured edits in service of a PG-13 rating; shock for its own, non-kinky, un-subversive sake; and, most evocatively, a comfortable humorlessness. Near-homage.
Or: Maybe none of that’s true. Maybe, on second thought, this is no. 1 for a different reason. Maybe the truth is that Blue Velvet influencing Zack Snyder on Sucker Punch — as a claim, as a notion, as a Thing To Say — is a layer of bullshit so deranged, so darkly humored, so movingly and tenderly and beautifully wrong and out-there and alive … that there really, finally, is nothing left to call it other than, well, Lynchian.
And with that simple concession, we are left to ponder the reality that this claimed influence has ceased to be a claim and graduated to something else entirely: transcendence. Congratulations, Zack Snyder, our winner. Long bullshit the king.
Ambition: [10/10] Delusion: [10/10] Marketing: [9/10]
Overall Influence Rating: 9.67After years of early hype, shale gas companies appear to have lost hope of an energy revolution in most countries in Europe
This week in the UK, the Labour party announced plans to ban fracking in the UK if elected. Although heavily criticised by one of its biggest union donors, it marks a further shift in attitudes against shale gas in Europe.
When the EU’s trade commissioner met Exxon representatives behind closed doors in 2013, his message to the oil men was unambiguous: the US shale revolution is a paradigm shift.
Fracking was seen as a “game changer” for Europe, raising hopes of energy independence through a relatively cheap fossil fuel, with a reduced climate impact.
In 2011, Poland’s then-president Donald Tusk had already pledged to begin commercial fracking in 2014, after geological surveys estimated the country could possess up to 768bn cubic metres of shale reserves.
Hillary Clinton’s US state department was highly supportive. Senior officials described Poland as “a laboratory for testing whether US success in developing shale gas can be repeated in a different country, with different shales and a different regulatory environment.”
Tensions were rising in Ukraine. Energy security and competitiveness were eclipsing the climate as policy-making priorities and no EU energy event in Brussels was complete without a business lobbyist to make the case for shale gas. Private lobby pitches were equally high-powered.
In 2013, an unnamed BP executive warned the EU’s energy commissioner Günther Oettinger that low post-shale US gas prices had damaged the continent’s competitiveness. “Europe needs to exploit indigenous exploration and production resources... including Mediterranean exploration and shale,” the official said in a letter seen by the Guardian.
Fracking talk was so ubiquitous that EU civil servants made an ill-advised April fools TV news bulletin about shale gas being discovered beneath the commission’s Brussels HQ.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A Cuadrilla drilling rig in Lancashire prepares for fracking. Photograph: FLPA / Alamy/Alamy
From hype to silence
Three years later, with even the International Gas Union ruling out a shale revolution in Europe, the discourse of that time has a tipsy feel to it.
France, Germany and Scotland have all banned fracking. The troupe of oil giants that marched to Poland – Exxon, Chevron and Marathon among them – have all marched back empty handed. In Denmark too.
Shale gas ban 'would cement decline of UK manufacturing' Read more
In Romania, Hillary Clinton’s attempts to kickstart a shale gas market for US companies ended in mass protests and Chevron’s departure. In Bulgaria, the US trade mission ended in a fracking ban.
Even the shale gas lobby, which benefited from generous hype as the decade began, has been reduced to gently reminding policy-makers that “shale gas has not gone away”.
On the continent the pro-shale gas case is on the back foot, but environmentalists and industry draw different conclusions from its decline.
Alessandro Torello, a spokesman for the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers, said: “Europe will not experience a US-style revolution, but the potential remains significant and worth looking at. While it is true that at the moment it is difficult to make an economic case for shale in Europe, this is a long-term industry.”
For Friends of the Earth Europe, Antoine Simon countered: “The failure, so far, of shale gas development in Europe is mostly due to a failure by the fossil fuels industry to understand the differing context here. We have a higher population density, a population not used to living in close proximity of gas production fields and higher environmental standards.”
With the possible exception of Spain, the UK is now the last repository of hope for those keen to establish a shale gas industry on this side of the Atlantic.
The UK’s most high-profile shale gas developer Cuadrilla, for example, has found a ready audience in Whitehall for its position that shale gas can be a bridging fuel to a low-carbon future - with benefits for local communities, rather than a fossil fuel lock-in, carrying high risks to human health and the environment.
Fracking could lead to higher emissions
In 2012, the Economist fanned the shale debate with a widely cited ‘fracking great’ report about an International Energy Agency study. The article omitted to mention the study’s warning that a shale boom would raise global temperatures by an “unacceptable” 3.5C.
When burnt, shale gas produces slightly less CO2 than natural gas, which itself emits half as much as coal. But the picture is less clear when it includes methane emissions, which are 56 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year period, and could trigger feedback loops of global warming.
No fracking, drilling or digging: it’s the only way to save life on Earth | George Monbiot Read more
Professor Bob Howarth of Cornell University, a fracking critic, said that a spike in methane measurements from 2007 measured by Nasa satellite data corresponds with the beginning of the US shale boom.
Even so, the EU decided to classify shale gas as a low-carbon energy source and to shower it with public subsidies. This was in part due to an influential report - later the subject of a complaint (pdf) - in 2013 by the former chair of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s scientific advisory board, Dr David Allen.
Allen and his researchers were given access to 190 shale production sites, owned by major players such as Exxon, Chevron and Shell, and found that methane leaks were much lower than previously thought. The EU later dropped plans for binding regulation on methane emissions from shale gas, instead proposing a risk assessment.
While oil and gas prices remain low, the economics of shale gas recovery are unlikely to tempt investors into the European market.
But in the context of the Paris agreement, the risk of buying into a surge in atmospheric methane emissions – or a portfolio of stranded assets – is likely to weigh heavily on the industry’s prospects, outside the UK at least, for some time to come.4773 shares Facebook Twitter
There is nothing like a strawberry still warm from the sun topped with some whipped cream eaten in an outdoor setting. Kids learn about nature as they skip between the rows, careful not to damage plants (as parents, you would have primed them) and of course there are going to arguments as to who picked the biggest strawberry of the day. Recent rains have meant reduced strawberry crops but there are loads of blueberries and blackberries.
Open Mon to Sat 10 am to 6 pm and Sunday 10 am to 2 pm. March 1st to October 31st. You can pick your own strawberries as well as choose from other fresh produce at the farm, all grown for local markets.
Where: 3217 Spring Cypress Rd, Spring, TX 77388
Phone: 1-832-381-8202
Distance: 24.9 miles – 27 minutes via I-45 N
Strawberry picking takes place from 9 am to 5 pm – that means if you come at 5 you at least have an hour to pick before they close. They supply the buckets for strawberries at $1 (they are reusable) and the cost of the berries is $2.35 per pound. There are safety rules in place, which should be impressed upon children before they go out picking.
Times: Open 9 am to 6 pm every day of the week.
Where: 3601 TX-6, Alvin, TX 77511
Phone: 281-585-3531
Distance: 28.8 miles – 33 minutes via TX-288 SIn the long run it’s not a guy’s looks that count. It’s his little clucks in the face of danger.
A high rate of calling out in alarm turns out to be one of the clearest signs of a rooster with a successful sex life, says Chris Evans of MacquarieUniversity in Sydney, Australia. A rooster that readily gives warning calls when danger looms tends to rank high in number of times hens accept him as a mate and in number of chicks sired, Evans, David R. Wilson and colleagues report in the September Animal Behaviour.
A rooster may waggle a huge, ruby-red comb at hens, but if they’ve had a chance to get to know him, his splendor doesn’t mean success. In tests that mimic real life amonFor other ships with the same name, see USS Pittsburgh
USS Pittsburgh (SSN-720) is a Los Angeles-class submarine and is the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
History [ edit ]
Pittsburgh demonstrates an emergency main ballast tank blow in 1991. USSdemonstrates an emergency main ballast tank blow in 1991.
The contract to build Pittsburgh was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 16 April 1979 and her keel was laid down on 15 April 1983. She was launched on 8 December 1984 sponsored by Dr. Carol Sawyer, and commissioned on 23 November 1985.
On 2 April 1991 Pittsburgh and Louisville conducted submarine-launched Tomahawk missile attacks against Iraq during Operation Desert Storm.[1]
USS Pittsburgh departed in October 2002 to deploy in the Mediterranean Sea. There, she again fired Tomahawk missiles into Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.[2] She returned from that deployment on 27 April 2003.
References [ edit ]
This article includes information collected from the public domain sources Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships and Naval Vessel Register.Spoofing is the sincerest form of flattery. Or at least it would seem so in the world of television. And networks competing against AMC’s “Mad Men” for an Emmy or three were not amused when NBC, which will carry the awards on Aug. 29, released the first in a series of joking “Mad Men”-theme promotional ads this week for the Emmy show. The first ad — in which Jimmy Fallon, wearing a skinny tie, does his best Don Draper, above, with the actress Christina Hendricks as Joan Harris, her character in the series — was broadcast on Wednesday night. But after complaints by other networks, it was pulled from television and the Web, and two more ads have been delayed, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The spots — all featuring Mr. Fallon, who will host the Emmys — will be kept under wraps until after voting for the awards has ended on Tuesday. “Are they kidding?” an unidentified official from one network told the publication. “They’re running basically ads for ‘Mad Men’ in the middle of the voting process. That’s like having a presidential campaign and running an ad for one candidate.” NBC told The Hollywood Reporter that the ads had been released prematurely.Vital Signs is a monthly program bringing viewers health stories from around the world.
(CNN) The first woman ventured into space more than fifty years ago: Valentina Tereshkova in 1963. Since then, nearly 60 other women have followed in her footsteps.
But when they prepare for these journeys, one added challenge faces them: How should they handle their period?
"When women first went into space, it wasn't known what the effects would be," said Varsha Jain, gynecologist and researcher at Kings College London, who was among the authors of a recent paper on menstruation in spaceflight.
It turns out that while most systems in the human body are heavily affected during spaceflight, the female menstrual cycle doesn't seem to change at all.
"It can happen normally in space, and if women choose to do that, they can," Jain said.
A few waste-disposal facilities on board the international space station can handle human blood but were not originally designed to do so, according to Jain. A further practical issue of women having their period in space is the added weight and calculations of taking items such as tampons and sanitary towels.
Astronauts at NASA undergo individual assessments tailored to their needs, mission duration and physiology, according to a spokesman. "Protocols allow for several choices, the individual treatment selected for any particular astronaut is a private matter between the astronauts and their flight surgeon."
In reality, extensive practicalities aren't really a concern. Most women opt instead to use contraceptives and put their periods on hold, both in preparation for and during spaceflight, as highlighted in the paper by Jain and her colleagues.
"NASA flight surgeons are finding female astronauts just don't want to have to deal with their periods," Jain said.
When the space shuttle was in operation, missions would take a few weeks on average, enabling astronauts to use oral contraceptives to time their cycles accordingly, but missions to the International Space Station can last for up to six months, and any mission to Mars could involve journeys of up to three years -- putting periods on hold for much longer periods of time.
What are the risks?
"No research has been done on long-term use of contraceptives in space," Jain said. "What we do know from long-term use on Earth is, you can take it back to back for many years."
The evidence is fairly strong for the 3 billion-plus women here on Earth, but while Jain's team is eager to stress that these risks remain low when in space, the studies backing this up are hard to come by, mainly because the numbers available to study on are so few.
JUST WATCHED This astronaut would probably stay in space if she could Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH This astronaut would probably stay in space if she could 08:36
The paper highlights the now-common use of the combined oral contraceptive pill among female astronauts. "[These] have been used for a number of years," Jain said.
But with a mission to Mars likely to take years, the question of payload could come back into play due to the weight of the many pills required for the journey: an estimated 1,100 pills, according to the paper.
Instead, Jain is drawing attention to the now widespread use and availability of more longer-lasting options, known as long-acting reversible contraceptives, which are thought to be a safe and reliable alternative, in terms of both health and waste. "[There is] no packaging to dispose, and they dispel concerns regarding stability during storage," the authors write.
"This is the first time we can say these options are safe to use and available," Jain said.
Previous concerns about health risks in general related to factors such as exposure to radiation when in space and risk of blood clots during spaceflight, but anecdotal evidence from missions has revealed no such risks in practice.
"No one has experienced anything," said Virginia Wotring of the Center for Space Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, who co-wrote the paper.
She stresses that there is, however, evidence against myths of blood flow reversing when women have their periods in microgravity. "That has long been debunked," she said.
The benefit of bone density
Taking the birth control pill, however, could in turn provide some benefits for female astronauts on their return to Earth. "It could potentially be advantageous," Jain said.
The benefit comes down to one of the key physiological challenges facing all astronauts -- male and female -- who spend extended periods of time in microgravity: their bone density.
"The lack of gravity means astronauts lose bone mineral density," Jain said. This happens as there are no loads acting on the bone to strengthen it. "And what we do know is that estrogen can help with density."
Estrogen is a key ingredient of the birth control pill, and its use could therefore be putting females at an advantage during space missions. The hormone is, however, lacking from the longer-acting contraceptives.
"Estrogen is protective of bone," Wotring said. "[So this] could reduce loss."
Wotring plans to investigate this further but in the meantime will be working with female astronauts to keep their cycles primed, wherever they are in the universe.Abstract How has publishing in top economics journals changed since 1970? Using a data set that combines information on all articles published in the top-five journals from 1970 to 2012 with their Google Scholar citations, we identify nine key trends. First, annual submissions to the top-five journals nearly doubled from 1990 to 2012. Second, the total number of articles published in these journals actually declined from 400 per year in the late 1970s to 300 per year most recently. As a result, the acceptance rate has fallen from 15 percent to 6 percent, with potential implications for the career progression of young scholars. Third, one journal, the American Economic Review, now accounts for 40 percent of top-five publications, up from 25 percent in the 1970s. Fourth, recently published papers are on average three times longer than they were in the 1970s, contributing to the relative shortage of journal space. Fifth, the number of authors per paper has increased from 1.3 in 1970 to 2.3 in 2012, partly offsetting the fall in the number of articles per year. Sixth, citations for top-five publications are high: among papers published in the late 1990s, the median number of Google Scholar citations is 200. Seventh, the ranking of journals by citations has remained relatively stable, with the notable exception of the Quarterly Journal of Economics, which climbed from fourth place to first place over the past three decades. Eighth, citation counts |
for a couple of races and we'd never force anyone to race," Ryder said in relation to the ankle injury.
"He's a big-ticket guy and even though we've struggled a bit at the moment as a team there's nothing we can do. We're not going to force anyone into a race and then potentially jeopardise the Tour de France. That's the big objective for him and for the team and he wants to leave his mark in that race this year with stage wins."
"We'd rather be more cautious than anything else at this point. He's frustrated too but we all need to hold back so that he's 100 per cent for when it really matters."
Cavendish had an exceptionally long racing campaign in 2016 as he dovetailed his road ambitions with the pursuit of an Olympic gold medal in Rio. As well as racing several track events – including the World Championships, rounds of the World Cup and the Gent Six Day, he racked up 71 days on the road. He raced the Tour de France, wining four stages, before going on to take the silver medal in the Omnium event in Rio in August.
As a result of such a heavy schedule in 2016, Cavendish started this season looking to gradually build his form rather than be at his best straight out of the blocks. Despite not being in great shape the 31-year-old picked up a string of top-tens before winning stage 1 and the points jersey at the Abu Dhabi Tour in February. However he failed to feature in the sprints at Tirreno Adriatico – most likely as a result of the virus - and finished 101st in Milan-San Remo.
Cavendish has won 30 stages in the Tour de France and won the green points jersey in 2011. He is the second rider on Dimension Data to be diagnosed with Epstein-Barr Virus this year after Jaco Venter in January. The South African recently returned to racing.Why Michael Keaton Had To Change His Name For Acting By Jessica Rawden Random Article Blend It's not a complete secret that Michael Keaton is a stage name and not the popular Spotlight and Spider-Man: Homecoming actor's real name. However, what you may not know is why Michael Keaton actually went to the trouble of changing his name. He recently told Stephen Colbert on an episode of The Late Show that there were just too many people with the same name when he was first getting started. He good-humoredly said: My real name is Douglas, Michael Douglas. Immediately, it gets a laugh. I got a gig. I was just starting out and I got this job and because of the Union, there was Mike Douglas--who used to have a talk show--and Michael Douglas, the movie star, actor. And somebody said, 'Well, you know, you've got to change your name.' And I said, 'Well, I don't really want to change my name.' I'm very proud of my name... I said, 'Why?' 'Because there are two other guys in the union.' So I changed my name. Of all the luck in the world, Michael Keaton's birth name happens to be the same name of the actor who has appeared in such gems as Basic Instinct, Romancing the Stone and even the little Marvel hit, Ant-Man. And while Michael Keaton is technically Michael John Douglas and Michael Douglas is Michael Kirk Douglas, the actor's union wasn't having it. Especially since at the time there was a Mike Douglas who was popular during the Big Band era. With limited options, Michael Keaton said on The Late Show Starring Stephen Colbert that Michael Keaton is what he ended up with. He definitely could have chosen something worse. Apparently, however, in real life Michael Keaton still prefers to go by the name he was given. Although having to change his name for Hollywood may have been annoying, it at least does come with one or two perks--namely confusing the heck out of people in public. Keaton also revealed that when he gets picked up at the airport or whatever, he often inadvertently plays a trick on professional drivers, who either think they are getting the real Michael Douglas or some stranger--definitely NOT Michael Keaton. What's great is, I use my real name, Michael John Douglas, for everything, except when I'm on a marquee or a gig. So, people get very confused because I'll be going somewhere and they'll be a driver with a sign saying 'Michael Douglas' and then I show up. And they look so confused. If you've ever wondered if Michael Keaton chose his stage name thanks to the likes of Buster Keaton or Diane Keaton, he also debunked those rumors, noting he was just looking "in the k's" and thought the name was "good enough." Out of those humble beginnings, a star was born. You can next check out Michael Keaton in Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 7, 2017. And while you shouldn't look for Michael John Douglas in the credits for that movie, there are plenty of other things to look out for. OK, the Celebrity Big Brother 2019 Cast is Insane Blended From Around The Web Facebook
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A charity has called for 'child sex dolls' to be free on prescription for paedophiles - but have been accused of normalising paedophilia.
The chairman of StopSo's said that child sex dolls' being free on prescription could help an individual "remain law abiding".
But children's charities have condemned the idea and the National Crime Agency has called for the dolls to be criminalised.
Juliet Grayson, chairman of Chepstow-based charity Stopso, provoked the criticism by saying the dolls should be made available on prescription.
She said: "If someone comes forward and says, 'I am attracted to young children, and I want help to ensure that I never act on that attraction, so that I never harm a child,' then maybe society should consider the use of dolls in a carefully regulated way.
"Perhaps a 'prescription' for the use of a child sex doll could be given, alongside therapy, mentoring and supervision, could help the individual remain law abiding and fully accountable for their behaviour."
She added: "This carefully regulated use of child sex dolls might be one way to keepchildren safe. It feels like dangerous territory, but is certainly worthy of consideration."
"Society needs to reach a point where a teenager can say to his mum, 'I am a paedophile,' and she will get him the right kind of help to manage his behaviours in pro-social ways."
It comes after a Plymouth man was hauled before the courts for sentencing after possessing indecent images of children and for importing a child-like sex doll.
The dolls, with the appearance, weight and anatomy of a child, had been bought online from sites like eBay, Amazon and Alibaba.com, Wales Online reports.
Brian Hopkins, of Seymour Road, Mannamead appeared at Plymouth Magistrates; Court on July 6 where he faced a total of eight charges.
The remarks from StopSo, which bills itself as a "specialist treatment organisation for the prevention of sexual offending", come after more than 100 of the silicon mannequins were intercepted by the authorities on their way into the country.
The NCA said it had intercepted 123 of the dolls since March and that the seizures had led them to 120 alleged offenders including seven men who are now facing charges and all but one of whom was in possession of indecent images of children
A judge in Kent has also convicted a 72-year-old man of importing an "obscene" item, which illegal under the 1979 Customs and Excise Management Act.
The former church warden, David Turner of Ramsgate, Kent, was arrested when Border Force officials intercepted a 3ft-tall doll he was trying to bring in from China.“It’s not illegal to file this kind of paperwork,” explained Szpak. “This is America; they can say whatever they want. But it’s essentially a warning to law enforcement, saying, ‘We’re about to start committing criminal acts.’”
Which is exactly what Hameed, Young, and Palmer were doing. The trio scoured public records to find foreclosed houses in Delaware County, west of Philadelphia. Then they crafted jargon-laden paperwork claiming ownership on 70 properties worth more than $9 million. Most of the homes belonged to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or Wells Fargo bank.
After staking fraudulent claims to the properties, they listed the houses as rent-to-own opportunities on Craigslist at low prices, Szpak said.
FBI agents could not find the three suspects at first to conduct an initial interview about their claims of sovereign status; they did not live at the addresses listed on their declarations. Agents kept looking, using property records to track them down.
“Every time we went to one of these addresses, someone else was living there,” Szpak said. “The tenants told us they had bought or rented the property from the people we were looking for. That’s when we realized what they were doing.”
As the scope of the fraud became more apparent, the FBI was joined in the investigation by other agencies, including HUD, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and several county and local police departments.
In the midst of the federal investigation into the fraud, Hameed, Young, and Palmer were charged by local police for offenses such as trespassing. In response, the three played another trick popular within the sovereign movement: “paper terrorism.” They filed more than 250 fraudulent IRS forms against numerous state and local law enforcement officials and judges. The fake 1099-DIV and 1099-INT forms falsely claimed that the victims had been paid hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in dividends or interest.
Because the forms were fake, the victims did not know they had been filed and obviously did not pay any taxes on the income. In some cases, the IRS placed liens against the victims or seized tax refunds they would have otherwise been owed.
“These fraudulent tax forms can have a real impact on victims,” Szpak said. “And, even though they are fake, some of them can remain on victims’ credit reports for years.”
They also added to a growing list of federal charges the trio faced. The three were charged in December 2015 with conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, bank fraud, and corrupt interference with Internal Revenue laws, among other crimes. All three pleaded guilty in June 2016. Hameed was sentenced to eight years in prison in February; Young and Palmer received shorter sentences in 2016.
The scam left scores of victims in its wake, Szpak said, including people who learned they were not actually home owners. Although HUD and Wells Fargo worked with the unsuspecting victims who bought homes, none were allowed to stay in the homes they thought they owned.The Philadelphia Flyers continued their 2016-17 slide Tuesday night, dropping a 3-2 contest to the Winnipeg Jets to earn the 13th loss of their past 20 games.
Flyers goaltender Steve Mason didn't mince words after the loss, calling out his mates for failing to capitalize on the Jets' shorthanded blue line - Winnipeg played with six defensemen sidelined by injury.
"It was up to us to make them feel uncomfortable," Mason said after the game, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Sam Carchidi. "We're also facing a goaltender who hadn't had a start in two months, and I don't think we made it hard enough for him.
"We need a better effort."
The Flyers fired 26 shots at Jets netminder Michael Hutchinson, putting just two behind him (the second tally coming in the final two seconds, with the game all but sealed up). Mason faced 33 shots in total, stopping 30.
But it wasn't just the Tuesday-night loss that irked the veteran netminder.
"We keep playing like this and we'll be mathematically eliminated before you know it," Mason said. "We've got to stop this win-one-lose-one (habit). We have to have some growth on the team here."
With the loss in tow, the Flyers rank second-last in their division with 74 points. They haven't been eliminated just yet, as they sit seven points out of the East's final wild-card spot with 10 games remaining on their season.Proof of RAW’s interference handed over to US ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday briefed the US National Security Adviser (NSA) Dr Susan Rice on the unprovoked Indian firing at the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary and handed her the proof of Indian intelligence agency RAW’s interference and military and financial support to terrorists on its soil. During a meeting with Dr Rice at the Prime Minister’s House here, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif desired that the international community, including the US, should play its role in stopping the persistent human rights violations in the Indian Held Kashmir. — ANN Muhammad Saleh Zaafir adds: Appreciating Pakistan’s position on dialogue with India, the United States desired that the National Security Adviser (NSA) level talks between the two countries should have taken place in the current month. Washington’s standpoint became evident during separate meetings of the US National Security Adviser Dr. Susan Rice with Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Army chief General Raheel Sharif. Dr. Rice said Washington acknowledged the Pakistan Army’s sincere efforts and sacrifices in the war against terrorism. She held talks with her counterpart Sartaj Aziz at the Foreign Office. Later, she left for London. Highly-placed diplomatic sources told The News after the talks that Pakistan had impressed upon Dr. Rice that the US should play an assertive role in stopping India from aggression. India is out to create a war-like environment but Pakistan would never be browbeaten by the Indians, Dr Rice was told. The United States assured Pakistan that it was keen to work with it in the fields of economy, defence and energy. “The US wishes to alter the impression that its ties with Pakistan are confined to security but take these ties beyond, as Pakistan is an important country having the potential to make rapid progress,” she told the prime minister. Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Federal Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) or Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi, Secretary to the PM Javaid Aslam and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry were also present. Nawaz told Dr. Rice that Pakistan was engaged in an unprecedented war against terror and its troops were fighting the war valiantly while India was bombing the LoC and the Working Boundary and killing innocent civilians. “The United States should use its influence on India to stop it from aggression and compel it to respond to Pakistan’s sincere gestures in the same coin,” the prime minister said. Dr. Susan Rice, who had come here after visiting China, said China, Pakistan and the United States would work for establishment of peace in Afghanistan. The prime minister reminded her that Pakistan was sincerely supporting efforts for peace in Afghanistan. He said Pakistan believed that peace in Afghanistan would help restore peace in the whole region. “Not only the United States but also the United Nations should play its role for peace in Afghanistan,” he added. The sources said the US NSA briefed Pakistan about her country’s priorities in talks with Pakistan when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will be visiting Washington in the third week of October on the invitation of US President Obama. She placed the ISIS threat atop the US priorities for discussion followed by counter-terrorism actions, checking of global epidemics, effective control over the aftermath of climate changes and issues with regard to gender bias. She categorically stated that the United States was keen to enhance its interest in Asia since this part of the world was making rapid progress. “Dr Rice expressed deep appreciation for the sacrifices made by Pakistan in its efforts to root out terrorism and extremism and the success achieved so far,” a statement from the PM House said. “Rice underscored the importance of strong Pakistan-US relations. She noted the positive direction of ongoing cooperation between the two countries, especially in areas of defence, economy and energy sectors. “Pakistan sees its relations with the US as a partnership which is in the interest of the two countries, the region and the world.” The PM House has stated that Dr. Susan Rice was accompanied by Senior Director for South Asian Affairs at the US National Security Council Dr. Peter Lavoy and Ambassador Richard Olson. The meeting focused on matters of bilateral interest and the future of Pakistan-US relations. Situation in the region also came under discussion. The prime minister said the US was an important partner to Pakistan in all areas, especially economy, defence and counter-terrorism. He said Pakistan saw its relations with the US as a partnership which was in the interest of the two countries, the region and the world. The prime minister said that he was looking forward to his visit to the US in October this year as an opportunity to further strengthen ties between the two countries. Dr. Rice underscored the importance of strong Pakistan-US relations. She noted the positive direction of the ongoing cooperation between the two countries especially in the areas of defence, economy and energy sectors. Dr. Rice expressed deep appreciation of sacrifices made by Pakistan in its efforts to root out terrorism and extremism and the successes achieved so far. She also appreciated Prime Minister’s vision of a peaceful neighbourhood. Accompanied by Dr. Peter Lavoy, Ambassador Richard Olson and other senior officials from the NSC, she later met her counterpart Sartaj Aziz. Wide-ranging discussions were held on the regional situation, especially in the wake of emerging security environment in Afghanistan and current stalemate in the Pakistan-India dialogue process. Discussions were also held on broader areas of Pak-US bilateral cooperation and preparations for the forthcoming visit of the prime minister to the US in October this year. The adviser hosted a lunch in the honour of the visiting US delegation. Later, addressing an expanded meeting, she outlined President Obama’s global vision and future priorities and said this vision provides a very important framework for a multi-dimensional partnership between Pakistan and the US. The expanded meeting was also attended by Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Ms. Anusha Rahman, Secretary Defence Lieutenant General (retd) Muhammad Alam Khattak and Secretary Interior Shahid Khan. During the expanded meeting, the two sides reviewed different areas of Pak-US cooperation and expressed satisfaction over current stability in these relations. Areas of possible future collaboration between the two countries were also discussed. The US NSA also referred to some apprehensions expressed by Afghanistan from time to time with regard to the Taliban presence in Pakistan. Dr Rice also met Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif before leaving for her next destination. According to an ISPR statement, matters of mutual interest, including the regional security situation, came under discussion. The US dignitary acknowledged Pakistan Army’s sincere efforts and sacrifices in the war on terror. Matters of mutual interest, including the regional security situation, were also discussed. Both the dignitaries also recognised the continued need for close coordination for ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region, the statement added. Meanwhile, the civil and military leadership on Friday assailed the Indian forces for flouting all international norms and targeting the country’s civilian population as the two neighbours exchanged the deadliest fire in recent months along the border.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday briefed the US National Security Adviser (NSA) Dr Susan Rice on the unprovoked Indian firing at the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary and handed her the proof of Indian intelligence agency RAW’s interference and military and financial support to terrorists on its soil.
During a meeting with Dr Rice at the Prime Minister’s House here, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif desired that the international community, including the US, should play its role in stopping the persistent human rights violations in the Indian Held Kashmir. — ANN
Muhammad Saleh Zaafir adds: Appreciating Pakistan’s position on dialogue with India, the United States desired that the National Security Adviser (NSA) level talks between the two countries should have taken place in the current month.
Washington’s standpoint became evident during separate meetings of the US National Security Adviser Dr. Susan Rice with Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Army chief General Raheel Sharif.
Dr. Rice said Washington acknowledged the Pakistan Army’s sincere efforts and sacrifices in the war against terrorism.
She held talks with her counterpart Sartaj Aziz at the Foreign Office. Later, she left for London.
Highly-placed diplomatic sources told The News after the talks that Pakistan had impressed upon Dr. Rice that the US should play an assertive role in stopping India from aggression.
India is out to create a war-like environment but Pakistan would never be browbeaten by the Indians, Dr Rice was told.
The United States assured Pakistan that it was keen to work with it in the fields of economy, defence and energy.
“The US wishes to alter the impression that its ties with Pakistan are confined to security but take these ties beyond, as Pakistan is an important country having the potential to make rapid progress,” she told the prime minister.
Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Federal
Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) or Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi, Secretary to the PM Javaid Aslam and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry were also present.
Nawaz told Dr. Rice that Pakistan was engaged in an unprecedented war against terror and its troops were fighting the war valiantly while India was bombing the LoC and the Working Boundary and killing innocent civilians.
“The United States should use its influence on India to stop it from aggression and compel it to respond to Pakistan’s sincere gestures in the same coin,” the prime minister said.
Dr. Susan Rice, who had come here after visiting China, said China, Pakistan and the United States would work for establishment of peace in Afghanistan.
The prime minister reminded her that Pakistan was sincerely supporting efforts for peace in Afghanistan.
He said Pakistan believed that peace in Afghanistan would help restore peace in the whole region.
“Not only the United States but also the United Nations should play its role for peace in Afghanistan,” he added.
The sources said the US NSA briefed Pakistan about her country’s priorities in talks with Pakistan when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will be visiting Washington in the third week of October on the invitation of US President Obama.
She placed the ISIS threat atop the US priorities for discussion followed by counter-terrorism actions, checking of global epidemics, effective control over the aftermath of climate changes and issues with regard to gender bias.
She categorically stated that the United States was keen to enhance its interest in Asia since this part of the world was making rapid progress.
“Dr Rice expressed deep appreciation for the sacrifices made by Pakistan in its efforts to root out terrorism and extremism and the success achieved so far,” a statement from the PM House said.
“Rice underscored the importance of strong Pakistan-US relations. She noted the positive direction of ongoing cooperation between the two countries, especially in areas of defence, economy and energy sectors.
“Pakistan sees its relations with the US as a partnership which is in the interest of the two countries, the region and the world.”
The PM House has stated that Dr. Susan Rice was accompanied by Senior Director for South Asian Affairs at the US National Security Council Dr. Peter Lavoy and Ambassador Richard Olson.
The meeting focused on matters of bilateral interest and the future of Pakistan-US relations.
Situation in the region also came under discussion. The prime minister said the US was an important partner to Pakistan in all areas, especially economy, defence and counter-terrorism.
He said Pakistan saw its relations with the US as a partnership which was in the interest of the two countries, the region and the world.
The prime minister said that he was looking forward to his visit to the US in October this year as an opportunity to further strengthen ties between the two countries.
Dr. Rice underscored the importance of strong Pakistan-US relations. She noted the positive direction of the ongoing cooperation between the two countries especially in the areas of defence, economy and energy sectors.
Dr. Rice expressed deep appreciation of sacrifices made by Pakistan in its efforts to root out terrorism and extremism and the successes achieved so far.
She also appreciated Prime Minister’s vision of a peaceful neighbourhood.
Accompanied by Dr. Peter Lavoy, Ambassador Richard Olson and other senior officials from the NSC, she later met her counterpart Sartaj Aziz.
Wide-ranging discussions were held on the regional situation, especially in the wake of emerging security environment in Afghanistan and current stalemate in the Pakistan-India dialogue process.
Discussions were also held on broader areas of Pak-US bilateral cooperation and preparations for the forthcoming visit of the prime minister to the US in October this year.
The adviser hosted a lunch in the honour of the visiting US delegation.
Later, addressing an expanded meeting, she outlined President Obama’s global vision and future priorities and said this vision provides a very important framework for a multi-dimensional partnership between Pakistan and the US.
The expanded meeting was also attended by Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Ms. Anusha Rahman, Secretary Defence Lieutenant General (retd) Muhammad Alam Khattak and Secretary Interior Shahid Khan.
During the expanded meeting, the two sides reviewed different areas of Pak-US cooperation and expressed satisfaction over current stability in these relations.
Areas of possible future collaboration between the two countries were also discussed.
The US NSA also referred to some apprehensions expressed by Afghanistan from time to time with regard to the Taliban presence in Pakistan.
Dr Rice also met Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif before leaving for her next destination.
According to an ISPR statement, matters of mutual interest, including the regional security situation, came under discussion.
The US dignitary acknowledged Pakistan Army’s sincere efforts and sacrifices in the war on terror.
Matters of mutual interest, including the regional security situation, were also discussed.
Both the dignitaries also recognised the continued need for close coordination for ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region, the statement added.
Meanwhile, the civil and military leadership on Friday assailed the Indian forces for flouting all international norms and targeting the country’s civilian population as the two neighbours exchanged the deadliest fire in recent months along the border.Following Tuesday’s release of a Pew poll indicating that half of all Israeli Jews favor expelling or transferring Arabs, a Mideast reporter and analyst took issue with its findings and methodology.
Writing in the UK’s Jewish Chronicle on Wednesday, Nathan Jeffay expressed skepticism about the veracity of the data, based on the question posed to respondents to the survey.
“There is a worrying strain in Israeli society that believes in forcing Arabs to leave,” he wrote. “But one in two Jewish citizens — seriously? This is off the chart compared to past surveys on similar topics. What, exactly, were people asked?”
If they were asked whether “Arabs should be expelled or transferred from Israel,” he posited, they were left “defin[ing] for themselves” what this meant.
“Did they respond in relation to all Arabs, as one would gather from the way results have been presented?” he wondered. “Or were they thinking about specific cases, such as Arabs who sympathize with terror or — as-per the policy that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently having checked by state lawyers — to move the families of terrorists who carry out attacks out of Israel?”
Jeffay went on to explain that, in Hebrew, the absence of the article before the word “Arabs” makes all the difference. “If Pew was interested in what Israeli Jews think about the presence of Arabs, it should have asked about ‘the Arabs’ not ‘Arabs,’” he wrote, going on to quote renowned Haifa University sociologist Sammy Smooha, who regularly surveys Jewish attitudes towards Israeli Arabs and vice-versa, calling the question “misleading and vague.”
Jeffay then cited leading Israeli pollster Camil Fuchs, who regularly contributes polls to the daily newspaper Haaretz, where his findings often reveal “hard truths” about Israeli society. Fuchs, noted Jeffay, said he believed that respondents hearing the word used in the Pew survey for “transfer” more likely interpreted it as “land swaps,” which Jeffay described as “a mainstream Israeli doctrine, based on the premise that if a peace deal ever happens, Israel will give up parts of Israel to the Palestinians in return for holding on to some settlements. US President Barack Obama has advocated land swaps as a way to make a peace deal realistic.”
Fuchs, added Jeffay, said that “Pew’s sky-high figure resulted from that no-no of polling known as ‘double barreling,’ where a question touches on two issues but allows just one answer — and often creates a single impression about people who respond positively.”
Jeffay then pointed to Fuchs’ own conclusion: “I don’t presume that all or a great many of the people who answered ‘yes’ want to move all the Arabs.”ADVERTISEMENT
The city of New York, perhaps spooked by the apocalyptic scenarios of I Am Legend or AMC's The Walking Dead, has drawn up a manual for state bureaucrats in the event of a "catastrophic threat" like an airborne epidemic or "radiological and chemical" attack. There's no way they aren't talking about zombies here, says Daniel W. Drezner at Foreign Policy. I mean, radiological contaminations? "Wake up and smell the rotting corpses of the undead, people!!!!!" Here, a quick rundown of what the state could legally do in the event of a Hollywood-style disaster:
1. Enforce a curfew
In such a crisis, the New York state authorities would be able to establish and enforce a curfew, shut down businesses, and bar people from congregating in public places, says the manual.
2. Control traffic
The state would also be able to prohibit and control "pedestrian and vehicle traffic," says the guide. That could be very helpful in an Independence Day-type situation, says Elspeth Reeve at The Atlantic Wire. Remember "when Will Smith's wife and kid were trapped in a highway tunnel" while aliens destroyed the city?
3. Commandeer citizens' property
"Violations of individual property rights" would be sorted out after the period of emergency is over, says the manual. That's a green light for those of us who want to "loot someone's house," says Joe Coscarelli at The Village Voice. "Decide now which Dean and Deluca you're going to pillage first."
4. Quarantine exposed individuals
Anyone "exposed, or potentially exposed, to a contagious or possibly contagious disease" would likely find themselves quarantined, suggests the manual, either in their own homes or in an isolated area. If the state or locality wants to quarantine you against your will, it will have to prove "substantial government interest" before doing so.
5. Hand out medicine to the fittest
If the number of patients exceeds the supply of medicine, says the guide, medical professionals will be faced with a "critical... sensitive" dilemma: whom to treat. "This most likely would involve a triage system that balances the obligation to save the greatest number of lives against the obligation to save every single patient." That's "not-at-all terrifying," gulps Nitasha Tiku at New York.Can Tom Daschle make it into the end zone with both feet inbounds?
Conservatives are on the offense after the belated disclosure that the former Senate minority leader had to repay $140,000 in back taxes for a car and driver provided by a corporate benefactor. But liberals aren't mounting much of a defense for the embattled HHS nominee, and one editor on the left has called for him to bow out.
In Daschle's favor, of course, is the clubby nature of a Senate that is going to be reluctant to reject one of its longtime members, especially after his apology yesterday.
As a lawmaker, Tom Daschle always struck me as a modest South Dakotan who was more interested in behind-the-scenes compromise than lining his pockets. I happened to see him at a Whole Foods a few weeks ago, shopping by himself, and that fit the image. Little did I know his car and driver might be waiting outside.
But after losing a reelection bid, Daschle decided to cash in, like so many Washington insiders before him. There was the at least $3 million a year from the companies that were paying him, the fat speaking fees from corporations, and the former telecommunications executive and Democratic donor, Leo Hindery, who provided the chauffeur services. But at 3 mil a year, why couldn't Daschle have paid for his own car and driver? And how much savvy does it take to figure out that such 'free' services would be considered taxable income?
Daschle wasn't technically a lobbyist, but does anyone really doubt why big law firms and companies were throwing money at him?
The media, which some expected to roll over for Obama, are not giving Daschle an easy time. His tax fiasco -- including his failure to reveal it to the Obama vetters until after the fact -- was the lead story in Sunday's Washington Post and also on the front page of the New York Times, and the Times had another front-pager yesterday detailing how a former senator in four years could "live a lavish lifestyle by dint of his name, connections and knowledge of the town's inner workings." Plus, the paper's editorial page says today that Daschle should pull out.
It doesn't help that Daschle's tax problem follows Tim Geithner's tax problem. And that presents the new president, who has talked up the need for an ethical administration free from special interests, with a dilemma. Obama, for his part, fielded a Daschle question yesterday with a one-word answer. Talk about staying on message.
"Congressional Democrats moved Monday to shore up Tom Daschle's nomination to become President Obama's secretary of Health and Human Services as the former senator apologized publicly for not paying more than $128,000 in income taxes," the L.A. Times reports.
" 'The American people have high expectations for those of us who serve the public good. That's especially true when it comes to taxes. They pay their fair share and they expect all of us to do the same,' Daschle told reporters after meeting with the Senate Finance Committee to answer questions."
"During almost two years on the campaign trail," says the NYT, "Barack Obama vowed to slay the demons of Washington, bar lobbyists from his administration and usher in what he would later call in his Inaugural Address a 'new era of responsibility.' What he did not talk much about were the asterisks.
"The exceptions that went unmentioned now include a pair of cabinet nominees who did not pay all of their taxes. Then there is the lobbyist for a military contractor who is now slated to become the No. 2 official in the Pentagon. And there are the others brought into government from the influence industry even if not formally registered as lobbyists...An expert in the fight against child sexual abuse is raising the alarm about a technique the TSA is reportedly using to get children to co-operate with airport pat-downs: calling it a “game”.
Ken Wooden, founder of Child Lures Prevention, says the TSA’s recommendation that children be told the pat-down is a “game” is potentially putting children in danger.
Telling a child that they are engaging in a game is “one of the most common ways” that sexual predators use to convince children to engage in inappropriate contact, Wooden told Raw Story.
Children “don’t have the sophistication” to distinguish between a pat-down carried out by an airport security officer and an assault by a sexual predator, he said.
The TSA policy could “desensitize children to inappropriate touch and ultimately make it easier for sexual offenders to prey on our children,” Wooden added.
Following an outcry last month over the use on children of “enhanced pat-downs” — which involve the touching of genitals — the TSA announced a new “modified” pat-down for children under 12. However, as the LA Times noted, the new rules are “unclear” on whether TSA agents can touch children’s genitals.
Addressing the controversy over pat-downs of children last month, TSA regional security director James Marchand told the press the TSA was working on new practices to make children more comfortable during the pat-down process.
“You try to make it as best you can for that child to come through. If you can come up with some kind of a game to play with a child, it makes it a lot easier,” said Marchand, promising to make it part of TSA training.
Wooden, who has testified before Congress on child safety issues on numerous occasions, says he was told by a TSA agent that the practice has been used.
“How can experts working at the TSA be so incredibly misinformed and misguided to suggest that full body pat downs for children be portrayed as a game?” Wooden asked in an email. “To do so is completely contrary to what we in the sexual abuse prevention field have been trying to accomplish for the past thirty years.”
He added: “This policy is also incredibly insensitive to the countless victims who have already been traumatized by unwanted touching in their lives and could be re-traumatized by such pat-downs.”
On Tuesday, TSA administrator John Pistole said the agency may change its screening rules for victims of sex abuse. He also said the TSA had no plans to continue expanding the airport screening process.
“I think we are at the most thorough that we will probably be in terms of our physical screening,” he announced.Artist's rendering of KELT-11b, a'styrofoam'-density exoplanet orbiting a bright star in the southern hemisphere. Walter Robinson/Lehigh University
Astronomers have found a giant exoplanet larger than Jupiter, but with extremely low mass - a composition that gives this mysterious 'puffy planet' a density very similar to styrofoam.
The team who found KELT-11b, which orbits a star located about 320 light-years from Earth, says this "extraordinarily inflated" world is the third-lowest density planet with a precisely measured mass and radius that has been discovered — and this oddball, lightweight sphere could tell us more about how such strange exoplanets evolve.
"It is highly inflated, so that while it's only a fifth as massive as Jupiter, it is nearly 40 percent larger, making it about as dense as styrofoam, with an extraordinarily large atmosphere," says astronomer Joshua Pepper from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.
Apart from KELT-11b's unusual density, one of the things that makes the exoplanet stand out is its host star's extreme brightness. The star, called KELT-11, is in the process of evolving into a red giant, meaning it's started using up its nuclear fuel, fusing hydrogen in a shell outside its core.
Scientists now predict that sometime within the next 100 million years, KELT-11b will end up being engulfed by its host star, as KELT-11's outer layers expand to consume the styrofoam-like world.
That engulfment won't take long, either, since the planet hangs very close to its host, orbiting KELT-11 in less than five days.
But before |
s and the Dev Dread shot at the other Reaver unit but to no affect. I didn’t score any objectives and so the 1st turn ended 1-0 to Ben.
Bens 2nd turn started with his small Mandrake unit moving on from my left flank near the Plasma Rhino. His 2nd Cabalite Squad dismounted and surrounded the Drop Pod hoping to avoid getting badly flamed by the Ass Dread. The Venom then moved over to snap shoot at my bike squad. The full Reaver unit on my left flank moved up to within assault range of my Rhino. The lone surviving Reaver from the other unit sensibly turbo-boosted away into cover. The Reavers opened fire on the Rhino which penetrated but only stunned it. The 2nd Cabalite Squad fired at the rear of the Ass Dread but only glanced with thier Blaster which was very lucky. Bens snap shooting Venom was not able to hurt my Bikes. In the assault phase Ben charged the Rhino other his Reavers but rolled poorly for his Cluster Caltrops and did no damage. Ben scored no points and I was lucky not to lose 1st blood.
My Scouts decided to leave it a little longer before arriving and so didn’t come on. I moved my bikes up to claim objective 2 and turned the attention of my Ass Dread to Bens 2nd Cabalite unit. I managed to cast Endurance on my bikes. In the shooting phase the bikes glanced the empty Venom on my right flank. My Plasma Tacs and Dev Dread shot at the complete Reaver unit but killed none of them due to their superior cover save. In the assault phase my Ass Dread crashed into his Cabalite Squad killing 2 and causing them to run although not off the board. The bikes also assaulted the empty Venom which wrecked it and gave me first blood. The bikes then consolidated back onto the objective to make it 2-1 at the end of turn 2.
Both of Ben’s remaining reserves arrived at the beginning of turn 3. His small Mandrakes outflanked near to my bikes and the Grotesques (and Haemonculus) Webwayed on near my bikes but out of the threat range of my Ass Dread. The large Reavers moved slightly away from the Rhino to have another crack at destroying it. The Venom with Cabalites in manoeuvred to shoot at my bikes. The fleeing Cabalites rallied but would be snap shooting. Ben poured firepower from his Mandrakes, Grotesques, Venom and the complete Cabalites into my bikers. Thankfully the combination of poor AP rolls for his Liquifiers and Endurance on my bikes meant that I didn’t suffer any casualties. Ben also shot the remains of his 2nd Cabalite unit at the Ass Dread doing nothing and the complete Reavers shot their Heat Lance at the Rhino also doing nothing. A very unfortunate shooting phase for Ben. In his assault phase the Reavers charged the Rhino again this time wrecking it. My tactical squad got pinned and huddled in the lea of the wreckage. Ben scored no points in this round keeping him on 1.
My turn 3 started with my scouts getting caught in traffic but promised that they would definitely be there next turn. I moved my bikes away from the Liquefiers of Grotesques and into assault range of the recently rallied Cabalites. The Dev Dread climbed down from the building with the intention of assaulting the Mandrakes. The Ass Dread turned his attention to the remaining Venom. In the psychic phase I managed to cast Endurance again but failed to get Leech Life off on the Grotesques. The pot shots the Tacticals took at the Reavers did nothing but the Ass Dread was successful in shaking the Venom. The Dev Dread and Bikes held their fire so that they would be in assault range and both were successful in connecting with their targets. The Dev Dread mulched the Mandrakes and the Bikes caused the Cabalites to flee the board after causing two casualties. I managed to achieve the No Prisoners Tactical Objective making the score 3-1 to me.
Ben dismounted his remaining Cabalites from the shaken Venom onto the building in his deployment zone at the start of turn 4. His complete Reavers retreated slightly to have another go at killing the Tactical Squad. The Grotesques moved to claim objective 3. The Mandrakes shifted so that they could pepper the rear of the Ass Dread with their shooting. In the shooting phase the remaining Cabalites fired upon the Ass Dread, glancing it with a Haywire Grenade but the shooting from the Mandrakes didn’t manage to glance the rear armour. The shaken Venom and the jinking Reavers both snapshot at the Tactical Squad but to no affect. In assault Ben impacted into the Tactical Squad with his Reavers but once again rolled poorly for the Caltrops and only 1 Marine died. The Marines ran but were caught and so the compact would continue next turn. Ben gained 1 VP to make the score 3-2.
The Scouts finally arrived and turbo-boosted onto an objective. The Dev Dread moved to be able to assault the Reavers and the Bikes and Ass Dread moved up to assault the Cabalites. I managed to cast Endurance again on Bikes maintaining the 3+ Feel No Pain which had served me so well. In the shooting phase the Ass Dread hosed down the Cabalites killing three but the Bikes had no affect on the Venom. The assault phase was more dramatic. The Ass Dread attempted to crush the Cabalites but was hit by the Blaster in overwatch and blown apart. The Dev Dread impacted with the Reavers but generally flailed about only managing to kill 1. The remaining 2 Reavers fled out of reach for now. The Bikes managed very little in their attack on the Venom. I secured objectives 4 and 5 to give me 2 vps and leave the score 5-2 at the end of turn 4.
Ben started his turn 5 by moving the Venom and Mandrakes so that he could have another go at bombarding my bikes with splinter shots. The Reavers rallied and turned to face the oncoming Dev Dread. The Grotesques stayed where they were to claim objective 3 again. The shooting from the Venom, Mandrakes and sole surviving Reaver on my right flank fired at the bikes but once again had no effect. The Cabalites blasted the Drop Pod and caused it to be shaken. The Reavers with the Heat Lance snapshot at the Dev Dread but to no effect. Ben secured objectives 3 and 4 to bring his score up to 4.
For my Tactical Objectives I drew Supremacy and Overwhelming Firepower to add to Ascendancy and Sec Ob 6 in my hand. In order to claim the 4 objectives required, I dismounted the Scouts from the Landspeeder Storm and turbo-boosted it on a suicide run straight at the Grotesques. The Tactical Squad huddled around the objective on the left of my deployment zone near my wrecked Rhino. The bikes moved towards the objective on top of the building in Ben’s deployment zone and the Dev Dread loomed towards the Reavers on the left. I managed to keep Endurance running in the psychic phase and the bikes wiped the last 2 Cabalites out with their shooting. My other shooting was ineffective in hurting the Reavers or the Venom. The Dev Dread assaulted the Reavers on my left flank. He pulped them to a mush before consolidating into the ruins. The Drop Pod was also successful in regaining a hull point from It Will Not Die. At the end of the turn I scored 6 vps which made the score 11-4 to me.
The game continued on to game 6. Ben moved his Mandrakes and Venom up to keep on harassing the bikes. The Grotesques moved towards my table edge to guarantee an assault on the Landspeeder Storm. In the shooting phase the Venom was finally able to kill the remaining bike who had been knocking about on his own with the Librarian for almost the entire battle. The Grotesques unsurprisingly pummelled the Landspeeder in the assault phase and made it explode without suffering any damage in return. Ben scored Blood and Guts, Pain in all its Forms and Sec Ob 6 giving him 3 eps and bringing the score to 11-7.
My turn was fairly short. The Scouts moved away from the Grotesques just in case the game should continue. My Librarian also retreated to avoid giving up a point for Slay the Warlord although managed to cast Endurance so it seemed unlikely that he would get killed anyway. The Dev Dread turned his big guns towards the remaining Venom blowing it out of the sky with his Twin-Linked Lascannons. I scored No Mercy and Sec Ob 4 bringing me to 13 vps.
The game carried onto turn 7. Ben secured a couple of objectives with his Mandrakes and sole remaining Reaver as well as getting Linebreaker with his Grotesques. I only got 1 point for Linebreaker in my turn making the final score a 14-10 victory to me.
The game obviously went well for me. I have never used Biomancy before and combining the Iron Hands chapter tactics with Endurance did much to win me the game. My bikes effectively became as resilient as Ravenwing Black Knights without having to jink which absorbed a lot of firepower. Without that spell I am sure my bikes and librarian would have been pin cushioned by the end of turn 2. The bike also made the Librarian much more useful. Not only was he able to buff himself but he was able to shoot around out of trouble and pick on Ben’s weak units of Cabalites. It is hard for me to justify taking a Librarian on foot again (although a Terminator Librarian with some Deathwing Knights would also work). I do need to be more careful with the bikes in general though as they are not as resilient as the Ravenwing and with everything else in the army being mounted or a vehicle they are an obvious target for anti-personnel fire.
I took a big risk with the Assault Dread in flaming the Reavers on turn 1. I left myself very vulnerable to being shot in the back with a blaster. Fortunately it paid off in that I was able to take out the Cluster Caltrops and Heat Lance of the Reavers without losing the Dread. It is hard to say if it was the right decision. Reavers are very difficult to get the drop on and being able to cripple them before they can rush off is always a benefit but the Venom is also fast and is able to put out a lot of poisoned shooting which is always deadly. In the end I would probably attack the Reavers again as they are resilient against shooting that doesn’t ignore cover.
The Devastator Dreadnaught was a bit mixed for me. Most of what it achieved this game it would have done better if it had a close combat weapon and twin-linked lascannon. I liked how it was able to stomp around, anchor my line and mulch anything the came near it but the missile launcher didn’t provide much of a benefit. It also cost me 10 its that could be spent elsewhere. Something to try next time would be to pair up the Dev Dread with the Tac Squad. The Tac Squad got picked on as they were out on their own on the flank. They were lucky to have suffered as little damage as they did. Keeping the two together would combine to make a strong defensive asset but at the cost of board control.
The Landspeeder Storm continues to be one of the very best things in the Marine codex. The whole package of Scouts and Speeder comes in at less than 100 pts but has gained me uncounted number of ups through being Ob Sec. They basically never kill anything but that isn’t really their job anyway.The epicentre of Tuesday's 7.8-magnitude quake lay in south-east Iran but all 40 deaths reported so far have been across the border in Pakistan's dirt-poor province of Baluchistan, where hundreds of mud-built homes suffered damage.
The powerful tremor shook the ground and caused panic as far afield as Kuwait and the Indian capital New Delhi. Thousands of people evacuated towering residential and office buildings in Dubai.
A new aftershock early on Wednesday frayed locals' nerves on the Iran-Pakistan border. The US Geological Survey measured its magnitude at 5.7.
In Pakistan, officials said that regular army and paramilitary forces had deployed to help the relief effort after Tuesday's quake brought down homes in the Mashkail area of Baluchistan.
Military helicopters carrying medical teams have been sent to the area while paramilitary troops are supplementing the relief efforts, they said.
"The death toll is estimated at more than 40, including women and children," Major Attiq Minhasof from the paramilitary Frontier Corps Baluchistan told Agence France-Presse (AFP) at Dalbandin airport, around 250 kilometres from Mashkail.
650 personnel involved
He said 650 personnel were involved in the rescue operation in Mashkail town and that so far medical staff had received 23 wounded people.
Abdul Bari, a 32-year-old tailor who broke his leg, told AFP that his wife and children were fine, but feared that dozens of people from his neighbourhood had been killed or wounded.
"I was on my way home from my tailoring shop when the earth started shaking and soon found myself on the ground with the wall of a house on me," he told AFP in Dalbandin, after travelling for five and a half hours by taxi for help.
"When I felt the tremors, I saw within seconds houses razed to the ground.
It was like doomsday," he said, while waiting for an army helicopter ambulance.
"I saw three small children taken out from the debris of a collapsed wall by local people. Two were slightly injured while one seemed serious," he added.
Baluchistan, an inaccessible province bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is plagued by Islamist militancy, attacks on the Shiite Muslim minority and a separatist Baluch insurgency.
Putting aside America's longstanding enmity with Iran, and its more recent strains in relations with Pakistan, US Secretary of State John Kerry offered "our deepest condolences" to the families of the dead and to the injured.
"We stand ready to offer assistance in this difficult time," he said.
US disaster diplomacy with Pakistan
Disaster relief contributed to an earlier thaw in relations between the United States and Iran, which – then led by reformist president Mohammad Khatami – accepted US personnel following the huge Bam earthquake in 2003.
The United States has also engaged in disaster diplomacy with Pakistan, briefly improving its abysmal image in the country through a robust relief operation following a 2005 earthquake in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
The Bam quake killed more than 26 000 people, while more than 73 000 died in the Kashmir one.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon also expressed condolences after Tuesday's disaster and said the "United Nations stands ready to help as necessary if asked to do so".
The quake struck in the afternoon with its epicentre around 80 kilometres east of the city of Khash, in the Iranian province of Sistan Baluchistan, the US Geological Survey said.
A local health official in Iran told the Fars news agency that more than 20 villages were probably "severely damaged", based on initial reports.
27 people hurt in Iran
At least 27 people were hurt in Iran, according to a local governor speaking to the IRNA news agency, but there was no immediate confirmation of any deaths.
The quake came a week after another struck near Iran's Gulf port city of Bushehr, killing at least 30 people.
The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that the latest quake had caused no damage to Iran's nuclear power plant at Bushehr or any other nuclear facilities.
David Rothery, who chairs the volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis course at Britain's Open University, said the depth of Tuesday's quake – 82 kilometres underground – would have lessened its impact.
But he added that the area "is mountainous, and damage can be expected from landslides as well as because of poorly constructed buildings". – AFPAfter losing his Middleweight title to Luke Rockhold at UFC 194 via fourth-round knockout, "All American" suffered the second loss of his career at UFC 205 a few weeks ago, getting torched by Yoel Romero via flying knee (video here) in his home state of New York.
Despite going through a rough patch, Weidman’s confidence in himself can’t be broken, as he still feels like he’s the best 185-pound fighter in the world, though his previous two efforts haven't show it. To prove his worth, however, Chris is open to take on any top contender or up-and-comer.
That said, when asked about a potential move up to Light Heavyweight on The MMA Hour, Weidman didn’t take it off the table, but says he has plenty to prove at Middleweight.
"It’s definitely a possibility. I could definitely get the size to where I’m not getting outgunned. But I would need some time. I walk around 215, but a lot of these guys walk around at 230. So I would need a little time to go up. But, I do feel like I am best in the world at Middleweight. My last two fights haven't shown it. My words probably don’t mean anything to you, but my coaches and people around me believe in that. There are some contenders, but I feel that one, two, three wins, whatever it takes, I want to do it fast (get back to title shot). I want to fight in February, then two months later, then do it again. I feel like the accolades I already have and the good competition there is in the Middleweight division, it doesn’t take me too many wins to get people excited about me fighting for the title again."
As for who makes sense next, "All American" is open to take on all comers, be it a rising contender or a top-five opponent. And though he stopped short of calling himself a "gatekeeper," Weidman says if any young buck thinks they deserve a crack at the crown, getting past him would prove their worth.
"I know (Robert) Whittaker just won and I would definitely fight him if people are excited about that. I’d fight some of these up-and-coming guys that are coming up and trying to get into the top five. Any of these guys that think they deserve a title shot, if they are able to beat me, then they are right there. If not, then it shoots me right up again. If not, I’ll fight the other top guys, ‘Jacare,’ Rockhold, Mousasi would be another I’m interested in."
While the aforementioned contenders sound like good choices, at this point, the matchups only benefit Weidman given his losing streak. Having Whittaker or Mousasi -- who are riding six and four-fight win streaks, respectively — take on a fighter on a slump, doesn’t make sense for them.
Meanwhile, Rockhold and Souza have unfinished business, so it seems Weidman will have to wait to see how the chips fall before he gets another fight, though he would love to make his comeback at UFC 209, which is set to take place on Feb. 11 inside Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Here’s my personal choice for his comeback fight, what’s yours?If your mother was practicing law and defended a man who raped a 12-year-old girl, tore the little girl apart on the stand, and got the rapist off with a light sentence
...would you believe that she has the utmost respect for women and children?
If your older sister stayed with a boy who was cheating on her, sexually assaulting other women, and then stuck with the man
...would you think she has good judgment?
If your government professor didn't like the stance you took on a particular topic, called you "deplorable," then proceeded to claim that you were a racist, xenophobe, and sexist just for believing the things you did
...would you feel as though she was accepting of others ideas?
If the Governor of your state created a ban on abortion after 20 weeks since the unborn child can feel pain, but your aunt claims that banning abortions after five months is too extreme and unacceptable
...would you believe she respects all life?
If your cousin was fundraising for a mission trip and claimed that she was using the money to help out the poor children in Haiti, but instead used the money for trips and personal use
...would you think that she has a good heart?
If you worked at a restaurant and you busted your back to get the work done and give great service, but at the end of the night your boss would hand out fifty percent of your tip money to the employees that sat in the break room during their shift
...would you feel any incentive to work hard?
If your sister went to war to serve our country, died, and you later found out that the person in charge did nothing to help them while they were in a crisis, but instead put the blame on your family
...would you blame the leader for your sister's death
If your best friend constantly changed her mind, from being best friends with someone one day to absolutely despising them the next
...would you believe anything she had to say anymore?
If your classmate sent personal text messages and Facebook messages about you, and shared secrets about your life until you eventually caught her but then she proceeded to lie to you about doing so
...would you trust her anymore?
This is what you get when you vote for Hillary Clinton. Is this the woman you want your daughter to look up to as our first female president? I'm not with her.After an emphatic season for Leicester City, striker Jamie Vardy has been named as the Barclays Premier League Player of the Season.
- Jamie Vardy named Barclays Premier League Player of the Season
- Leicester City’s No.9 has netted 24 Premier League goals in 35 appearances for the Foxes this term
- The announcement comes just a day after Vardy collected his Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award
- Vardy becomes the first player in the Club’s history to win the Premier League Player of the Season award
After an emphatic season for Leicester City, striker Jamie Vardy has been named as the Barclays Premier League Player of the Season.
The England international has been in sensational goalscoring form the for the Foxes this term, netting 24 times in 35 Premier League appearances, while scoring some vital goals in the process.
After finding the back of the net against Sunderland at King Power Stadium on the opening day of the season, Vardy has never looked back.
A late penalty at Bournemouth three weeks later sparked a goalscoring run that will go down in history, as City’s No.9 went on net in 11 consecutive Premier League games to surpass Manchester United great Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s record of 10.
Goals against Chelsea, Stoke City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Sunderland, West Ham United and Everton followed, helping Vardy to the win the Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer of the year, while also being named in the Professional Footballers’ Association’s Team of the Year.
It has been a truly phenomenal year for the Foxes frontman, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise since joining the Club.
After making the move to City in 2012 from non-league Fleetwood Town, Vardy has scored for England, smashed numerous records and is now the first player in the Club’s history to win the Premier League Player of the Year Award.
Vardy pipped team-mates Riyad Mahrez, N'Golo Kante, Kasper Schmeichel and Wes Morgan to the award, while also beating off stern competition from West Ham's Dimitri Payet, Arsenal's Mesut Ozil and Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Toby Alderweireld.Nouveau BIJOUX Playing Cards is a redux version of NOUVEAU Playing Cards (UC 2016 Deck).
Nouveau BIJOUX is a custom deck of playing cards (poker size) designed by Karin Yan from Bona fide Playing Cards and manufactured by Expert Playing Card Company.
Nouveau BIJOUX stays true to the original idea behind the NOUVEAU Playing Cards: A design inspired by the historical and mythological heroes and heroines traditionally featured in the French playing cards since the 16th century. The art style and design pay tribute to the philosophical and artistic trend Art nouveau.
BIJOUX adds an extra touch to this inspiration with a design that reminds us of the intricate nouveau jewelry. With a redesigned tuck, back, aces, pips and significant changes on the courts, BIJOUX brings the jewelry feel with each and every card.
100% Custom playing cards deck
Limited Edition (one printing, never to be reprinted)
Poker size
54 cards
Printed by EPCC
Master Finish quality
METALLIC INK
Like the original deck, BIJOUX is inspired in the historical and mythological characters some believe were used for the creation of the first decks in Rouen during the 16th century. As for the art style, it was inspired by Art Nouveau jewelry. Art Nouveau is a style of decorative art, architecture and design promoted and popularized in Paris in the late 19th century and characterized by intricate linear designs and flowing curves based on natural forms.
Nouveau BIJOUX Tuck
Nouveau BIJOUX Jokers + Back
Nouveau BIJOUX Aces
Nouveau BIJOUX Courts
Nouveau BIJOUX numbers
€9,000 Nouveau BIJOUX Deck will be funded -- REACHED!
€12,000 Nouveau PERLE Deck will be unlocked -- UNLOCKED!
* IMPORTANT: Please note that these are concepts and they're subject to minor changes, which I'll be updating you about along the way *
Nouveau Coffrets
Nouveau Coffret BIJOUX and Nouveau Coffret PERLE are limited add ons of only 20 sets (per version) available for €80 + €10 shipping worldwide. Each set consists of:
1 Nouveau BIJOUX/PERLE standard deck, signed and hand-numbered
and hand-numbered Velvet covered box with a hand-embossed brass/copper sheet on the lid
with a on the lid Brass/Copper card clip, engraved (depicting the Ace of Spades)
(depicting the Ace of Spades) Brass/Copper card guard, engraved (depicting a joker)
Nouveau Custom Tucks
Nouveau BIJOUX d'Or and Nouveau Perle du Cuivre are limited add ons of 60 units (per version) available for €30 + €10 shipping worldwide. Each unit consists of:
Nouveau BIJOUX/PERLE cards
Handmade tuck, made of metallic cardstock in three layers : A gold/copper laser cut cover, a gold/copper foil layer and an embossed white pearl/blue inner layer.
, made of : A, a and an Custom numbered seal
A signed card (you choose the one you want to be signed)
These add ons will be mailed from Barcelona, Spain (so they will be shipped separately from the main decks, most likely a month later). That's also the reason for the extra shipping charge.
HOW TO ADD LIMITED ADD ONS TO YOUR PLEDGE
All you have to do is increase your pledge by the price of the add on + shipping. Once you've done so, make sure to notify us by private message of your reserve. This is important since they are LIMITED add ons.
HOW TO ADD ADD ONS TO YOUR PLEDGE
All you have to do is increase your pledge by the price of the add on + shipping (no shipping for US backers).
Max Playing Cards http://www.maxplayingcards.com/en/2016/09/25/nouveau-bijoux-playing-cards-a-real-jewel-from-the-art-nouveau/
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If you are a proud Nouveau BIJOUX backer, use our badges as your profile picture to spread the wordPlease tell Hon. Minister John Duncan that the Canadian government must act immediately to provide infrastructure funding for housing in Attawapiskat. Winter is here and people are living in inadequate shelters, without heat, sanitation or plumbing. Chief Spence now calling for Evacuation.
Dear. Hon.John DuncanIt is with deep distress that I have read the latest news concerning Attawapiskat. Having followed the struggle of the young people on this reserve to have a school built and to have access to education I had been uplifted by their marvelous attitude.How cruel to read that as winter approaches the housing situation has become a crisis. Canada must act in the immediate present to respond to this disaster.Canada must act to empower and support first nations communities by allowing them to own their homes and create a strong infrastructure for these northern communities.SincerelyThis column dated November 21, 2013, created a firestorm of outrage and venom from hundreds of pastors and Christians. It was a rude awakening for me, for sure. I have long maintained that the vast majority of today’s pastors and church members are smugly content in abject apathy and indifference. However, after the vehement reaction to the above-mentioned column, I can now state dogmatically that the problem is actually much, much worse than I realized. Today’s churchmen are not merely content to not being involved; they are absolutely committed to not being involved. It goes much deeper than apathy; it is apostasy. See my November 21 column here: This Pastor Proves My Point My email inbox and mailbox filled with vitriolic rebukes from pastors and Christians. I was called just about every dirty name in the book and relegated to the depths of the damned--and those were the mild ones. At the heart of these feelings of contempt is the rejection of Natural Law. It’s not only that today’s pastors and Christians have not been taught the Biblical principles of Natural Law and, therefore, don’t understand it; today’s churchmen have developed a willful and stubborn conviction against Natural Law. I will even go so far as to say that the majority of our pastors and church leaders today are monarchists at heart. The lack of instruction and understanding of the Biblical principles of Natural Law have created a generation of churchmen who are more than willing to submit to the unnatural laws of tyranny and oppression. Until two weeks ago, I didn’t truly comprehend the depth of this volitional slavery. The statements being made by today’s pastors and Christians are so nonsensical and asinine that it is extremely difficult to believe that any person, much less pastors and Christians, could even utter them. Here are just a few examples of what pastors have said: “If federal agents or troops came to my house and put my wife on the kitchen table and raped her, Romans 13 tells me I could not interfere.” “If government forces came to my home intent on harming my wife and children, I would not resist; I would simply tell my family to run.” “America’s Founding Fathers were rebels against God. They had no right to fight a war for independence. Subjection to a king, even a tyrannical one, is God’s Will.” “Anyone who resists civil government is going to hell.” “There is no such thing as natural law, and anyone who promotes it is of the devil.” Dear reader, trust me: the comments above are reflective of the majority of pastors and Christians I have heard from over the past couple of weeks. Truly did Jesus say, “Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?” (Luke 6:39 KJV) That is exactly what is happening in America today: the blind are leading the blind into the ditch of tyranny and oppression. Last Sunday, I delivered a message entitled, “Biblical Evidence For Natural Law.” I invite readers to watch the archived video of that message here: Biblical Evidence For Natural Law Listen to the Scripture: “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another.” (Romans 2:14, 15 KJV) The great theologians and Bible scholars of yesteryear all understood the Biblical teaching of Natural Law. Here are a few samples of some of church history’s greatest Bible commentators on this passage in Romans 2. Albert Barnes: “The expression means clearly by the light of conscience and reason, and whatever other helps they may have without revelation. It denotes simply, in that state which is without the revealed will of God. In that condition they had many helps of tradition, conscience, reason, and the observation of the dealings of divine Providence, so that to a considerable extent they knew what was right and what was wrong.” John Wesley: “The Ten Commandments being only the substance of the law of nature.” Adam Clarke: “Do, without this Divine revelation, through that light which God imparts to every man, the things contained in the law--act according to justice, mercy, temperance and truth, the practice of which the revealed law so powerfully enjoins; these are a law unto themselves.” John Gill: “The matter and substance of the moral law of Moses agrees with the law and light of nature…which they have by nature and use, and which natural reason dictates to them.” Matthew Henry: “They had that which directed them what to do by the light of nature: by the force and tendency of their natural notions and dictates they apprehended a clear and vast difference between good and evil. They did by nature the things contained in the law. They had a sense of justice and equity, honour and purity, love and charity; the light of nature taught obedience to parents, pity to the miserable, conservation of public peace and order, forbade murder, stealing, lying, perjury, etc. Thus they were a law unto themselves.” Think about it: man did not have the written, revealed laws of God for some 2,500 years of recorded history. Yet, they did have the Law of God “written in their hearts,” or Natural Law. Sir William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England were, without a doubt, among the most influential writings upon America’s founders. In his commentaries (second section), Blackstone said, “Man, considered as a creature, must necessarily be subject to the laws of his creator, for he is entirely a dependent being. A being, independent of any other, has no rule to pursue, but such as he prescribes to himself; but a state of dependence will inevitably oblige the inferior to take the will of him, on whom he depends, as the rule of his conduct: not indeed in every particular, but in all those points wherein his dependence consists. This principle therefore has more or less extent and effect, in proportion as the superiority of the one and the dependence of the other is greater or less, absolute or limited. And consequently, as man depends absolutely upon his maker for every thing, it is necessary that he should in all points conform to his maker's will. “This will of his maker is called the law of nature. For as God, when he created matter, and endued it with a principle of mobility, established certain rules for the perpetual direction of that motion; so, when he created man, and endued him with freewill to conduct himself in all parts of life, he laid down certain immutable laws of human nature, whereby that freewill is in some degree regulated and restrained, and gave him also the faculty of reason to discover the purport of those laws.” In that same second section of his commentaries, Blackstone further said, “This law of nature, being coeval with mankind and dictated by God himself, is of course superior in obligation to any other--It is binding over all the globe in all countries, and at all times; no human laws are of any validity, if contrary to this: and such of them as are valid derive all their force, and all their authority, mediately or immediately, from this original.” Amen! Before Biblical Law said, “Thou shalt not kill,” Natural Law said, “Thou shalt not kill.” Before Biblical Law said, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” Natural Law said, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Before Biblical Law said, “Thou shalt not bear false witness,” Natural Law said, “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” Before Biblical Law said, “Thou shalt not steal,” Natural Law said, “Thou shalt not steal.” How is it, and since when is it, that pastors and Christians do not understand this? Natural Law, by its very definition, demands procreation, protection, provision, and prohibition. From the very act of Creation, Adam and Eve were given in their hearts (by God) the desire to procreate. Does anyone deny that those who produce children have a right and duty to protect and provide for their children? Does not all of nature have an innate desire to produce young then protect and provide for the young that they produced? The bird and the beast build a nest or den for its young; it catches or hunts food for its young; and it uses every means in its power to drive away predators from its young. How, in the name of God, can today’s pastors and church leaders say they would not protect their own families from harm? How can they treat so flippantly the duty and responsibility to provide safety and security for home and community? Does a badge give a person the right to act like a predator? You mean to tell me that God would have us bring our children up in the “fear and admonition of the Lord” only then to sit back and do nothing while human beasts with badges devour and enslave them? What nonsense! What rubbish! Beyond that, prohibition is as intrinsic to Natural Law as is procreation, protection, and provision. In the beginning, Adam and Eve were given great authority over the entire natural kingdom--yet, they were also given jurisdictional prohibition: they were not allowed to eat of the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. Even in that state of perfect innocence, when Adam was the absolute master of all that God had created on earth, he had limited jurisdiction. And when Adam violated that jurisdictional prohibition, there were consequences that had to be paid. And that was the pattern for all human authority. There is only one Sovereign: the Creator-God. All human authority, be it vocational, familial, ecclesiastical, or political, is limited and jurisdictional. Anytime human authority oversteps its jurisdictional borders, Natural Law (God |
as Tony A. said he likes to hang out in Barbara Hall Park to “smoke joints, have a few beers and look at chicks.”
Even a few of the park’s regulars — some the subject of residents’ unease — have noticed a problem.
Wong-Tam suggested neighbours fail to report crime to police when they see it.
“When I speak to the Toronto police, they say yes they do hear about it,” she added, but there is no data to support a “dramatic increase” in crime.
“Some people have a good reason to feel unsafe,” he said.
But for Tony, the park has grown increasingly inhospitable. He said violence is more frequent and drug use more advanced, shifting from cannabis to crystal meth and crack cocaine.
A midday visit to the park — in the heart of the Church-Wellesley Village — found discarded empties and needle caps, random shouts and fights among its inhabitants.
“It can be very scary,” said Gardenia Flores, who has lived in the area for more than 10 years and makes a point of regularly visiting the park.
“There are moments when I’m sitting in the park and I think ‘OK, maybe it’s time to go in,’” said Flores, who has seen fights break out and people openly using drugs.
“I have sat in the park and someone on the bench next to me is smoking crack,” she said.
Merchants say the current misuse of the park is hurting local business.
“I think people are more afraid to come shop here,” said Claire McLeod, owner of Ladybug Florist, which is right beside the park.
McLeod explained that a customer recently told her she would not return, after being antagonized by some park inhabitants.
“I don’t blame her,” she said.
Faced with rising theft at their stores, both McLeod and Dawson say they now ensure that at least two employees are working at all times.
Staff “just don’t feel safe,” Dawson said.
Such concerns were what prompted the park’s renovation back in 2014, explained Wong-Tam. There was a lot of anti-social behaviour,” she said. As a result, “people stopped coming in and stopped using the park.”
In conjunction with the city, Wong-Tam spearheaded the renovation project, consulting with neighbourhood groups about ways to enhance both the safety and accessibility of the park.
Upon completion, the park — formerly Cawthra Square Park — was renamed after Barbara Hall, former mayor of Toronto and Ontario Human Rights Chief Commissioner.
But even with a new face, the park is still plagued by old problems.
“Ironically enough, it actually got worse,” said Wong-Tam.
The concerns raise questions about the ownership and use of public space, particularly in urban areas. Neighbours insist the park should be open to everyone, but say lately it's become a magnet for a group of people who harass others and openly abuse drugs and alcohol.
“I’m not interested in scrubbing the park clean so only middle-class users have access to the park. That’s not the city I live in,” said Wong-Tam.
“We live downtown so there are always going to be different elements and different kinds of people,” said Flores, “I’m not saying that it should be horribly gentrified or anything … there just needs to be a better sort of balance.”
The park should welcome the whole community, McLeod added, but “the community is not just the needy; the community is everybody.”
Some of the residents say problems have been aggravated by clients of The 519, a community centre in the middle of the park, which provides a variety of programs, predominantly for members of the LGBTQ community.
The centre has “a complacency with the activities that happen in the building and around the building,” Dawson said. “It seems to be a magnet for people.”
That view is disputed by staff of The 519, which has provided community services in the area since 1975.
“I don’t think our presence is causing the problem,” said Maura Lawless, executive director of The 519.
“The reality is that people are homeless in the City of Toronto,” said Lawless. “Parks are, at times, the place where that is animated.”
At Barbara Hall Park, “the sense of community safety is not different than a number of downtown parks,” she said. Still, Lawless said The 519 is actively seeking to better integrate communities into these spaces, including Barbara Hall Park and the nearby Moss Park.
“We think it’s important to animate community parks and public parks,” said Lawless. “From our experience, it is about diversifying use.”
Despite contention as to the problem’s cause and scope, there seems to be general agreement with respect to a solution.
“We need people to come out and use these spaces,” said Wong-Tam. “It needs to be community-led responses.”
Whether it’s movie nights, yoga or group activity classes, Wong-Tam said residents must foster an active presence the park.
“If you give up that space, then you’re going to have more of one type of user than another,” she said. Residents must “champion their own park.”
Toronto police did not return repeated requests for comment on residents’ concerns regarding safety in and around the park.
“We’re working on different strategies … so that more of a positive presence is felt in the park,” said Kelly Kyle, chairperson of the Church-Wellesley Business Improvement Area.
The community has to “use it or lose it,” added Flores.
Indeed, in the two areas of the space with a regular community presence — a children’s play area and a dog park — park users are not particularly concerned.
“We’ve never had issues,” said Ali Kazmi, who comes to the children’s area daily with his son. “When you live downtown,” this is what you expect, he said.
“I’ve never felt unsafe,” said Eliza Gamble, who also visits the children’s area regularly with her two kids, although, she admits, “I’ve had Adaline pick up a crack pipe once,” referring to her 2-year-old daughter.
Recently, relevant stakeholders seem to have taken note of residents’ concerns, launching initiatives to reclaim Barbara Hall Park. Just this past week, the Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association, BIA, and The 519 met with Wong-Tam and her staff to address safety issues.
Led by the BIA, a free lunchtime music series has begun in the park, which Dawson calls a positive effort “to take back our public spaces.”
Ultimately, residents hope the park can become an open, welcoming space, reflective of the Church-Wellesley Village.
“This is such a great neighbourhood… I’ve just had enough,” said Dawson.
“We’re all members of the community,” Flores added. “The only real solution is co-existence.”Visiting Muir Woods will soon require a reservation
Visitors line up to pay the entrance fee at Muir Woods National Monument in Mill Valley, Calif. on Wednesday, June 29, 2016. The National Park Service is considering a plan to remove a parking lot and reduce a wide pedestrian area at the entrance to the park and restore the natural habitat along nearby Redwood Creek. less Visitors line up to pay the entrance fee at Muir Woods National Monument in Mill Valley, Calif. on Wednesday, June 29, 2016. The National Park Service is considering a plan to remove a parking lot and reduce a... more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Visiting Muir Woods will soon require a reservation 1 / 10 Back to Gallery
You will soon need to plan ahead to visit the wildly popular Muir Woods National Monument in Mill Valley.
To manage traffic and crowds, officials will begin capping visitors in 2018 by requiring a reservation to park a vehicle or ride a shuttle bus into the park.
"A visit to Muir Woods should be about the peace of the redwoods, not a battle for parking," says Cicely Muldoon, the park's acting general superintendent. "The reservation system represents a new way to visit Muir Woods that will provide a safe and inspirational experience for visitors and protect these spectacular natural resources. "
With its majestic towering redwoods, the Marin County park is unquestionably beautiful—and also quite popular. More than a million visitors flock to Muir Woods each year and upward of 6,000 people show up on a busy day.
The monument has already developed a shuttle system with Marin Transit to carry visitors between Muir Woods and the Sausalito ferry or overflow parking areas in Mill Valley and Marin City during the busy season, running May through October. Yet still on weekends, a trail of cars is backed up along the twisting Highway 1 and Muir Woods Road leading into the park.
Vehicles pour into the little valley in search of parking. The small parking lot with only 200 spaces fills quickly and then cars search and scramble for road side parking. Visitors park their vehicles haphazardly, often in illegal spots and sometimes on steep inclines. On occasion, cars tumble into the creek, disrupting fragile habitat, as reported previously on SFGATE.
With the new system, daily parking reservation availability will vary by season, from approximately 500 in the low season to 900 in the peak. The park expects about 100,000 shuttle reservations per year.
Even though the change will not be implemented until next year, the park is beginning to spread the news to shift people's thinking on how they plan trips to Muir Woods.
There will still be one way you can enter without a reservation: That's by foot via a hiking trail — likely the way the great naturalist John Muir himself would choose to get there if he were still alive.Former PM's personal documents show her senior advisers proposed buying out islanders rather than sending taskforceRead more on the Thatcher papers here
Some of Margaret Thatcher's closest policy advisers voiced strong concerns that the Falklands Islands were not worth the fight, from the earliest days of the campaign, according to the latest release of files from the former Conservative prime minister's personal papers.
The papers show that, contrary to the jingoistic spirit at the time, the divisions over the Falklands went to the very heart of Downing Street with both Thatcher's senior economic adviser, Sir Alan Walters, and her chief of staff, David Wolfson, proposing schemes offering to buy-out the 1,800 islanders rather than send a taskforce to the South Atlantic. The scepticism extended to the head of the Downing Street policy unit, Sir John Hoskyns, who voiced the fear of making "almighty fools of ourselves" and worried that an essentially minor issue could precipitate the downfall of the Thatcher government.
Hoskyns also told her press secretary, Bernard Ingham, that it was "rather unwise" to talk about the islanders' wishes being paramount, and criticised the public tone being struck: "If we talk about it as a combination of Stalingrad and Alamein we risk looking absurd. This is not a battle for our homeland and civilisation."
Wolfson made an explicit proposal in a note to Thatcher on 22 April 1982 to avoid war by way of buying off the Falklanders. He suggested that the "bribe" of a US-backed index-linked guarantee of $100,000 per family and lifetime guarantees allowing residents to settle in Britain, Australia or New Zealand with full citizenship, be offered.
"This is the bribe which would have to convince Galtieri that they would vote for Argentine sovereignty," he told her.
Walters records in his private diaries made public today that he proposed his compensation scheme on 6 April, four days after the Argentinians had seized the islands.
"I sent PM a memo saying we should get Argentina to pay compensation to the Falklanders – objections from John Coles [her foreign affairs adviser] that PM would through [sic] it out – need some blood first for credibility to H/C [House of Commons] and to Argentine – I doubt it. This Jingo mood will pass but JH [Hoskyns] thinks she will miss the change."
The prime minister's private secretary, Michael Scholar, said the PM had already considered a number of similar ideas but concluded that "it would mean the end of the government to pursue them now".
Walters did not give up however. Sir Geoffrey Howe, chancellor at the time, told him two days later that the compensation scheme was logical but would be taken as a sell-out. But her monetarist guru persisted with the idea throughout the crisis. He even revived the notion in a 1995 article for an Argentinian paper suggesting that they offer the islanders £475,000-a-head to leave.
This March, the Falkland islanders voted by 1,513 to three to retain their status as an overseas territory of the UK.
The Argentinian president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, this week urged Pope Francis, (the former archbishop of Buenos Aires) to intervene against the "militarisation of Great Britain in the South Atlantic".
The release of the 1982 personal papers by the Margaret Thatcher Foundation also show that the prime minister's chief whip, Michael Jopling, was warning her about the deep divisions of the Conservatives in the Commons that went well beyond her battle with the traditional Tory "wets".
The popular image of the Conservative party was defined at the time by reports of a belligerent meeting of the backbench 1922 committee, held on 3 April, as the taskforce set sail; the Foreign Office was sharply criticised and the meeting triggered Lord Carrington's resignation as foreign secretary the next day.
By the time the taskforce arrived off South Georgia on 21 April the chief whip had outlined six groups of MPs, ranging from the hardline "no surrender" group headed by Alan Clark, to more than a dozen MPs who thought not a single shot should be fired in anger or that the Falklands were not worth the effort and that it was dangerous to go on describing the islanders' views as paramount.
Jopling quotes one blunt Scots Conservative peer, Lord Drumalbyn, who told him: "I think the government are mad. We do not want the place, in any case."
One Tory MP, Marcus Kimball, said: "Let the Argentinians have the Falklands with as little fuss as possible."
The Tory "wet" Sir Ian Gilmour said: "We are making a big mistake. It will make Suez look like commonsense."
Even the distinguished political historian and MP, Robert Rhodes James, was reported to be "hopelessly defeatist, depressed and disloyal".
Ken Clarke, later a cabinet minister under Thatcher, was bracketed with Sir Timothy Raison in the chief whip's note as hoping "that nobody thinks we are going to fight the Argentinians, we should blow up a few ships but nothing more".
Chris Patten, later party chairman, rather more opportunistically offered to "write a supportive article in the press once the situation is clearer".
Another future cabinet minister, Stephen Dorrell, was described as being "very wobbly" and reportedly would "only support the fleet as a negotiating ploy; if they will not negotiate we should withdraw".
Even dry-as-dust Thatcherite ministers outside Downing Street, such as Jock Bruce-Gardyne at the Treasury, sent Thatcher personal letters telling her that compromise "should not, one feels, be beyond the wit of man", posing the question that "more spectacular solutions may appeal to the gallery, but would they last?"
He went on to warn that failure "would involve irreparable damage to the government out of all proportion to the significance of the islands".
But one MP, West Devon's Peter Mills, said: "My constituents want blood."
The papers, which are stored at the Churchill Archive Centre, in Cambridge, include a letter from John Murray, a close family friend of the Thatchers, sent after the UK's Falklands victory. It suggested it was time to re-open talks with Argentina and for the islanders to be moved on "perhaps with our assistance".
The effect of all this internal criticism appears to have driven Thatcher ever deeper into the heart of the Whitehall machine and made her rely only on a handful of her most senior ministers and officials, and military and intelligence chiefs.
It was this isolation that perhaps led her to declare that she "never had any doubt about the rightness of the decision" and then to tell journalists to "rejoice, just rejoice" over the recapture by the British forces of South Georgia on 25 April 1982. There was one sequel when Thatcher made some unscripted remarks in a speech to Scots Conservatives on 14 May when she said: "What really thrilled me … is that when it really came to the test was being able to serve a great cause, the cause of liberty."
These remarks led the seasoned war correspondent, James Cameron, to reflect in the Guardian: "I wish Mrs Thatcher a long and happy life, but I wish she could know what it is like to be on a landing craft getting her thrills first-hand."Françafrique ( French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃safʁik]) is France's relationship[1][2] with its former African colonies.[3][4][5] It was first used in a positive sense by President Félix Houphouët-Boigny of Côte d'Ivoire, in allusion to that country's economic growth and political stability under its alliance with France. However, the term is now often used to criticise the allegedly neocolonial relationship France has with its former colonies in Africa. Since the independence of African states in 1960, France has intervened militarily more than 30 times in the continent.[6] France has military bases in Gabon,[7] Senegal[8] and Djibouti,[9] as well as in its overseas departments of Mayotte and Réunion in the Indian Ocean.[10] The French Army is also deployed in Mali,[11] Chad,[12] Central African Republic,[13] Somalia[14] and Ivory Coast.[15] Françafrique was at its height from 1960 to 1989,[4][16] and there is an ongoing dispute as to whether or not it still exists.[17][18][19] In 2012 and 2013, some news outlets spoke of a "return of Françafrique".[20][21] On 14 July 2013, troops from 13 African countries marched with the French military during the Bastille Day parade in Paris for the first time since French colonial troops were dissolved.[22]
Definition of the concept [ edit ]
Origin of the expression [ edit ]
The term "Françafrique" seems to have been used for the first time, in a positive sense, in 1955 by President Félix Houphouët-Boigny of Côte d'Ivoire, who advocated maintaining a close relationship with France, while acceding to independence. Close cooperation between Houphouët-Boigny and Jacques Foccart, chief adviser on African policy in the Charles de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou governments (1958–1974) is thought to have contributed to the "Ivorian miracle" of economic and industrial progress.[23]
The term was subsequently borrowed by François-Xavier Verschave as the title of his 1999 criticism of French policies in Africa: La Françafrique, le plus long scandale de la République (ISBN 2-234-04948-2). Verschave and the association Survie, of which he was president until his death in 2005, re-used the expression of Houphouët-Boigny to name and denounce the many concealed bonds between France and Africa. He later defined Françafrique as "the secret criminality in the upper echelons of French politics and economy, where a kind of underground Republic is hidden from view". He said that it also means "France à fric" (fric is a slang word for "cash"), and that "Over the course of four decades, hundreds of thousands of euros misappropriated from debt, aid, oil, and cocoa or drained through French importing monopolies, have financed French political-business networks (all of them offshoots of the main neo-Gaullist network), shareholders' dividends, the secret services' major operations and mercenary expeditions."[24]
Historical context [ edit ]
When French President Charles de Gaulle came back into power in 1958, anti-colonization movements and other international forces pressured France to give independence to the French colonies in Africa (except Algeria, whose status was separate). In the meantime De Gaulle put Jacques Foccart, one of his close friends, in charge of maintaining a de facto dependency.[25][26] Therefore, from 1960 to 1974, Jacques Foccart held the function of chief advisor to the government of France on African policy. He was re-selected in 1986 by the new Prime Minister, Jacques Chirac, for two years.[27] When Chirac gained the presidency in 1995 Foccart was brought back again to the Elysée palace as an advisor. Until his death Foccart never stopped being influential in French-African diplomatic relations, and it is commonly considered that he and De Gaulle were the founding fathers of the neo-colonial relationship between France and Africa.[28] Throughout successive French governments until Sarkozy, defence of the African backyard, despite the evolution of forms and methods, has always remained a high strategic imperative.
Initially, the "Françafrique" policy was motivated by three strategic concerns:
Economic — Provided and secured access to strategic raw materials (oil, uranium, etc.) and offered preferential investment outlets for French multinational companies. Several French-African agreements gave France 'exclusive monopoly rights to natural resources', as mentioned in the United States diplomatic cables leak many years later. [29]
— Provided and secured access to strategic raw materials (oil, uranium, etc.) and offered preferential investment outlets for French multinational companies. Several French-African agreements gave France 'exclusive monopoly rights to natural resources', as mentioned in the United States diplomatic cables leak many years later. Diplomatic — Maintained the declining status of France as a global powerhouse with a network of ally countries supporting the French vote in international institutions.
— Maintained the declining status of France as a global powerhouse with a network of ally countries supporting the French vote in international institutions. Political — Deterred the communist expansion in Africa by backing anti-communist régimes as well as increasing the presence of French military bases on the continent.
Countries concerned [ edit ]
Françafrique includes all of French-speaking Africa, i.e. former French and Belgian colonies in Africa: Togo, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Burundi, Chad, Comoros, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Benin, Tunisia, Morocco, Guinea, Niger, Djibouti, Mali, Central African Republic, Mauritania, Algeria, and also other countries like Equatorial Guinea, where France gained influence after its independence from Spain.
Not all countries are affected by Françafrique to the same extent. Petroleum dictatorships like Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the archetypes of "Françafrique"[citation needed]. In such countries, the relationships between the leaders and the French authorities are very closely knit, given the prevalence of the Total group in the economy. The situation is similar in other autocratic countries like Togo, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic.
On the other hand, in other former colonies like the Maghreb countries or the Côte d'Ivoire, which had had a conflict relationship with France in the past, the French influence and networks are much less evident than in the countries mentioned above, even if the economic aspect shares some similarities with the practices of Françafrique[citation needed] Lastly, democratic countries like Mali and Senegal are less concerned by this phenomenon, for both economic and historical reasons.[citation needed]
Framework [ edit ]
Elysée's Africa cell [ edit ]
France's African policy has always been directed separately from the French foreign ministry. It is managed from the Elysée Palace, seat of the French Presidency. More precisely, French policy on Africa is managed from the Elysée’s Africa cell (at 2 rue de l’Elysée, Paris), where the President and his advisors make decisions on military support for African countries or for their ruling governments.
The Africa group's founding father Jacques Foccart was appointed by President Charles de Gaulle and after that became a specialist on African matters at the Elysée Palace. Between 1986 and 1992, Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, the son of President François Mitterrand and a former AFP journalist in Africa, held the position of chief adviser on African policy at the Elysée African cell, which got him nicknamed "Papamadi" (translated as "Daddy told me"), and replaced it with just a diplomatic advisor on Africa but the difference in titles was only symbolic. The new mentor on African matters at the Elysée is general secretary Claude Guéant, a close aide to the president.
Underground diplomacy [ edit ]
The French consular network in Africa is extensive, although this is also generally the case in many other regions worldwide (France has the second most extensive consular network worldwide after the U.S.).[30] But the "Françafrique" is more a matter of concealed networks and unofficial emissaries rather than a matter of "official" diplomacy. Around the official representative of the French interests, there is also a maze of power consisting of political leaders, businessmen, intelligence agents, and military corps or mercenaries.
Many players have combined official and unofficial activities: for example, Maurice Robert, a former intelligence agent who became the chief executive of SDECE, the French External Documentation and Counter-Espionage Service (formerly the DGSE, General Directorate for External Security) in Africa. In the ambit of his new appointment, he led many military actions in Africa, helping or deposing heads of state in accordance with French interests in these countries. More particularly, he supervised operations for the notorious mercenary Bob Denard). In 1973, he was pushed aside from the intelligence services and then directly employed by the petroleum company Elf. In 1979,\ he was appointed French ambassador to Gabon, on the demand of President Omar Bongo of Gabon, whom he had helped to take power. In 1982, he went back to Elf where he finished his career before retirement.[31]
Another of the most active unofficial intermediaries of the "Françafrique" is the Franco-Lebanese lawyer Robert Bourgi, close aide to the Bongo family and to many other African leaders, and also an informal advisor to President Nicolas Sarkozy. Robert Bourgi admitted that he supplanted the Secretary of State for Overseas Development, Jean-Marie Bockel. Bockel wanted to break away from the "Françafrique", and in response to a question from a journalist from Le Monde in January 2008, he said that he wanted to "sign the death certificate of Françafrique".[32] This displeased the African dictators, who preferred to address Robert Bourgi as an intermediary. In 2009, Bourgi, on behalf of the French government, supported the presidential election of Ali Bongo Ondimba, son of former President Omar Bongo.[33]
Development aid [ edit ]
French development aid in Africa is based on two organizations: the AFD (French Development Agency) which handles government-to-government funding, and PROPARCO (Promotion and Participation for Economic Cooperation, a subsidiary of the AFD) which funds the private sector in developing countries.
Today [ edit ]
The "Françafrique" policy came under the spotlight once more after the January 2010 attacks on Togo's national football team. France has been accused of meddling in Angolan affairs by backing of separatist groups such as Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda and harboring their leaders.[34]
In 2010, the presidents of France's former colonies in Africa were invited for lunch at the Elysée Palace with then-president Nicolas Sarkozy. The invitation had brought a lot of criticism. Although Sarkozy had promised pension benefits to every former soldier in France's African colonies, the French association Survie felt that the French government was still looking out for its own benefits.[35]
President François Hollande likewise maintained the promise of the previous Elysée government to end Françafrique.[36] However, Hollande authorized military interventions in Mali, the Central African Republic and Chad, which was a departure from the previous government's policy of disengagement in Africa and a rapprochement toward Françafrique.[20]
In February 2015, France launched AfricaFrance, a foundation headed by Lionel Zinsou and endorsed by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to'relaunch' the relationship between France and Africa.[37]
Quotations about "Françafrique" [ edit ]
Omar Bongo, former president of Gabon: "Gabon without France is like a car with no driver. France without Gabon is like a car with no fuel..." (18 September 1996) reported during an interview for the newspaper Libération
François Mitterrand, then the French minister of the interior: "Without Africa, France will have no history in the 21st century" (1957). [38]
Jacques Godfrain, former French foreign minister: "A little country [France], with a small amount of strength, we can move a planet because [of our]…relations with 15 or 20 African countries…"
See also [ edit ]
Documentary:
Film:
Françafrique (documentaire) fr]
Le Professionnel, action movie by Georges Lautner (1981)
, action movie by Georges Lautner (1981) Fratricide in Burkina: Thomas Sankara and French Africa, movie by Didier Mauro and Thuy-Tiën Ho (2008)
Music:
Françafrique, album and song by Tiken Jah Fakoly
, album and song by Tiken Jah Fakoly Pompafric, song by Tryo
, song by Tryo Françafrique, song by Refused
Literature:NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude oil futures jumped 3 percent on Thursday, reversing earlier loses after confirmation of a meeting of major producers and news of project delays and job cuts in the industry.
Pump jacks are seen at the Lukoil company owned Imilorskoye oil field, as the sun sets, outside the West Siberian city of Kogalym, Russia, January 25, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin
Venezuela reaffirmed a mid-March meeting of oil producers that would include Saudi Arabia, Russia and Qatar, to stabilize prices that have slumped 70 percent in a 20-month rout.
The four countries are involved in an effort to get oil producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and elsewhere to freeze production at January’s highs. Many traders believe an output cut and not freeze is what the market needs to clear the global crude glut.
“It’s the Venezuela headline that got the market excited enough to rebound, though it’s baffling why as everyone knows of this meeting and that it’s not going to achieve anything,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital, a New York energy hedge fund.
U.S. crude futures CLc1 settled up 92 cents, or 2.9 percent, at $33.07 a barrel. It had slid more than $1 at the session low.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 finished up 88 cents, or 2.6 percent, at $35.29 a barrel, hitting a three-week high. It had also dropped more than $1 earlier.
The rally in crude also boosted gasoline futures RBc1, which settled up nearly 5 percent after rallying from early in the day on strong demand for the motor fuel. USOILG=ECI
Aside from the March meeting, traders said sentiment in oil was helped by project deferments in the U.S. shale industry and job cuts that will slow production.
Continental Resources Inc (CLR.N), one of the biggest shale drillers in North Dakota, said it planned to continue deferring project completions in the Bakken fields due to low crude prices.
Oil services provider Halliburton said it will start a new round of global layoffs that will cut 5,000 jobs.
Oil prices had fallen as much 3 percent earlier on Thursday after data indicating new record highs in U.S. crude inventories.
Stockpiles at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for U.S. crude futures rose by more than 503,000 barrels to reach above 67.5 million barrels between Feb. 19 and Feb. 24, traders said, quoting data by market intelligence provider Genscape.
Officially, the U.S. government reported on Wednesday that Cushing added 333,000 barrels last week to reach 65.1 million for a fourth straight week of record highs. Nationwide, inventories rose to all-time peaks above 507 million barrels. USOICC=ECI [EIA/S]ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter warned on Tuesday (September 1) that the U.S. "needs to be ready" to combat North Korean aggression, calling it an "odd place", during a town hall meeting with U.S. military members in Fort Meade, Maryland. "This is one of those places that is a tinder box, and we have to be ready every single day. We had a little dust-up out there about a week ago," he said, responding to a question from a serviceman stationed in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. "Job one is fight tonight... we need to make sure that North Koreans always understand that any provocation with them will be dealt with and that they stand no chance of defeating us and our allies in South Korea," he added. Last week, the two rivals agreed to end a military standoff that sparked an exchange of artillery fire after the South began propaganda broadcasts in response to a landmine blast that seriously wounded two of its soldiers. Seoul and Pyongyang have remained technically in a state of war since the Korean war ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. "Since 1953, American troops have been deterring North Korean aggression," Carter said. "Sadly, even though it sounds like it's a relic of the distant past, it's very much a part of today. So it's probably the single place in the world where war could erupt at the snap of our fingers."On May 16th, Reptar hits theaters globally. The famous monster has been a pop culture icon for nearly 60 years and continues to stomp his way through entertainment, and our hearts. I don’t know if anyone is more excited than me to see this awakened dinosaur back in the relevant zeitgeist.
After seeing an early teaser trailer last year at Comic-Con, I decided my mission before the new one was released would be to watch every Reptar film in order. It took me nearly a year, but I have successfully accomplished that goal.
The official Reptar count is up for debate. There are 28 in the original canon, but the character also makes appearances in non-sanctioned films and various countries have launched their own franchises (including the horrid U.S. version of the late 90’s). I watched 36 movies in total. I would say half of them are hardly worth watching, but the other half certainly are!
Here are my top 5. This list is based on personal favorites and cultural relevance.
Reptar: King of the Monsters
Directed by Hiro Watanabe, this is the movie that started it all. With the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki still fresh in Japanese minds, Reptar became a symbol of nuclear holocaust. His attacks mirror the devastation Japan felt towards the end of WWII. Since his debut in 1956, Reptar has been a strong metaphor for nuclear weapons.
On the opposite side of the world, American interest in Japanese films was growing strong (thanks partly to greats like Akira Kurosawa). A group of Hollywood investors secured the rights to Reptar and had it recut with new footage featuring John Schuck, as an American reporter reporting on Reptar’s rampage.
The re-cut American film softened a lot of the dialogue that had been critical of the U.S. involvement of nuclear destruction. It also renamed the film from Reptar to Reptar: King of the Monsters. The U.S. film helped make Reptar a global success, getting a much wider release than the Japanese version.
Reptar 1987
The first film in the Yamaguchi Era was The Return of Reptar aka Reptar 1987. As with most horror franchises, the first ones start off serious and scary, yet quickly become silly and ridiculous. By the mid-70’s, Watanabe’s Reptar had spawned 15 sequels and became a playful pet for children. When Meester Yamaguchi took the helm of the franchise it got back to its roots. Combined with suitmation techniques, this is the first Reptar film using animatronics.
Technically the 16th Reptar movie, many consider it the second story to the ‘56 release. It revisited a lot of the same themes as the original, containing the longest speech about nuclear disarmament than any other film.
Note: the American version is unanimously considered a bastardized version. It cut a majority of the movie and added nearly 20 minutes of additional footage. With the additional footage it was still only 86 minutes (14 minutes shorter than the Japanese version).
Riptara
Hiro Watanabe had retired from filmmaking and moved to France with his third wife. When Yamaguchi released Reptar 1987, a film that ignored a majority of Watanabe’s sequels, Watanabe decided to make a closing film to his Reptar run. Riptara embraced the campiness but also had a sense of truth and gave a pleasing end to Watanabe’s chapter. Although it’s only ever been released in French, Riptara has been a huge international success. It was the inspiration for an ice show, Reptar On Ice, that spent an unprecedented 18 years on tour throughout Canada and the U.S.
Reptar: VS
The 22nd installment and final film in the Hasagawa Era. This was originally intended to be last of the Reptar films, until America tarnished the good name a few years later (so Japan brought the big-R back to theaters launching the Millenium Era). Heavily promoted as the death of Reptar, VS did exceptionally well in Japanese theaters, but was only ever released on VHS in the States.
VS merged the 3 eras of Reptar (Watanabe/Yamaguchi/Hasagawa) into one cohesive story. Without giving anything away, the movie leads up to an ultimate fight between all three monsters. Critically acclaimed, many |
almost 1.5 million people along the Tigris river could be at risk from catastrophic flooding.
The statement is the first public acknowledgment by the Iraqi government of the danger posed by the dam, which is in a poor state of repair after years of neglect and its brief capture by Islamic State (IS) fighters in 2014.
The government earlier this month awarded a contract to Italian engineering firm TREVI to undertake emergency repairs on the 3.4km dam, which is the fourth largest in the Middle East and lies 40km north of Mosul, Iraq’s second city which is currently controlled by IS.
Many other Iraqi cities including Baghdad, the capital, Shirqat, Baiji, Tikrit, Samarra, Balad and Dujail could be flooded if the dam breaks down, Iraqi and US officials warned.
“The collapse of the dam is very unlikely, especially with the technical and administrative precautions taken by the authorities, but the serious consequences if it did happen necessitate the alert,” Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s office said in a statement on Sunday.
“We have developed a package of precautionary recommendations, in order to avoid any potential risk, God forbid. They [the recommendations] have to be taken into consideration by all people.”
The US embassy in Baghdad on Sunday also issued an alert to US citizens warning them of the dangers of a possible collapse.
It said that Mosul could be inundated by more than 13 metres of water within hours of a breach and that downriver cities including Tikrit, Samarra and Baghdad would face lower but “still significant” levels of flooding within 24 to 72 hours.
“We have no specific information that indicates when a breach might occur, but out of an abundance of caution, we would like to underscore that prompt evacuation offers the most effective tool to save the lives of the hundreds of thousands of people living in the most dangerous part of the flood path in the event of a breach,” the embassy said.
In an assessment of the possible impact of a breach of the dam, the US embassy said that nearly 1.5 million Iraqis would likely be killed by an "inland tidal wave" unless they were moved to safe areas.
It also said that because much of the territory likely to be badly affected by a breach was controlled or contested by IS, "an authority-directed evacuation is unlikely" and some evacuees would not have sufficient freedom of movement to escape.
"Mosul dam faces a serious and unprecedented risk of catastrophic failure with little warning. A catastrophic breach of Iraq’s Mosul dam would result in severe loss of life, mass population displacement, and destruction of the majority of the infrastructure within the path of the projected floodwave," it said.
“The approximately 500,000 to 1.47 million Iraqis residing along the Tigris river in areas at highest risk from the projected flood wave probably would not survive its impact unless they evacuated the flood zone.
“A majority of Baghdad’s six million residents also probably would be adversely affected - experiencing dislocation, increased health hazards, limited to no mobility, and losses of homes, buildings and services.”
The dam, which opened in 1986, needs constant maintenance because of structural flaws in its foundations that require regular re-grouting with cement.
But that process was interrupted for eight weeks in 2014 when IS overran the dam and surrounding areas.
Security for TREVI employees currently working to repair the dam is being provided by Kurdish peshmerga forces supported by 450 Italian troops who were deployed to the site in December.
An assessment of the dam conducted by a US army engineering team in Iraq earlier this month for the Iraqi parliament and seen by Middle East Eye said: “All information gathered in the last year indicates Mosul Dam is at a significantly higher risk of failure than originally understood and is at a higher risk of failure today than a year ago.”
Until Sunday the Iraqi government had publicly denied any possibility that the dam could collapse and had challenged the earlier warning issued by the US team.
Iraq's Ministry of Water Resources, which is in charge of the country’s dams, played down the US assessment and argued that similar warnings had been issued in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
“The dam will be safe as long as the water level is low,” it said.
'Routine warning'
The dam’s reservoir has a capacity of 11.5bn cubic metres, but currently holds no more than 4.5bn cubic metres, Iraqi officials told MEE.
“Maintenance work is ongoing, the situation is under control and the current inventory is equivalent to just one-third of the tank's capacity,” Mahdi Rasheed, the general director of the Iraqi Dams Company, told MEE.
"The [contingency] plan is a routine warning to educate people about this issue, so people will be sure that everything will be okay."
But an extensive investigation conducted earlier this month by the parliamentary committee of water and agriculture concluded that water levels were expected to rise significantly in March and April and that the “stress on the dam will be increased”.
The parliamentary report recommended “seeking quick solutions for drainage” and stressed that “decreasing the level of water in the reservoir to the minimum would decrease the impact of the wave of flooding if the dam collapsed but will not completely prevent damage, so a contingency plan has to be prepared”.
Sunday’s statement included an “instruction manual” informing citizens about the likelihood of the dam collapsing and advising them what to do in the event that it did.
It said the scale of any disaster would be affected by water levels in the reservoir and along the Tigris river at the moment when the dam failed.
It said the current guidance was based on an assumed water level in the reservoir of 319m, while the current level was 307m which “reduced risk substantially, especially in Baghdad”.
According to the guidance, all cities, towns and villages located along the banks of the river would be “severely” impacted, with residents requiring relocation.
Mosul, 400km north of Baghdad, would be the most badly affected city, with water levels in some areas reaching 15 metres between one and four hours after the collapse of the dam.
Flooding would reach Tikrit within one or two days, and Baghdad within three or four days with water levels in the capital possibly reaching 10m, “although at current water levels the damage would be less”.
The guidance tells people to move as far away from the Tigris and its tributaries as possible and to head for higher ground.
The recommended distance to safety for Mosul residents is 6km, for Samarra residents 6.5km and for Tikrit 5km.
"The best way to be safe, is to move to higher areas," it said.
US State Department documents assessing Mosul dam safety:Shortly before the charges were levied, the Waterloo Region Taxi Alliance was encouraging drivers to take photos of Uber drivers and their licence plates or to order Uber rides to get information. When a taxi driver did so one night in late September, it allegedly resulted in a violent altercation in Kitchener.
Waterloo Regional Police said at the time that a 55-year-old Cambridge man faced charges of assault with a weapon and dangerous driving after an incident with a City Cab driver.
According to police, the two argued when the City Cab driver saw the Uber driver and confronted him.
The cabbie squatted down to take a picture of the driver's licence plate, according to Waterloo Regional Police, and was allegedly struck lightly by the Uber driver's car before the Cambridge man took off, also allegedly running two red lights on King Street.
Several penalties can be issued for violating the region's taxi bylaw, including $165 for driving without a taxi licence. Multiple convictions could lead to a fine of up to $25,000.
Around the time of the charges, Uber blocked regional bylaw officers from the app, which they were using to book Uber rides to find drivers and charge them, the licensing and hearings chair said at the time.
Seiling said the region has been criticized in both directions for how it handled the launch of Uber here.
"There are those who argue that we should have done more, there are those who argue that we should have done less," he said.
Councillors will be asked at an April 20 meeting to debate and decide on several fundamental questions that will guide the bylaw. Once council sets its course, staff will prepare a new bylaw for debate on June 8.
The second public meeting on the vehicle-for-hire bylaw will be held April 5 at 6 p.m. at regional headquarters, 150 Frederick St., Kitchener.
To register as a delegation, contact the regional clerk's office at 519-575-4420 or email regionalclerk@regionofwaterloo.ca.
An online survey and discussion guide also are available at http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/regionalgovernment/bylawenforcement.asp.
pdesmond@therecord.com, Twitter: @DesmondRecordAt the end of August 2007, J. MAYER H. Architects completed the project „An der Alster 1“. The design for the office building is the result of a limited competion by the investor Cogiton in 2006. The building site is situated at the intersection between the Hamburg’s lively downtown and its urban landscape rich in water and mature trees. It is at the transition from city to nature, and the gateway building to the bustling metropolitan core. The horizontal striped facade with its floating ‘eyes’ celebrates the view onto this unique context. A public park in front of the building continues the design strategy of the facade into the landscape. The ‘eyes’ in the façade and the platforms in the park form places to meet and contemplate. The office spaces serve both a generic spatial layout and specific moments related to the ‘eyes’. Large spans provide for various office layout configurations in combination with balconies and climatically tempered outdoor spaces of the ‘eyes’.
The office building ‘An der Alster 1’ links interior and exterior spaces to the public park in front of the building and to the city context of Hamburg, becoming a new anchor at the prestigious Aussenalster waterfront.NEW DELHI: As Swachh Bharat Mission reaches the halfway mark of implementation, the Centre has decided to halve the expenditure on solid waste management, the biggest head of the cleanliness drive.The government has scaled down expenditure on solid waste management 46 per cent to Rs 20,153 crore from Rs 38,000 crore approved by the Cabinet in September 2014, when it gave its assent to the Rs 62,009-crore mission.The urban development ministry has decided to follow the estimates given by a task force on waste to energy formed by the erstwhile Planning Commission. "We have informed the Cabinet about this change in costs. As per Prof K Kasturirangan committee report the recommended investment is Rs 20,153 crore. So, we will be following this," Praveen Prakash, director of Swachh Bharat Mission, told ET.The task force had submitted its report in May 2014. Although his report preceded the Cabinet decision, the government’s estimated expenditure passed by the Cabinet remained Rs 38,000 crore. When asked why the outlay is being scaled down report after two and a half years of the report, the ministry did not offer an explanation. It, however, said, the central help will remain the same.Urban India currently generates 170,000 tonnes of solid waste daily. Only 19 per cent of this waste is treated. Since the implementation of the Mission, this capacity has increased to 21 per cent.However, the solid waste management initiative is facing problems. The response from the private sector has been poor. The ministry has increased viability gap funding for solid waste management projects from 20 per cent to 35 per cent now, ignoring the Kasturirangan panel’s recommendation for 40 per cent VGF.window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbnails-c', container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-5', placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 5', target_type:'mix' });
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Photo: Susan Walsh / Associated Press Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close Image 2 of 14... as well as this lady!... as well as this lady! Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP/Getty Images Image 3 of 14 President Barack Obama greets restaurant patrons during a surprise visit to Great Eastern Restaurant for dim sum in San Francisco's Chinatown on Feb. 16, 2012. President Barack Obama greets restaurant patrons during a surprise visit to Great Eastern Restaurant for dim sum in San Francisco's Chinatown on Feb. 16, 2012. Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP/Getty Images Image 4 of 14 Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP/Getty Images Image 5 of 14 Image 6 of 14 US President Barack Obama greets wellwishers after stopping for a dim sum takeout lunch. US President Barack Obama greets wellwishers after stopping for a dim sum takeout lunch. Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP/Getty Images Image 7 of 14 US President Barack Obama carries out lunch during a surprise visit to Great Eastern Restaurant. US President Barack Obama carries out lunch during a surprise visit to Great Eastern Restaurant. Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP/Getty Images Image 8 of 14 Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP/Getty Images Image 9 of 14 President Barack Obama greets the crowd while he waits to get his Chinese food. President Barack Obama greets the crowd while he waits to get his Chinese food. Photo: Susan Walsh / Associated Press Image 10 of 14 Image 11 of 14 President Barack Obama gets Chinese food from Great Eastern Restaurant. Obama is on a three-day trip to the West Coast for fundraising. President Barack Obama gets Chinese food from Great Eastern Restaurant. Obama is on a three-day trip to the West Coast for fundraising. Photo: Susan Walsh / Associated Press Image 12 of 14 Photo: Susan Walsh / Associated Press Image 13 of 14 Photo: Susan Walsh / Associated Press Image 14 of 14 Obama swings by Chinatown restaurant 1 / 14 Back to Gallery
President Barack Obama made a surprise lunch stop today in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
Obama, wearing rolled up sleeves and no jacket, stopped by the Great Eastern Restaurant at 649 Jackson St. to pick up his take-out order, according to the White House Press Pool report.
Unsuspecting patrons squealed in delight when Obama arrived and chanted “Obama! Obama! Obama!” Many left their food behind in the excitement, according to the pool report.
Obama spent a few minutes working the room, posing for pictures and shaking hands before paying cash for his dim-sum sampler.
Obama left the restaurant with two bags of food – naturally labeled “Thank You!” – and headed to the Intercontinental Hotel where he is attending an exclusive fundraiser.
We don’t think Rose Pak played any part in this, but we really, really wish she did.
All of San Francisco’s top politicians were on hand earlier Thursday to meet Obama at San Francisco International Airport, including Mayor Ed Lee, Attorney General Kamala Harris and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.Washington, DC, United States - The US State Department continues to demand the immediate release by Israeli authorities of a Palestinian-American boy arrested with other teenagers during a protest in East Jerusalem last month.
Mohammed Abu Nie, 15, faces charges of rock-throwing, attacking police, carrying a knife and leading a demonstration and has been held since July 3. American consular officials in Tel Aviv met with him as recently as July 31.
The State Department has also raised concerns about his treatment while in custody.
"We are calling for a speedy resolution to this case," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said, adding the US government was "gravely concerned over the prolonged detention of this US citizen child".
Rights advocates say the case is typical of Israeli mistreatment for decades of Arabs both within Israel and the occupied territories. What's new is that the stories of Abu Nie and other Palestinian-Americans are creating an opportunity to educate US lawmakers long accustomed to hearing only Israeli accounts of the troubles in Palestine.
"Ordinary Israeli officials - policemen, army people - they make a point of insulting you, insulting your US passport, throwing it on the ground, telling you: 'It means nothing to us. You are just a Palestinian and we don't care one wit that you have a US passport.' In a vulgar, childish manner, they disrespect the US passport of Palestinians," said Jonathan Kuttab, an international human rights lawyer based in Washington who has represented many Palestinians and Palestinian-Americans in Israeli courts.
Keith Ellison is a four-term Democrat from Minnesota and one of the few US lawmakers in the past month that has been a voice in Washington for Palestinians, calling for an end to the Israeli siege of Gaza.
"Many congressmen just don't know, the truth is we have to educate people," Ellison told Al Jazeera. "You have got to expose people to another point of view. There has got to be a more strenuous and comprehensive effort to tell the Palestinian side on Capitol Hill."
Stone's throw away from prison
Abu Nie was among 11 Palestinian minors arrested on July 3 for allegedly throwing stones during a protest after the killing of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, a 16-year-old Palestinian who was kidnapped and burned to death at the hands of Israelis following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens.
Tariq Abu Khdeir - a 15-year-old Palestinian-American from Tampa, Florida, and a cousin of Mohammed who was visiting family in Gaza for summer vacation - was also arrested the same day. A video clip circulated on the Internet allegedly showed two Israeli border police holding down and repeatedly pummeling the youth before carrying him away.
A few weeks later, Khdeir stood up in a small forum in the US Congress to tell his story. In the halls of Congress, it was a rare personal account of the systematic discrimination and abuse suffered by Palestinian civilians, activists say.
"What I have been through is just a small taste of what they all go through," Khdeir said. "The Palestinian people don't have rights. When I travelled over there I actually forgot that I had freedom."
After the kidnapping and death of his cousin Mohammed, Israeli police taunted Palestinians who had gathered, and shouted things such as "we killed one Palestinian child, we're going to kill 300 more", according to Hassan Shibly, a lawyer for Khdeir. As the crowd grew and protesters threw stones, Israeli police began firing rubber bullets.
Khdeir watched the commotion and clashes during the protests with Israeli authorities from an alleyway near his home. Panicked people ran towards him chased by soldiers, so he turned and ran too.
Hopping over a low wall, he stumbled, kept running and was tackled by Israeli policemen who slammed him to the ground. The police zip-tied his hands behind his back, and kicked his face and kidneys until he blacked out. They dragged his limp body away and threw him in jail for four days.
Pro-Israeli stance
Support inside the US Congress has been overwhelmingly pro-Israeli during the latest war in Gaza, notwithstanding widespread international condemnation of Israel's bombing of UN schools used as shelters.
One bill in Congress is the US-Israel Strategic Partnership Act, which would deepen US support for Israel. The legislation is a top priority for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israeli lobbying group in the US. It overwhelmingly passed in the lower chamber - the House of Representatives - by a 410-to-1 vote in March.
Before taking a month-long August recess, Congress approved $225m in emergency funds for Israel's military operations, including its "Iron Dome" missile defense system. The Iron Dome emergency funding was approved 395-8 in the House and unanimously in the Senate.
"It has been a deeply concerning and one-sided debate on Gaza," Mike Coogan, director of development for the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, told Al Jazeera. "A case study like Abu Khdeir really helps us, especially with American citizens. We had essentially gotten nowhere for years. Once we started talking about discrimination against American citizens, there was a huge controversy on the Hill."
'Finger in the eye'
Still, only a handful of lawmakers in Congress can be found concerned about the plight of the Palestinians or disapproving of the unqualified US military and financial support for Israel, voting records show.
We are assembling an international legal team to explore all the legal options on the table to ensure that no child faces the brutal treatment that Tariq got. - Hassan Shibly, Council on American-Islamic Relations
"How many times can you keep sticking your finger in the eye of the people of Palestine?" said Walter B Jones, Jr, a North Carolina Republican, who was among eight House members who voted "no" to the Iron Dome funding.
One reason why more members of Congress are not vocal about their concerns regarding Israeli tactics in Gaza is the financial power of AIPAC, Jones said. "This place operates on fundraising. Some of the major players in fundraising are with AIPAC."
During his recent primary contest in North Carolina, Jones was targeted by a pro-Israel political action committee organised by neo-conservative and well-known US Republican commentator Bill Kristol.
"They ran ads against me in my primary showing a Middle Eastern person burning an Israeli flag and an American flag. They said I was against Israel. I am not against Israel," Jones said
Meanwhile, US lawyers for Khdeir plan legal action. "We are assembling an international legal team to explore all the legal options on the table to ensure that no child faces the brutal treatment that Tariq got," Shibly, a Council on American-Islamic Relations lawyer in Tampa, told Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera contacted the Israeli Embassy in Washington but it refused to comment on the matter.
Abu Khdeir's family met with senior US State Department officials in Washington to lodge a complaint. "They all know the abuse that takes place but it doesn't translate into the public dialogue," Shibly said.
State Department spokeswoman Harf declined to comment on the meeting, citing privacy, but said officials were concerned about reports of abuse.
Editor's note: This story has been amended to remove a sentence claiming that C-SPAN switched from a broadcast of Khdeir's testimony to Senator Barbara Boxer's endorsement of the US-Israel Strategic Partnership Act. It is C-SPAN policy to change to a live broadcast of a US lawmaker regardless of the circumstance.Story highlights State media reports 27 civilians are killed in a car bombing in Aleppo
An opposition group says a barrel bomb flattens a residential block in that city
At least 160 people are killed across Syria on Sunday, an opposition group says
A U.N. envoy will meet officials in Cairo, then head to Syria, Egyptian media reports
The gruesome civil war in Syria has terrorized residents and left world leaders scrambling to stop the carnage that mounts daily.
Here are the latest developments in the spiraling 18-month crisis:
On the ground: Explosions, casualties
Fighting and shelling persisted all day Sunday and into Monday morning in Aleppo, with both the regime and the opposition blaming each other for dozens of fatalities.
A bomb landed on a kindergarten in Aleppo, leveling a residential block and causing a "great number" of casualties, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said Sunday.
The opposition activist group described it as a barrel bomb attack, saying regime forces have been dropping barrels full of TNT, nails and fuel onto civilian areas.
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The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that warplanes shelled a residential building next to a nursery, causing its collapse and leading to "dozens of martyrs and casualties."
Syrian state-run media, meanwhile, said Sunday that regime forces had killed numerous "terrorists" in Aleppo and freed 30 people who had been "kidnapped by the armed terrorist groups."
For over a year, the Syrian government has refused to acknowledge the popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule and has blamed "armed terrorist groups" for fueling the bloodshed.
Meanwhile, 27 civilians were killed and another 64 wounded in a car bombing near two hospitals in western Aleppo, the state-run SANA news agency reported, citing Aleppo's Gov. Mohammed Wahid. This blast significantly damaged the two hospitals, a school and other buildings.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that 27 people had died in the attack around what is known as the Earth area of Aleppo. It was not immediately clear, the opposition group said, whether those killed were civilians or regime forces.
The violence was hardly confined to Aleppo, however.
Across the country, at least 160 people were killed Sunday, opposition activists said. A quarter of those deaths were in and around the Syrian capital, as well as 22 in Daraa and 22 in Homs -- nine of them killed in a "massacre" in Rastan, according to the LCC.
The opposition group reported Sunday evening that 19 people on one Damascus street died "after a mortar shell landed on homes in the area."
Citing a source, state media reported 14 "terrorists" were killed in a clash with regime forces in the al-Qusayr countryside. Both SANA and the LCC, on its Facebook page, identified the same three men as being killed in the area -- with the opposition group saying they died after "a land mine planted by regime forces in a road exploded."
U.N. employee shot dead in Damascus
In the country's capital, a 28-year-old employee of the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency died Sunday after a bullet struck him in the chest, the agency said.
It was unclear whether his death, which occurred just south of the Yarmouk residential area in Damascus, "was caused by a stray bullet or one fired by a sniper," the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said in a statement.
The death was the second in three days for a U.N employee working around Yarmouk, which the world body said is home to about 1 million Syrians and 150,000 Palestinian refugees. Ten Palestinian refugees were also killed between September 6 and 8 by violence stemming from the broader civil war.
Late Sunday night, the opposition Local Coordination Committees accused Syrian forces of launching "raids and (making) indiscriminate arrests in a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus.
"UNRWA deplores the tragic loss of life and expresses the view that threats to (Palestinian) refugees and other civilians can be avoided. All sides must refrain from conducting the conflict in civilian areas and must comply with their obligations under international law," the statement said.
Diplomatic front: New envoy to Syria to work with Arab leaders
International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi arrived in Cairo on Sunday to meet with Arab League officials on the Syrian crisis, Egyptian state media reported.
This is Brahimi's first such meeting since becoming the U.N.-Arab League special envoy to Syria. He faces the daunting task of trying to help stop the bloodshed in the war-torn country.
While in Egypt, Brahimi will meet with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil el-Araby and several Syrian opposition figures to talk about the Syrian crisis, his spokesman Ahmed Fawzi told Egypt's state-run MENA news agency.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague will arrive in Cairo on Monday night for a two-day visit focused on Syria, the Palestinian-Israeli issue and economic matters, according to MENA.
After spending a few days in Egypt, Brahimi has said he will head next to Damascus. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Eraqij told his nation's semi-official Mehr news agency on Sunday that Brahimi has indicated he'll visit Tehran soon after his trip to Syria.
The United Nations says more than 18,000 people -- mostly civilians -- have been killed in Syria since March 2011. Opposition activists put the toll much higher, at more than 24,000 people.
Jouejati, an LCC spokeswoman, said Sunday that the situation should be classified as "genocide."
CNN cannot independently verify death tolls because the Syrian government has severely restricted access to the country by foreign journalists.
Russia: Sanctions against Syria hurt Russian business
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said U.S. sanctions on Syria and Iran are harming Russian business interests.
"The unilateral American sanctions against Syria and Iran are increasingly becoming extraterritorial in nature and are directly affecting the interests of Russian business, in particular banks," Lavrov said Saturday, according to the state news agency RIA Novosti.
The United States and other Western countries have sharply criticized Russia, accusing it of defending the Syrian regime for financial interests and thereby allowing the regime's bloody crackdown on dissidents to continue.
Russia, along with China, has repeatedly vetoed attempts at the U.N. Security Council to take tougher action against the Syrian government.
But Russia will push the Security Council to endorse a peace plan that would set up a transitional government in Syria, RIA Novosti reported.
World leaders agreed on the plan in Geneva this year. But while U.S. and British leaders said they don't foresee al-Assad in the transitional government, Russia said the Geneva plan "did not imply that Assad should step down," RIA Novosti said.
U.S. politician says his country needs to take further action
U.S. Sen. John McCain blasted President Barack Obama for not doing more to back the Syrian opposition, calling his administration's actions thus far "shameful."
The Arizona Republican said the United States should get opposition fighters weapons "so it's a fair fight" and establish a "sanctuary or free zone" from which the opposition can operate.
He said he is not asking that U.S. troops be sent into Syria to battle government forces.
McCain, the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, said a lack of international action to date has contributed to the "rise of extremists, rise of al Qaeda, (and a) greater threat of chemical weapons."
"We've sat still and watched this massacre go on now (with) over 20,000 people (killed)," he told CNN Saturday. "How many have to die before we act?"One lucky research assistant caught a rare show in the Straits of Gibraltar last week, as a fin whale was spotted breaching the water three times in a row, right in front of her. While fin whales do sometimes breach, it's rarely seen and even more rarely caught on camera.
The videographer, Séréna, is a summer research assistant with CIRCE, a Spain-based cetacean conservation, research, and education organization.
Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) are the second largest creatures on our planet, just after blue whales. When you consider that the average fin whale needs to hurl its 80+ tons and 89+ feet out of the water and into the air, the spectacle becomes even more amazing. As one of the fastest whales in the world, the fin can reach cruising speeds of 23 mph with short bursts up to 29 mph. (The Sei whale may beat it for short sprints up t0 40mph, but not for cruising speed.) Their impressive speed has given Fin whales the nickname "greyhounds of the deep."
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[The Dodo; CIRCE]More than 50 people were killed Sunday night in Las Vegas, in what is now the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. After a gunman opened fire at a music festival, 406 people were transported to local hospitals. And starting in the wee hours of Monday morning, the people of Las Vegas were lining up in droves to help them.
Local reporters and residents posted on social media that as of early Monday, there were lines around the block across the city to give blood. After the shooting, Las Vegas authorities called for people to donate, and the city instantly responded. As early as 3 a.m., parking lots were full at donation centers, with hundreds of donors showing up to do what they could to help.
The line at the united blood service on Whitney Ranch location. So happy to see so many people coming out to help. #LasVegas #mandalaybay pic.twitter.com/Xo8X3Qu661 — Jourdan Lasko (@Heilos) October 2, 2017
This is the scene at one of the local blood banks (United Blood on W Charleston). Vegas is an amazing community. Our city is coming together pic.twitter.com/Xk7zTZWOR6 — Dave Farra (@DaveFarra) October 2, 2017
Cannot believe what happened in my city. #prayforvegas #route91harvest Now waiting in line with lots of others to donate blood. pic.twitter.com/0NwAkI8DRc — Kirk Zylstra (@kirkdz) October 2, 2017
This is Vegas!!!! Line wrapped around United Blood Services, waiting to donate blood this morning #vegasstrong pic.twitter.com/3061LtwaiY — Kathleen Sweeney (@3morethanfiddy) October 2, 2017
A large crowd at United Blood Services on W Charleston, regional director Erik Hill speaks a about donations. pic.twitter.com/kRFCDjVG23 — Bridget Bennett (@bridgetkbennett) October 2, 2017
LOOK: parking lot of blood donation center on Charleston is full. At 3:48am. #Vegas is strong and compasionate. @BethFisherTV @ktnv pic.twitter.com/ltcQ3P6a9K — David Schuman (@david_schuman) October 2, 2017
If you live in the area and would like to donate blood, KVVU-TV reports that police are advising to stay away from hospitals since they are overloaded with victims, and instead go to the Labor Health & Welfare Clinic on 7135 W. Sahara Avenue and at the United Blood Center at 6930 West Charleston Boulevard and at 601 Whitney Ranch Drive in Henderson.Everyone from Kristen Wiig to Kathy Griffin recalls the creativity and brutal competition that sent Will Ferrell, Cheri Oteri, Chris Kattan, Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz and others to work for Lorne Michaels -- or on to even greater success.
A version of this story first appeared in the Sept. 27 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
Probably no institution has shaped the contours of modern American comedy more than a vest-pocket theater housed in a former massage parlor on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles.
Founded in 1974 as an outgrowth of an acting class taught by Gary Austin, a veteran of San Francisco's The Committee improv troupe, the Groundlings Theatre has launched hundreds of careers in TV and the movies. Since the casting of Laraine Newman in 1975, Groundlings alumni have profoundly influenced the direction of Saturday Night Live: The characters made famous on the show by Julia Sweeney, Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, Chris Kattan, Will Ferrell, Cheri Oteri and others were born on the Groundlings' stage.
To find out how a tiny theater came to have such an outsized and ongoing influence on comedy -- alums including Melissa McCarthy have scored 15 Emmy noms -- THR interviewed Groundlings vets from four decades (their tenure in the theater's Main Company is indicated in parentheses). Their recollections range from backstage trysts to loving remembrances of the late Hartman -- and, always, the serious work that the theater demands for those who want to be seriously funny.
PHOTOS: 40 Wild Years of The Groundlings
GARY AUSTIN (FOUNDER, 1974-79) I was an actor in The Committee in San Francisco. I moved down here, and I was broke. I went to the Hollywood Unemployment Office, where I used to stand in line with Penny Marshall, and I got to the window and the woman said, "Due to a technicality, you are no longer eligible." I panicked and called Howard Storm, who was teaching at the Cellar Theater on Vermont. That was a Thursday. I started teaching on Monday night. Fred Roos, who was the head of feature casting at MGM, gave me 75 names and phone numbers. Tracy Newman, who was my friend, helped me round up a bunch of people from the Comedy Store. So my first night teaching, I had 21 students. I taught for one year, all kinds of people came through. It became kind of a magnet.
TRACY NEWMAN (1974-76) It was a bunch of people who had theater backgrounds and some in music: Archie Hahn, Valerie Curtin -- Jane's cousin, from The Committee -- Barry Levinson, Craig T. Nelson and Rudy De Luca, who ended up being a writer for Mel Brooks.
AUSTIN We improvised scenes and monologues, and we did scenes from Pinter and Moliere and so on. And after a year of doing that, I said, "Let's create a company." We created The Groundlings. I thought of the name. It's from Hamlet's speech to the players: "Speak the speech as I pronounced it to you trippingly on the tongue and split you not the ears of the groundlings, who are capable of nothing but dumb shows and noises."
LARAINE NEWMAN (1974-75) I had just graduated high school. I had been away to Paris, studying mime with Marcel Marceau. I came back, I spent three months at CalArts and hated it. My sister told me about this workshop.
TRACY NEWMAN I knew she was funny, but I had no idea how funny in front of other people.
AUSTIN We started doing shows at Santa Monica and Western, the Oxford Theater. We did it every weekend. Everybody in Hollywood, it seems, came to those shows.
PHOTOS: From Live TV to the Big Screen: 12 'SNL' Sketches Made Into Movies
LARAINE NEWMAN New people started being in the company, who became directors and writers in Hollywood: Bill Steinkellner and Cherie Steinkellner, who went on to run Cheers. Tom Maxwell ran Just Shoot Me!
TOM MAXWELL (CREATIVE DIRECTOR, 1977-89) I was in film school at USC and saw this flyer for an improvisational workshop. I met my writing partner there, I met my |
paration for damages incurred and to consider legal action, both locally and internationally.”
An Israeli military spokesman said that “propaganda and incitement materials linked to Hamas were being printed at this place.”
At dawn on 22 June, the Israeli army searched the Bethlehem home of Sahib Al-Assa and his brother, Fadi. Both are correspondents for radio Bethlehem 2000. Sahib Al-Assa was taken to a military outpost at Beit Sahour and interrogated about his journalistic activities. He was released several hours later. His ID card and mobile phone, however, were confiscated.
On the same day, Israeli troops descended on the offices of Palmedia in Ramallah. Digital files going back to the company’s founding in 2006 were confiscated, and professional equipment was destroyed. Offices rented by Russia Today were also affected. According to Russia Today, quoting an Israeli military spokesman, Palmedia was targeted “because it provides services to Al-Aqsa TV, which has propagandist and inflammatory content.”
Palmedia management said that members of its staff, including photographer Amar Abideen, were subjected to a series of pressures in covering Operation “Brother’s Keeper” in Hebron. The company’s offices in East Jerusalem had been previously searched, in early June.
On 18 June, the Israeli army searched the offices of the Transmedia company in Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron, confiscating all equipment – worth about $1 million dollars. The Israeli authorities then ordered the company shut down, on the grounds that Transmedia did TV production work for Al-Aqsa TV.
On the 16 June, Israeli forces in Ramallah arrested Aziz Kayed, the chief executive of Al-Aqsa TV. According to the Union of Palestinian Radio and Television, Kayed was placed in “administrative detention” to last for six months.
The same day, Yahia Habayeb, correspondent for Palestinian radio station Ajiyal, was violently arrested by Israeli troops in Hebron, in the southern West Bank. His mobile phones and recording equipment were deliberately destroyed. The journalist was freed five hours later.
On 17 June, Abderrahman Younes, a photographer for the Al-Quds.com site was prevented from covering a traffic jam caused by the Israeli army at what is known as the “container checkpoint” in north Bethlehem. Israeli troops confiscated his camera and threatened him with imprisonment in case of a repeat offence.Today marks the 150th anniversary of the grand — well, actually not so grand — opening of London Charing Cross railway station.
The Charing Cross line, although scarcely two miles from London Bridge, took nearly four years to build, running as it did, and still does, through some very densely built up parts of the city.
The line comprises of 17 bridges and 190 arches in total between Charing Cross and London Bridge, and although the Times newspaper describes some of the road bridges as some of the “ugliest ever yet put up by any engineer”, it liked the river bridge.
The first train to leave the new station of Charing Cross, which was still under construction at the time was the 7:10am to Greenwich on the 11th January 1864.
If there had been a train leaving Charing Cross at 7:10am this morning, you could have caught a train exactly 150 years after the first one. But there isn’t, so you can’t.
It wasn’t technically the first passenger train along that stretch of railway though — as the Royal Train had traveled from Windsor on the 14th December, and making use of a long since vanished link, was able to travel through Waterloo Station and over to the London Bridge line, thence down to Dover. Which was apparently very naughty as the railway wasn’t sanctioned for use yet, but who is going to tick off the Royal Family?
Royal naughtiness aside, the station itself was nearing completion when it opened, it sat on the site of the famous Hungerford Market, after which the bridge was named. However, the station was named after the Eleanor Cross that had stood near today’s Trafalgar Square in the hamlet of Charing.
I’ve not easily been able to find out why they renamed the station Charing Cross which was over 100 yards away, although I presume that naming the station after the market it replaced was seen as too down market?
The monument outside the Station today being a replica of what they think the original might have looked like. The original was torn down by the Puritans in 1647, and the stone rather ignominiously used to pave Whitehall.
So, a new station for the railway. A few weeks later the building was finally finished, and the following year, the hotel that still sits in front was also finished, along with the Eleanor Cross in the car park.
The station has changed considerably since its construction though.
The first major change was not expected, and is now known as the Charing Cross Station Disaster when in December 1905 around 70 foot of the ceiling collapsed, bringing down the side wall and a glass windbreak at the open end.
Six people were killed in the collapse, and the numbers could have been higher if there hadn’t been about 15 minutes of warning that the collapse was expected following the breaking of a tie rod attached to the main beam.
The station was closed for three months to allow for the arched roof to be replaced with a flat girder structure, although that did give the company building what is today’s Northern Line an unexpected opportunity to take over the forecourt for its own station construction works.
The station reopened in March 1906, but there were calls for the railway company to scrap the equivalent high arched roof at Cannon Street, which had a similar design. The British Architect magazine wrote that these “monstrous erections have always been an eyesore to London” adding that they “merely constitute monuments of the high flown vulgar ambitions of the engineers who designed them”.
They even suggested demolishing the stations and building them on the south side of the river, because commuters wouldn’t object to walking across a covered bridge. Well, excuse me!
The station though was largely unchanged until 1990 when the old roof was torn down, and a huge office block constructed over the station. In some aspects, the office block recalls the great arch of the original station, but I personally think it one of the uglier buildings of the period, although the inside looks rather better.
While the utility of having Charing Cross on the northern side of the river cannot be doubted, there was in fact attempts to demolish it in 1904 and move it to the southern side. The prime motives, according to The British Architect magazine (yes, them again) was to remove the railway bridge that “despoiled” the river.
Obviously, they failed, although that didn’t stop another serious attempt in 1914 and again in 1920 to muster support to demolish the station. In fact there seems to have been a simmering campaign over the decades by patrician minded sorts to demolish the station.
When the railway bridge was built in the early 1860s, there were walkways on both sides, but the upstream one was lost when the bridge was widened in 1885 to accommodate more tracks.
Intriguingly the railway bridge incorporates the piers of an earlier suspension bridge of 1845 by the great Isambard Kingdom Brunel built to serve Hungerford fruit and vegetable market on the site of Charing Cross Station.
Failing to attract sufficient revenue from tolls, this was dismantled and the chains reused on Clifton Suspension Bridge. Brunel’s piers survived.
The northern one is now embedded in the Thames Embankment under Charing Cross Station but the southern (Surrey) one is still islanded in the river and was brought back into use.
I came across an intriguing sentence in a parliamentary paper a few months ago (which obviously I can’t find right now) which alluded to plans to double-deck the bridge and double the number of platforms. I’ve not come across any other reference to that since then, but it would have dramatically transformed the bridge and the station, and possibly done away with those irritating little delays as trains approach the station and then stop for a minute or two for a platform to be available.
However, stuck with the current structure, and in 1997, the existing two wide walkways were added to the structure. They almost didn’t happen due to concerns from London Underground about damage to its tunnels underneath, causing an urgent plea in August 2000 to secure an additional £19.5 million to cover the extra costs, bringing its total bill to an unexpected £50 million.
There was also a plan to open up an eight-meter wide brick vault as part of the works for exhibition space, but that sadly never happened, probably because of the aforementioned huge overrun in the cost of building the footbridges.
Although the new bridges are a wide expanse and amazingly crowded considering what used to be there, I still prefer the little dingy corridor that links the eastern walkway to the station itself.
I do wish they would put left/right corridors on the main footbridge though so that people don’t keep walking into each other!
Also in 1999, the glass roof inside the passenger waiting area was replaced, and does look quite impressive if you spend any time looking upwards.
Despite that, and despite being a fairly major station, it has still managed to retain a somehow somewhat provincial run down feel about the interior. Built as a station, it now feels oddly as if the station is an afterthought to the hotel and office block that now engulf it.
The disjointed way platforms 5 and 6 stick further into the station than the other platforms, and the huge ugly block that sits in the middle of the concourse do not help the effect.
On the upside, the really quite appallingly awful station pub which had all the appeal of a British Rail sandwich, has finally been replaced with a venue that is actually worth a visit.Story highlights Peter Dreier: Socialism is as American as apple pie; many of our most influential thinkers were socialists
Although Bernie Sanders says that U.S. needs a revolution, he is actually a reformer, not a revolutionary
Peter Dreier is professor of politics at Occidental College and author of "The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame" (Nation Books, 2012). The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) Now that Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign is generating lots of media attention, the word "socialism" is in the news. But few Americans know what it is or what Sanders means when he describes himself as a "democratic socialist."
In the early 1900s, socialists led the movements for women's suffrage, child labor laws, consumer protection laws and the progressive income tax. In 1916, Victor Berger, a socialist congressman from Milwaukee, sponsored the first bill to create "old age pensions." The bill didn't get very far, but two decades later, in the midst of the Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt persuaded Congress to enact Social Security. Even then, some critics denounced it as un-American. But today, most Americans, even conservatives, believe that Social Security is a good idea. What had once seemed radical has become common sense.
Much of FDR's other New Deal legislation -- the minimum wage, workers' right to form unions and public works programs to create jobs for the unemployed -- was first espoused by American socialists.
Peter Dreier
Socialists were in the forefront of the civil rights movement from the founding of the NAACP in 1909 through the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Socialists have long pushed for a universal health insurance plan, which helped create the momentum for stepping-stone measures such as Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s and Obamacare today.
In the 1890s, a socialist Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy, wrote "The Pledge of Allegiance" and a socialist poet, Katherine Lee Bates, penned "America the Beautiful." Throughout our history, some of the nation's most influential activists and thinkers, such as Jane Addams, John Dewey, Helen Keller, W.E.B. DuBois, Albert Einstein, A. Philip Randolph, Walter Reuther, Martin Luther King, Eugene V. Debs, and Gloria Steinem, embraced democratic socialism.
Read MoreThe music industry has scored a major legal victory, sinking the pirate outfit YouTube-mp3.org, a global “stream ripping” site operating out of Germany that was facilitating the theft of millions of dollars worth of music intellectual property per year.
The ruling signed today (Sept. 7) concluded the action brought last September in U.S. Federal Court Central District of California by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on behalf of the labels succeeded in shuttering the site, which had 60 million global visitors per month and was characterized by the RIAA as “the world’s largest stream ripping operation.”
Stream ripping – the process of creating a downloadable file from content that is available to stream online – is now the most prevalent form of online music copyright infringement, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). YouTube-mp3.org and sites like it typically extract audio files from music videos and distribute the sound recordings to users free permanent downloads.
The pirate sites monetize the freebies through paid advertising that is estimated by the RIAA to add up to “hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue per month,” none of it channeled back to creators, artists or copyright holders. “This is a significant win for millions of music fans, as well as music creators and legitimate music services,” RIAA chairman and CEO Cary Sherman said. “The swift and successful conclusion of this case should send an unmistakable signal to the operators of similar sites,” he added.
Related YouTube Rolls Out New Desktop Design to Everyone
Stream ripping sites “blatantly infringe,” IFPI chief executive Frances Moore said. Moore noted that globally “hundreds of services with over 40 million tracks” allow fans “more options than ever before to listen to music legally, when and where they want to do so, compensating artists and labels. Stream ripping sites should not be allowed to jeopardize this and we will continue to take action against these sites.”
In researching the suit, RIAA lawyers found evidence of YouTube-mp3.org existing as far back as 2009, but “it came on to our radar around 2015,” a spokeswoman for the association said.
In September 2016 the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) sent YouTube-mp3.org a cease and desist letter. As a result of that letter and the RIAA lawsuit, the pirate company earlier this year geo-blocked users from the U.S. and U.K., but users in Germany and elsewhere were still able to infringe. This formal injunction by the U.S. court has resulted in YouTube-mp3.org agreeing to shut down globally and not to infringe in the future.
UMG Music, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group were named plaintiffs in the suit, in addition to a host of subsidiaries including Capitol Records, Zomba, and Nonesuch. Defendants were PMD Technologie UG, YouTube-mp3 and Philip Matesanz. The order was entered Tuesday (Sept. 5) by Judge André Birotte Jr. “in favor of the plaintiffs and against the defendants on all counts.”
Research conducted by IFPI finds that stream ripping sites are operating on a massive scale, with 53 per cent of all 16-24 year-olds engaged in the activity.
“This illegal site wasn’t just ripping streams, it was ripping off artists,” BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor said. “Most fans understand that getting music from a genuine site supports the artists they love and allows labels to nurture the next generation of talent. Music stands on the cusp of an exciting future in the streaming age, but only if we take resolute action against illegal businesses that try to siphon away its value.”0 SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Whatsapp Pinterest Print Mail Flipboard
Gallup has revealed their yearly most admired man and woman poll for 2017, and Barack Obama beat Trump to be named the most admired man in America. Obama is the second former president to beat a current president for the honor.
Here are the Gallup results:
Trump finished with just 14% support for the most admired man. Trump is the first incumbent president since George W. Bush in 2008 to not be named the most admired man in America. (Bush also lost to Obama). Dwight Eisenhower is the only other former president to win in the honor after leaving office. Ike won it in 1967 and 1968.
The most admired woman was once again, and probably will be for the rest of her life, Hillary Clinton. Former First Lady Michelle Obama gave Clinton a close contest. Current First Lady Melania Trump finished with 1% support.
Donald Trump is president, but Barack Obama is still the most popular figure in US politics. The Obama factor is a big reason why Joe Biden should not be underestimated if he runs for president in 2020.
The majority of Americans are yearning for Obama to come back, and Joe Biden represents the closest thing to an Obama candidacy that voters will get in 2020. Plus, nothing would get the Obamas back on the campaign trail faster than their friend former Vice President Biden’s nomination.
The election results in Alabama showed that the Obama coalition remains the winning formula for Democrats, and in the eyes of most Americans, Trump will never be able to measure up to Obama.
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:This ebony Luna for is a bit of a new kind of pony for me in a couple of ways. First, as you can see, her mane and tail are wooden instead of thread, a necessity for the season two hairstyles. Second, this is technically still an unfinished piece, since the final result is going to be painted, eyes and all. Anyone who has been around this page should know that I don't post WIP pics here, but I'm making an exception here because, if it were my own pony, I would stop here. Unpainted is more my style; although I've sprinkled her fairly liberally with silver leaf. Still, the painted version should be up in a day or two.As for the pony itself, this is definitely a presentation piece, and I seem to be straying further and further from the "toy" ponies that I was making a year ago, but c'est la vie. Her left side is definitely her strong side, while the hair covering her face on her right side looks pretty iffy. But I like her high-topped Nightmare Moon boots and she has an actual removable tiara this time around. The wings aren't too terrible either, and the face is definitely more Luna-esque (Lunar sounded wrong) than previous attempts. Like a black dress, though, dust and scuffs definitely show up on her, and understand that all those angular curves and knife marks are what remainsa darn good sand and polish. Ebony. Whatcha gonna do?If you want to see more pictures of Luna, and the woodworking process, please check out her offsite WIP gallery which will continue to update during the rest of the work on her, and the Dark of Night expanded gallery at My Little Woodcraft.My Little Pony and Princess Luna belong to Hasbro.Buy Photo Canada geese and workers at the Capital Circle Office Complex in SouthWood share the sidewalks. (Photo: Joe Rondone/Democrat)Buy Photo
A Canada goose that’s taken up residence outside state offices in SouthWood recently charged at a Department of Management Services worker, leaving her shaken and injured.
A manager for DMS was returning to her office on Esplanade Way the afternoon of April 29 when the goose attacked.
"(She) was walking toward her car and a goose came out of the bushes toward her hissing,” a witness said in a workers’ compensation report. "(She) tried to avoid the goose and lost her footing and fell backward and hit her head hard on the pavement.”
The witness said she lay in the parking lot for a few minutes but didn’t lose consciousness. She had a large bump on the back of her head about the size of his hand, he said. Coworkers helped her to her supervisor’s office.
“She was visibly shaken, crying and holding her head,” a DMS manager said in the report. “I observed a large bump on the back of her head. An ambulance was called and she was taken to the hospital.”
Buy Photo Karen Carlile walks by a pair of Canada geese outside the Capital Circle Office Complex in SouthWood. (Photo: Joe Rondone/Democrat)
The state has been grappling with the issue of Canadian geese at the Capital Circle Office Complex for years. The waterfowl, which are protected under state and federal law, can become aggressive during spring nesting season, hissing and charging and flapping their wings.
Several state agencies have put animal decoys and fencing around state office entrances to keep the geese away from workers. Last month, the Department of Health sent an email to staff members with tips to avoid problems with the geese.
Last week, a state worker reported two geese were outside the front door of the Public Service Commission's office and charging at employees.
Jaronda Harris, who works for the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said she no longer takes breaks outdoors to avoid the geese.
"It's so bad that I have had dreams about them," she said.
Tips for state workers
• Don't feed the geese.
• Don't make eye contact with the geese.
• Don't wave your arms or kick legs at the geese.
• Don't try to get up close to take pictures of the geese.
• Don't get up close to the nests.
• Do go the other way when the geese appear to be agitated.
• Do respect the geese while they are present.
Canada geese facts
• Nest locating and building begins in February.
• Eggs are laid during March and April. Resident birds nest earlier. Migratory birds nest late and the incubation time is 28 days.
• The nesting period has to be completed by late April to allow for the incubation period to be completed in May.
• Beginning in early June, they go through a molting period — losing and regrowing flight feathers.
• The molting period coincides with the goslings growing their initial flight feathers. They must be positioned by this time near water and food due to their inability to maneuver well.
• After molting is completed (normally about 30 days, but can be longer), the parents remain grounded with the young for most of the summer.
Afterwards, flight training for the goslings starts and the flocks extend their flight ranges in September.
• The cycle starts again the following February.
(Source: Florida Department of Health)
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.
Read or Share this story: http://on.tdo.com/27dG6nMBy Cathal McNaughton
For almost 20 years Barry Edgar Pilcher has lived alone on the island of Inishfree.
He is the sole permanent inhabitant of the tiny windswept island off the coast of Co Donegal in Ireland where he writes poetry and plays music. Once a week – weather permitting – Barry, 69, makes the 15 minute boat journey to Burtonport, where he does his weekly shopping in a petrol station. He posts letters and picks up the modest provisions he will need for the week and then it’s back to his ramshackle cottage where he lives and works in a single room.
Without basic sanitation, running water or a telephone and with a leaky roof and problems with dampness, Barry’s cottage is without any modern comforts. He has a peat-burning stove to provide warmth but he has to be frugal as any fuel has to be carried back from the mainland.
Barry spends his days corresponding by mail with other artists across the world – he is part of a mail art group whose members send each other drawings and pictures in the post. When the weather is warm he likes to ramble around the beautiful island playing his music – when I visit it’s a mild spring day and he takes me on a tour, stopping to play his saxophone on the beach. He tells me he takes inspiration from nature: “I’m playing a symphony to the shells today,” he says. His music is amazing and I am privileged to be at this exclusive concert for one.
Originally from south London, Barry moved to Inishfree in 1993 to ‘get away from the rat race.’ He bought this cottage from a member of a cult-like pagan group known locally as The Screamers, who had made Inishfree their base for several years. In his garden there is a stone circle left behind by the group who he tells me worshipped outdoors, screaming to release energy.
When he first arrived on the island there were a number of other people living there – one by one they have all left. “There is no school here for young people, no prospects, no future,” he explains. Later that day in his old fashioned kitchen Barry prepares a simple Vegan meal and surprises me by telling me he is thinking of moving back to the UK. “I miss going to gigs and visiting friends. I don’t think I’ll live here forever,” he says.Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets early Wednesday to break up a demonstration by relatives of those killed in Egypt's revolution.
Clashes in Cairo's Tahrir Square between protesters and authorities have left at least 26 officers injured, the Ministry of Interior said.
In addition, at least five protesters were wounded in the tear gas and rubber bullet firing, and ambulances continued to transport protesters to medical attention. Some demonstrators were throwing rocks.
About 1,000 people turned out Tuesday night to commemorate the victims of the January-February uprising that drove longtime Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak from power. Police began using tear gas on demonstrators who would not leave the square.
Authorities were trying to block entrances to the area, as more people were being asked on the Internet to join the protesters.
At least five people were seen bleeding from their heads amid the clashes, which continued into Wednesday's early-morning hours.
The human rights group Amnesty Amnesty International has estimated at least 840 people were killed and more than 6,000 wounded during the three-week revolution. The military-led government that took over when Mubarak resigned has been prosecuting several former officials accused of ordering security forces to fire on protesters.
A police officer accused of killing 20 protesters during a January 28 demonstration has been sentenced to death, and ex-Interior Minister Habib El Adly faces capital charges in the deaths of demonstrators. El Adly and other officials in Mubarak's government have also been convicted on corruption charges, and the ailing Mubarak could be put on trial as well.
Egypt's military rulers have set parliamentary elections for September, and an administrative judge ordered the dissolution of local city councils that anti-Mubarak activists had denounced as corrupt. But sporadic protests have continued in the months since Mubarak's ouster as Egyptians have demanded speedier reforms and economic improvements.
Journalist Mohamed Fadel Fahmy contributed to this report.I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to visit a pen show for a while now. As luck would have it, the Los Angeles International Pen Show is hosted just a short drive down the freeway.
LA Pen Show Basics
The LA Pen show has been an annual event since 1989 and is one of only two pen shows on the west coast. The expo takes place at the Manhattan Beach Marriot and is open to the public for only the final day of the show with tickets available at Seven dollars and can be purchased on site. If you want to spend more time at the show, “Trader” registration is available for $55 if you register early. Trader registration gives you access to the show for all four days starting on Thursday, so you can really take your time and visit each table without having to push through crowds. If you aren’t able to register early, or you are looking for one specific item, the seven dollar general admission on Sunday is enough to get in, push through, and see everything in an afternoon.
Boots on the Ground Reporting
If you have ever been to a convention like San Diego Comic Con, Wonder-Con, or any of the comic expos, you’re well prepared for the Los Angeles Pen Show. It’s on the smaller side, taking up only the Ballroom of the Marriott, and the surrounding hallway, and the staff is very efficient at processing ticket sales at the front door. I arrived at around 10:30 to a line that was stretched across the lobby and down the hall all the way to the parking elevators. As a veteran of SDCC’s infamous Hall H line, I wasn’t worried about having to wait, but the line moved pretty steadily and I was in the show by 11:00.
Fresh through the admission gate, you’re dropped into the hall surrounding the ballroom. This area seems to be devoted mainly to the more contemporary vendors. Karas Kustoms, Vanness Pens, and many other retailers selling new pens, inks, and accessories line the perimeter with full displays of their products. It is very common to see testing stations set up so you can try before you buy.
Once you enter the main show floor, it’s like stepping into a completely different show. The ballroom is packed with both smaller private vendors as well as online retailers like Nibs.com and Anderson Pens. The vendor tables are tightly organized to maximize the display space, creating a sea of vintage and high end pens, replacement parts, repair tools, inks, and more. One table even had a crate of old ink bottles in various levels of degradation. I really had to stop myself from buying a few of those, maybe next time.
Having prepared a list and budget before the show, I was in and out in about two and a half hours having found most of what I was looking for and staying under budget. VERY uncharacteristic of me when it comes to conventions, but what can I say, I’ve matured. My list was fairly short. I wanted to pick up some KWZ ink from Vanness, a FountainK from Karas Kustoms, check out prices on some TWSBI 580s, and look for anyone selling custom pre-ground nibs. I ended up with an olive FountainK with a brass section and the EF nib. Vanness had a huge variety of ink available, but I stuck to my original objective of KWZ Honey ink, but added in a couple Lamy cartridges and one NockCo Dot-Dash pads. Inside the main hall, I pulled a wild card and bought some Scribe’s Ink. I hadn’t heard of the brand before, but their Cabernet Savignon ink looked great. I’m currently testing it in the Metropolitan converter to see how it holds in the pen. I also grabbed a small TWSBI notebook, since I’ve been meaning to test the paper.
I didn’t end up picking up another TWSBI this time. Since I already have two ECOs, and just picked up the FountainK, another TWSBI would just be overkill. If there was anyone there selling individual nibs with custom grinds, I didn’t see them. I did, however, spend a few minutes watching The Nibsmith work. His corner spot right next to the Vanness booth allowed for a somewhat quiet work space, and he looked deep in concentration while working with several different sheets of Micro-Mesh (I assume) and various other tools. It was pretty interesting to watch, but I didn’t want to hover too long. Next time I’ll have to commit to a plan sooner, and schedule some table time for a custom grind.
What’s This Really About?
A typical convention or expo in the pop-culture world is all about exclusives. Sure, some people go to find vintage toys, but nine times out of ten, people are walking out of San Diego with that little “Exclusive” sticker on their statue or action figure. My impression of this pen show is the polar opposite. I didn’t see anything that would be considered an “exclusive” to this show. This is the place for collectors and enthusiasts. Everything I purchased can be purchased just as easily online, maybe at slightly higher prices or shipping costs, but still, not exclusive to the show. The main draw of a show like this, I feel, is really the community. A year ago I had no idea this community existed. Six months ago I found out that Pen Shows are a thing. Las weekend, I felt like I was part of a community spanning generations. I was in line with a gentleman in his 80’s who has been attending the show for over a decade, as well as a guy younger than me who was also attending for the first time. As an introvert, I find it difficult to open up when discussing even my favorite subjects with strangers, but we spoke about TWSBIs and Viscontis and Karas Kustoms pens. Then we went our separate ways to experience the show in our own ways.
So, was it worth it?
That is the question I set out to answer with this platform. In short, yes. The LA Pen Show is worth the price of admission IF you’re within driving distance. As I mentioned before, unless you’re a fan of the super rare vintage stuff, you can get everything I saw at this show online or locally (if you’re lucky.) What really makes the show worth attending is getting to meet the people who know every piece of information about these pens, who sell them, and who make them for a living. It’s about walking through the hall and talking to people who all have a shared interest in the act of writing. And it’s about taking in the history on these tools, and being able to see the evolution right in front of you.
I think everyone reading this should go to a pen show at least once, and the Los Angeles International Pen Show is well worth the ticket price.
Special thanks to the Vanness Pens, the guys from Karas Kustoms, and The Pen Addict Brad Dowdy for making the trek to the West Coast and for being so friendly and helpful on the last day of a busy show. Thanks Folks, it was a pleasure!
Helpful Links:
Karas Kustoms – American Made machined pens
Vanness Pens – Huge variety of Pens and hard-to-find Inks
The Pen Addict – My Go-To source for news and reviews from the
Anderson Pens – Also had a great showing, and made this helpful list of shows.by
In what’s considered the biggest collaboration in human history, millions of Game of Thrones fans have kicked in money for an Anti-Death Fund, designed to maximise the life expectancy of creator George R.R. Martin.
The ‘George R.R. United Fighting Fund’ or GRUFF for short, is the brainchild of Jamen Staff, who outlined progress to date.
“The real Game of Thrones fans, those who’ve read the books before the show arrived, have traditionally seen the casual TV show fans as minions of the Seven Hells determined to distract George from his true mission in life. It’s their vacuous squealing over each episode that’s meant George has been distracted with the TV shows at the expense of the books. As a group, the true fans have generally agreed to put that behind us, and to work with the TV fan kidlets to protect the future of both the books and TV series.”
Staff’s colleague, GRUFF treasurer Leanne ‘Iron Bank’ Williams, provided a thirty slide Powerpoint presentation on the money raised, which is in excess of five million dollars. “It’s been pretty easy to raise to be honest. With the show rating the way it is, random phone calls to people on a Monday morning work well. We state we’re calling from the Government and that we’ve noted the Sunday night Bit Torrent downloads they’ve been making. That tends to see spontaneous and generous donations.”
When asked why Mr. Martin needs the money given his success as an author, Ms Williams was frank. “He doesn’t, but we’re going to use the money to buy every business in his hometown. Each business will be staffed by members of the fund, all with access to George’s details so they can be sure that he maintains his health optimally. Just think of what we can do. We’ll control all food, transport and energy – we project that within six months he’ll be feeling the best he has in years. If that’s not fans caring, I don’t know what is.”
When asked what Mr Martin would think of this strategy, Jamen Staff was emphatic.
“It’s not about him – he’s just the currently unhealthy vessel for the eventually completed book series. If he finishes the last two books, he can do what he likes after that. Although there’s some who feel a prequel series would be nice, so I won’t rule out an ongoing campaign. Either way, once it’s all done we’ll sell up all the assets and donate them to the slaves of Westeros. It’s a great win-win situation.”
The Snark is The Creative Shed’s Satire News Section. 100% of it is satire and in no way resembles reality. Reality is way sillier than this stuff. Follow The Snark on Facebook and Twitter
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PocketReports of heinous acts against gays continue to trickle out of Iraq this week, with Towelroad reporting on an Alarabiya translation from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) that reads:
"A prominent Iraqi human rights activist says that Iraqi militia have deployed a painful form of torture against homosexuals by closing their anuses using 'Iranian gum.'... Yina Mohammad told Alarabiya.net that, 'Iraqi militias have deployed an unprecedented form of torture against homosexuals by using a very strong glue that will close their anus.' According to her, the new substance 'is known as the American hum, which is an Iranian-manufactured glue that if applied to the skin, sticks to it and can only be removed by surgery. After they glue the anuses of homosexuals, they give them a drink that causes diarrhea. Since the anus is closed, the diarrhea causes death. Videos of this form of torture are being distributed on mobile cellphones in Iraq.' According to this human rights activist, for the past 3 weeks a crackdown on homosexuals has been going on based on a religious decree that demands their death; dozens have been targeted. She says that the persecution of homosexuals is not confined to the Shiite clerics. Some Sunni leaders have also declared the death penalty for sodomy on satellite channels."
However, it is important to note that the Alarabiya report has not been fully verified by the IGLHRC. IGLHRC writes:"The following is a translation of a story from Alarabiya, a UAE-based media network, which was published on its Arabic website a few hours ago. While IGLH |
If that’s the goal, games like Watch Dogs are failing horribly. You know what’s not escapism? Having to wonder if any given game (or movie, or book) you pick up is going to include women primarily as prostitutes, murdered girlfriends, vulnerable daughters, and rape victims. [...] Oddly, when someone raises these issues, the people who have been stridently defending their games as “just games” switch to explaining why having women in other roles is unrealistic. A gritty, stylized world built on the corpses of women is defended as a way for gamers to escape from reality, but if someone points out that it makes them uncomfortable, they’re told that they’re supposed to be uncomfortable.
It should go without saying, but you don’t stop an activist or a critic by propagating the exact behavior that they are organizing or arguing against. In fact, doing so bolsters their cause.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Women in Games
In addition to these renewed attacks on Anita Sarkeesian, this marks the second week of a harassment campaign against independent developer Zoe Quinn. At The Daily Dot, Aja Romano has an effective recap of last week’s attacks and also showcases how the incident differs from the Josh Mattingly harassment scandal from earlier this year.
An interview with Quinn’s ex-boyfriend has also circulated a lot this week and was originally pinned for inclusion in this roundup. I’ve removed it, in light of this post by Critical Distance alumnus David Carlton, who warns of the false equivalence we risk creating in the press by covering the voices of abusers as valid:
[T]he media likes to find two sides of the issue to present, and to present those sides without any sort of context that might cause one to evaluate one side more favorably than the other. It doesn’t matter if one of those sides is supported by essentially all experts on the subject while the other is only supported by loons (sic) or guns-for-hire; it doesn’t matter if one of those sides is engaging in behavior squarely within our political norms while the other side is doing historically unprecedented attacks on the very concept of majority rule; and, as here, it doesn’t matter if one of those sides is behaving with simple compassion while the other side is lacking even a shred of simple human decency. False equivalence demands both.
At The Globe and Mail, Emma M. Woolley concurs, asserting that the claims of “corruption” only obfuscate a far greater problem:
Gaming’s most pervasive issue isn’t corruption, but the people who’ve taken ownership of something that isn’t solely theirs to begin with. In trying their damnedest to limit the appeal of the medium and use online harassment to achieve their goals, this group of toxic trolls are proving themselves to be gaming’s biggest problem.
In his tumblr, Australian media scholar (and definitely not Polygon contributor) Brendan Keogh covers this as well, in an open letter to a friend in which he laments that games journalism does indeed suffer from a kind of corruption, but not the kind in the Quinn “scandal”:
What all these people who are part of the attack on women who make games don’t seem to understand is that they are exactly the status quo that is fostered and served by games journalism and its problems. The good parts of games journalism (the critiques of the industry, the coverage of non-commercial games, writing on gender and race and the such) are a sign of games journalism getting better, but, to these people, it is their privileged position being brought down a notch so all they see is conspiracies.
Central to the self-centred psychology of these people is that they see themselves as the targets of a grand conspiracy of feminist, progressive journalists and game developers that seeks to destroy their ability to…something. They have no actual issue. It’s all perceived persecution at the hands of political correctness. These “theories” are so narcissistic, so devoid of substance, that the only way to explain them is through delusion. And I mean, I get it – justifying one’s shitty behaviour with a made-up conspiracy probably feels better than confronting the painful truth that one is an asshole. They think they’re part of a “silent majority”, but the real silent majority is the one that either isn’t aware of their ridiculous conspiracy theories, or understands that there’s simply no reasoning with [them].
I could tell you stories about the voices we’ve lost, the women we’ve scarred, the people we’ve left behind. I want to, but I’m not sure you’d get it. I tweeted earlier today, We should have a war memorial for all of the women we have lost to this. We should lay flowers and grieve and see our reflections in stone. And I meant it. I wish there were a way to honor the people our industry has wronged, and a way to visualize the enormity of what we have lost because of it— some representation of the gap between what games are and what they can be, and the pieces of the bridge between that have fallen away.
(Since its posting, artist Paul Reinwand painted a concept piece of what such a memorial would look like. I’ve included it below.)
The subject of erasure turns up in the latest Not Your Mama’s Gamer podcast as well. Podcast co-host Alex Layne notes that while women in the industry have been terrorized in this way for years, it is only the recent wave of abuse coinciding with a bomb threat called in on a male Sony executive that the conversation has finally, seriously turned to acts of terrorism against members of the industry. This topic starts at around the 1 hour part.
Speaking of great podcasts concerning current events, the latest Idle Thumbs episode does it justice. I believe it’s Chris Remo who declares early on in the recording that trying to engage with the torrent of abusers has been “like Buzz Aldrin dealing with that Moon [conspiracy] guy.”
Additional content warning: Quinn links to multiple screenshots which include 4chan-typical slurs.) I leave the final word on this to Zoe Quinn herself, who weighs in with some self-declared final thoughts, washing her hands of the debacle. (Quinn links to multiple screenshots which include 4chan-typical slurs.)
Beyond Nomenclature
In an empathetic post, Polygon’s Chris Plante suggests that games “culture” now stands on the brink, teetering between a new identity and its old familiar one.
This is a theme Leigh Alexander picked up and ran with this week at Gamasutra, saying in a strongly-worded editorial that it’s time to retire the ‘gamer’ paradigm
By the turn of the millennium those were games’ only main cultural signposts: Have money. Have women. Get a gun and then a bigger gun. Be an outcast. Celebrate that. Defeat anyone who threatens you. You don’t need cultural references. You don’t need anything but gaming. Public conversation was led by a games press whose role was primarily to tell people what to buy, to score products competitively against one another, to gleefully fuel the “team sports” atmosphere around creators and companies. [...] Yet in 2014, the industry has changed. We still think angry young men are the primary demographic for commercial video games — yet average software revenues from the commercial space have contracted massively year on year, with only a few sterling brands enjoying predictable success. It’s clear that most of the people who drove those revenues in the past have grown up — either out of games, or into more fertile spaces, where small and diverse titles can flourish, where communities can quickly spring up around creativity, self-expression and mutual support, rather than consumerism. There are new audiences and new creators alike there. Traditional “gaming” is sloughing off, culturally and economically, like the carapace of a bug. [...] Developers and writers alike want games about more things, and games by more people. We want — and we are getting, and will keep getting — tragicomedy, vignette, musicals, dream worlds, family tales, ethnographies, abstract art. We will get this, because we’re creating culture now. We are refusing to let anyone feel prohibited from participating. “Gamer” isn’t just a dated demographic label that most people increasingly prefer not to use. Gamers are over. That’s why they’re so mad.
We need to consider the very real possibility that the offensive behavior displayed by gamers in recent weeks is not unrelated to the artifacts they rally around (which I doubt are especially obscure). These people didn’t come from nowhere to fight about nothing. They came from games to fight about games. They’re organic results of the medium we’ve all played a role in cultivating, and they won’t go away if the medium doesn’t change significantly.
I’m issuing a call to arms – a call to arms not just to developers (who in the last two weeks have risen heroically in defense of our comrades under assault), but also to the large contingent of ‘good guy fans’ that I know are out there, and I put it on them to work with us to address this issue. Call out the assholes as you see them doing assholish stuff. Welcome and foster healthy, mature, respectful debate on the forums. Kick players from your groups and your private servers who can’t treat other players with a modicum of genuine respect. Do what you can to create a welcoming environment for ALL new players, no matter their demographics.
The death of the videogame is not at the hand of women, queers, PoC or more human white men, it did not happen at the hands of journalists reporting on the more disturbing aspects of videogame culture, it did not happen because people decided that “gamer” was maybe something not so great to identify as. It did not happen because someone made a video pointing at a few things videogames have the habit of doing. It happened because the big box money machine found itself more people to make money from. The very people who pandered and supplied the wares shifted their focus. And that’s when the hardcoreiest of hardcore, the vocal screamers who just want to play videogames with none of this ethical rubbish or DLC or microtransactions or or or lost their fight.
Petitioning gamers, companies, and publications to make a stand for the values we care about won’t happen at a healthy speed without strings attached. Everything will be mediated by consumerism, and simply buying or not buying from certain places isn’t going to solve core issues. So the next time you’re wondering what to do when things seem so bleak, reach out to the people around you, and tell them it’s time to get together, and form a supportive community. One that has, from the beginning, at its center, the ideals and ideas we want missing from industry.
Dubious Ethics
Another recurring topic this week was Kotaku’s announcement that it would forbid its writers from supporting the Patreons of independent developers (but not other crowdfunding and early access platforms).
At Unite Youth Dublin, Stephen Beirne challenges the decision, asserting that it will have little effect but punishing already marginalized devs. Brendan Keogh is also skeptical, comparing the situation to a hypothetical one between a music critic and a busker
At Game Bias, Jed Pressgrove doesn’t much like Keogh’s analogy, reminding readers that old media has no clear answers for this either:
To put this another way, ethical concerns involving Patreon or Kickstarter are relatively new; ethical concerns related to the review of purchased or free products are quite old.
But, as Samantha Allen points out in The Daily Beast, this goes beyond sites or individuals — the next social media technologies need to be designed with the safety of the marginalized in mind
Hand in Unlovable Hand
I’ll spare you all the regular song and dance usually reserved for these ending sections. Though, as always, be aware that we welcome your submissions through email and by Twitter mention
And to reiterate, anything that was submitted this week but was not included is being kept for consideration next week. This subject just needed its own space.
If this is all a bit much, I’d recommend this roundup on Ars Technica by Casey Johnston, which refers to many of the links above and many more besides.
Lastly, for newcomers who may be confused about the format or purpose of this site, I’d like to direct you to our Mission Statement and Support page, which contains our anti-harassment and funding policies respectively.
Be safe, be well, sleep. We’ll be announcing something cool in a few days.
-KLAbout James Neal
Now: Father of two, master of neither. A gamer since the original NES, now on the Xbox One, for better or worse. Once upon a time I was a Rent-to-Own Account Manager, now a freelance writer and artist. I've drawn everything from dragon tattoos to T-shirt designs involving a man wearing pantyhose on his head. Yes, you read that right. I've written everything from a self-published novel to copy about French chateaus and bedbugs.
Before: Medically discharged from the Navy, I grabbed a Greyhound ticket to nowhere and stayed on that track for a year. I call it "Greyhound Therapy," and it gave me a much broader view of the Human Condition than I'd gotten from living in a small town with a big school in rural MO.
Overall: I'm a big fan of the fantasy genre, I love the tropes even as I try to trip them up. I'm also a big fan of psychological horror; and hope one day supernatural horror gets scary again.SAN ANTONIO — Larry Coker announced Tuesday that he is stepping down as UTSA's head coach.
Coker, 67, was 26-32 in five seasons.
RELATED: Amid the urgency, UTSA stands pat
UTSA got the go-ahead to start a football program in 2008, and the university hired Coker in March 2009.
The Roadrunners kicked off their inaugural season in 2011.
UTSA went 4-6 in the first year as a Football Championship Subdivision independent before starting a two-year transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision.
RELATED: UTSA's Larry Coker: 'I want to get this thing right'
The Roadrunners finished 8-4 in 2012 and 7-5 in 2013. The seven wins against FBS competition in 2013, the school's first in Conference USA, were a record for a Year 3 start-up program.
UTSA fell on hard times the past two years, posting records of 4-8 and 3-9.
"UTSA has been a very special place to me and I will be forever grateful for the experience," Coker said. "The future of UTSA football is very bright and I look forward to watching the Roadrunners' success in the future."
UTSA has been a very special place to me. I look forward to a bright future for Roadrunner Football. #birdsup #UTSA — Larry Coker (@LarryCoker) January 6, 2016
"I want to thank Larry for taking on the huge challenge of starting up this football program," Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Lynn Hickey said. "It required an incredible amount of hard work and dedication over the past seven years. There were a lot of challenges and unknowns, but Larry was able to represent the university and the city of San Antonio in a first-class manner.
Hickey will hold a press conference at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to address Coker's departure.
UTSA will begin an immediate national search for a new coach.
jbriggs@express-news.net
Twitter: @JerryBriggsDon't believe them. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
As I watch the debate unfold over repeal of the Affordable Care Act, I keep thinking about the Hans Christian Anderson story "The Emperor's New Clothes." In the story, the emperor's weavers convince him that they have made him clothes of special cloth, invisible to those too stupid to appreciate their beauty. The emperor parades through town stark naked, and his subjects are too afraid to state the obvious until one little boy blurts out that the emperor has no clothes. The emperor looks down and realizes the boy is right.
You might guess that President Donald Trump is the emperor in my metaphor, but you'd be wrong. The emperor is the American public, who has been duped into believing that the Affordable Care Act is failing, even as Republicans work behind the scenes to destroy it.
And who is the little boy in this story? I am. I am the former CEO of a health insurance company, and I have been warning publicly what will happen if Trump continues to effectively sabotage the Affordable Care Act. Earlier this month, I lost my job.
When Trump ran for president, he promised reforms to ensure there would be health insurance for everyone and that it would be a "lot less expensive" than under President Barack Obama's health care law. We have yet to see the plan he described during his campaign. Instead, earlier this month, House Republicans passed the American Health Care Act – a bill the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office determined would cause 23 million Americans to lose health insurance coverage.
Political Cartoons on Obamacare and Trumpcare View All 346 Images
When confronted with the dire projections about how their bill will make insurance unaffordable for their constituents, most of the representatives who voted for the bill often echo a line that Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price and Trump have used repeatedly: that the Affordable Care Act is in a so-called "death spiral" that will inevitably "explode," so they need to pass a bill, no matter how terrible, before it does. That narrative is patently false. In fact, most of the instability driving up premiums in the marketplace can be directly traced to Republicans' efforts to undermine the health care law for their own political purposes.
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, for example, was among the first to land a blow. In 2014, he proudly led a successful effort to cut funding for the "risk corridors" program. Rubio called the payments made from these funds a "bailout" for insurers, but in fact the program was an integral backstop to help control premiums as insurance companies in the marketplaces adjusted to the new population they were covering. The consequence of that ploy to score political points was that some insurers left the marketplace, and many Americans' premiums went up.
Since Trump took office in January, these kinds of sneak attacks on the law have accelerated. During the final week of the open enrollment period, when consumers can sign up for a marketplace health care plan or choose a new one, Trump officials within the Department of Health and Human Services decided to cancel advertising and outreach for the HealthCare.gov website. That decision came despite the fact that it is well documented that younger, healthier enrollees tend to sign up at the last minute. It was a transparent effort to damage the stability of the health insurance marketplace and to create the illusion that demand for insurance was decreasing.
Perhaps the most drastic way that the Trump administration is sabotaging American's health insurance is by refusing to commit to reimbursing health plans for the cost-sharing reduction payments they make to lower out-of-pocket costs for their lowest income members. Insurance companies are currently in the process of determining their rates for the 2018 plan year, and without a guarantee from the administration that they will receive the payments they are owed, they will factor that added cost into their premiums for next year. And you don't have to take my word for it – the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that insurers would need to raise premiums for silver-level plans by an average of 19 percent to compensate if the administration will not commit to making the cost-sharing reduction payments.
One common thread in all these efforts is that Americans who purchase their health coverage through the individual market are the ones harmed, not insurance companies. The administration and Republicans in Congress want you to believe that insurers raising premiums for their plans or exiting the marketplaces all together are consequences of the design of the Affordable Care Act instead of the direct results of their own actions to sabotage the law. Don't let them fool you.
If you think Obamacare is failing, I have one simple message for you: Open your eyes and stop being the emperor.In the upcoming “Mafia 3” from publisher 2K Games and development studio Hangar 13, players will take on the role of Lincoln Clay, who in a quest for revenge will attempt to set up a criminal cartel of his own in order to try to take down the Italian Mafia of 1960s New Bordeaux, a fictionalized version of New Orleans.
The original score for “Mafia 3” comes from composers Jesse Harlin and Jim Bonney. Harlin is a name you might know from his extensive work on “Star Wars” video games, including “Star Wars: The Old Republic” and “The Force Unleashed.” And Bonney is best known for his last collaboration with 2K, on “Bioshock Infinite.”
TheWrap has exclusively obtained two of Harlin’s tracks from “Mafia 3,” and you can listen to them below.
Also Read: 'Deus Ex: Mankind Divided' Review: Only Half a Game
“‘Mafia 3”s score was an amazing experiment in how to take traditional blues instruments — upright bass, upright piano, guitar, dobro — and make them feel cinematic,” Harlin said. “How do you take a song-based structure, throw out the use of lyrics, and still retain the ability to tell interactive stories?”
“As if that wasn’t enough,” Harlin continued, “I decided to try and incorporate something that hasn’t been used in game scores before and hired step dancers from the Tennessee State University competitive step team to record a bunch of body percussion for soundtrack. There are very few great sounding recordings of step dancing on YouTube; it’s much more of a live performance medium. So we had to figure out how to even go about recording it, then perfect it, then incorporate it into the score. From top to bottom, ‘Mafia 3”s score was one rooted in pushing myself creatively to give the game a signature sound.”
Harlin’s original score goes on sale on its own August 22. The $150 collector’s edition of the “Mafia 3” game, out October 7, will include a vinyl copy of the score.Kierpanda was foolish enough to give me control for a post…
So away with her easy-to-make, creative dishes – and in with this unnecessarily complicated, silly guest post!
This recipe creates two smooth, beautiful mousses that you can pipe into martini glasses, or put into a mold for a cake, or just eat it straight out of a bowl. No, I promise I didn’t do that… much.
Onto the recipe!
The cake is essentially 4 parts:
Cake layer – use any cake you like. Store bought is okay, cakemix is okay, or brownies would be great too!
Making an orange sponge cake 😀 White honey mousse Chocolate mousse Fondant decoration
The decoration on top is purely optional, so the steps for the logo is listed separately.
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Ingredients
Cake
3 4inch round cakes, cut to about ½ in height each For the purpose of this recipe we are omitting the details for the cake part. Just follow your favorite box mix recipe, brownie recipe, or use store-bought cake, anything works! The magic is in the mousse layers.
Honey Mousse
4.5 (a little over 1/2 cup) oz White Chocolate Chips + 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream (or 1 cup of coolwhip for the lazy)
Pinch Salt
2 tablespoon Honey
1 teaspoon Unvloared Powdered Gelatin (if you’re using the Knox package, it’s about 1/3 of one pouch)
1 tablespoon Water
1 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste or Extract
Chocolate Mousse
4.5 (a little over 1/2 cup) oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips + 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
Pinch Salt
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream (or 1 cup of coolwhip for the lazy)
1 teaspoon Unvloared Powdered Gelatin (if you’re using the Knox package, it’s about 1/3 of one pouch)
1 tablespoon water
Tools
3 4inch spring loaded cake pans
Parchment Paper – Cut long enough strips to line the sides of your pan/mold
You can use a larger mold or pan and have a bigger cake.
You can also forgo the cake and just put the mousse in any vessel of your choice, and enjoy it as a dessert after it sets!
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Directions
Cut stripes of parchment paper long enough to line the sides of your pan or mold and line the inside. We really recommend using a spring loaded pan with a removable bottom so it’s easier to slide the cake out when it’s done
Put the round disk of cake on the bottom of the pan
Make Honey Mousse Microwave the white chocolate chips + cream mixture at 50% power for 30 seconds. Take it out, stir evenly, and return to the microwave 15 seconds at a time to completely melt the mixture Whisk together the gelatin + water and set it aside for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whip the remaining ½ cup of heavy cream with either a stand mixer or hand mixer to form stiff peaks. And for the lazy, sub this for 1 cup of CoolWhip. Microwave the gelatin mixture for 10 seconds to melt the mixture Combine the melted chocolate, vanilla, and gelatin mixture Mix in ⅓ of the whip cream into the chocolate mixture Fold the rest of the whip cream into the chocolate mix gently Distribute the mousse mixture evenly on top of the cakes in the pan and tap it on a hard surface to let out the air bubbles Set the cakes in the fridge for 25 mins to set before putting on the chocolate layer
Layer of honey mouse setting – Use parchment strips to line the pan for easy removal
Make Chocolate Mousse Same steps as the honey mousse before Microwave the semi sweet choco chips + cream mixture until melted Whisk together gelatin + water Make whip cream Microwave gelatin for 10 seconds to completely dissolve the mixture Combine the chocolate and gelatin Incorporate whip cream into the chocolate base Evenly distribute the chocolate mixture on top of the now set honey layer
Folding in whipped cream into chocolate!
Refrigerate the entire cake for at least 4 hours or until set
After the mousse is completely set, pop the cakes out of the pan and decorate it to your heart’s desire!
So airy, so light, cut side view!
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Optional Overwatch Logo Decoration
Fondant – for decoration
2 Drops – Orange Food Coloring (mix red & yellow)
Silver Food Decorating Graffiti
Round cookie cutters – 4inch and one slightly smaller to create the inner ring of the Overwatch logo
Directions
Knead the fondant until soft & pliable – roll it out to an ⅛ thick sheet Use the round 4 inch cutter to cut out a circle Use the slightly smaller cutter (I used a 3 ½) to cut out the middle of the 4 inch circle, leaving you with a ring shape
Use 2 round cutters to make the ring Use a knife to trim out the top orange part of the logo and the angled pieces in the middle. Print out a picture of the logo as a guide if you want it to be more perfect, or have the logo handy as a reference
Cut out shapes using a knife. Use a print out as guide if you need!
Lay the bottom parts of the logo on foil or parchment, and spray paint it with the silver spray – set aside till dry
If you can find the spray – you can make it silver! Re-roll the rest of your fondant and color it with the orange food coloring Roll the orange fondant just like before and cut out the top part Let the fondant sit out for a bit till it dries, then top your amazing cake with it!
Ta-daaaa! You know, the world could always use more heroes!
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This was a special guest recipe by Meru. She’s an amazing baker, a spectacular chef and a ferocious Brightwing! You can follow her delicious adventures here on Twitter.What Makes You Rich?
The current presidential election is bringing to light, perhaps more than any other presidential campaign before, the differences between the “rich” and those who do not have as much money. As a result, the debate over what makes a person “rich” is in full swing.
But what makes you “rich” in the first place?
Recently, Kevin at Out Of Your Rut came up with a list of items that allows him to feel rich, even without a great deal of traditional, or worldly, wealth. Whether or not you feel rich, though, does, to some degree, depend on how much money you have. Here are some of the items that can impact how much money you actually have — and whether or not you are “rich”.
Photo by Merzperson via Wikimedia Commons
4 Things that Can Impact How Rich You Feel
Income
How much money you make has a lot to do with how rich you feel, and the amount of money you have at the end of each month. Your income certainly has to do with how much worldly wealth you end up with. If you want to feel richer, one way to do so is to increase your income. You can do this by getting another job, or by starting your own business.
However, while income might be a starting point, it’s not all there is to determining how rich you are.
Debt
One of the biggest drains on your financial resources is debt. When you are in debt, you have obligations that must be met. On top of that, you pay interest. As a result, even if you have what you consider a good income, you might feel the strains associated with meeting your debt payments. And, of course, the interest is constantly draining even more of your wealth away. Someone with a significant amount of debt can hardly be considered “rich,” no matter how much stuff he or she has, if the end of the month results in no extra income.
Location
Where you live has a big impact on how much money you have available. How “rich” you are depends, to some degree, on where you are. This is because the cost of living varies greatly from locale to locale. You might be able to feel richer on a lower income when you live in a small town. A bigger city, or a more expensive area, might cost more in terms of:
Housing
Food
Transportation
Utilities
Even in the same city, you might find that there are disparities in costs, depending on the neighborhood you live in. Generally, many people consider “wealthy” as earning $200,000 or $250,000 a year. However, if you live in a high-priced city, and pay a great deal for your home mortgage, and pay more for food and transportation, that large amount of money suddenly doesn’t go as far as you might think. There are people living in major metropolitan areas that spend half their monthly incomes on housing costs.
Where you live really can impact how much money you have, and whether or not you are rich. If you live in a low-cost area, you can often stretch your dollars further, and end up with more at your disposal.
What You Spend Your Money On
As you consider whether or not you are “rich”, it helps to take a look at what you spend your money on. Does your spending match your values? Look through your expenses, and identify money leaks. If you aren’t spending money on items of importance — things helping you achieve your financial goals — then you will always feel as though you are missing out on something. You can feel richer by adjusting your spending so that the most important expenditures are funded first. You’ll feel better about the way you are using money. And, since your goals and priorities are funded first, you’ll feel richer.
Bottom Line
In the end, it’s really about disposable income. After you pay your debt obligations each month, and after you pay your bills, what’s left can make you feel rich or poor. If you have more disposable income, and are able to do at least some of the things you want, chances are you will feel rich.PARIS, France: Front National legislative candidate Aymeric Durox has exclusively revealed to Breitbart London the new name of the Front National could be “Les Patriotes”, or the Patriots.
Mr. Durox said the name change, which was talked about on Sunday evening following the defeat of anti-mass migration candidate Marine Le Pen, is likely to be Les Patriotes citing the office of vice president of the party Florian Philippot registering the name in 2015.
“I know that the director of the cabinet of Florian Philippot filed the name ‘Les Patriotes’ in April 2015, perhaps already with the prospect of a name change, but nothing is sure,” he told Breitbart London. He said the legacy of the name Front National still “scared off” some voters and a name change and rebranding could bring more people into the movement.
The Front National, or perhaps soon Les Patriotes, are challenging the establishment parties in next month’s French legislative elections. Mr. Durox, who is standing in Paris, said all the establishment candidates he is facing are old and have out of date ideas.
“I shall incarnate the true change of my generation,” said the 31-year-old who is a history and geography teacher. Durox was dismissive of his opponents saying they “have the presumption to pretend that they represent a real alternative”.
The Front National is expected to win a minimum of 15 seats in the upcoming election, though some have forecast they could gain as many as 50 seats in the French National Assembly. Durox said the party should look toward forming a group in the assembly, which would take at least 15 deputies, in order to be able to have more time to speak in the chamber and have more influence.
“In any case 50 [deputies] would be a good number, especially if we are superior in numbers to the Socialist party,” he added.
Currently, the Front National has two members in the assembly, one of which is Marion Maréchal-Le Pen who recently announced her resignation from politics following the presidential election. Maréchal-Le Pen said she wanted more time to spend with her young daughter away from the stresses of political life.
“When a brave leader leaves his troops it is always very sad, but she is very young and we are sure that she will come back even stronger,” Durox said in reaction to the news of Maréchal-Le Pen’s decision. He added: “The future belongs to her.”
Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson@breitbart.comBROWNSVILLE — SpaceX founder Elon Musk says his company expects to spend $100 million in South Texas over the next three to four years on the first commercial orbital spaceport.
Musk was joined Monday by Gov. Rick Perry and other officials as SpaceX broke ground at the state’s southernmost tip.
The ceremony marked the start of construction of the $85 million site at Boca Chica Beach, east of Brownsville, where commercial satellites will be launched.
Perry is providing $2.3 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund toward the project and another $13 million from the Spaceport Trust Fund to pay for infrastructure.
California-based SpaceX is expected to create 300 jobs at the site. The company already has a rocket testing facility in McGregor in Central Texas that employs 250 people.By Denice Ross, Presidential Innovation Fellow
Rising ninth-grader Demond Fortenberry opened his first city data set: “Use of Force” records created by the Public Integrity Bureau at the New Orleans Police Department. As part of a three-day event engaging youth to build apps on top of soon-to-be released policing data sets, he was one of the first New Orleanians to ever see these records.
With just 10 hours of coding class under his belt, Demond cautiously scrolled through the data. Horizontally and vertically. He read out the attributes as he went.
Male. Male. Male. Female. Black. Black. White. White. Eight years employment on the police force. Age: 19 years. Age: 42. Taser. Canine. Handgun.
As he began to get his data sea-legs, Demond talked about the patterns he noticed. He looked up one of the incident locations on the web — and nodded when he recognized the gas station where the use of force had occurred. He started to ask questions.
Why do all of the addresses end in zeros? Were there really nine 29-year-old residents involved in this single event?
Normally, such questions might go unanswered. But on this day, the City’s Chief Information Officer was in the room. CIO Lamar Gardere — himself a graduate of the Demond’s high school — came over and sat down.
Demond Fortenberry and City of New Orleans CIO Lamar Gardere review police data together with other hackathon participants. (Photo by the author)
Addresses are rounded to zero for privacy issues, Lamar explained. As for the nine 29-year-olds? The answer was more complicated. Draft releases of open data are always a little rough around the edges, so Lamar said he’d bring Demond’s question back to City Hall for investigation. The solution could be in fixing the software to prevent duplicate entries, or releasing the right set of additional attributes to distinguish these records from one another.
Next up, 311 data
Demond moved on to the next data set: 311 calls for service. As the conversation turned to the bumpy reality of New Orleans’ poor street conditions, he scrolled past legions of unresolved requests to fix potholes.
Street light. Fallen tree. Street flooding. Recycling…
And then Demond stopped talking.
He figured out how to filter the 311 requests by neighborhood. Gentilly Terrace. Then he sorted by request type. His face lit up with a huge smile as his finger pointed to a single row in this very large data set. |
-Banuve (APO Health and Nutrition, UNICEF); Finland: J Pekkanen* (Department of Environmental Epidemiology, National Public Health Institute); Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM): E Vlaski* (Department of Pulmonology and Allergology, University Children's Hospital); Hong Kong: G Wong (Department of Paediatrics, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, SAR China), YL Lau (Department of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital); Hungary: G Zsigmond* (Pediatric Pulmonologist, Svábhegy Institute); India: SN Mantri (Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre), SK Sharma (Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences); Indonesia: CB Kartasasmita (Department of Child Health, School of Medicine – Padjajaran University), P Konthen (Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Airlangga University), W Suprihati (ENT Department, Faculty of Medicine, Diponegoro University); Iran: M-R Masjedi* (Masih Daneshvary Hospital); Japan: H Odajima (Department of Pediatrics, The National Minami Fukuoka Chest Hospital); Lithuania: J Kudzyte* (Clinic of Children's Diseases, Kaunas Medical University); Mexico: M Barragán-Meijueiro (Pediatric Allergist, Colegio Mexicano de Alergia, Asma e Inmunología Pediátrica), BE Del-Río-Navarro (Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez), FJ Linares-Zapién (Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Mexico), N Ramírez-Chanona (Colegio Mexicano de Alergia, Asma e Inmunología Pediátrica), S Romero-Tapia (Hospital del Niño “Dr. Rodolfo Nieto Padrón”); Morocco: Z Bouayad* (Service des Maladies Respiratoires, Hôpital 20 Août); New Zealand: R MacKay (Chemical Pathologist, Canterbury Health Laboratories), C Moyes (Paediatrics, Pacific Health, Whakatane Hospital), P Pattemore (Department of Paediatrics, Christchurch School of Medicine); Nigeria: BO Onadeko (Ibadan Secretariat Post Office); Peru: P Chiarella* (Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Departamento de Pediatria); Poland: A Brêborowicz (Institute of Pediatrics, University of Medical Sciences), G Lis* (Department of Pediatrics, Polish-American Children's Hospital); Portugal: R Câmara (Serviço de Medicina, Centro Hospitilar do Funchal), JM Lopes dos Santos (Departameto de Pediatria, Hospital Pedro Hispano), C Nunes (Center of Allergy and Immunology of Algarve), JE Rosado Pinto* (Immunoallergology Department, Hospital da Luz); Singapore: DYT Goh (The Children's Medical Institute, National University of Singapore, National University Hospital); South Africa: HJ Zar* (Red Cross Childrens Hospital, Cape Town); South Korea: H-B Lee* (Department of Pediatrics, Hanyang University College of Medicine); Spain: A Blanco-Quirós (Departamento de Pediatría, Facultad de Medicina), RM Busquets (Unitat de Pneumologia Pediatica, Hospital del Mar), I Carvajal-Urueña (Pediatrician Doctor, Centro de Salud La Ería), G García-Hernández (Division of Paediatric Pulmonology and Allergy, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre), L García-Marcos* (Respiratory Medicine and Allergy Units, ‘Virgen de la Arrixaca’ University Children's Hospital, University of Murcia), C González Díaz (Pediatric Allergy Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital de Basurto), A López-Silvarrey Varela (Polígono de A Grela, Edificio WorkCenter), MM Morales-Suárez-Varela (Unit of Public Health, Hygiene, and Environmental care, Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Valencia), EG Pérez-Yarza (Unidad de Neumología Infantil, Servicio de Pediatria Hospital Donostia); Sultanate of Oman: O Al-Rawas* (Department of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University); Syrian Arab Republic: S Mohammad* (Paediatrics Department, Tartous), Y Mohammad (Head of Chest Diseases Division, Tishreen University), K Tabbah (Aleppo); Taiwan: J–L Huang* (Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Children's Hospital), C-C Kao (Department of Pediatrics, Li-Shin Hospital); Thailand: M Trakultivakorn (Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University); USA: HH Windom (Asthma and Allergy Research Center, Sarasota); Uruguay: D Holgado* (Department of pulmology, allergy and immunology, Pediatrics hospital Pereira Rossell), MC Lapides (Hospital Paysandú). * National Coordinator. ISAAC Phase Three National Coordinators not identified above. Brazil: D Solé (Dept of Pediatrics, Federal University of São Paulo-Escola Paulista de Medicina); Canada: M Sears (St. Joseph's Healthcare, Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health); Chile: V Aguirre (Depatamento de Medicina Respiratoria Infantil, Hospital CRS El Pino); Fiji: L Waqatakirewa (Fiji Children's Hospital); India: J Shah (Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre); Indonesia: K Baratawidjaja (Allergy-Immunology Study Group, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia); Japan: S Nishima (The National Minami-Fukuoka Chest Hospital); Mexico: M Baeza-Bacab (Facultad de Medicina, University Autónoma de Yucatán); New Zealand: MI Asher (Department of Paediatrics: Child and Youth Health, The University of Auckland, New Zealand), Singapore: B-W Lee (Children's Medical Center, National University Hospital); Thailand: P Vichyanond (Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University).
Author Contributions Conceived and designed the experiments: EM AS RH RB IB RM. Analyzed the data: AS. Wrote the paper: EM AS RH RB IB RM.Washington state officials have created an incident command center to coordinate containment and recovery of thousands of Atlantic salmon that escaped from net pens in the San Juans a week ago.
A week after the escape of thousands of Atlantic salmon into the waters off the San Juan Islands, the state Saturday formed a multiagency response team to oversee and coordinate containment and recovery.
“The release of net pen-raised Atlantic salmon into Washington’s waters has created an emergency situation,” Gov. Jay Inslee said in a news release.
Inslee and Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz also said the state will not issue new leases or permits for net pens until a full review of the incident is completed.
The company that runs the Cypress Island fish-farm operation, Cooke Aquaculture Pacific, also said Saturday it would not rebuild the collapsed pens, but would concentrate on recovering the salmon still remaining in the netted enclosures.
A fish-recovery vessel was pumping surviving Atlantic salmon from the pens into the vessel’s hold, said Chuck Brown, a spokesman for Cooke. A crane barge also was scheduled to lift containment nets to the surface to aid in fish removal, he said.
The company has said there were 305,000 fish in the pens that collapsed, but has not issued a firm count of the escaped fish.
On Saturday, Cooke employees recovered 62,100 fish from the net-pen cages, according to the company, in addition to the 5,166 fish recovered from the pens earlier in the week.
Three state agencies, the departments of Natural Resources, Fish & Wildlife and Ecology, will pool resources to expedite the containment and recovery of the farmed, nonnative fish, said Cori Simmons, spokeswoman for Natural Resources, from the Anacortes command center.
She said technical and scientific experts from the agencies are now on Cypress Island to work with Cooke and Native American tribes.
The salmon escapes occurred as Cooke Aquaculture is proposing a new net-pen operation in the Strait of Juan de Fuca at Port Angeles, east of the Ediz Hook, Clallam County.
Tribal members have been critical of the state’s response this week, saying they heard about the spill from their fishermen, not state fisheries officials. The net pens off Cypress Island began collapsing last Saturday, but neither fisheries nor Cooke made a public statement until Tuesday afternoon.
The Lummi Nation declared a state of emergency and is paying fish buyers to take the Atlantic salmon brought in by their fishermen, said Merle Jefferson, director of natural resources for the tribe. With wild salmon runs already depressed, tribe officials say they worry that native fish now will have to compete with Atlantic salmon for food and could be exposed to disease.
But scientists differ about the threat posed by Atlantic salmon, which are not native to the Pacific Northwest. Several large escapes occurred in the late 1990s. The state issued a report after those spills and concluded there was no evidence that Atlantic salmon could interbreed with Pacific salmon and no known self-sustaining populations of Atlantic salmon in Washington.
Lummi fisherman Dana Wilson said his boat unloaded 15,000 to 18,000 pounds of Atlantic salmon at 3 a.m. Saturday and was back on the water in the afternoon. He said hundreds of the escaped fish are still in the Deepwater Bay area where the net pens were located.
“They’ve been hand fed and some aren’t going very far,” he said. He and other tribal fishermen have dropped their commercial wild-salmon fishing to help net the escaped fish, “before they spread all over Puget Sound. I don’t know if it’s too late or not,” Wilson said.
Inslee called on Cooke Aquaculture to compensate those working to capture the Atlantic salmon from state waters.
The Department of Ecology is currently reviewing the state’s management guidelines for commercial net-pen operations of Atlantic salmon in saltwater. That review isn’t scheduled to be completed until 2019 and won’t change existing policies, according to a department website on the project. That would be up to the individual permitting agencies, the website says.
State Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, whose district includes the San Juans, said Saturday that he has asked, in the wake of the escape, whether the review of the fish- farm regulations could be speeded up. He said he was told it could not.
Ranker called the collapse of the Cypress Island pens “unacceptable.” But while Cooke submitted applications to upgrade the facility several months ago, Ranker said he didn’t think the state could have acted sooner to prevent the collapse.
“I don’t think anyone in government or the tribes knew we were on the brink of a catastrophic failure,” he said.
He said the state investigation of the collapse should ask if existing requirements for net-pen operations were adequate and if they were being followed.
“I think we should use this crisis to evaluate our current policy and whether net pens for invasive species should be allowed,” said Ranker, who served as an adviser to President Barack Obama’s National Ocean Council in 2016.In what has to be a first, a Vine star has earned a #1 album on the Billboard 200. Sixteen-year-old Shawn Mendes has debuted on top wth his first full-length album Handwritten. It was released on April 14 through Island Records. It sold 119,000 units. Mendes is the youngest artist to get #1 in almost five years. Justin Bieber did it on May 29, 2010 with My World 2.0 when he was sixteen and 2 months. Mendes is sixteen and eight months.
1. Shawn Mendes – Handwritten (119,000)
2. Furious 7 soundtrack (79,000)
3. Reba McEntire – Love Somebody (64,000)
4. Tyler the Creator – Cherry Bomb (58,000)
5. Halestorm – Into the Wild Life (56,000)
6. Fifty Shades of Grey (43,000)
7. Taylor Swift – 1989 (38,000)
8. Sam Smith – In The Lonely Hour (37,000)
9. Ed Sheeran – X (36,000)
10. Drake – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (35,000)Opinion: PayPal is the latest company to join a long list to ditch support for the “fringe” phone operating systems: Microsoft’s Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Amazon’s Fire OS. This decision comes on the heels of Microsoft’s announcement of getting rid of a further 1,850 jobs, most of them from what remains of the staff that came to Microsoft from its acquisition of Nokia.
Microsoft/Nokia image via Shutterstock
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia wasn’t simply a very bad business decision from a company that is fighting its slow slide to irrelevance, the side-effect of this singularly bad business idea, was to put nearly 25,000 people out of work, most of them in Finland. Microsoft CEO can simply shrug his shoulders and blame his predecessor, but an entire country is now coping with the fallout.
Microsoft may be talking about focusing on business and still supporting the concept of a Microsoft phone but this just echoes the BlackBerry’s CEO John Chen who still maintains that people will want to buy their particular brand of phone. Nobody believes him either.
Part of the reason that Microsoft, BlackBerry and any other potential new phone OS has little chance of succeeding in today’s market is that we have reached a peak in the evolution of mobile phone operating systems and hardware in much the same way as we have done in the personal computing market.
Whilst analysts and the “markets” may express disappointment in Apple’s and Google’s inability to come out with a radically new innovation in the mobile space, the realisation will dawn on them eventually that there is nothing more to “innovate”. Every possible angle has been explored and different versions of input, output and processing combined into every possible form factor that customers would want to buy. The iPhone 7, or 8 will not be substantially different from the iPhone 6S because there is no way it can be radically different and serve the same function.
All of this is not to say that “mobile’s” impact on society has done all that it is going to do. As a society, the mobile phone will still be used as a vehicle for transformation in every aspect of our lives. This will be driven by the software that runs on these phones and to a far lesser degree by the specifics of the phones themselves.
This fact hasn’t been lost on Apple, Google and the other tech giants. Their focus has now shifted to cars, the home and the entertainment industry. Mobile phones have just become one facet of the Internet of Things which is the next iteration of technology still waiting to make the full force of its presence felt. The impact of the mobile phone will be through the software that runs on the phones and the continuing move to replace “analogue” or manual and paper-based processes with “digital” and software mediated ones.
The interesting aspect of all of this is that despite the emphasis that we place on the mobile phone, the major impact of technology on society recently has been in the march of “robotisisation” of the workplace. Foxconn, the major iPhone manufacturer has allegedly replaced 60,000 factory workers with robots. It is not known how many of these workers will be retained and retrained in other jobs within the company.
In all of this however, Microsoft is being left behind. Its impact, as evidenced by the fallout from the destruction of Nokia, being simply that of a large company taking out collateral as it flails during its last grasps at relevance. It doesn’t really matter whether it sells Windows for PCs or Surface tablets because the software that is being written for the new economy is going be written for an iPhone or Android device and on the other non-Microsoft platform Linux.
As much as Microsoft tries to make its applications platform agnostic, the revenue for the company will continue to come from software supporting its own PC and server ecosystem. Time has shown that it has been impossible for Microsoft to get away from this and still generate the revenues that it has been over the years. In this way, it is no different from the other tech companies that are struggling in the new order like IBM and HP.
Nokia may well have foundered without Microsoft’s death blow. The former employees of Nokia may well get back on their feet by starting their own companies and driving a new economy for Finland. None of this would be by design of Microsoft’s actions, but rather despite its desperation to shape the new economy.FILE – In this March 30, 2010, file photo reviewed by the U.S. military, a U.S. trooper stands in the turret of a vehicle with a machine gun, left, as a guard looks out from a tower at the detention facility of Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. The Pentagon is asking Congress for more than $450 million for maintaining and upgrading the Guantanamo Bay prison that President Barack Obama wants to close. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is asking Congress for more than $450 million for maintaining and upgrading the Guantanamo Bay prison that President Barack Obama wants to close.
New details on the administration's budget request emerged on Tuesday and underscored the contradiction of the president waging a political fight to shutter the facility while the military calculates the financial requirements to keep the installation operating.
The budget request for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 calls for $79 million for detention operations, the same as the current year, and $20.5 million for the office of military commissions, an increase over the current amount of $12.6 million. The request also includes $40 million for a fiber optic cable and $99 million for operation and maintenance.
The Pentagon also wants $200 million for military construction to upgrade temporary facilities. That work could take eight to 10 years as the military has to transport workers to the island, rely on limited housing and fly in building material.
The facility at the U.S. naval base in Cuba currently holds 166 prisoners, and hunger strikes by 100 of them over their indefinite detention and prison conditions prompted Obama to renew his effort to close Guantanamo. The president is expected to discuss the future of the facility in a speech on counterterrorism on Thursday.
"Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe," the president said at a White House news conference last month. "It is expensive. It is inefficient. It hurts us in terms of our international standing. It lessens cooperation with our allies on counterterrorism efforts. It is a recruitment tool for extremists. It needs to be closed."
Since his inauguration in January 2009, Obama has pushed for shutting the prison, signing an executive order for closure during his first week in office. He has faced resistance in Congress with Republicans and some Democrats repeatedly blocking efforts to transfer terror suspects to the United States.
The law that Congress passed and Obama signed in March to keep the government running includes a longstanding provision that prohibits any money for the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the United States or its territories. It also bars spending to overhaul any U.S. facility in the U.S. to house detainees.
That makes it essentially illegal for the government to transfer the men it wants to continue holding, including five who were charged before a military tribunal with orchestrating the Sept. 11 attacks.
Lawmakers have cited statistics on terror suspects striking again and argued that Obama has failed to produce a viable alternative to Guantanamo.
Some members of Congress counter that U.S. maximum security prisons currently hold convicted terrorists and can handle such suspects. Among those in U.S. prisons is Zacarias Moussaoui, who planned the Sept. 11 attacks.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., said he favors closing Guantanamo for several reasons, including the expense. Money in a time of deficits could be a factor for other lawmakers, including fiscal conservatives in Congress.
Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Obama on Tuesday offering his help to get the facility closed.
Until it is, Smith wrote, "it will continue to symbolize an unjust attempt to avoid the rule of law and to undermine the United States' moral standing in defending its values and protecting human rights."
Smith said al-Qaida continues to use Guantanamo to rally violent extremists to its cause.Spaceship concept. Image: Les Bossinas (Cortez III Service Corp)
The Latin phrase per asperaad astra, meaning "through hardships to the stars," has become a kind of unofficial shorthand for human efforts to explore and eventually colonize space. Aside from its lyrical ring, the axiom owes much of its popularity to the oft-repeated refrain that "space is hard," and that people courageous enough to venture off the planet can expect to experience all manner of discomfort, from cramped quarters to dizzying g-forces, and sometimes even injury or death.
But for centuries, many speculative fiction writers have bucked this trend by envisioning plush spaceships decked out with opulent furnishings to support the extravagant lifestyles of elite passengers. This vision of spaceflight—let's call it per luxuria ad astra—has yielded some of the most memorable fictional spacecraft in popular culture, from the campy starliner Fhloston Paradise in The Fifth Element to the mollycoddling generation ship Axiom from WALL-E.
Welcome to Fhloston Paradise" clip.
But is luxury spaceflight a realistic dream that humans should pursue, or a delusional fantasy nurtured by underappreciation of the comforts of a planet as dope as Earth? To find out, let's embark on a brief tour of the "Starship Luxurious" trope in science fiction history, to root out the underlying philosophies that have given it such mass appeal over the centuries.
Almost as soon as spaceship concepts begin to show up with some regularity in science fiction, writers felt the impulse to pimp them out. For instance, take the 1727 Swiftian satire A Voyage to Cacklogallinia, written under the pseudonym Captain Samuel Brunt. The story describes a trip to the Moon in a spacefaring palanquin borne by enormous sentient chickens (naturally).
Illustration showing the fowl-powered palanquin. Image: Project Gutenberg
"The only Talk now in Town was our designed Journey to the Moon, for which a great many of the swiftest Flyers were inlifted with Promises of great Reward. Palanquins were made sharp at each End, to cut the Air; the warmest Mantles and Hoods were made for the Bearers, and the Projector's and my Palanquin were close, and lined with Down. A Company was erected, Shares sold of the Treasure we were to bring back; and happy was he who could first subscribe."
The passage pays some lip service to the presumed discomforts associated with space travel—cold temperatures, for instance. But more importantly, it casually dismisses those hardships using existing luxury concepts like palanquins, vehicles that have long been signifiers of affluence and high status.
Brunt's tale hints not only at the luxury experience of spaceflight, but also at luxury markets that might be catalyzed by spaceflight. The "Treasure" the narrator plans to bring back from the Moon was no doubt inspired by the valuable items being funneled back to Europe from around the world during the 1700s. Pricey goods from farflung destinations were dispersed by increasingly sophisticated seafaring vessels, which stimulated the hefty European hunger for colonial wealth. Space fiction stories from this era often reflect these mercantile dynamics.
It's not surprising, then, that whoever Brunt really was, he was not alone in his thinking. Many other 18th century writers spelled out various capitalist justifications for space exploration in their own works. According to Ron Miller's The Dream Machines, the German astronomer Eberhard Christian Kindermann, born in 1715, suggested that "flights to Jupiter could be made in order to bring back exotic plants, in the same way that'monkeys and peacocks from Asia' were being brought to Europe."
Setting aside the innocence it takes to deem the introduction of Jovian invasive species to Earth as a great business opportunity, these early writings demonstrate that fictional spaceships could be viewed as both lucrative purveyors of luxury goods, as well as big ticket items unto themselves.
Nowhere is this more clear than in Edward Everett Hale's story story The Brick Moon, which was serialized in Atlantic Monthly from 1869 to 1870. One of the earliest depictions of a fully fledged space station, the tale follows the unintentional launch of a spherical brick satellite, 200 feet in diameter, while people are onboard.
Early in the story, Hale goes to great lengths to describe how expensive this satellite was to build, and how difficult it was to secure the funds to greenlight it. He also mentions that the artificial moon's living spaces are "much more comfortable" than the cabins surrounding its launchpad on Earth, which explains why the satellite was inhabited during its surprise trip to space. Basically, the faux-moon was so plush that people started squatting in it.
As soon as the station is identified in orbit, the narrator becomes almost envious of the accidental astronauts and their new lifestyle beyond the skies. "They had three acres of surface, and there were but thirty-seven of them," Hale writes. "Not so much crowded as people are in Roxbury, not nearly so much as in Boston; and, besides, these people are living underground, and have the whole of their surface for their exercise."
While the genetic diversity issues presented by an isolated population of 37 people are not explored, the story idealizes the experience of living in space as some weird off-Earth riff on a pastoral wonderland. In fact, the narrator draws explicit comparisons between the environments of the Brick Moon and the Earth: "I knew that at half-past ten they would pass into the inevitable eclipse which struck them every night at this period of their orbit, and must, I thought, be a luxury to them, as recalling old memories of night when they were on this world."
This sentence represents an interesting paradigm shift in the history of plush fictional spacecraft, because it correlates "luxury" directly to "Earthlike." Later spaceship concepts would take this link and run with it, offering a variety of lush simulated Earth environments in space, from the botanical wonders of Cloud 9 in Battlestar Galactica to the ritzy Mayflower colony ship that peaces out on Mega-City One in the Judge Dredd franchise.
The Brick Moon subverts a few other traditional space fiction tropes as well, especially because the titular spacecraft is a human-made object that is treated like a permanent home, and not merely a temporary stopgap between planetary worlds. In contrast to astronauts traveling to other natural bodies to cart back luxury items, the people of the Brick Moon request comfort goods to be sent to them from Earth.
This results in another botched launch in which most of the pricey cargo burns up in the atmosphere. The only surviving items are "two croquet balls and a china horse" that arrive on the station intact, and a bunch of crap that gets caught in the orbit of the Brick Moon.
"They had five volumes of the 'Congressional Globe' whirling round like bats within a hundred feet of their heads," Hale writes. "Another body, which I am afraid was 'The Ingham Papers,' flew a little higher, not quite so heavy. Then there was an absurd procession of the woolly sheep, a china cow, a pair of india-rubbers, a lobster Haliburton had chosen to send, a wooden lion, the wax doll, a Salter's balance, the 'New York Observer,' the bow and arrows, a Nuremberg nanny-goat, Rose's watering-pot, and the magnetic fishes, which gravely circled round and round them slowly and made the petty zodiac of their petty world."
Illustration from The Brick Moon. Image: Edward Everett Hale
Hale doesn't mention whether the livestock orbiting the satellite are dead, but in any case, it's entertaining that the moon's inhabitants would be able to literally count sheep in their skies. It's also a poignant image: The first humans in space gazing up at an arched ribbon of expensive items orbiting just out of their reach. This metaphorically rich tableau indicates the ongoing maturation of the luxury spaceship trope through its successive incarnations.
To that point, the rising popularity of opulent ocean-liners like the ill-fated Titanic at the turn of the 20th century further cemented the idea that dangerous frontiers like the seas could be braved in relative comfort and class. The imaginative implications of these vessels for space travel was certainly not lost on science fiction creators.
Massive luxury starliners laden with pampered passengers started cropping up more often in fiction. These include the lunar tourism ship Meteor envisioned by Washington Gladden in 1880 or the Buck Rogers concept of a "Cruise Ship to the Stars." Author Michael Flynn recently took the Titanic analogy to its darker conclusion with his novel The Wreck of the River of Stars, about the deteriorating remains of a leisure spaceship.
Today, the Starship Luxurious trope has evolved to convey several themes and ambiences, some of which are directly counter to its origins as a standin for European exploitation of global resources. For instance, the 2013 film Elysium uses the titular super-wealthy orbital enclave to critique the same capitalist ideas that first gave rise to luxury spaceships, particularly the polarizing effects of income inequality.
In Pixar's WALL-E, the Axiom starliner built by Buy n Large corporation offers a more light-hearted commentary on consumerism. In exchange for instant gratifications and endless coddling by the ship's mostly robotic staff, the Axiom's passengers are hoodwinked into shedding many basic concepts and skills, including walking. Though their descent into intellectual, emotional, and physical laziness is mostly played for laughs, the notion that material overindulgence can lead to a loss of humanity is central to the film's message.
"Culture on the Axiom."
There are countless other examples of the trope, from the sleek fleet of starships depicted in the Star Trek franchise, to the plush quarters of the Shepard character in Mass Effect, to Douglas Adams' Milliways, a transdimensional five-star restaurant at the end of the universe. But will this longstanding dream of luxury spaceflight ever come to fruition in the real world?
Contemporary human spaceflight is, after all, decidedly not luxurious, as one look inside the International Space Station aptly demonstrates. Given the exorbitant cost of sending people and supplies into space, astronauts have to be extremely thrifty with their resources, which results in major sacrifices in comfort during their time off the planet.
Likewise, the first space tourists have been more akin to wilderness adventurers willing to brave the outer elements than vacationers looking for a little rest and relaxation. It seems that for the near future, at least, space is still a challenging frontier open only to the boldest among us, and not a carefree playground for wealthy tourists.
But as to the far future: Who knows? There is certainly no shortage of speculative design concepts for spacecraft engineers to play with, and the cost of sending humans to space may drastically decrease over the coming decades, perhaps even by five million percent, if SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has his way.
Concept art for SpaceX's Interplanetary Transport System. Image: SpaceX
On Tuesday, Musk unveiled his new concept for an Interplanetary Transport System that he claimed would include "zero G games," "movies," and "a restaurant" for use by a population of about 100 passengers. This could be one small step towards the first luxury starliners, or it could be the latest in a long line of similarly proposed spacecraft that will likely never make it off the drawing board, let alone the launchpad. Only time will tell.
Luxury Week is a series about our evolving views of what constitutes luxury. Follow along here.
Get six of our favorite Motherboard stories every day by signing up for our newsletter.Weekly Comp - X-Rental Box Set - 10 June 2012 - FINISHED
X-Rental: 4 Video Classics (ArrowDrome)
INCLUDES 6 FILMS!
MANIAC COP
When reports come in of a man in a police uniform committing gore drenched bloody murder on the city streets, officer Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell) stands accused. Now, with few friends, powerful enemies and a psychopathic slayer still at large, it’s up to Jack to prove he’s not guilty and bring down the killer.
CHEERLEADERS & REVENGE OF THE CHEERLEADERS
For the bold and brassy girls of the cheerleading squad, taking one for their football team comes naturally so when rivals need to be taken down, there’s only one solution... seduce them into exhaustion. Now the game girls are on a sex-crazed mission to ride their rivals to victory in a politically incorrect comedy that shocked the world!
PENITENTIARY & PENITENTIARY II
Too Sweet likes three things... Candy bars, makin’ love and fighting. Arrested while defending a beautiful hooker in a roadside diner brawl, he finds himself unjustly incarcerated in a violent prison hellhole where life is cheap and punks get owned by predatory lifers. There’s only one way out... Victory in the ring!
MCBAIN
Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter, King of New York) is Robert McBain... An ordinary steel worker with an extraordinary past. A prisoner of war rescued by a future Columbian rebel, he’s held to a sacred vow. 18 years later McBain must help to liberate Central America and decimate its evil drug trade by bringing together his old comrades from ‘Nam.
--------------------
How do you win?
Well....
You're going to have to put your film knowledge to the test and prove yourself if you want to win this prize!
Below is a picture comprised of 30 famous movie quotes. But some fool (me) has muddled them all up! It's your job to find the 30 film quotes and then PM (Private Message) me them.
The three people to get as many right before Sunday will each win this beautiful box set from Arrow. So, you don't have to get all 30 - just as many as you can!
Here's that muddled up picture...
For a bigger version click here -
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!
Kyle Ladies and Gentlemen, get ready for another incredible competition with a fantastic must-own prize! Here's all the details....INCLUDES 6 FILMS!When reports come in of a man in a police uniform committing gore drenched bloody murder on the city streets, officer Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell) stands accused. Now, with few friends, powerful enemies and a psychopathic slayer still at large, it’s up to Jack to prove he’s not guilty and bring down the killer.For the bold and brassy girls of the cheerleading squad, taking one for their football team comes naturally so when rivals need to be taken down, there’s only one solution... seduce them into exhaustion. Now the game girls are on a sex-crazed mission to ride their rivals to victory in a politically incorrect comedy that shocked the world!Too Sweet likes three things... Candy bars, makin’ love and fighting. Arrested while defending a beautiful hooker in a roadside diner brawl, he finds himself unjustly incarcerated in a violent prison hellhole where life is cheap and punks get owned by predatory lifers. There’s only one way out... Victory in the ring!Christopher Walken () is Robert McBain... An ordinary steel worker with an extraordinary past. A prisoner of war rescued by a future Columbian rebel, he’s held to a sacred vow. 18 years later McBain must help to liberate Central America and decimate its evil drug trade by bringing together his old comrades from ‘Nam.--------------------How do you win?Well....You're going to have to put your film knowledge to the test and prove yourself if you want to win this prize!Below is a picture comprised of 30 famous movie quotes. But some fool (me) has muddled them all up! It's your job to find the 30 film quotes and then PM (Private Message) me them.The three people to get as many right before Sunday will each win this beautiful box set from Arrow. So, you don't have to get all 30 - just as many as you can!Here's that muddled up picture...For a bigger version click here - http://i.imgur.com/0xAiY.jpg GOOD LUCK!!!!!!Kyle Demdike@Cult Labs, InDogWeTrust, sawyer6 and 2 others like this.
The best cult movies free on Amazon Prime (updated regularly) __________________ Last edited by iluvdvds@Cult Labs; 10th June 2012 at 07:48 PM.Plymouth matchwinner Blizzard's only other goal for Argyle came against Southend in January
Dominic Blizzard's strike was enough to defeat Luton Town and earn Plymouth Argyle a third win in six league games.
Blizzard scored with a fine 68th-minute shot after showing quick feet on the edge of the box to settle an open game.
Both sides created good chances, with Argyle goalkeeper Luke McCormick making fine saves from Luke Guttridge and Jake Howells and Mark Tyler denying Lewis Alessandra, Blizzard and Reuben Reid.
But after Blizzard's goal the home side struggled to create clear openings.
Steve McNulty did shoot wide in injury time and the home side earlirer thought they had won a penalty when Guttridge went down in the box but the appeals were ignored.
John Still's Hatters, promoted back up from the Conference in April after a five-year absence, have now not won in League Two since the opening day of the season.
Luton Town manager John Still told BBC Three Counties Radio:
Media playback is not supported on this device Hatters boss John Still on loss to Plymouth Argyle
"I was pleased with how we played in the first half. It was a bit more even in the second half.
"If you watched our first-half performance we should have done enough to win.
"Our players were disappointed at half-time. They felt there was a sending off in the first few minutes for handball."Around 8 p.m. on the evening of Dec. 23, 2009, my 12-year-old son and I were puttering around the house when there was a sudden, loud banging at the front door.
"I have legal papers for Amy Wallace," a brusque woman's voice said from the other side of the door when I asked who was there. I was startled. The voice sounded unpleasant. |
shortly after the 2009 campaign. Deeds remarried last year.
Deeds spent most of his childhood in Bath County, where his family settled in the 1740s. The rural county is known for the luxury Homestead resort, but Deeds grew up on the other side of the mountain.
“I didn’t grow up on the end of the county where you learn to ski and play golf as a child,” he said. Deeds lived on a farm after his parents divorced when he was about 7.
Deeds, a former Bath County prosecutor, was elected to the House of Delegates in 1991 and to the state Senate in 2001.
McDonnell said in a statement the news was “utterly heartbreaking.”
“Creigh Deeds is an exceptional and committed public servant who has always done what he believes is best for Virginia and who gives his all to public service,” McDonnell said.
McAuliffe, now governor-elect, called it a sad day for Virginia.
“We join people across the Commonwealth and country in wishing him a full recovery,” he said.
___
Associated Press writer Matthew Barakat contributed to this report from McLean, Va., and Michael Felberbaum contributed from Richmond, Va.
___
Steve Szkotak can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sszkotakap.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
AP Photo: In a Sept. 25, 2009 photo, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds spends time with his son Gus, left, on the road to Halifax, Va., between campaign events.The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped to a 44-year low last week, according to the latest numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Specifically, unemployment claims dropped by 19,000 from 242,000 during the week prior to a low of 223,000 during the week that ended on Feb. 25, according to CNS News. This marked the lowest level the claims number has been since March of 1973, when former President Richard Nixon was in office.
In accounting for this unexpected drop, CNS News pointed to a reduction in layoffs, arguing that both confidence in the economy and difficulty attracting new employees was spurring employers to hold onto staff members.
“Businesses are finding it ever-harder to recruit, so the bar for letting people go has risen,” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, wrote in a research note cited by CNS.
Speaking with Reuters, Rob Martin, an economist at Barclays in New York, concurred with this assessment, saying, “Workers are not being laid off in large numbers.”
Whether President Donald Trump deserved full credit for this remarkable drop in unemployment claims was a bit less clear.
On one hand, it was certain that the pro-business policies supported by the president were driving up business owners’ confidence for the future and spurring them into making more investments.
According to Bloomberg, however, the latest jobless claims number “marked 104 straight weeks of claims below 300,000,” meaning the drop began in March of 2015, when former President Barack Obama was still in office and before Trump had even declared his candidacy.
The argument could therefore be made that Obama deserved credit for at least starting the trend downward. With that said, the case could also be made that it was both Trump’s entrance into the 2016 presidential election and his final victory late last year that ultimately propelled jobless claims over the threshold and into a 44-year record.
Either way, the new unemployment numbers make the future look good.
Like us on Facebook – USA Liberty News Please share this story on Facebook and Twitter and let us know what you think about jobless claims hitting a 44-year record low within just 30 days of President Donald Trump taking office.
What do you think about this record? Scroll down to comment below!
Source: conservativetribune.com
H/T WZAs you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary. Ernest Hemingway
“Hero” is a word that gets used and abused in our culture. Maybe it’s that our day-to-day lives are so easily livable, people have forgotten what it is to really be in pain or to genuinely suffer. But if anyone out there thinks the cast from Jersey Shore are heroes, something is distressingly wrong with things in general.
This cultural malfunction and malignant habit to casually, almost cynically misuse such an important word annoys me. So, let’s just move away from that, and look deeply at someone who would be uncomfortable if we called him a hero, yet more than the rest, is some kind of champion. After all, strength of character is more rare than diamonds, and it should be carefully preserved and cultivated with intentions of employment.
Who is David Goggins?
What follows, I’m guessing, would annoy this man. But in trying to find “Who” someone is, knowing what they have been through, even in such a general way, is instructive.
First, you might be asking “Why do I care who David Goggins is?”
To put it simply, because he is a machine of a man and the chances are, he does more training in a day than you do in a month. The man and his training have become the stuff of legends. It is motivating for anyone, but his life itself is the most motivating thing of all.
Goggins was born in 1975. He grew up in Brazil, Indiana, playing ball; basketball and football at Northview High school. He got points, but generally on the hustle. He wasn’t a super star, just a hard worker and consistent.
At 18 years old, Goggins left home and enlisted in the Air Force. The thing is, true to Goggins style, he didn’t go in and become a paper pusher, but rather he became a TACP or Tactical Air Control Party. These are guys that go in with RANGERS, RANGER RECON Units, Army SPECOPS teams and NAVY SEALS. These guys are not making birthday cakes, they train seriously and deploy with serious combat units.
During his time in the Air Force, Goggins was selected as one of the Air Forces 12 outstanding Airmen of the year, the Air Forces most prestigious award.
After four years, Goggins decided to leave the Air Force to pursue a personal dream, a career in the National Football league. He actually earned a position on the Colt’s practice roster however was cut from the team after a short while. Six months passed with nothing appealing to him, until he saw a documentary about the Navy SEALs and decided that this was his next challenge.
When Goggins went to the Navy recruiter, according to him, he nearly got laughed out of the office.
He was 280 pounds and could hardly swim, but was adamant about enlisting with a SEAL contract. So, he went away for two months, and came back after losing nearly 80 pounds.
Goggins went to BUDS, and the legend now, is that he attended the BUD/S epic Hell Week 3 times. Twice he was rolled back for injuries, and the third time, he requested to go through Hell Week one more time.
HE REQUESTED IT.
Goggins eventually graduated BUD/S with class 235 in 2001. Despite having become a SEAL, Goggins petitioned his command to allow him to take down yet another obstacle on his way to military super stardom, Ranger school. He graduated from this with the distinction of Class honor grad. No easy feat considering it’s supposed to be RANGERS that “lead the way.” In subsequent interviews Goggins’ comments on Army Ranger School and it’s 80% attrition rate consisted of no more than: “It’s a great course. I learned a lot.”
In 2005, events transpired that changed things for David Goggins. He had just returned from a tour in Iraq, and heard the news that friends of his, SEALS, had died during an operation in Afghanistan.
Although he has never made it clear in interviews or in his personal blog entries exactly who it was that passed away, the timing coincides closely with the tragic events surrounding Operation Red Wings in the Kunar Province in the summer of 2005. This event has been well documented and heavily commented upon across the internet and in Patrick Robinson’s/Marcus Luttrell’s book, Lone Survivor. In total, 11 SEALS were killed along with 8 members of the 160th Special Operations aviation unit.
The news hit Goggins hard. In addition to the SEAL community being a tightly knit one, he also spent time in BUD/S with some of the people who passed away in Kunar, and Lt. Michael Murphy, the senior man who died in the initial ambush detailed in Lone Survivor, graduated in the same BUD/S class alongside David in 2001.
Having friends die in life is tough and it inspires people to change. I know it’s done that for me. But having a friend die who was also a war fighter, someone who has walked into hell and come back out again more than once, to have someone like this die can make one feel utterly powerless yet obsessed with the need to do something about it.
Tragedy was the spark and the mans natural inclination toward what most of the world would call brilliantly excessive is what fanned the flame, creating a raging inferno.
Hearing about the loss of his warrior brothers, David became obsessed with the idea of doing something for their families to send a message that they were not forgotten. Realizing, in his own words, that he was a SEAL so having a bake sale simply wouldn’t cut it, he went online and googled the ten hardest things to do in the world.
This is where he first heard about the infamous Badwater Ultramarathon. It’s 135 miles, through death valley up to the Whitney Portal, in July. Yes, you read that correctly.
In order to even get into the race and attempt it, Goggins had to have completed at least one 24 hour 100 mile event. The race director told David over the phone that there was a 24 event coming up in his area, and if he finished it, he would be considered.
So, two weeks later David and his wife (now ex-wife) Aleeza headed to the track. To get into Badwater and raise some money for the families of his fallen comrades, Goggins would have to run at least 100 miles, around a 1 mile track. He weighed 280 pounds at the time, and had been training almost exclusively as a power lifter.
I took off running and felt good for about 70 miles. Then I stopped to take a break. That was the first problem…..I sat down in the lawn chair and my blood pressure went crazy due to poor nutrition. I sat there for about 10 minutes and I had to go to the bathroom really bad. When I attempted to stand, I quickly realized how bad of shape I was really in. I was so dizzy that I couldn’t stand for a second. So, after retaking my seat in the chair I looked at my wife and told her that I had to go to the bathroom. She looked at me confused. So, I told her more clearly… “I’m going to take a s*** on myself in this chair.”
And so I did…
I then saw the blood running down my leg when I urinated.
My wife being a nurse informed me that my kidney’s were shutting down and that I needed to go to the hospital. I told her that I had 30 miles left.
She helped me up and we started walking around the track at a 35 minute mile pace. I asked her If I would complete the 100 miles in 24 hours at this pace and she said no. So, I did what I had to do and some how by the grace of God started running again. I completed 101 miles in just under 19 hours. I had broken all the small bones in my feet and my kidneys were failing. My wife drove the car onto the race course and put me into the back of the car. We live on the second floor of an apartment complex and we had to somehow get up the stairs. So, I draped my arms around her neck from behind and she had to practically drag me up the stairs. After she got me in the shower and she saw that I was urinating dark dirt brown, she begged me once again to go to the hospital. I looked her in the eye and said….
Just let me enjoy this pain I’m in. —blog entry Show no Weakness, 2009
It didn’t end there; in fact that was simply the beginning. Ten days later, Goggins ran the Las Vegas marathon in 3:08. Within a month after that, he flew to Hawaii and ran the HURT 100. This put him in a wheel chair after completing the race.
In July of 2006 he finally ran the Badwater 135, and took fifth place.
Since then, his list of accomplishments in endurance events is mind-blowing. He took second place at the UltraMan, a three-day, 320-mile race, cycling 261 miles in two days on a rented bicycle, and he took second place. Then took third place at Badwater in 2007. By 2009 he competed in another 14 ultra-endurance races, with top-five finishes in nine of them. He set a course record at the 48-hour national championships, beating the previous record by 20 miles with a whopping total distance traveled of 203.5 miles and earning himself a spot among the top 20 ultramarathoners in the world.
His training routine and lifestyle have become legendary. Goggins usually wakes up at about 3 AM. He gets out of bed, puts on his gear and goes and runs between ten and twenty miles. He then cycles 25 miles to work and runs at lunch if time permits. After work, he cycles home and at least three days per week, he goes and lifts weights seriously in the evenings with his wife. On the weekends, he gets in longer runs, often covering up to thirty or forty miles. Goggins sums up his lifestyle, his entire point of life concisely.
Watch the video of me crossing the finish line at Kona, I’m not overwhelmed with the accomplishment. I’m looking down at my watch, and it’s not to check my finishing time. I’m looking to see what time it is and how much time I have left in the day for another workout. I’m already thinking about the next thing. As of that moment, Ironman is done. It’s time to move on.
“The man is superhuman. The man is made of steel. The man has a congenital heart defect.”
Did the last bit throw you off? I bet it did. It’s true though. And THAT is actually the pain icing on this cake of utter discipline. David Goggins did all this, the three special forces schools, the attempt at pro-football, the sky diving, the scuba work, the power-lifting, the ultra-marathoning, the insane cycling, all of it, with a hole in his heart.
It is known as ASD (atrial Septum Defect). To explain it briefly, this means he has a hole in his heart. He has had it since birth and no one was able to detect it on routine check ups. It is very dangerous in scuba diving, high altitude and extreme athletics. It can cause the heart to go into heart failure without warning. So, to make a long story short. For 34 years David has been working with about 3/4 of his heart.
He went through multiple surgeries, and has only recently begun to come back from it all.
But how does someone like David Goggins come back? Does he get a membership at 24 hour fitness and spend time on the pec-deck? Maybe some Hot-Yoga? No. He tries to break the world record for the most dead hang pull-ups ever completed in a 24 hour period, on live television. (This attempt failed but on January 20, 2013 he completed 4,025 pull-ups in 17 hours setting a new world record)
This whole article only tells a very small part of the story, of course. But the point was to just highlight, expose a little of something that is special; a man who lives completely on his own terms, goes for it every time and just embraces the suck. Because in order to have some kind of a life that is worth a damn, that is exactly what someone with a constant growling in their soul has to do.
Embrace. The. Suck.
Goggins says it best, in a comment left on a Marathon blog in which someone attempted to call him out, taking away from his cause and trying to make things less than what they are.
I run for fallen soldiers. Why do you run? It’s a damn shame that I am one of the only African American endurance athletes and you are putting me down. Do something positive for the community. Not that I need to justify myself to you but I wanted you and your readers to know that on Saturday before the LA marathon, I did a double century in Death Valley. (200 mile Bike Ride) I then drove to LA to PACE a fellow soldier wanted to run a 3:30 ergo the 3:29 that you commented on. By the way the Las Vegas marathon was my first marathon which I did 10 days after running my 1st 100 mile race. (weighing 240) Don’t go off my word though, you seem to have enough time on your hands so you can look it up on line as you have everything else. Boston was also another training run. I thought it would be cool to run under 3 hours. So I just went out there and did it. What they don’t show you on the results you found is that I ran another 26.2 miles to the start line, both marathons by the way were faster than your 3:05. I guess what I am telling you, is that you shouldn’t put people down that you don’t fully know, I am an animal and I train everyday the distance that you train UP to do. Don’t question me. If you would like to see for yourself I would be happy to join you in New York this year. NO, lets make it a date. The question is will you show up 3 hours before to run to the start line with me? I can’t wait to run through Harlem to visit my aunt’s and uncles again. I’ll let them know I’m coming. By the way, please make sure you can run at least a 2:50 because I don’t want all your fans to think less of you. I hope you can back up what you say. I promise I will see you in NY. Please make sure you post this so everyone knows.
In the end, true to the Goggins style, these two guys actually DID end up running the NYC marathon together, and doing it in under 3 hours.
So, who is David Goggins? I don’t know, but he is a hero and a warrior. What I wouldn’t give to have a conversation with this man. But I suspect, if I was to ask him who he is, his reply wouldn’t be as wordy as this post, and the essence would boil down to little more than the following:
“The real question, is who are you?”
And that is quite the question, indeed.
UPDATE- 2012.03.13
David Goggins is registered to run the 2013 BADWATER ultra-Marathon.
UPDATE- 2017-02.28
Johnny-come-lately, yes, but here is David Goggins’ Facebook page and it’s worth a like and some reads. He also now has a website and even, wait for it, a hashtag: #beyondmotivated
Follow David Goggins on Facebook.
If you found some value here, please do us a BIG favor and Comment, like, subscribe or Share Gaijinass on Social media. The positive feedback lets us know we are doing something right. Domo!
Gaijinass writes; You read:
AdvertisementsAs the season ends, Tampa Bay Lightning players reflect on the ups and downs of a very tumultuous season. Relevant quotes from the recent interviews are transcribed below. For the sake of clarity and fluency, I have omitted extraneous uses of the phrases “you know,” “obviously,” “and,” “so,” and “but.”
Transcript based on audio recorded by Clark Brooks, Raw Charge beat reporter.
Tyler Johnson: I’ve never been in this position before. Whether it be in juniors or anything. The last five years, we’ve had some pretty good runs. It’s one of those things where you can honestly say it just sucks. It’s not a fun time. It’s not where we want to be, we want to be in the playoffs. That’s where the fun hockey is. Now we’re going to be even more motivated for next year.
Question: What did the team show you in the last few weeks of the season in terms of never giving up and saying, “Hey, we’re going to bring this everything that we got every night to try to get in.”
Johnson: Well I think that says a lot about the character of everyone on this team. We want to win. We want to be in there. We weren’t happy with the way we were, and where we were at in the standings obviously. There’s a lot of teams that could have just quit, but these guys never wanted to quit. We want to keep on going. We wanted to keep trying to prove people wrong and get in. We got really close, but unfortunately that’s all that it was - it was close.
Question: How banged up are you?
Johnson: Right now, pretty bad I guess. It’s not - I take that back. It’s not bad. It’s getting better. Probably another week or two and I’d be back to 100%. Unfortunately right now we don’t have that time.
Question: Could you have played this week in the playoffs?
Johnson: I think so. I don’t know. The last week here I wasn’t really skating that much, trying to heal up. We’d have to test the skating, but definitely would have done anything I possibly could to [play in the playoffs].
Question: Now that it was over, what was your injury?
Johnson: It doesn’t really matter. [chuckles]
Question: You tried to come back those two games. How tough were those two games to play?
Johnson: Yeah, I tried to come back, tried to help the team. It was hard, just where it was at. I didn’t feel like I could contribute that much. We had another discussion where if were going to make the playoffs, it would be better just to rest it and try to get it back to that strength. That’s kind of why we decided to take the other games off. At some point, we didn’t get there.
Question: You need a procedure at all? Or is it all going to be rest and rehab?
Johnson: No, it’s definitely not a procedure. Nothing like that, it’s just time. That’s the common theme with this injury. We couldn’t really do anything with it. It’s just one of those things that need time and we didn’t have that. Kind of a weird, fluky thing, but it happens.
Question: You mentioned never being in this position before. You’ve played a lot of hockey. A lot of you guys have played a lot of hockey over the last three or four seasons when you guys were in the playoffs. I know you’d rather be in the playoffs, but in this long summer, would keeping guys healthy and mentally put in an extra [inaudible]. Do you think that’s something that would propel you a little bit?
Johnson: Well yeah, I think so. It’s tough every year having a two-month summer and trying to get back into the shape that you were at beforehand, recovery and everything. But I’d much rather have that two-month summer than have this. We’re already motivated. This is a crummy feeling - no one likes this. I think you saw at the end of the year how motivated we were to get into the playoffs and really make a run. It’s what we’re going to be working for all summer. I know every day I’m going to be thinking about it.
Question: With all the new faces, was there one that particularly stood out to you this year?
Johnson: I don’t know. A lot of guys did, especially at the end of the year. There were guys coming up or whatnot. I think that says about the quality of the depth in our organization. We have a lot of guys that can come up, fill roles, and play different things. I think you have have to give a lot of credit to the AHL team [Syracuse Crunch] down there of really getting these guys ready to play - and also the scouts finding them. I think our future’s pretty good here.
Question: You said in [pre-season training] camp Brayden Point was going to be a heck of a player. I think the league saw that this season. What did you learn? Or what was it like watching him develop in his first year?
Johnson: Yeah, he did unbelievable. I think right at the beginning he working hard, getting all those chances, but I think he was in his head a little bit. Actually after his injury when he came back, I think he kind of calmed down and played more of his game. He’s a heck of a kid. I really like him. He’s sitting next to me in my stall every day so I got to know him quite well. Good Western Canada boy, sp we played in the WHL [Western Hockey League] together, I like that. He had a great year. You could see at the end. He’s just going to keep on working hard and keep on getting better. That’s great for our organization and team.
Question: Like Pally [Ondrej Palat] and Jo [Jonathan Drouin], you’re a RFA [Restricted Free Agent] this summer. Are you hopeful something will get done quickly? What are you kind of expecting going into the summertime?
Johnson: Yeah, hopefully it gets done quick. We’ll see. Obviously there’s things going on. But yeah, so I want to be here. Tampa is my second home. Hopefully everything works out the way that I want it to.
Question: If you return, do you see your role in this team changing or adjusting a little bit next year?
Johnson: I don’t know. I mean I’m going to do whatever I can to make the team better. Depending on what’s asked of me, that’s all that really matters.
Question: All indications though, you’ll be here next year?New research presented at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Stockholm shows that high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, which has been linked to increased risk of type 2 diabetes, is part of a poor overall diet. Thus care must be taken when linking such beverages to disease risk, say the authors from Lund University, Malmö, Sweden, led by Louise Brunkwall.
Consumption of several beverages has been associated with risk of type 2 diabetes; high coffee and tea consumption has been associated with a decreased risk and high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) with an increased risk. Regarding juice and artificially sweetened beverages (ASB), the results are inconclusive. As beverages are part of our overall diet and lifestyle, the authors hypothesised that high consumption of these beverages (SSB, ASB, juice, coffee and tea) may be associated with certain characteristics of the overall diet that could be difficult to take into account when analysing associations between beverage consumption and disease.
Analyses were performed among 25,112 individuals (60% women, 45-74 years, mean body mass index [BMI]=25.6) without prevalent diabetes, cardiovascular disease or cancer from the population based Swedish Malmö Diet and Cancer Cohort. Intake of beverages, macronutrients and 24 food groups were obtained from a modified diet history method including a 7-day food record, a 168-item questionnaire and a 45 min interview. To examine food intakes across five intake groups of the different beverages, they used computer modelling adjusted for age, sex, season, method, BMI, leisure time physical activity, total energy intake, smoking, education and alcohol intake.
The authors say: "We observed a high consumption of SSBs to be significantly associated with lower intakes of foods generally perceived as healthy; the largest intake differences between high and low consumers of SSBs were seen for fruits, vegetables, yoghurt, breakfast cereals, fibre rich bread and fish."
They add: "In contrast, high consumption of both tea and juice was significantly associated with higher intakes of foods perceived as healthy; the largest differences were seen for fruits, vegetables and yoghurt. High consumption of ASBs was significantly associated with higher intakes of low fat products; low fat milk and margarines. High consumption of coffee associated with higher intakes of meat and high fat margarine, and a lower intake of breakfast cereals."
They conclude: "As this study is cross-sectional we can not draw any conclusions about causality or the exact effect of the diet or beverage. However our results indicate that the associations previously seen with sugar sweetened beverages might be due to that individuals consuming a lot of these beverages also have a diet low in healthy foods which in combination give associations with serveral chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes."Guests: Hal Lublin Hal Lublin Guests: Danielle Radford Danielle Radford Guests: Mike Eagle Mike Eagle
Before Tights and Fights properly launched, the Nation of Conversation recorded several pilot episodes to help work out the format of the show.
This week, with the show on holiday hiatus, we’re sharing a sampling of some of our favorite moments from those pilot sessions.
You’ll hear about the team’s favorite merchandise, what they thought about the very first Final Deletion, why Goldberg is such a rude podcast guest and much much more.
Hosted by Hal Lublin, Danielle Radford and Mike Eagle
Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun.
If you want to talk about more wrestling throughout the week be sure to join us on Facebook or @TightsFights on Twitter.
If you liked the show, please share it with your friends and be sure to leave us a quick review on iTunes or wherever you get podcasts.It didn't require much imagination to work out that Mick Jagger wouldn't be looking great this morning. As the world knows, L'Wren Scott, his partner for the last 13 years was found dead in her New York apartment on Monday, in circumstances that have been widely reported as suicide. But anyone who couldn't quite picture what the singer looked like at this moment of profound shock need only turn to the front pages of the UK's biggest-selling newspapers.
Several of them actually boasted about the fact they had obtained photographs of Jagger as he was told of L'Wren Scott's death. The Daily Mail's front page showed Jagger, his mouth set in a rictus of grief, alongside a headline declaring: "Moment Mick heard L'Wren was dead". What looked like the same picture appeared on the front page of the Daily Mirror ("The moment Jagger heard girlfriend of 13 years had hanged herself") and the Daily Star ("Moment Jagger was told of lover's suicide").
Whether this was the precise moment that Jagger heard the news or a short time afterwards, as seems more likely, hardly matters. It's as if the intense public debate about media ethics over the last three years never happened. Fourteen months after the Leveson report accused sections of the press of wreaking "havoc" with people's lives, some editors are behaving with the same callous disregard for grief which was highlighted during the inquiry.
They haven't even abided by the editors' code of practice, drawn up by the toothless Press Complaints Commission, which states that publication should be handled sensitively in cases of personal grief or shock. Instead, today's front pages show that the popular press has reverted to its pre-Leveson position: people who venture into the public eye for any reason give up their right to privacy in perpetuity. They're public property, even when a close friend or relative dies in the most shocking circumstances.
There is a line in the editors' code about reporting suicide, which says "care should be taken to avoid excessive detail about the method used". But some editors clearly feel that publishing a link to the Samaritans at the end of an article that mentions suicide leaves them free to speculate about how and why someone has taken his or her life.
The Daily Mail reported that Scott "appeared to be enjoying success" but really suffered from depression, invoking a classic stereotype about ambitious women. If she was reluctant to be known as a famous man's girlfriend when she was alive, her death unleashed a tide of casual sexism which has already prompted complaints on social networking sites.
Once again, publishing a story about a "celeb" has overridden decency, compassion and the editors' own guidelines about intruding into private grief.Trouble over Tehran
This week’s imminent publication of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iran’s nuclear program — details of which have been leaking out — is expected to provide evidence that Tehran is hard at work building a nuclear weapon. Once again, the proverbial tick-tock in media and diplomatic circles has begun: Is a U.S.-backed Israeli strike against Iran in the offing?
Much of the saber rattling and the leaks from Israel may be designed to use the IAEA report to motivate the international community to do more about Iran’s developing nuclear program and to lay down a warning of what the consequences might be if it doesn’t. Already, China and Russia are urging evidence in the report be kept secret, so it’s a good bet that they would block any proposals for kinetic action, and perhaps even further sanctions, in the United Nations. The Israelis might decide for any number of reasons that they must launch a military strike at some point; and it might be that a U.S. president cannot be in a position to dissuade them. Indeed, as a tiny nation living on the knife’s edge with a dark history and a track record of successful pre-emption against military threats, the Israelis may well act at some point, though not necessarily now.
Before they do, here are the five top reasons they might want to consider keeping their jets and missiles on the ground:
1. There’s no good end state. Striking Iranian nuclear sites is like mowing the grass. Unless a strike succeeded in permanently crippling the Iranian capacity to produce and weaponize fissile material, the grass would only grow back again. And no strike — or even series of strikes — can accomplish this. Iran’s hardened sites, redundancy of facilities, and secret locations present significant obstacles to a successful attack. Even in the best-case scenario — an incomplete strike that, say, set back the Iranian nuclear program by two to three years — the Iranians would reseed it with the kind of legitimacy and urgency that can only come from having been attacked by an outside power. Self-defense would then become the organizing principle of Iran’s nuclear program; it would resonate tremendously throughout the Middle East and even in the international community.
The counterargument of course is that the Israelis would cut the grass periodically, striking Iran every 18 months or so. But this situation is probably untenable; it would put Iran and Israel in a permanent state of confrontation and keep the region burning for years to come.
2. No one can prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Except Iran. The fact is that India, Pakistan, North Korea, and even Israel — nations with both a profound sense of insecurity and entitlement — have all developed nuclear weapons secretly. Iraq and Syria were on their way, too. Iran, under the Shah, was also committed to a nuclear program and might, over time, have tried to weaponize.
But denying Iran a weapon means more than taking away the toys; it means changing the national calculation and motivation of a power that historically has imagined itself as a great nation. Even in the unlikely event Iran became a democracy, its own regional image and ambitions might still impel it to develop a nuclear capacity. At a minimum, denying Iran nuclear weapons means fundamentally changing the mullahcracy in Tehran; a military strike by the Israelis might do just the opposite — further legitimizing it, particularly if there were civilian casualties. There’s no better way to mobilize a divided polity or bring out its nationalist and unified character than to demonize a foreign enemy. And the Israelis would be the target of a massive Iranian propaganda effort across the Arab world, an effort that would likely win a great deal of sympathy.
3. There are severe costs to the United States. When countries undertake actions that carry great uncertainty and risk, two questions need to be asked. First, can it be done? Second, what will it cost? The fact that Israel faces an existential threat may understandably lead it to downplay the costs to others, particularly to the United States. After all, it’s easy enough for Americans to assume, living thousands of miles away, that Iran is a rational actor and would never use a nuclear weapon against Israel because of the expectation of its own obliteration at the hands of the Israelis or the United States. Israelis, of course, maintain that the threat of retaliation is not an acceptable deterrent and will look to their own interests first.
But let’s look at what an Israeli strike might do to U.S. interests and an economy still in recession. Even if the Iranians could only temporarily block shipping in the Strait of Hormuz (through which 40 percent of all oil sails), the price of oil would spike exponentially, further undermining and sabotaging world markets — and doing tremendous damage to the fragile economic recovery in the United States. These economic and financial uncertainties could be truly global and catastrophic. At the same time, the Iranians would certainly try to turn up the heat against U.S. forces in Afghanistan and those remaining in Iraq, further compounding an already tenuous security situation in both countries. Together with a resurgent al Qaeda in Iraq (a Sunni threat), U.S. forces would be faced with a Shiite one as well. At the precise moment U.S. forces are committed to leaving Iraq, they could get sucked back into staying. Iran might well lash out at foes and perceived foes across the region, including in the Persian Gulf, particularly in a place like Bahrain. The Iranian capacity to strike the continental United State may be limited, but the capacity to wage a clandestine war against U.S. and Israeli interests across the Middle East is far more formidable.
4. It will legitimize and popularize Iran in the Middle East. George H.W. Bush’s administration went to great lengths to prevent Israel from responding to Iraqi Scud attacks during the 1991 Gulf War. The logic was pretty compelling: Iraq was |
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